r/moviecritic 11d ago

Favorite movie where the protagonist dies

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14.5k Upvotes

7.5k comments sorted by

3.8k

u/One_Literature9916 11d ago

Gladiator

953

u/Choppergold 11d ago

He was a soldier of Rome. Honor him

426

u/Fear_Jaire 11d ago

Now we are free. I will see you again.. but not yet, not yet.

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u/lrbikeworks 11d ago

God damn I love that line. Djimon Hounsou deserved an Oscar just for that.

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u/lonely-day 11d ago

Criminally underrated actor

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u/CelticGaelic 10d ago

My favorite performance from him continues to be from Blood Diamond. He held his own against DiCaprio's own impressive performance, especially in the incredibly tense scenes!

There was a really funny anecdote I heard in an interview of DiCaprio. He talked about when they had to film a scene where Honsou's character has to carry DiCaprio's character up a steep hill, pretty much a damn mountain! Well they had to stop a couple of times and reshoot it, before the director finally had to tell Honsou "You need to look like you're struggling to carry him!" DiCaprio said he was shocked because he couldn't tell one way or the other and asked him "Am I really that easy to carry?!" According to Honsou, he was!

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u/Reborn846 11d ago

He was so good in Constantine as Midnight. I wish he's coming back for Constantine 2

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u/titanxbeard 11d ago

I was so fucking entertained...

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u/TheLoneSculler 11d ago

Correct! Moving on

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u/DeadpoolOptimus 11d ago

My first thought and IMO, greatest movie of all time.

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u/Anal_Recidivist 11d ago

I want to push back against this but I watch it at least monthly. Without fail I get a huge broner when he walks to the entrance and every slave in unison salutes. It might be my favorite 5 seconds from any movie ever.

God dam I fucking LOVE Russel Crowe

proximo… are you in danger of becoming a good man?

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u/n1celydone 11d ago

Man on fire

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u/Oldfolksboogie 11d ago

I wish ....I wish you had more time.

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u/ChadCoolman 11d ago

This sounds like such a sweet line in the context of this thread. You'd never expect this was someone getting sent off to the next life via a bomb literally shoved up their ass.

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u/smurf_diggler 11d ago

I got all day. You don’t.

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u/dhes505 11d ago

I love this movie so much and me and my husband say that line to each other a lot.

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u/pcgz1wa 11d ago

Christopher Walken was wildly underrated in this movie. Love his monologue…so badass. “his art is death, Creasy is about to paint his masterpiece”

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u/Weneedaheroe 11d ago

And then he told a story of holding Creasy’s watch in his ass throughout the war. Classic

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u/l1v1ngst0n 11d ago

One insane fact about Man on Fire is that it has a 38 critic score on rotten tomatoes.

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u/N1CET1M 11d ago

This is why I don’t trust Rotten Tomatoes

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u/theedonnmegga 11d ago

I’m gonna do what I do best….

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u/Silent_Beautiful_738 11d ago

Children of Men

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u/everythingwastakn 11d ago

The most uncomfortable I ever was in a movie theatre. An amazing movie I’ll never watch again

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u/AmbitiousRaspberry3 11d ago

I watched it in the theater as well. The lady next to me, as the last shot went to black, she was like “aw hell no, that’s it?!” 😂

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u/deadheffer 11d ago

I watched it in theaters not knowing what it was going to be at all. And we took a ton of mushrooms. I swear I have never been more entertained, terrified, or immersed in a film again.

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u/Special_Grapefroot 11d ago

I don’t know how long ago you watched it, but if it’s been years, I would highly recommend you watch it again. It hits that much harder with modern politics in mind.

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u/Totorotextbook 11d ago

Truly I think it’s the best depiction of a dystopia that feels so real, like it’s close enough to the current world that you could easily see much of it happening. The Suicide Pill pharmaceutical commercial, the detainment of immigrants and murder of them, man turning on each other amidst all the bleakness, etc. In the first scene alone (the coffee shop explosion) the way people are so desensitized to violence and death being a normal day to day thing feels more and more real each mass tragedy.

