Most films have a fan favorite character, someone that everybody agrees is the best character in the movie. This person might be heroic, badass, charismatic, or hilarious. They may even be evil, and yet we find ourselves drawn to their wicked nature. We can't keep our eyes off these characters, waiting eagerly for their return to the screen.
But even the best characters in a film aren't always safe from death. Sometimes, we're stunned to see these people get killed off. Other times, we see it coming. We limited our selections for this list to standalone films. No franchises or sequels here. No, in these ten movies, we meet their best characters -- and then watch them die by the time the credits roll.
10 Promising Young Woman (2020)
Cassie (Carey Mulligan) in Promising Young Womanis a lost, tragic figure. She goes from being a promising, young medical student to a traumatized, revenge-obsessed dropout after her best friend, Nina, is raped -- and later commits suicide when the people involved get away with it, scot-free. Cassie is emotionally scarred, a little kooky, and murderous. Yet we find ourselves drawn to her dark humor, rooting for her to get revenge on all the people who've wronged her. She's almost like a vigilante, fighting for any woman who's ever experienced sexual abuse.
It looks like Cassie might finally complete her quest for vengeance toward the end of the movie. But in a shocking twist, she's murdered by the same guy who raped her best friend. For a moment, it looks like Cassie's assailants are actually going to get away with it again. But then comes the movie's final twist. As it turns out, Cassie had a back-up plan in the event of her murder. A montage shows that plan being set into motion, while Juice Newton's Angel of the Morning plays gloriously in the background -- and Cassie finally gets her revenge from beyond the grave.
9 V for Vendetta (2006)
Based on the graphic novel of the same name, V for Vendetta is a dystopian action film that imagines England as a fascist totalitarian society. And the only person brazen enough to rebel against it is a masked vigilante known only by the letter V (Hugo Weaving). In one of our first meetings with V, we see him conducting the demolition of London's Old Bailey building to the tune of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, its booming notes perfectly in sync with the building's explosions. From that moment on, it's hard not to think of V as an awesome character. What's not to love? His Guy Fawkes costume, his blade-wielding skills, his heroic yet villainous nature. Even his vocabulary is awesome.
In the end, V dies as violently as he lived, but it feels necessary for the story. He leaves it up to Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) to finish his rebellion. She places V's corpse onto an explosive-filled train and sends it straight to Parliament. The building explodes once again to the tune of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, while countless people wearing V's iconic Guy Fawkes mask watch on in amazement, liberated at last.
8 Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Reservoir Dogs is the movie that put legendary director Quentin Tarantino on the map. It follows several criminal strangers, who are brought together to pull off a diamond heist, and the chaos that follows when one of them is revealed to be an undercover cop. You can argue that any one of these cheap suit-wearing, color-named thugs is the best character in the movie.
But most fans would probably agree that the best character in Reservoir Dogs is Victor Vega, better known by his alias Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen). He's calm, cool, and collected. But underneath that exterior lies an uncaring, violent psychopath. He'll casually slice your ear off while dancing to music, a twisted scene that somehow makes Mr. Blonde more fun to watch. A scene that surprisingly ends with the character's death -- at the hands of the undercover cop.
7 Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Like all war movies, Jojo Rabbit has its share of casualties, even despite its quirky charm and humor. The film follows an impressionable Hitler Youth named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis), whose perception of the war changes when he learns that his mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their home. There are so many characters to love in this movie. Even Jojo's silly, imaginary friend Hitler (Taika Waititi) is entertaining. But the movie's two best characters are Jojo's mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), and Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), both of whom are killed off.
Johansson's funny, imaginative, and lovable character was one of the best roles of her career. She secretly protested against the Nazis, risking her own life to do what was right, and held a fun and positive outlook on things, despite the grim circumstances around her. It came as a terrible shock when Jojo discovered her dead body. Captain Klenzendorf, the comical German who ran Jojo's Hitler Youth training camp, also proved to have a good heart. He helps save Jojo's life and is later executed by Russian soldiers. An emotional roller coaster, Jojo Rabbit is a film for the ages.
6 Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is considered to be one of the greatest war movies of all time, a realistic and harrowing glimpse at the atrocities of war. This Steven Spielberg masterpiece opens with an unidentified war veteran visiting the Normandy Cemetery. The story then flashes back to 1944, to World War II. The first person that we see is Captain Miller (Tom Hanks), which tricks the audience into thinking that we're now looking at a younger version of that old man from the cemetery.
