No one asked for a "hollywood" death. Joel can die. No one is upset Joel is dead. People are upset that he was killed TWO HOURS into the sequel by some random character we've never met before because he and Tommy very uncharacteristically gave themselves away. And no, it's not because "Joel got soft".

One of the FIRST things he does in the first game is does not stop to help a family who was in need of help. He had that mindset from the very beginning, before he even lived in a post-apocalyptic world. Living 25 years in that world should then harden and ingrain shit like that into your entire existence that "strangers are not to be trusted until otherwise shown".

It's out of character and that is just one of many peoples issues with this game.