Top 10 Films Where the Protagonist Dies
Hello, Toby Gold here and welcome to another Top 10 List. Today, I'm going to be counting down my Top 10 Films Where the Protagonist Dies. For this list, I have compiled movies where the protagonist (main character) is ejected from the story. However, I am excluding animals from this list, so sorry Caesar. For those of you who have not seen these movies, I will warn you that this list is one giant spoiler. So, let us begin.
In this underrated masterpiece of a crime drama, Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, Sr., a mob enforcer who takes his younger son, Michael, Jr., on the run after Connor Rooney, the volatile and jealous son of his boss and surrogate father, John, murders their family. Sullivan plans to leave Michael, Jr. with relatives while he goes after the mob, but when they are pursued by a voyeuristic assassin named Harlen Maguire, Sullivan takes his son on a bank-robbing spree through Depression-era Illinois, hoping to force either the Irish or Italian mobs to give up a sequestered Connor. After Sullivan gets his revenge, he and his son escape to the town of Perdition, where they are ambushed by Maguire, who shoots Sullivan in the back. Michael, Jr. walks in and points a gun at Maguire, but Sullivan summons what life he has left to kill the scarred hitman, sparing Michael, Jr. from becoming a killer like himself, before dying in his son's arms. The movie is called Road to Perdition because in Christian theology, Perdition is hell, and while Sullivan is the protagonist, he lived a life of violence.
In David Cronenberg's Oscar-winning sci-fi horror film, Seth Brundle is a scientist who creates a groundbreaking teleportation device and decides to test it on himself. However, a housefly slips into the machine while he is testing it, causing Brundle and the insect to be merged at the molecular-genetic level. He emerges from the machine seemingly unchanged, but the fly's cells slowly take over his body. As he becomes increasingly fly-like, Brundle's girlfriend, science journalist Veronica Quaife, is forced to watch him literally fall apart while at the same time worrying about whether their unborn child was conceived before or after the experiment. In an effort to regain his humanity, Brundle kidnaps Veronica as she is about to have an abortion with the intention of fusing himself, Veronica, and the fetus into a single entity. However, a humanoid fly-like creature bursts out of Brundle's skin, completing the transformation, and Veronica's co-worker destroys the machine with a shotgun just as the fusion process is activated. This gruesomely fuses Brundlefly with the metal door of his machine, and the deformed creature points the shotgun at his own forehead and wordlessly begs Veronica to end his suffering, which she tearfully does. At least Peter Parker didn't end up like this.
The 1920s were a time of economic prosperity in the United States, but F. Scott Fitzgerald's acclaimed novel The Great Gatsby and its 2013 film adaptation show a darker side to the era's decadence. In 1922, Midwest native Nick Carraway comes to New York City in search of the American Dream, where he moves in next door to Jay Gatsby, a famous millionaire who hosts extravagant parties in the hope that Nick's cousin, Daisy, will show up. Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthy but snobbish socialite who hates Gatsby for his nouveau riche status and relationship with her. Later, Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress, is accidentally killed by Gatsby's car, driven by Daisy. As his lies start crashing down around him, Gatsby is confronted and killed by Myrtle's husband, George, who had been told by Tom that Gatsby killed his wife. George then shoots himself in the mouth with the same gun he used to kill Gatsby. Speaking of movies where Leonardo DiCaprio dies...
In James Cameron's 1997 romantic blockbuster, penniless artist Jack Dawson falls in love with Rose DeWitt Bukater, a young society girl aboard the legendary RMS Titanic. The two meet when Rose attempts suicide by jumping off of the ship due to her unhappy engagement to misanthropic billionaire Caledon "Cal" Hockley, but Jack discouragers her from doing so. Jack later sketches Rose posing topless with Cal's engagement present, a necklace containing a rare diamond called the Heart of the Ocean, in her stateroom. When Cal discovers the two of them together, he frames Jack for stealing the diamond, leading to the latter's arrest. Unfortunately, this happens at the same time that the ship strikes an iceberg. As the ship starts to sink, Rose stays on board to free Jack and the two ride the stern into the frigid Atlantic waters. Jack helps Rose onto a floating wooden panel; unfortunately, there is only room for one person on it. In the end, Jack dies young of hypothermia, sinking into a watery grave, while Rose dies old in 1996, dreaming of those who perished in the early hours of April 15, 1912 after throwing the Heart back into the Ocean. Not an eye in the theatre was dry that day.
