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People Are Sharing What Movie Endings Were So Bad, They Ruined The Entire Film (30 Pics)
I know that there are plenty of Pandas here who simply adore movies just like me. So here’s a question for you, folks: what matters more in a film—the journey or the destination? Does a film have to have a decent ending in order to be good? And does a bad, cliched, and tone-deaf ending necessarily ruin what was otherwise a perfectly decent flick?
Well, these people over on Reddit certainly think so. In a viral thread created by Minecraftplayer48, these redditors shared how, in their opinion, some film endings went disastrously wrong and spoiled the entire experience. How bad can things really be? We’re about to find out.
Potentially huuuuge spoilers up ahead, dear Pandas, so read on at your own risk. (Or just, you know, shut your eyes really hard and scroll down blindly as far as you need to go.) Remember to upvote the opinions that you agree with and let us know why you think so in the comments.
I reached out to writer and Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Doug Murano from South Dakota to get his take on what it takes to create a good story and how to craft a great ending. "As strange as it may sound, writing and piloting an airplane share an important similarity: taking off and landing are the parts that are most fraught with peril. These are times of transition and uncertainty. Most competent writers can write a solid middle, but hooking the reader (taking off) and delivering a satisfying ending (landing) often separate the competent from the good and the good from the great," he told Bored Panda. You find the rest of my interview with writer and editor Murano below.
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#1
Signs.
You're telling me that this alien species that is vulnerable to water was trying to invade a planet that is 70% water?
A Cat Named Dragon 3 years ago
Agreed! It was a really fascinating set up only to have a lame letdown ending.
RELATED:
#2
Lucy. I hate that movie.
It's a really good concept and movie until the very. It tells the story about a girl that is kidnapped and used as a drug mule for this new drug, but the bag inside her leaks and she gets overdosed. This doesn't kill her though, she's now able to use more than 10% of her brain (which I know is complete bullsh*t cuz we use 100% of our brain but not at the same time) and gets superpowers. Then for some reason she needs to take more of the drug to reach complete usage of her brain and, when she does, she becomes a flash drive. A FLASH DRIVE. SHE BECOMES A FLASH DRIVE
#3
City Of Angels, where Meg Ryan (human) dies in a bike accident right after Nicolas Cage (angel) decides to give up immortality to be with her
Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago
The WORST remake of Win Wenders masterpiece Wings if Desire. Untouchable. City of Angels is as rotten as the bottom of a dumpster in a fish market. No one can touch Solveig Dommartin (rest in power)
"At the risk of mixing metaphors, good writing places the variables in view and requires the audience to do the math in order to reach full understanding," Murano said.
"When it comes to endings, specifically, I think a lot of writers give into the urge to say too much and do the math for the audience. There's no fun in that—and it's especially disappointing to see it happen when the rest has been well executed," the writer and editor explained to Bored Panda that when writers trust that their audience will be able to put some things together themselves, instead of having everything handed to them on a silver platter. Your readers are smarter than you might think! Give them the chance to prove it to you.
#4
I gotta go with the flying car in Grease
A Cat Named Dragon 3 years ago
What?? OK yeah, you’re right. It was weird. But Danny and Sandy ended up together and isn’t that all that really matters? : )
#5
Indiana Jones and crystal skull. Big bloody spaceship just coming out the ground like that. That whole film was a farce actually.
#6
Superman (1978), he reverses time by flying backwards around the earth.
#8
Ready player one
the guy is the gameworld every day all day long because his life sucks and that's understandable
the movie ends with him getting the company, and one of the rules he implements is that the gameworld gets shut of 1 or 2 days every week... AFTER HE GOT A GIRLFRIEND! what an unbelievable ass that guy is, he was literally online every single day when his life was [miserable], but now that he has a girlfriend he shuts it off so people can ''enjoy life'' you didn't seem to enjoy it in your abuse household earlier in the movie...
grey galah 3 years ago
The whole "girlfriend" problem of Hollywood where a female role turns into an accessory is the rotten core of this movie. The nostalgia for US pop culture that the last two generations would have no clue of, yet a future one embraces like religion rang false, and 'the pot at the end of the rainbow' ending was as authentic as leprechauns in Antarctica.
#9
Spielberg version of War of the Worlds, somehow Robbie is still alive and waiting for them in Boston. Not only did the circumstances make his survival virtually impossible, but his character was so annoying that the twist of him being alive just destroyed all my previous satisfaction in him being deceased
The ending of any creative project, whether it’s a movie, a book, or a play, is important because it sets the mood with which the audience goes back into their daily lives. End the movie with the fabled Hollywood happy ending and your audience will feel picked up. (Though according to some researchers, there are various types of happy endings in films and we can’t just mix them up into one single blob.)
