10 Movie Franchises That Stupidly Killed Off Their Best Character
1. Ilsa Faust - Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is an extremely well-made action film which makes one massive storytelling blunder - killing off Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) at the end of the second act.
After the franchise's first four films effectively operated a revolving door policy with its female leads, it was extremely refreshing to see Ilsa stick around after making her debut in the fifth movie, Rogue Nation.
Sexy, badass, and more of an honest-to-God character than Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) ever has been, Ilsa quickly became a fan favourite, enough that seeing her disposed of in such perfunctory fashion by Dead Reckoning Part One's villain, Gabriel (Esai Morales), was hugely deflating.
It didn't help that the movie itself had even passed comment on Hunt's conveyor-belt of female associates, and shortly after Ilsa's death, new female lead Grace (Hayley Atwell) was basically transitioned in to fill her place.
While there are certainly some fans who remain hopeful that Ilsa will return for Part Two, given that Part One literally began with an Ilsa death fake-out, it'd feel seriously cheap to pull that trick a second time in as many movies.
Preferable to straight-up fridging Ilsa, though? Perhaps not.