The Argo is used as a funeral pyre for one of the fallen Argonauts and Jason (Jason London) and Medea (Jolene Blalock) live happily ever after. That is how the 2000 adaptation of Jason and the Argonauts ends. Hollywood tacking on happy endings to well-known literary works is nothing new.
The Chocolate War is a novel by Robert Cormier I read a long, long time ago, feels like it was in another lifetime. When the Keith Gordon adaptation came out in 1988, I didn't go see it, I can't remember if it was because I heard it was not a faithful adaptation of the novel. Now that I've finally gotten around to seeing it, I am extremely surprised to see criticisms claiming the movie has a "happy ending"!
What I remember of my reading of the book: Jerry is given an assignment by the Vigils, a secret society at the Catholic school he attends, by which he has to refuse participating in the school's chocolate sale for two weeks (I might be off on the exact length of the assignment), but when the assignment is over, Jerry keeps refusing to participate. This becomes a problem for both the Vigils and the acting headmaster as more and more students become apathetic to the sale. Archie, who I think is the president of the Vigils, comes up with a scheme by which the sale is a success (on paper) even without Jerry's participation. At the end, there is a raffle for a 'scripted' boxing match between Jerry and Janza. Jerry definitely loses the match and is badly hurt, but I can't remember if he died or not.
In the movie, Archie (Wally Ward) is forced to replace Janza in the ring. Archie can certainly throw punches, but he can hardly take them. After Jerry (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) is allowed to get his first punch in, he goes 'off script' with a non-stop barrage that quickly knocks Archie down to the deck. The whole school applauds and cheers Jerry. Even at this point I have a hard time considering this a happy ending. But if you're not convinced yet, consider how Jerry's facial expression changes after he basks in the glow of the accolades: he sees the ghost of his mother and she's not happy about this development. Nor is his friend who had been off from school due to sickness and came by in case Jerry needed him. Listen also to the conversation they have when almost everyone else has left: "I played their game," Jerry says, "I should have sold the chocolates." Since when is the protagonist expressing remorse over his actions constitute a happy ending?
Consider for comparison a nearly contemporaneous film, Back to the Future Part III. The reason it is so satisfying to see Marty "Clint Eastwood" McFly (Michael J. Fox) knock out Buford Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson) is because violence is the only thing Buford will listen to. The movie even makes sure to emphasize that Buford will not listen to reason. "I thought we could discuss this like men," Marty says. No cigar, Buford shoots anyway. Luckily, Marty is wearing a makeshift bulletproof vest, and when Buford approaches to gloat over Marty's corpse, Marty knows he has ruled out all reasonable recourse and the only option is to knock Buford out.
I would actually feel sorry for Buford if he lost a chess match to Marty or indeed anyone. And that is why I feel sorry for Archie when he gets his lights knocked out: it is on the metaphorical chessboard that Archie is a formidable foe. On the boxing ring, he needs the protection of a scheme of his own devising to succeed. An honorable man should get no lasting satisfaction from defeating such an enemy, even one who on the chessboard tortured him so cruelly.
And, as the director is at pains to emphasize in the featurettes, the real tragedy of The Chocolate War isn't any individual's victory or defeat, but the fact that a system which permits and even encourages lopsided fights continues to exist.
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