Good movies where the main character dies/fails in the movie

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Slick Rick

Slick Rick

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There may be some movie spoilers in here!!





I cant think of many Ive watched...
When I say fail I mean like if it was a movie about saving a hostage, the hero fails and the hostage is killed etc...





-Gladiator (Maximus dies of a wound in the end of the movie)

-Man on Fire (Creasy trades his life for Pita's in the end)
 
The Cowboys

Shane

China Town

Bullitt

Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry

Tin Cup

Scarface

To Live and Die In LA

Pulp Fiction
 
what about films with multiple main characters say Star Wars? lol

Terminator 2 - Arnie needs to be destroyed. I always hate that part! lol

Star Wars RotJ - Vader dies after redeeming himself.
 
Empire Strikes Back - the 'good guys' take a beating all the way through the film.
 
Deep Blue Sea - Samuel L Jackson.

I had thought he was going to be the hero as he was the biggest name in the film. It was a bit of a shock when he got eaten half way through the film.
 
TheCracker
Executive Decision - where Steven Seagal dies early on ( :lol: )
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what's so bad about that?

Braveheart too... Mel dies of a massive impalement

Doesn't Keanu's character die in that movie where he works for the angels.. Constantine, was it?

He also dies in Matrix Revolutions and in Johnny Mnemonic, right?
 
Constantine dies, but he is (of course) resurrected.

Bullitt doesn't die, but he does fail, I guess. Though it's implied that he manages to keep the farce going long enough to catch the bad guy anyway.
 
You could also count in Das Boot

The narrator of the story survives, but the captain dies and the boat is sunk during an allied attack, right after it just brought them back home.
 
Leon, he get's shot at the end and then blows himself up as he's dying.

The Departed, both the main characters get killed at the end of the film.

Get Carter, Michael Cain get's shot at the end.

Donnie Darko, at the end Donnie get's crushed by the falling plane engine.
 
How about Fight Club?

Tyler Durden gets shot through the mouth, but he's still alive, although not anymore.
 
What, no one is going to mention Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

What about Casablanca? Rick doesn't get the girl and is still stuck in Casablanca.

EDIT: I just remembered Glory.
 
Saving Private Ryan - So very nearly survived to go home and see his wife, but alas Mr Hanks falls at the final hurdle despite succeeding in his mission.

Windtalkers - On a similar note, Joe Enders(Cage) manages to save his code talker but gets shot in the process. Sad...

The Green Mile - I guess it's a death and a failure. Another fantastic movie and a fave of mine, but despite being able to prove himself innocent, John Coffey(Clarke Duncan) still has to face the chair and Paul Edgecomb (Hanks) isn't able to prove the truth. One of the few movies that genuinely left me with a frog in the throat.

Dog Soldiers too, (shut up it was good!), Sarge(Pertwee) kills himself to kill the "pack"
 
Ghost Dog; nearly everyone and everything dies in that one, anyhow.
 
The Blood Diamond, Leo dies at the end of that.

Childeren of Men, Clive Owen gets shot at the end and dies on the boat.
 
Cool Hand Luke

Forgot one...

I know Bullitt was a bit of a stretch, but he does shoot and kill the man he was supposed to protect from harm, not like he had a choice, or anything.
 
Vanishing Point - Kowalski is meant to deliver a 70s Dodge Charger to Frisco from Colorado and sends up failing cause he decides to purposely crash the car after being persued by the law. So he both dies and fails.
 
I have to back Deep Blue Sea as well.

At least LL Cool J survived.

:/
 
Diego's "Fight Club" example is very deep.... I also liked the Saving Private Ryan example. In the beginning of that movie, I actually thought the old man at the grave was the Tom Hanks character. I was very surprised to later see that it was actually Ryan/Matt Damon. That was very sad, "Leon" one was very sad, also.

My contribution to this thread gotta be Al Pacino in "Carlito's Way". It haunts me to this day! :D

daan
Deep Blue Sea - Samuel L Jackson.

I had thought he was going to be the hero as he was the biggest name in the film. It was a bit of a shock when he got eaten half way through the film.
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They do catch you off guard there. He was the biggest name in that film, too. I don't know why, but I loved that movie so much, I've probably seen it 3, 4 times!
 

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