8 Movies That Failed Because They Didn't Kill The Main Character

4. The Iron Giant

RIP: The Iron Giant

The Iron Giant is an incredibly moving, well-made film from director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) featuring a young boy named Hogarth who befriends a giant robot. The robot has been sent to Earth as a destroyer, but through spending time with Hogarth, learns compassion and friendship and decides to fight his destructive impulses. At the end of the film, the military has discovered the Giant and launches an assault to take him down, and goes as far as launching a nuclear missile that will destroy the entire town. In an incredibly moving, emotional act of bravery, the Giant sacrifices himself by flying into the atmosphere and colliding with the missile head-on.

So, if the Giant dies, what is he doing on this list? Well, like our dear Capt. Kirk, he doesn't stay dead for long. At the end of the film, we see his various parts spread across the globe, which activate and embark on a journey to rebuild themselves; making the Giant's sacrifice not a sacrifice at all.