8 Triumphant Movie Heroes Who Totally Deserved To Fail

By T.J. Barnard /

5. Dr. Richard Kimble - The Fugitive

The Fugitive is a movie about Harrison Ford running away from Tommy Lee Jones, though that's probably not the greatest movie synopsis in the world, so I'll elaborate somewhat. Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble, a man accused of killing his wife, although he didn't do it. The fact that there was no forced entry on the night of his wife's murder doesn't fare well for Kimble, though, so all evidence (for some reason) points to him. So intent is he to prove his innocence, that Kimble opts to avoid prison (but escaping), and races around finding clues. Eventually it turns out that Kimble's boss, a man named Dr. Nichols, hired somebody to take out Kimble's wife because he discovered that Kimble was planning on making him look stupid (you can see the movie for more information on that). This eventually comes to light and Kimble is revealed to be innocent (though he's certainly committed lots of crimes in the meantime). But Kimble, aside from being a brilliant doctor, is also extremely forgetful, apparently - even when it comes to the matter of, oh, trying to avoid life in prison/clearing his name. The movie eventually reveals the fact that there was no forced entry at Kimble's apartment because he gave Dr. Nichols the key earlier. That's it. Why didn't he remember that? Only a mere mention of such information would have launched an enquiry - one that would have likely resulted in his freedom. And yet here we are, with a main character that emerges triumphant, despite the fact that he manages to overlook the most crucial slice of information... information that happens to be lodged in his own brain. Can I get a derp?