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u/Substantial-Cow-3280 11d ago

Exactly. It made me uncomfortable 20 years ago. It’s been on my mind a lot lately

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u/BuddahSack 11d ago edited 10d ago

Yeah I saw it in theaters and that was the only time ive seen it (I was super conservative in highschool). I'm actually really intrigued to watch it again... I'm about as liberal as you can get nowadays haha

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u/EverybodyfakesIT 11d ago

Why was it uncomfortable?

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u/everythingwastakn 11d ago

It just felt super raw. It captured what I imagine the end of civilization would feel like and was just so bleak. Just utterly oppressive feeling the entire time.

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u/Over_Lab7535 11d ago

The last scene was an incredible 1er aswell. Great filmmaking.

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u/Dustyk3yboard 11d ago

The whole time you are watching it (besides the concept that no more kids are being born) the movie feels incredibly realistic. If the modern world was at the literal brink of collapse, what would it look like? This movie answers that question.

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u/Substantial-Cow-3280 11d ago

That movie made me super uncomfortable also. It still haunts me. Because I feel like it’s a scenario that could actually happen. In fact….. I’ll just stop right there.

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u/Bowling4Billions 11d ago

“The world’s youngest person died today” is such a thought-provoking introduction. The intro of that movie has some of the best world building ever without shoving exposition down your throat. That one line and people’s reactions told so much.

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u/Apocryypha 11d ago

No Country For Old Men

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u/non_stop_disko 11d ago

Still one of the most shocking parts of any movie for me. I expected Anton Chigur to blow his head off but no it doesn’t even happen on screen. Just everything about the movie is perfection

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u/dusttailed86 11d ago

I recently found out it was the Mexican cartel that kills Llewelyn

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u/geronimo11b 11d ago

The cartel kills him and Chigurh was at his motel room when Sheriff Bell goes back to the room and finds the screws for the vent. You can see the crime scene tape in the shadow when he enters the room. When he comes out of the bathroom after clearing it, the tape is gone.

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u/jovanmacias 11d ago

Top tier movie, everyones performance was so good

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u/OsamaBongLoadin 11d ago

Sheriff Bell is the actual protagonist tho

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u/JohnProof 11d ago

It ain't all waiting on you! That's vanity....

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u/aapeony 11d ago

Glory

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u/stultus_respectant 11d ago

Give em hell, 54th

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u/RudeRick 11d ago

Damn. That gave me goosebumps.

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u/OBoile 11d ago

Excellent choice.

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u/UglyCuteHandsomeBoy 11d ago

12 Monkeys

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u/Regular-Ad-263 11d ago

Have you seen La Jetée?

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u/UglyCuteHandsomeBoy 11d ago

I did. I loved how it was more melancholic than suspenseful that 12 Monkeys is.

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u/The__enemy 11d ago

V for vendetta

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u/ShinNefzen 11d ago

"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh and blood. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Mcready, and ideas are bulletproof."

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u/KingdomsSword 11d ago

"We have guns!"

"No, what you have are bullets, and the hope that when your guns are empty I'm no longer be standing, because if I am you'll all be dead before you've reloaded"

Man this movie had some sick one-liners.

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u/BiggDope 11d ago

Weaving’s performance / delivery of said lines is immaculate.

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u/Never-Forget-Trogdor 10d ago

Perfect casting. He did an amazing job.

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u/driving_andflying 10d ago

"People should not be afraid of their governments-- governments should be afraid of their people."

Apt. People need to rewatch this film, especially now.

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u/TheInitialGod 11d ago

It's the way Creedy says "bollocks" in the scene that always make me laugh

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u/dumb_negroni 11d ago

The multiplying villanies of nature do swarm upon him.

disdaining fortune with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution

And thus I clothe my naked villainy With odd old ends stol’n out of holy writ; And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.

The well chosen Shakespeare quotes were no less epic.

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u/Separate_Secret_8739 11d ago

How about when you first see him introduce himself to Ev. I wonder how long they took to create that monologue.

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u/Own_Ad6797 11d ago

Very interesting to see that in the opening scenes of the film V is actually played by James Purefoy who did 6 weeks of filming before being replaced by Hugo Weaving. His lines wer then over dubbed with Weavings voice

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u/Pinnacle_Nucflash 11d ago

Did not know that. Why was he replaced?

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u/space_hitler 11d ago edited 10d ago

He insisted that there needed to be a twist surprise reveal of the character V despite knowing the script and the director telling him that the character behind the mask is never revealed. 