Captain Miller is a strong leader and a hardened soldier, who becomes more relatable when we learn that he was a teacher and baseball coach before the war. He suddenly feels like an everyman, like any one of us could become Captain Miller when faced with the horrors of war.
Captain Miller and his soldiers are tasked with finding Private Ryan (Matt Damon), the last surviving son of a family that's been decimated by war. We follow Miller through explosive battles, but we know that he'll be OK thanks to that cemetery scene in the beginning. Oh, how wrong we are. In a twist ending, we learn that the old veteran is actually Private Ryan, visiting the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to save him. And one of those soldiers ends up being Captain Miller.
5 Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Pan's Labyrinth is arguably Guillermo del Toro's best work. It's an adult fairy tale that blurs the line between reality and fantasy, contrasting the harsh and dull ways of adulthood with the purity and magic of youth. Its main character, Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), juggles this duality perfectly. She's like Alice, leading us through this eerie and dangerous Latino-inspired Wonderland with childlike wonder and innocence.
This movie wouldn't be nearly as good without its child protagonist, who serves as both the heart and imagination of the story. Ofelia's cruel death at the end tugs at your heartstrings. But she's at least given a beautiful and magical send-off that will maybe turn your sad tears into happy ones. Maybe.
4 Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Guido (Roberto Benigni) from Life is Beautiful is a funny, lovable character who's always looking for the beauty and humor in life. He spends the first half of the movie playfully wooing his wife and taking care of their son. The second half takes a dark turn, condemning Guido and his Italian-Jewish family to a concentration camp.
Despite the surrounding horror, Guido does his best to keep things light. He makes up silly games to distract his son from their grim new reality -- and from his eventual death. Life is Beautiful is a certified tear-jerker that reminds us that even ordinary people can become heroes and that life is a fragile but beautiful thing.
3 Fight Club (1999)
Fight Club is one of director David Fincher's best movies. And the best part about it? The cool, bad*ss Tyler Durden. This character is one of Brad Pitt's most iconic roles. The two of them were a match made in movie heaven: you had Tyler's devil-may-care attitude and nihilistic views, and then you had Brad Pitt's handsome face and undeniable charisma. The shot of a shirtless, bloody Tyler Durden, rising to his feet after a scuffle, has been ingrained in the minds of movie-goers. Women wanted him, and men wanted to be him.
Tyler's pretty face and charisma almost make us forget that he's the bad guy in Fight Club. And like most villains, Tyler is defeated and killed off in the movie's finale (if only symbolically). The character is still remembered nearly 30 years after Fight Club's release, a cinematic icon that will continue to intrigue future generations of movie fans.
2 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
There's no doubt that Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a terrible person. After raping a 15-year-old girl, he feigns insanity to avoid prison and gets sent to a mental asylum instead. Yet despite his wicked nature, we find ourselves falling for Randle's charisma and rebellious nature. And so do the other mentally ill patients, who rally around Randle, turning him into the ringleader of the asylum. It also helps that the character is played by the electric Jack Nicholson in one of the actor's most iconic roles.
It's not a surprise that Randle doesn't make it to the end of the movie. He spends much of his time breaking rules, trying to liberate the other patients, and terrorizing Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), who may just be as evil as Randle. In the end, Randle's violent tendencies get him into trouble, and he ends up with a lobotomy, leaving him a shell of his former self. As a mercy, Randle's silent buddy, Chief (Will Sampson), smothers him with a pillow, finally setting him free from the cuckoo's nest.
1 Citizen Kane (1941)
Citizen Kane is widely regarded as the greatest film ever made, and for good reason. In an unconventional move at the time, legendary director Orson Welles ditched the traditional linear format and told his story through flashbacks. The film opens with the death of its main and best character, Charles Foster Kane (played by Welles himself). Kane perishes just seconds after muttering this mysterious last word: "Rosebud."
His life story then unfolds through a series of flashbacks, as an investigative journalist tries to discern the meaning of the word "Rosebud" and understand the enigma that is Charles Foster Kane. The meaning isn't revealed until the very end, in a heart-wrenching shot that paints Kane as a tragic cinematic figure and resulted in one of the greatest twists in movie history.
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