Meanwhile, ending the film on a sad or depressing note will leave your audience feeling deflated. Surprise surprise! And, well, from a business perspective, that’s not what you really want, is it?
You want your viewers to keep coming back for round two of the silver screen (Netflix during the pandemic, but you know what I mean), instead of wistfully looking out the window, thinking philosophical thoughts.
#10
Downsizing. Great concept that could've been done without the forced love story.
#11
Hancock. Loved the premise and seeing Hancock start as this sarcastic, alcoholic, and bitter hero who's hated by everyone and then turn into an actual hero who people look up to and respect is touching. The PR angle for a superhero movie was interesting and unique. But then all of that is ruined by the lovers twist. I'm fine with either the superhero PR angle or the tragic lovers angle, but they're way too different and the latter is introduced too suddenly. Hancock really feels like two separate movies stitched together
#12
The Aladdin remake. I was beyond disappointed to not see a battle between Jafar as a snake and Aladdin. Nobody asked for the giant nameless parrot to chase them through the city. No one. Give me a snake battle
So there’s a certain amount of pressure that moviemakers feel to make audiences feel happy. Of course, this doesn’t happen in every single case (the viral Reddit thread alone proves that), however, some films really do feel as though they’ve had happy endings shoehorned in, no matter that the tone of the project was very different, to begin with.
At the end of the day, what viewers really want (besides a bucketful of popcorn nom nom) is to be entertained. And one of the ways this can be achieved is by making the story immersive. If the viewer forgets they’re watching a film and feels like they’re inside the story and that it’s real, you’ve got them: hook, line, and sinker.
However, immersion means believability. And believability means consistency. Or rather, a certain amount of consistency in the plot. The audience has to believe that the inner workings of the story and the world make sense. There must be a logical consistency to how all the pieces interconnect.
#13
Frozen II. I don't think it was nice of Elsa to miss her sister's coronation! She wasn't even doing anything important
#14
The Circle...seemed to be a film warning of the dangers of sharing too much online, only to do A COMPLETE 180 on the message at the end!
MrLoufoque 3 years ago
Agree, the whole movie depicts the company as evil and Emma Watson's character as realizing what it and the social media craze really are, only for her at the end to embrace the whole 24/7 surveillance at an even worse level.
#15
The Breakfast Club.
The premise of the whole film is, "teenagers can be judgy and awful to each other, but everyone is fighting their own battles so we should try to be nicer to each other"
Then they give the weird quirky girl a makeover to look more like the normal girl, people partner up in order of attractiveness and the nerdy dude is left on his own...
A Cat Named Dragon 3 years ago
Mmm... “People partner up in order of attractiveness” is maybe one way to put it, but another way is that people who wouldn’t have ordinarily given each other a chance ended up doing that. The jock was attracted to the weird girl and the prom queen and the burnout were attracted to each other. I get your point that attractiveness isn’t really an indicator of growth, but I don’t think it’s an inconsistent ending.
And that respect for the inner logic of the story applies to all films. Yes, even fantasy and sci-fi films! For example, you can’t be adding dragons willy-nilly to a story where dragons have been extinct for thousands of years or one where there are giant flying whales instead. You also wouldn’t add someone who speaks in a modern dialect, unless it’s a comedy or you’re doing it on purpose for whatever other reason.
So if an ending doesn’t match the tone or the inner logic of a story, the audience will notice and (odds are) won’t like it very much. There’s a bond of mutual respect between the audience and filmmakers that gets cut if the latter don’t abide by the laws of the story they’ve created. Or, in other words, it’s simply not polite to invite others into a world you’ve created only to pull the rug from under their feet (unless it’s a slapstick comedy or the twist is really, _really_ gosh darn good).
#16
Batman v Superman was pretty weak. Hyped up a big fight throughout the movie which was fizzled out to some other bs.
#17
Toy Story 4, almost as if Woody had a complete personality shift
#18
Passengers. It could have been an amazing sci-fi movie where Jennifer Lawrence was forced to make the same decision Chris Pratt's Marvel character Star-Lord did. Instead they went for a happily ever after
If for some reason you’ve accidentally spoiled an ending to a movie that you really wanted to watch, there’s really no reason to get upset. At least, according to psychology professor Nicholas Christenfeld, whose research has shown that spoilers don’t ruin a story. Rather, they make you enjoy it even more.