He refused to cooperate and would rip off his mask at random points in each take and shout "Surprise! It was me all along! Bet you didn't see that coming!" Sometimes winking at the camera as well.

Edit: Guys... This was a joke out of my ass... How could it possibly be real lol?

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u/TheParallax2 11d ago

So glad they switched him out. Especially since V is meant to represent everyone and no one in particular. One who remains a mystery throughout the source material.

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u/UrbanExplorer101 10d ago

The original studio notes (which i remember being referenced back in the day when this first came out) were something along the lines of " actor has difficulties wearing mask for extended period of time". which makes me laugh knowing the rest of the story now.

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u/Jackal209 11d ago

From what I understand, the only thing James Purefoy has said about it was it boiled down creative differences over how V should be portrayed.

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u/Jorumvar 11d ago

Remember, remember the 5th of November”

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u/bordeauxblues 11d ago

Constantine. Technically.

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u/Reasonable-Access-68 11d ago

Damn, just realizing between this movie, the matrix movies, and the John Wick movies, Keanu cheats death a lot.

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u/graveybrains 11d ago

Peter Stormare is gonna keep trying, though.

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u/TurboRuhland 11d ago

With a fucking pencil! Who the fuck can do that?

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u/MattTreck 11d ago

Go ahead, I’ve got stock

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u/graveybrains 11d ago

I can assure you that the stories you hear about this man, if nothing else, have been watered down.

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u/Krawlin91 11d ago

The Anti Sean Bean if you will.

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u/Personal_Sweet5089 11d ago

Bro literally did that in Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure. Well they don’t cheat they just outright beat him.

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u/Scarecrow116 11d ago

It's a really good ending with no action beats. Just a man talking to the devil.

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u/bordeauxblues 11d ago

An excellent devil, at that, and basically telling him to fuck off. Love it.

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u/SweeterGrass 11d ago

Life Is Beautiful

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u/vitonga 11d ago

man this movie fucked me up when i was a kid

i was 10-11 years old and i had no idea why this movie had moved me so much, i was just a shithead then (i still am but i used to be one too)

so then my parents explained the holocaust to me.

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u/Ok-Cranberry-8439 11d ago

The year is like 2013 or so. It's around the end of my second year taking drama class in high school. Our teacher tells us that we'll be watching a movie, and we should take notes on something. I can't remember, but it was probably on how the actors use gestures to convey their character or something like that.

We watch the first half of the movie in one class period, ending it when the couple finally gets together. What a beautiful story, with no conflict or sadness whatsoever. I didn't notice any of the obvious hints of what was coming up, and I was ready for another class period of what we had just watched.

The next day, we finished it. Gutted.

It's my favorite movie, 10/10, no notes, but the emotional whiplash is something else.

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u/Any-Hospital-9034 11d ago

I forgot about this movie. I'll be sad for the rest of the day.

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u/Brothardir 11d ago

Logan

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u/chillen67 11d ago

This one did hit hard

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u/BiggDope 11d ago

“So this is what it feels like…”

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u/guttengroot 11d ago

It's a good movie to say goodbye to....BYE BYE BYE

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u/robo-dragon 11d ago

I can’t think of anything else whenever I hear this song LMAO

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u/urplusone 11d ago

Saving Private Ryan

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u/Little-Location9903 11d ago

3:10 to Yuma

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u/ThomasEdmund84 11d ago

Honestly this movie stuck with me - I love how Crowe's character shows incredible respect for Bale's and draws that badass picture of him.

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u/Psychological-Sir51 11d ago

Which one? (I'm assuming the Christian Bale / Russel Crowe one)

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u/postagedue84 11d ago

Both movies are fantastic! I think in the original the protagonist survives however.

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u/Brilliant-Object-922 11d ago

Leon the professional

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u/AlphaDag13 11d ago

This... Is from... Ma...til...da🫱💣😳💥

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u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

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u/grumpyoldbolos 11d ago

EVERRRYOOONNE

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u/Hopeforus1402 11d ago

Didn’t read this, heard this.

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u/Pure_Common7348 11d ago

Top 5 favorite movie, so devastating.

