If he had more back story or screen time where its established that he was a dolt what happened might make sense. The problem is they made it clear he was the opposite. He built that town and the building in NY. He was a historian who knew how to summon Gozer. His 30 seconds was nonsensical and a total waste.
It was akin to Cerci in GOT at the end where this intelligent schemer just runs away and gets crushed by a falling ceiling. While the characters aren't apples to apples their deaths and what they mean or potentially mean to the story they live in warrants more than a derp death.
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