10 Leading Film Characters That Didn’t Really Go Anywhere
4. Dr. Jasmine Dubrow-Hiller - Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
Vivica A. Fox’s Jasmine Dubrow-Hiller took the massive step forward from being an “exotic dancer” in Independence Day (1996) to a doctor in Independence Day: Resurgence. This was a pleasant surprise that was justified by her strong, yet sensitive portrayal in the first film.
The sequel then made the shockingly bad decision to kill Dr. Dubrow-Hiller off. After she has helped the patients at a besieged hospital to board a waiting helicopter, Jasmine is written out of the proceedings when the building suddenly collapses beneath her, right in front of her son, Dylan Hiller (Jessie Usher).
As so many beloved characters from the first film returned for the sequel, Fox’s return made up to some degree for the absence of Will Smith (whose presence was sorely missed), even though her screen time was limited; she was a key link to the struggle of the characters in the first film and to see her having made a pivotal step up in her career and her life was a true vote of confidence.
Sadly, it was all then wasted in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that failed to serve the plot in a crucial way and, even worse, needlessly cut a vital link to the original (and far better) Independence Day.
It is a particularly hollow moment for the audience and an unforgivable waste of a leading character from the original film.