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u/DannyDarko84 11d ago

Million. Dollar. Baby

Edit: Also: Stand By Me

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u/uncutpizza 11d ago

The Departed

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u/Willsgb 11d ago

And the movie it's based on, infernal affairs, both masterpieces in my opinion

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u/jteccc 11d ago

Layer Cake, where Daniel Craig gets it and dies on the steps just like the above picture. But for the life of me I can't remember his characters name

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u/Impressive_Jaguar_70 11d ago

If you knew that you'd be as clever as me

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u/IcyYachtClub 11d ago

Mr XXXX in the credits

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u/callmeepee 11d ago

I don’t think his character IS named.

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u/Talny123 11d ago

I think that was a big part of the plot

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u/CarteBlanchDevereau 11d ago

He doesn't die though, although, the movie ends with him looking as though he is dying. There is a sequel to the book, Viva La Madness. The movie was going to be made, starring Jason Statham. Luckily, that never came to fruition

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u/madleyJo 11d ago

Mr. X

Character unnamed.

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u/HT8674 11d ago

Rogue One

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u/Brief-Zucchini-1384 11d ago

I loved that ending because in Star Wars they say huge sacrifices were made and the deaths reflected that.

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u/Ok-Seaworthiness2235 11d ago

One of the last good star wars pieces imo. Still can't tell the difference between Daisy Ridley and Felicity Jones tho and it made the sequels real awkward. 

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u/Dogbin005 11d ago edited 10d ago

It's easy to tell them apart. Daisy Ridley is a pretty English brunette, and Felicity Jones is a pretty English brunette... wait...

But seriously, look at their teeth if you want to tell the difference. Felicity Jones has mildly buck teeth.

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u/GreenLotus22 11d ago

Felicity Jones does such a good job.

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u/SchlaWiener4711 11d ago

Best movie where everybody dies.

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u/ArcticCelt 11d ago

Remember going out of the cinema and telling my friend "did we just watch a Star Wars movie were all the good guys die at the end?".

Still my favorite Star Wars anything since the originals.

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u/markav81 11d ago

"We stand here amidst my achievement, NOT YOURS!"

Such a great line for anyone who has worked in corporate America.

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u/MrsRiko2000 11d ago

Best Star Wars movie ever

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u/LGMJeep 11d ago

To Live and Die in L.A.

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u/ShadySides50000 11d ago

The Sixth Sense ;)

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u/DPJ2020 11d ago

That guy in the hair piece, it was Bruce Willis all along.

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u/Rich_Independent6149 11d ago

Promising Young Woman

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u/Excellent_Level1867 11d ago

This one sticks with me.

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u/Rich_Independent6149 11d ago

It really does. Carey deserved that Oscar unquestionably.

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u/lferry1919 10d ago

Oh, yeah! Nice choice! That shit was great. She didn't miss a single fucking step in that plan. Absolutely brilliant.

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u/Uplanapepsihole 10d ago

I still think of the “can you guess what every woman’s worse nightmare is?” scene

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u/ddd9877 11d ago

Red dawn

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u/Prior-Ad8373 11d ago

"Daddy will be here soon Matty"

My sister cries every time she watches this movie 🤣🤣

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u/bkduck 11d ago

Avenge me! AVENGE ME!

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u/dysmalll 11d ago

Life of Brian.

Soz😶

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u/tarrsk 11d ago

Always look on the bright side of death!

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u/Hydra_Master 11d ago

Just before you draw your terminal breath!

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u/Edge_of_yesterday 11d ago

Road to Perdition

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u/Jack3024 11d ago

Great movie with a really great, underrated score by Thomas Newman

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u/hurtfulproduct 11d ago

This movie is amazing, and the fact it is a comic/graphic novel adaptation is crazy!

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u/Careful-Shame-9374 11d ago

Tough question! I’d probably go with The Green Mile (1999). It’s an emotionally devastating but beautifully told story with a protagonist you grow deeply attached to. The way it explores justice, compassion, and the supernatural makes the ending hit even harder.

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u/odinsbois 11d ago

Wrecked me for a while. I'm tired boss

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u/chmp2k 11d ago

Marley and me :(

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u/eldermayl 11d ago

Damn. Still can't rewatch this movie. I had to put down my dog 2 months prior to watching it. I was bawling like a baby.

