Top 10 Saddest Deaths In Action Movies
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Top 10 Saddest Deaths In Action Movies
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Bad guys aren’t the only ones who die in action flicks. Welcome to WatchMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 Saddest Deaths in Action Movies. For this list, we’ll be looking at the most tear-jerking deaths in action cinema. We’re excluding superhero films, as those already have a list of their own – sorry Logan (RIP). If you’re looking for sad action movie moments that are unrelated to deaths, check out our list of the Top 10 Saddest Moments in Action Movies. Oh, here’s your Spoiler Alert!
#10: Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw
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“Top Gun” (1986) The mustachioed wingman of the reckless Maverick, Nick Bradshaw, a.k.a. Goose, is a moderating influence on his more hotheaded partner. While on maneuvers, the duo is forced to fly through their fellow pilots’ jet wash, which stalls their plane into freefall. When Maverick can’t reach the ejection lever, Goose releases it, but he hits the canopy of the plane and breaks his neck. Maverick’s distraught clinging to his friend in the water gets us every time and the death is all the more tragic since it’s based on a real person, Luis Claudio Jaramillo, who died in a similar manner.
#9: Gisele Yashar
“Fast & Furious 6” (2013) A former Mossad agent, Gisele Yashar is the weapons specialist of Dominic Toretto’s crew of thieves, car enthusiasts, and badasses. During the course of her last outing with the team, Gisele is left dangling from an SUV next to a plane. When her boyfriend, Han, tries to pull her to safety, she notices one of the criminals they’re fighting against come up behind him. Gisele lets go and falls, shooting her lover’s would-be assailant and sacrificing her own life to save his. Ultimately, her death is even more tragic, as Han loses his life not long after.
#8: Tracy Bond
“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969) James Bond has loved, or at least romanced, many women over the years, but he’s only been married once; to Teresa di Vicenzo. Following a whirlwind, and often harrowing, romance, the duo is married near the film’s end. While driving away from their wedding, the pair of newlyweds stop by the side of the road to remove the flowers from their car. However, Bond’s nemesis Blofeld and his henchwoman drive by and shoot at them, killing Tracy. 007 cradling his dead wife and his echoing of his earlier sentiment that they “have all the time in the world” is absolutely heartbreaking.
#7: Trinity
“The Matrix Revolutions” (2003) The badass lover of Neo, Trinity is the only entry on our list to have actually died twice! Though he is able to save her the first time, the second time proves permanent. Following a daring attempt by the duo to reach the tyrannical machines’ city through the clouds, a crash landing impales Trinity on impact. As she lays dying, she tells Neo of how she wished she could have told him how much she loved him when she died the first time, engaging in one final kiss with him before she dies. This movie may get flack, but this is a powerful moment.
#6: Jessie & Sprog Rockatansky
“Mad Max” (1979) The wife and son of the titular police officer, Jessie and Sprog Rockatansky find themselves targeted by Max’s enemies, a vicious biker gang. At first harassing Jessie while the pair are separated from Max, the gang then pursues mother and child to an elderly friend’s house for further threats of violence. Jessie and Sprog’s attempts to get away once again are unsuccessful, though, as the car they use breaks down, leading Jessie to flee with her son on foot. Both are soon run down in the road. The pair’s death is a formative moment for Mad Max, turning him into a haunted, broken man.
#5: Michael Archer
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“Face/Off” (1997) Sociopathic terrorist Castor Troy and FBI agent Sean Archer have a longstanding hatred of one another, but it gets personal with this inciting incident. While riding a merry-go-round with his son, Michael, Sean is shot by Castor in the back with a sniper rifle. Although Sean survives the attempt on his life, Michael does not, as the bullet passed through Sean and struck him. Michael’s murder occurs in the opening moments of the film and provides the driving motivation for Sean to take Castor down. The scene itself has a dreamlike quality, accompanied by an innocent, twinkling song that truly underscores the loss of an innocent life.
#4: T-800 ‘Model 101’
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“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991) This particular model of T-800 Terminator is tasked with protecting John Connor and his mother from the liquid metal T-1000. Along the way, it develops a bond with John, becoming a pseudo father figure, while the boy who teaches it more about what it means to be human. In the film’s conclusion, the T-800 is forced to sacrifice himself to ensure that Skynet is never created. The T-800 comforts John in its final moments, telling him that it knows why he cries, even if it’s something it can never do. Its final thumbs-up to John is a surprisingly tear-jerking moment for the death of a machine turned man, proving even sadder than Kyle Reese’s demise.
#3: Rika van den Haas
“Lethal Weapon 2” (1989) A secretary at the South African consulate, Rika van den Haas is pursued by detective Martin Riggs while he investigates her boss for his involvement in a smuggling ring. However, Riggs’ involvement with her puts her in mortal danger, as one of the ring’s enforcers, Pieter Vorstedt, drowns Rika and attempts to do the same to Riggs. The detective’s grief while holding her in his arms and wandering aimlessly on the beach is tragic, particularly given the fact that Vorstedt was also responsible for the death of Riggs’ late wife too.
#2: Helen Wick & Daisy
“John Wick” (2014) The wife of the eponymous John Wick, Helen dies of an unspecified disease at the beginning of the film. His grief over her death is absolutely devastating, though it’s rendered somewhat bittersweet when he learns that she arranged for him to posthumously receive a puppy named Daisy to give him something to live for. Tragically, Daisy is killed shortly afterwards, pushing John into a brutal rampage of revenge. Helen and the beagle are so closely tied together that their one-two punch to the feels made it impossible to mention one without the other - not to mention the fact that their deaths essentially launch an action thriller franchise. Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: Vesper Lynd “Casino Royale” (2006) Mathilda’s Family “Léon: The Professional” (1994) M “Skyfall” (2012) Hugo “Alita: Battle Angel” (2019) Sarah “Cliffhanger”(1993)
#1: Harry S. Stamper
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“Armageddon” (1998) A deep-sea oil driller turned astronaut, Harry Stamper leads a team of misfits on a mission to destroy a massive asteroid headed for Earth. Despite disapproving of his daughter’s boyfriend A.J., who is also on the mission, Harry still saves his life. Stamper pushing the younger man through the airlock when he draws the short straw on who is supposed to stay behind to sacrifice himself. Harry then has an emotional goodbye with his daughter before detonating the bomb by hand and saving the world. Who’d have thought a scene directed by Michael Bay could make us cry for good reasons?
