Name a movie where a character got a fate they didn't deserve.
Kevin Spacey in "Se7en".
shareHarry from Speed. He was obviously in a dangerous profession but he gets shot in the leg. Later blown up
shareBrilliant choice.
Yes, I always feel bad for Harry. That look Jeff Daniels gives, when he discovers he's about to be blown up in a few seconds. Damn! Poor guy.
Did you know that in the original script the plan was for Harry to be in cahoots with the villain, Howard Payne?
I'm pleased they didn't go there. We end up liking and feeling bad for Harry.
Haha, that look. I feel so bad for him.
That is very interesting about the cahoots thing. I would have not liked that at all. For only being in half the movie, his character made a lasting impression.
There were apparently a lot of things that were changed between the first draft and the final version of the Speed screenplay. Halle Berry often has to defend herself as to why she turned the film down, and has stated that the finshed movie was nothing like the draft she read. They really fine-tuned the script to something that was pretty much perfect, which is something I wish more studios would do.
Anyway, I'm glad that Harry got to go out as someone we liked and cared about. It would have felt like an even bigger betrayal to have him do an about turn.
Nice choice. And it happens right after they found out the identity of the villain so the timing of it is unfortunate too.
shareI don't know if these were mentioned.
Ricky- boys n the hood
Danny- American history X
Frank the helicopter pilot- Cliffhanger.
Melanie- Jackie Brown
All these people went out pretty brutal. Didn't deserve it.
I know someone already said this but Eddie from the The Lost World. The babysitter chick from Jurassic World were undeserving fates.
I get the death of the poor woman at the beginning of Cliffhanger. It was to drive a wedge between Sly and Michael Rooker's characters, and it was a shocker 'wow, I can't believe they did that' opener, but Frank's death was such a waste and didn't really serve the story. The same for those two snow-surfer 'Bill & Ted' type dudes. Those deaths were real downers for an otherwise pretty entertaining movie.
shareThe babysitter girl was a bitch, but I thought her death was just cruel for no reason.
shareAgreed. I mean, I don't think the babysitter girl did that much to be regarded as a 'bitch', but I think the film was trying to signpost her as one (albeit rather weakly).
However, this was an example of 'poetic justice' for a character, where the character's fate was way disproportionate to their 'sins'. Firstly, Zara's fate had nothing to do with her actions. Any random character could easily have been picked up by a Pteranodon in the middle of a crowd of tourists. Her fate was entirely random, which robbed it of any meaning or power, and added to its egregiousness. And secondly, it's particularly prolonged, much more so than the deaths suffered by some of the less sympathetic, even villainous characters, like Vic Hoskins (whose fate pretty much occurs off-screen) and the asshole zoo-keeper who stupidly opens the gate to the Indominus Rex. There's an OTT mean-spiritedness to how extended her fate is; every time it seems like she might get away, something even worse happens. By all means, kill off random characters like Zara to demonstrate the stakes, but don't make their fates particularly cruel and voyueristic for no good reason (it has NO bearing on the plot, and I don't even think any other character witnesses it). Considering how lengthy and convoluted this scene was, I can't help thinking the filmmakers were gleefully and cruelly relishing Zara's fate; maybe she represented an ex-girlfriend or something, to one or more of them.
When I first saw her grabbed, I thought "okay, I've seen this before in movies, especially in the Jurassic Park movies. An innocent person is about to die in a grotesque way". I thought it was fair enough because she seemed a little careless with the kids, but then she started getting dipped in the water and I thought it was completely unnecessary and unfair. As you said, it was a worse death than other people who deserved a similar fate.
shareJack Black in Shallow Hal.
shareBjork in Dancer in the Dark.
shareI didn't know she was in a movie.
https://youtu.be/jPeheoBa2_Y
One of my favs...
also what came to mind was
Leaven in "Cube" 1997
i was like dang : (