In Steven Spielberg's acclaimed D-Day epic, three of the four sons of the Ryan family are killed in action, while the fourth son, Private James Francis Ryan, is somewhere in Normandy. Captain Miller of the 2nd Ranger Battalion leads a company of seven men to find and bring Ryan home. After losing most of his men during the perilous mission, Miller finds Ryan, who refuses to give up the fight. In the subsequent battle, Miller attempts to blow up a bridge that is crucial to the Allied war effort, but is mortally wounded by a German POW whom he had earlier set free. Miller ineffectually fires his gun at the advancing German tank, and after the Germans are routed by American armoured units, he dies of his wounds while telling Ryan to "earn it." In war, there is no such thing as fair or unfair; it's just endless suffering, loss, and death. Nobody, not even Tom Hanks, is spared from such a nightmare.
In a horrific future, the United Kingdom is a fascist police state ruled by the Norsefire Party, led by the all-powerful High Chancellor Adam Sutler. Opposing this regime is V, a Guy Fawkes-masked terrorist previously used as a test subject in a concentration camp, and Evey Hammond, a young woman who supports his revolutionary cause. V plans to bomb the Houses of Parliament on November 5, and spends the time leading up to that day encouraging the population to fight back against their oppressive government. On the eve of November 5, V meets with Deputy Chancellor Peter Creedy, and makes a deal with him to surrender in exchange for Sutler's execution. After Creedy executes Sutler, V reneges on the deal and kills the secret police leader and his men, knowing that they are just as guilty of crimes against humanity as their leader. Despite wearing armour, V is mortally wounded in the standoff, and reunites with Evey to thank her before succumbing to his wounds. V's body is given a Viking funeral, while a crowd of Londoners stand outside the gates of Parliament, clad in the freedom fighter's signature mask, to watch it explode. Do not, dear viewers, be sad about V's death, for his martyrdom symbolizes the downfall of a brutal totalitarian regime and a new beginning.
In Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning historical epic, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wishes for Hispano-Roman legatus Maximus Decimus Meridius to succeed him in order to save Rome from corruption, as his own son, Commodus, is unfit to rule. Upon hearing this, Commodus murders his father and becomes Emperor, ordering the execution of Maximus' family, but Maximus escapes and is reduced to slavery as a gladiator. When Commodus enters the Colosseum to congratulate him upon winning a battle, Maximus reveals himself and declares vengeance. Aided by Commodus' sister, Lucilla, Maximus plans to escape from Rome, reunite with his soldiers, depose Commodus, and hand power back to the Senate. Unfortunately, the depraved emperor learns of the plot by threatening Lucilla, resulting in the deaths of the other gladiators, who sacrifice themselves to allow Maximus to escape. In an effort to regain Rome's favour, Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum, prior to which the former stabs the latter to gain an advantage. Nonetheless, Maximus exacts his revenge on Commodus, and before he dies, asks for political reforms and the emancipation of his fellow gladiators. Welcome home, General.
The aforementioned Ridley Scott had a younger brother named Tony, who, like Ridley, was not above seeing off the protagonist of his Mexican kidnapping thriller Man on Fire to the singing of Lisa Gerrard. John W. Creasy is a hard-drinking, burnt-out former United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance officer hired as a bodyguard for Lupita "Pita" Ramos, a nine-year-old girl living in Mexico City, which has been plagued by a series of kidnappings masterminded by a mysterious man named Daniel Sanchez, aka "The Voice." Though he initially distances himself from her, Creasy soon comes to bond with Pita, who gives him a new pair of eyes to look at the world. However, this comes crashing down when Pita is kidnapped by a group of thugs and corrupt cops. His ideals shattered for the last time, Creasy tortures and kills his way up the chain of command of a crime syndicate called "La Hermandad," eventually confronting Daniel's brother, Aurelio, in his home. In the ensuing shootout, Creasy is mortally wounded, and later surrenders to Daniel's men in exchange for Pita's release before bleeding out in the kidnappers' car. Creasy lived a life of violence, which he deeply regretted, and his death proved that he was a good man at heart.
