10 Most Criminally Anti-Climactic Deaths In Film History

10. Cyclops €“ X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Cyclops-Jean Although James Marsden had pretty much been shunted out of the film by the walking ball of awesome that was Hugh Jackman€™s Wolverine by the time X-Men 3 rolled around, we still liked him as a cast member. Every film needs a straight man, and this canon€™s Cyclops had struck up a decent double act with everyone€™s favourite clawed and unshaven mutant. In fact, it looked for a second like Cyclops might actually get something to do in X-Men 3, seeing as he starts the film a drunk and broken-down piece of meat. You can practically smell the need for a redemptive arc on him, as he somehow gets over the death of long-time girlfriend Jean Grey and comes back to lead the team. Well, um€ that€™s not what happens. Instead, the film just unceremoniously dumps him by setting him up as the first victim of Dark Phoenix, and worst of all, we don€™t actually see it happen. Sure, we see get rogue-ified by Jean, but there€™s no evaporation or corpse anywhere. Even Professor X€™s anticlimactic death scene had the luxury of a falling house to accompany his demise. I realise that the quick cut-out was because Marsden€™s commitment to the up-coming Superman Returns, but to have him die a Red Shirt€™s death just to show Dark Phoenix€™s power was massively anti-climactic. Ratner could have at least had him go out in a blaze of glory he deserved, rather than what seemed like his own libido.
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Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.