“What we found, remarkably, was if you spoil stories they actually enjoy them more,” Christenfeld said, who repeated his experiment with mystery stories, ironic twist stories, and literary fiction. “Across all three genres, spoilers actually were enhancers. The term is wrong.”
#19
My Sisters Keeper. Especially since I read the book. I very nearly threw my remote at the TV I was so pissed
#20
The ending of the horror movie 1408 where he dies. The version I saw was way creepier where he lived and they were going through the box of stuff and found the tape recording he had used while in the hotel room and they heard his daughter on the tape. That was a damn good ending
Zuila 3 years ago
That ending is the only ending I have seen! Never realised there was an alternative ending where he dies.
Axanthron Myre 3 years ago
The death ending was used for the Director's cut of the movie. Audiences didn't like the death ending as it was considered too morose so the director had to reshoot it. The death ending follows Samuel L Jackson to the funeral for John Cusack's character, after Cusack molotovs 1408. Funeral ends, Jackson gets back in his car and opens a little box with items that survived the explosion. He uses the tape player, hears the daughter, looks in rear view mirror to see Cusack's burnt body in the back seat which follow into a jump scare where the body opens its eyes. Then we cut back to room 1408 from outside the building where Cusack's ghost is looking out into the city, he hears his daughter behind him and turns to see her spirit. They hold hands and walk into 'the light'. The death ending
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Luis Hernandez Dauajare 3 years ago
I think you watch the alternate ending. I remember the theatrical version of the recording of the daughter.
Sheanna Caban 3 years ago
I've never seen the ending where he dies! I didn't know until just now that this ending exists. When he got back together with his ex-wife and they heard the daughter's voice on the tape recorder and he just looks at her like "I told you" is the only ending I ever knew!
Luna Lovebug 3 years ago
We've only just begun.... every time I hear that song it's an instant flashback to this movie
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CatWoman312 3 years ago
I didn’t know there was an alternate ending of him dying. I loved this movie. One of my favorite horror movies
#21
The Village
Turns out it’s just a bunch folks that can’t handle living in the real world. Also, what happens if a jet airplane were to fly over a supposed farming village from the 1700s?
The expert pointed out that we don’t always watch movies for the ending. Case in point—we’re more than happy to watch the same films over and over and over again. As someone who rewatches The Lord of the Rings trilogy twice a year, I think he might be on to something.
“The point is, really we're not watching these things for the ending,” Christenfeld said. “I point out to the skeptics, people watch these movies more than once happily, and often with increasing pleasure.”
So, dear Readers, which movies do you think are brilliant but have truly awful endings? What endings would you have loved to see instead? And do you know of any awful movies that have actually well-written endings? Let us know what you think below. The end. That's it, we're done. It's the ending that you wanted, right? Oh, fine, let's end things on a wrong (but thematically really correct) note: here's a list of wholesome pics to boost your mood and make you enjoy life way, way more.
#22
The very last moment of The Crimes of Grindelwald. Hey let's upheave tons of established lore in the last 30 seconds! The [hell] was that?!
#23
Allegiant. I was actually tempted to break my (rented) DVD in half. Literally everything after like the first 10 minutes was completely made up by Hollywood. The book ending is completely different and so much better.
Why does everything have to have a happy ending hollywood? WHY?!?! Can't we just have a good story with a fitting ending?
#24
Click. A fantastic movie about how life can pass you by if you let it and the consequences of your actions. If they ended it in the hospital as he was dying, it would have been a fantastic, insightful movie. But no, let's let him rewind and live happily ever after.
#25
"500 Days of Summer. Ooh, he met 'Autumn.' How quirkyyyyy. Lame."
#26
A Simple Favor. It was all mysterious with some good twists, then she just gets hit by a car and the moms group is like, 'Don’t mess with moms' or some sh*t? The ending felt like it was meant for a different movie
#27
I hate the ending of a classic 1940s film called Gentleman's Agreement. Gregory Peck plays a journalist who pretends to be Jewish in order to write an article about antisemitism. His girlfriend knows about the ruse and as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that she's a closet antisemite. They argue about this but in the end he stays with her.
Grumble O'Pug 3 years ago (edited)
I think it’s more of an awakening. Plus with Hays, you need a happy ending.