Hugh Jackman's final film performance as the adamantium-clawed X-Man known as Wolverine is set in a post-apocalyptic future where mutants are becoming a thing of the past. However, an aging and terminally ill Logan is determined to keep the future of the race alive by escorting Laura, a young girl created from his DNA, to a safe haven. Laura and several other children were experimented on by Transigen, a biotechnology corporation that had sterilized the mutant race twenty-five years earlier, but when the children proved difficult to control, they were ordered killed and replaced by X-24, a feral younger clone of Logan. When the children are later captured by Transigen personnel while preparing to cross the American-Canadian border, Logan powers up once more, kills the humans responsible for the downfall of the mutants and fights X-24 to both of their deaths. In the aftermath, Laura turns her father's grave marker on its side to honour his status as the last of the X-Men. A tragic but satisfying sendoff to one of the greatest comic book superheroes of all time.
- Moulin Rouge! (2001)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- Children of Men (2006)
- Elysium (2013)
1. 300 (2006)
In Zack Snyder's blood-soaked, stylized battle epic, Spartan King Leonidas leads an army of 300 men against the vast Persian army of King Xerxes. However, after being rejected for service by Leonidas for being physically incapable of holding a shield, hunchbacked Spartan Ephialtes defects to Xerxes, showing the God-King a secret path for him and his army to use to outflank and surround the Spartans. After three days of fighting, the Persians encircle the Spartans, leading to a last stand in which Leonidas and his army fight to the last man. Leonidas throws his spear at Xerxes, which cuts the latter's face, proving his mortality, before being killed by a hail of arrows. Leonidas may not have killed Xerxes, but that does not make his death any less heroic. 300 is my top pick on this list because the film's message would not have been as powerful if Leonidas and the brave 300 had lived.
Do you agree with my list? What's your favourite movie in which the hero dies? This is Toby Gold, bidding you farewell until we meet again.
10. Road to Perdition (2002)
In this underrated masterpiece of a crime drama, Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, Sr., a mob enforcer who takes his younger son, Michael, Jr., on the run after Connor Rooney, the volatile and jealous son of his boss and surrogate father, John, murders their family. Sullivan plans to leave Michael, Jr. with relatives while he goes after the mob, but when they are pursued by a voyeuristic assassin named Harlen Maguire, Sullivan takes his son on a bank-robbing spree through Depression-era Illinois, hoping to force either the Irish or Italian mobs to give up a sequestered Connor. After Sullivan gets his revenge, he and his son escape to the town of Perdition, where they are ambushed by Maguire, who shoots Sullivan in the back. Michael, Jr. walks in and points a gun at Maguire, but Sullivan summons what life he has left to kill the scarred hitman, sparing Michael, Jr. from becoming a killer like himself, before dying in his son's arms. The movie is called Road to Perdition because in Christian theology, Perdition is hell, and while Sullivan is the protagonist, he lived a life of violence.
9. The Fly (1986)
In David Cronenberg's Oscar-winning sci-fi horror film, Seth Brundle is a scientist who creates a groundbreaking teleportation device and decides to test it on himself. However, a housefly slips into the machine while he is testing it, causing Brundle and the insect to be merged at the molecular-genetic level. He emerges from the machine seemingly unchanged, but the fly's cells slowly take over his body. As he becomes increasingly fly-like, Brundle's girlfriend, science journalist Veronica Quaife, is forced to watch him literally fall apart while at the same time worrying about whether their unborn child was conceived before or after the experiment. In an effort to regain his humanity, Brundle kidnaps Veronica as she is about to have an abortion with the intention of fusing himself, Veronica, and the fetus into a single entity. However, a humanoid fly-like creature bursts out of Brundle's skin, completing the transformation, and Veronica's co-worker destroys the machine with a shotgun just as the fusion process is activated. This gruesomely fuses Brundlefly with the metal door of his machine, and the deformed creature points the shotgun at his own forehead and wordlessly begs Veronica to end his suffering, which she tearfully does. At least Peter Parker didn't end up like this.