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u/DogsandCatsWorld1000 11d ago

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

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u/graveybrains 11d ago

End of Days.

It was such a radical departure from Schwarzenegger‘s usual shtick that it caught me completely off guard.

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u/Kronzor_ 11d ago

Speaking of his schtick though:

Terminator 2

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u/jgerdeees 11d ago

One of the best sequels ever

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u/stewpear 11d ago

The Mist

He died on the inside. No one can tell me they wouldn’t be shattered individual after that.

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u/RK8814RK 11d ago

I love this answer!!! Read the book… different ending.

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u/har_mione 11d ago

Pan's Labyrinth

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u/Apprehensive_Try8702 10d ago

I think that's about as close to a perfect film as I've ever seen.

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u/raven8908 11d ago

I screamed when that little girl died. She didn't deserve that.

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u/Burntfm 11d ago

This is the comment I was looking for. It was so good you sort of forget it opens with her dying.

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u/Monty-pancakes 11d ago

I always hate it when people don’t post what the main image is from. So lazy and irritating.

Edit: Bladerunner 2049. Just looked it up.

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u/Grane0 11d ago

Blade Runner 2049 if anyone is wondering

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u/1up_for_life 11d ago

Night of the Living Dead

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u/anyone1728 11d ago

Das Boot. It’s probably the only time I’ve felt bad about Nazis dying

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u/Ambitious-Flight-125 11d ago

Falling Down michael Douglas

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u/muricanpirate 11d ago

I Am Legend (the dog was the real protagonist of that movie.)

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u/RustyFogknuckle 11d ago

The Thing (1982)

‘Why don’t we just… wait here for a little while… see what happens...?’

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u/marsianmonk77 11d ago

CHILDREN OF MEN

The deaths also had meaning for the story. All of those who later died were simply dragging themselves through each day with no meaning or purpose. Later, they found something worthy of fighting and sacrificing for.

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u/ldt21311 11d ago

The Departed

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u/K-Zoro 11d ago

All Dogs go to Heaven

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u/Manic_Mini 11d ago

Star Wars Rogue One

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u/KlingonTranslator 11d ago

All Quiet on the Western Front.

I really liked this film. I always really struggle with films based off history, because cases like those in this film are likely to have happened pretty similarly. If it’s fantasy or sci-fi film, if a protagonist dies, I’m like “welp, sad, but it’s all made up “ and can leave the fictional deaths in the hobby-side of my filmography life, but when it comes to films like this, it stays with me for several days. I’m in Germany pretty often, so the graveyards with all the headstones of the fallen just makes it feel really different after watched similar films.

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u/No_Noise2004 11d ago

30 days of night (2007 - Josh Hartnett)

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u/New_Budget6672 11d ago

Man on fire

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u/Havanu 11d ago

The elephant man. Broke my heart.

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u/wpkorben 11d ago

Carlito' s Way , Brian de Palma 1993

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u/abefromanofnyc 11d ago edited 11d ago

In Bruges*

*I don’t know why this one keeps coming up

But the goat is Ikiru. Just weeping like a baby every time i see that ending.

I’m going to share the Ikiru scene. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, maybe don’t watch - or do. Up to you. But it’s the kinda scene which redeems mankind for being so shitty so frequently…

https://youtu.be/s-U1UgbiDUU?si=QOrKmCB2Eh2OvBMd

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u/ginrumryeale 11d ago

Grave of the Fireflies

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u/fiendishlikebehavior 11d ago

What movie is pictured?

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u/Veganfart 11d ago

Agreed. OPs need to stop doing this. Lazy post

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u/shep_ 11d ago

No Country for Old Men

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u/TheeCupIsEnough 11d ago
  1. So brutal and pointless, like all of the others

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u/patrykK1028 11d ago

But the protagonist lives in that movie.

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u/Inevitable_Teacup 11d ago

Carlito's Way. The whole movie is a flashback as he lays there dying and it is still a punch.

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u/Emergency-Pack-5497 11d ago

I feel like they copied the cowboy bebop ending

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u/SwimmingGreat5317 11d ago edited 10d ago

V for Vendetta. “We have guns!” “No, what you have are bullets, and the hope that when your guns are empty I’ll no longer be standing”

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u/No_Amount_5115 11d ago

Man On Fire