10 Ballsy Movies That Kill Off A Major Star In The First Act
Wait...how are they supposed to go on with the movie, NOW?
There are a few reasonable expectations the moviegoing public has when they plop down in front of the screen.
1) They're in for at least 80 minutes of something, whether that something be good, bad, or downright ugly.
2) The trailers and promotion materials are somewhat representative of the finished product.
And 3) The top-billed stars will appear in the bulk of the film, for better or worse.
Sometimes, however, filmmakers and marketers work together to blow up those last two expectations.
Because even though your favorite movie star's face might cover 50% of the movie poster, are the most heavily featured actor in the trailer, and diligently make the late night talk show rounds to promote the film, that doesn't necessarily guarantee they'll make it to the end of the movie.
Hell, sometimes they don't even make it out of the first act. Sweeping the rub out from underneath the audience like that isn't always a successful move, but more often than not it at least ups the stakes and keeps viewers on the edge of their seats.
SPOILERS AHEAD OBVIOUSLY...
10. Kick-Ass 2 (Jim Carrey)
I'm sure there were plenty of people who only bellied up to the ticket counter for Kick-Ass 2 because Jim Carrey had been marketed as a major part of the film. After all, it had been awhile since Carrey was involved something as ridiculous and plain fun as this superhero franchise.
Then again, it's possible that at this point in his career - and considering the vast amount of negative press Carrey heaped on the film due to its violent nature, which he apparently disagreed with despite collecting a hefty paycheck because of it - there were just as many people showing up to watch Carrey get his neck snapped.
For all intents and purposes, it seemed like the filmmakers were attempting to do a clean swap from Nicolas Cage to Carrey. Trailers suggested he'd take over as the default father figure to this group of up-and-coming superheroes.
This wasn't the case, as his character, Colonel Stars and Stripes, was literally broken in half by a villain named Mother Russia quite quickly. One has to wonder if Carrey's negative press didn't persuade the editors to cut down his screen time just a bit.