8. The Great Gatsby (2013)
The 1920s were a time of economic prosperity in the United States, but F. Scott Fitzgerald's acclaimed novel The Great Gatsby and its 2013 film adaptation show a darker side to the era's decadence. In 1922, Midwest native Nick Carraway comes to New York City in search of the American Dream, where he moves in next door to Jay Gatsby, a famous millionaire who hosts extravagant parties in the hope that Nick's cousin, Daisy, will show up. Daisy is married to Tom Buchanan, a wealthy but snobbish socialite who hates Gatsby for his nouveau riche status and relationship with her. Later, Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress, is accidentally killed by Gatsby's car, driven by Daisy. As his lies start crashing down around him, Gatsby is confronted and killed by Myrtle's husband, George, who had been told by Tom that Gatsby killed his wife. George then shoots himself in the mouth with the same gun he used to kill Gatsby. Speaking of movies where Leonardo DiCaprio dies...
7. Titanic (1997)
In James Cameron's 1997 romantic blockbuster, penniless artist Jack Dawson falls in love with Rose DeWitt Bukater, a young society girl aboard the legendary RMS Titanic. The two meet when Rose attempts suicide by jumping off of the ship due to her unhappy engagement to misanthropic billionaire Caledon "Cal" Hockley, but Jack discouragers her from doing so. Jack later sketches Rose posing topless with Cal's engagement present, a necklace containing a rare diamond called the Heart of the Ocean, in her stateroom. When Cal discovers the two of them together, he frames Jack for stealing the diamond, leading to the latter's arrest. Unfortunately, this happens at the same time that the ship strikes an iceberg. As the ship starts to sink, Rose stays on board to free Jack and the two ride the stern into the frigid Atlantic waters. Jack helps Rose onto a floating wooden panel; unfortunately, there is only room for one person on it. In the end, Jack dies young of hypothermia, sinking into a watery grave, while Rose dies old in 1996, dreaming of those who perished in the early hours of April 15, 1912 after throwing the Heart back into the Ocean. Not an eye in the theatre was dry that day.
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
In Steven Spielberg's acclaimed D-Day epic, three of the four sons of the Ryan family are killed in action, while the fourth son, Private James Francis Ryan, is somewhere in Normandy. Captain Miller of the 2nd Ranger Battalion leads a company of seven men to find and bring Ryan home. After losing most of his men during the perilous mission, Miller finds Ryan, who refuses to give up the fight. In the subsequent battle, Miller attempts to blow up a bridge that is crucial to the Allied war effort, but is mortally wounded by a German POW whom he had earlier set free. Miller ineffectually fires his gun at the advancing German tank, and after the Germans are routed by American armoured units, he dies of his wounds while telling Ryan to "earn it." In war, there is no such thing as fair or unfair; it's just endless suffering, loss, and death. Nobody, not even Tom Hanks, is spared from such a nightmare.
5. V for Vendetta (2005)
In a horrific future, the United Kingdom is a fascist police state ruled by the Norsefire Party, led by the all-powerful High Chancellor Adam Sutler. Opposing this regime is V, a Guy Fawkes-masked terrorist previously used as a test subject in a concentration camp, and Evey Hammond, a young woman who supports his revolutionary cause. V plans to bomb the Houses of Parliament on November 5, and spends the time leading up to that day encouraging the population to fight back against their oppressive government. On the eve of November 5, V meets with Deputy Chancellor Peter Creedy, and makes a deal with him to surrender in exchange for Sutler's execution. After Creedy executes Sutler, V reneges on the deal and kills the secret police leader and his men, knowing that they are just as guilty of crimes against humanity as their leader. Despite wearing armour, V is mortally wounded in the standoff, and reunites with Evey to thank her before succumbing to his wounds. V's body is given a Viking funeral, while a crowd of Londoners stand outside the gates of Parliament, clad in the freedom fighter's signature mask, to watch it explode. Do not, dear viewers, be sad about V's death, for his martyrdom symbolizes the downfall of a brutal totalitarian regime and a new beginning.
