Showdowns are a hugely important part of any film. They regularly depict the long-awaited clash between the protagonist and his nemesis to determine who will emerge victorious from their conflict, even though the end result is rarely ever in doubt. This being the case, it's essential to treat the audience to an exciting and gripping confrontation, complete with impressive physical action and enough swings of momentum back and forth to keep the viewer intrigued. The very best showdowns are occasions of high drama and emotion, and are worth many repeat viewings, even out of context of the film itself. But all too often a film spews forth a showdown that is is underwhelming. Maybe it's too short, maybe the special effects are unconvincing, maybe the antagonist isn't permitted a strong enough showing to demonstrate that it's actually a contest. Maybe too the battle fails to live up to expectations or to the legacy of its participating characters. What follows then are ten movie showdowns that rank amongst the most disappointing.
10. Optimus Prime vs. Megatron and other Decepticons
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJd2PjtNRW8 Oh Megatron. How did you go from being the ultimate movie badass in the first Transformers film who could tear Autobots aparts with his bare hands and easily outmatch Optimus Prime to becoming a coward who could barely hold a candle to him in the two sequels? The first film didn't show a great deal of the Decepticons until the very end. Most of them ended up dead but nonetheless caused enough chaos and destruction so as to establish their menacing presence. The sequels however, despite the increasingly grave predicaments that the earth was supposedly in, represented hardly any Deceptions as constituting much of a genuine threat. Let's look at some examples: Revenge of the Fallen started with a gigantic wheeled Decepticon who flattens half of Shanghai before before taken out by.....one shot to the head. Towards the end the similarly mammoth Devastator was introduced, who couldn't even digest the hugely irritating Mudflap and Skids, and then got taken out by.....one shot from a conveniently placed Navy railgun (which then lies forgotten for the rest of the battle). Then in Dark of the Moon Starscream, the only other Decepticon besides Megatron to make it through to the third film, gets taken out by.....Sam Witwicky of all people. Not to be outdone, the imposing new villain Shockwave, accompanied by his giant driller, soon both bite the dust as well, having achieved precisely nothing of significance in the film besides, well, looking flashy. As one army grunt exclaims as the driller tears down the skyscraper in which they've encamped, How come the bad guys get all the cool stuff? Come on, it's not as if all that cool stuff is going to do anything other than look pretty for the cameras. But it's Optimus Prime and his duels with Megatron over the course of the films which particularly bother me. As said, it was pretty clear in the first film that Megatron was the more powerful Transformer. He was only defeated once targeted by the US fighter jets and then when Sam pushed the All-Spark into his exposed chest (hang on, does this mean that technically Sam killed Megatron once as well?). When he was resurrected in RotF with new parts I fully expected to see him just as powerful as before and to represent more than a match for Optimus. True, he does kill Optimus in their first battle but only through the assistance of Starscream (who looses an arm) and a third Decepticon (who ends up getting his face ripped apart) after it's been made perfectly clear he can't take him on on his own. Fast-forward to the film's final battle in the desert, Megatron barks orders that Sam must not be allowed to reach the body of Optimus since he's carrying the matrix of leadership. It's odd that Megatron insists on a full-frontal assault on the Autobots' and soldiers' position when, being able to transform into a tank that also happens to fly, he could easily fly over them and attack from the rear. Anyway, once The Fallen shows up to nick the matrix and step on Optimus Prime a bit, the revived Autobot takes Jetfire's parts to become uber-powered and launch his own assault on Megatron and The Fallen. It's pretty clear that Megatron won't be able to put up much resistance here and accordingly gets half his face blown off. Optimus swiftly turns his attention to The Fallen, who despite having only a minute ago displayed supreme powers of teleportation and telekinesis, surprisingly doesn't think to use these same powers in the showdown, and accordingly finds Optimus' fist rammed right through his chest ten seconds later, after having literally given him his face. Fast forward to the climax of DotM and we're treated to a solid showdown between Optimus and the treacherous Sentinel Prime, who proves the superior fighter, cutting one of Optimus' arms clean off. Preparing to deliver the killer blow, Sentinel suddenly gets attacked from behind by Megatron, who has done almost nothing of note all film but now decides to stand up for himself, claiming that he won't concede leadership of the Decepticons so easily. Having saved Optimus' life and declaring that they need a truce, Optimus decides to let his old foe have it as well, and swiftly proceeds one-armed to rip his head and spine from his body in about 3 seconds, thus surely ending his life once and for all. I know the ethics of Optimus' actions have bothered a number of people; personally I'm just disappointed that the principal recurring villain of the series couldn't be granted a more befitting exit.