4. Gladiator (2000)
In Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning historical epic, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wishes for Hispano-Roman legatus Maximus Decimus Meridius to succeed him in order to save Rome from corruption, as his own son, Commodus, is unfit to rule. Upon hearing this, Commodus murders his father and becomes Emperor, ordering the execution of Maximus' family, but Maximus escapes and is reduced to slavery as a gladiator. When Commodus enters the Colosseum to congratulate him upon winning a battle, Maximus reveals himself and declares vengeance. Aided by Commodus' sister, Lucilla, Maximus plans to escape from Rome, reunite with his soldiers, depose Commodus, and hand power back to the Senate. Unfortunately, the depraved emperor learns of the plot by threatening Lucilla, resulting in the deaths of the other gladiators, who sacrifice themselves to allow Maximus to escape. In an effort to regain Rome's favour, Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum, prior to which the former stabs the latter to gain an advantage. Nonetheless, Maximus exacts his revenge on Commodus, and before he dies, asks for political reforms and the emancipation of his fellow gladiators. Welcome home, General.
3. Man on Fire (2004)
The aforementioned Ridley Scott had a younger brother named Tony, who, like Ridley, was not above seeing off the protagonist of his Mexican kidnapping thriller Man on Fire to the singing of Lisa Gerrard. John W. Creasy is a hard-drinking, burnt-out former United States Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance officer hired as a bodyguard for Lupita "Pita" Ramos, a nine-year-old girl living in Mexico City, which has been plagued by a series of kidnappings masterminded by a mysterious man named Daniel Sanchez, aka "The Voice." Though he initially distances himself from her, Creasy soon comes to bond with Pita, who gives him a new pair of eyes to look at the world. However, this comes crashing down when Pita is kidnapped by a group of thugs and corrupt cops. His ideals shattered for the last time, Creasy tortures and kills his way up the chain of command of a crime syndicate called "La Hermandad," eventually confronting Daniel's brother, Aurelio, in his home. In the ensuing shootout, Creasy is mortally wounded, and later surrenders to Daniel's men in exchange for Pita's release before bleeding out in the kidnappers' car. Creasy lived a life of violence, which he deeply regretted, and his death proved that he was a good man at heart.
2. Logan (2017)
Hugh Jackman's final film performance as the adamantium-clawed X-Man known as Wolverine is set in a post-apocalyptic future where mutants are becoming a thing of the past. However, an aging and terminally ill Logan is determined to keep the future of the race alive by escorting Laura, a young girl created from his DNA, to a safe haven. Laura and several other children were experimented on by Transigen, a biotechnology corporation that had sterilized the mutant race twenty-five years earlier, but when the children proved difficult to control, they were ordered killed and replaced by X-24, a feral younger clone of Logan. When the children are later captured by Transigen personnel while preparing to cross the American-Canadian border, Logan powers up once more, kills the humans responsible for the downfall of the mutants and fights X-24 to both of their deaths. In the aftermath, Laura turns her father's grave marker on its side to honour his status as the last of the X-Men. A tragic but satisfying sendoff to one of the greatest comic book superheroes of all time.
Before I reveal my top choice, here are some honourable mentions.
- Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- Moulin Rouge! (2001)
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- Children of Men (2006)
- Elysium (2013)
1. 300 (2006)
In Zack Snyder's blood-soaked, stylized battle epic, Spartan King Leonidas leads an army of 300 men against the vast Persian army of King Xerxes. However, after being rejected for service by Leonidas for being physically incapable of holding a shield, hunchbacked Spartan Ephialtes defects to Xerxes, showing the God-King a secret path for him and his army to use to outflank and surround the Spartans. After three days of fighting, the Persians encircle the Spartans, leading to a last stand in which Leonidas and his army fight to the last man. Leonidas throws his spear at Xerxes, which cuts the latter's face, proving his mortality, before being killed by a hail of arrows. Leonidas may not have killed Xerxes, but that does not make his death any less heroic. 300 is my top pick on this list because the film's message would not have been as powerful if Leonidas and the brave 300 had lived.
Do you agree with my list? What's your favourite movie in which the hero dies? This is Toby Gold, bidding you farewell until we meet again.
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