#28
Bridge to Terabithia broke me as a child. No one can watch that movie/read the book more than once. I went into the theater as an 8-year-old expecting a fun fantasy movie and that is not what I got.
#29
Justice League, Superman gets resurrected and immediately beats the sh*t out of Steppenwolf. The conflict was just gone, the heroes had no difficulty after he came in
Serial pacifist 3 years ago
In Hollywood, there is absolutely no concept of death anymore. All directors just go on with the Jesus effect. Everyone gets revived. Jon Snow, Superman, Coulson (SHIELD), Sherlock, Gandalf, Spock...it really ruins much of the natural concept of catharsis.
#30
Zootopia. The teeth for all the animals had been spot on (appropriate and detailed morphology for each taxon) but the final bit where they have Flash open his mouth revealed they gave him additional and inappropriate teeth for a sloth. As a slothologist and mammalogist, this was a huge letdown and betrayal.
What do you think ?
Charlotte A. 3 years ago
Not a movie but GoT season 8... (Also I've either not watched or can't remember much of most of the above movies - some more info on how exactly some of them had bad endings would have been interesting. Yes, there might have been spoilers but if you fear spoilers you don't read a page like this...)
Raine Soo 3 years ago
Wasn't 'The Game of Thrones' series finale the worst ever? I can't believe the producers spent an extra year on that season, only to deliver sub-standard material.
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Sanne H. 3 years ago (edited)
Inferno. In the book the ending was the most relevant part of the entire story. But in the movie, they decided to turn that ending 180 degrees around. As a result, the whole point of the story was lost, and the movie became just a mediocre action movie. Dan Brown (the author) himself was not pleased either.
Karin Jansen 3 years ago
Thank you!!! Came down here to say this. Completely ruined everything. I was so mad.
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Jayne Kyra 3 years ago
Not just the ending, but the entirety of Avatar: The Last Airbender is so terrible I cannot think of one redeeming quality. Contrary to that, the original animation is spectacular, from story, to music, down to character development, and subtle details.
Eliška Hůlková 3 years ago
The movie is universally hated in the fandom of the original show. Very deservingly so.
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Chillace 3 years ago
Pacific Rim 2. The first was a masterpiece, great plot, great acting. The 2nd one just took rverything the first one made and just threw it away.
Logic and Reason 3 years ago
Yeah, the second wasn’t as good. Pacific Rim: The Black is pretty excellent IMO though.
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Matt Arn 3 years ago
Despite not a movie - Has anyone already mentioned the final of Dexter? I cannot even imagine they could undo the damage done with a new season.
anarkzie 3 years ago
What were they thinking when they came up with the idea for the ending of Dexter?
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Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
The time travellers wife. Hated the ending and won't watch it again. I also hated that Mamma Mia didn't reveal who the actual father is.
H Edwards 3 years ago
Please read the book, if you haven't already. Hate the movie, but I have read the book about 3 times, it's really well-written and a very beautiful and intriguing story.
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Alexis Draskinis 3 years ago
And the new Pet Semetary. Killing the other child just to make it different. And being that its the older child who warns the mother, not sure how they can fix that with her dead. A 2yr old cant explain weird fever dreams that show the demise of their family...
Clearly sunny 3 years ago
Yeah, I really was disappointed in this ending. Left feeling that it ruined a great movie with how they finished it.
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Seabeast 3 years ago
I think bad endings were even more common in the so-called "golden age". A 1945 version of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" has a ridiculous happy ending in which two of the characters turn out to be not who the murderer thought they were. Not at all how the book ended.
Katchen 3 years ago
I definitely had a WTF moment when I saw the old And Then There None. The 2015 version is great.
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Stephanie IV 3 years ago
Sommersby. A remake of Le Retour de Martin Guerre. Some time after the secession war the missing, presumed dead husband of a lady farmer comes home and reclaims his position as husband, landlord, friend, fellow villager - but the wife never believes he is who he says he is. He is changed beyond recognition, both physically and character - wise. But, of course, he and she make up and bliss ensues. Everybody likes him now, where before he was awful, he is now nice. People want his story to be true. Then the marshals come and he is charged with some murder. Here’s the kicker: the wife absolutely KNOWS he isn’t her husband, if he’d admit to that, he’d walk scotch free. BUT HE REFUSES. The film has the most intense finale ever, where she tries to get to the front of the crowd to be close to him and he stands under the gallow, shakin, crying, sweating, searching for her with his eyes, frantic, because they’re just about to hood him before execution; she arrives, you think, yessss! That’s
Stephanie IV 3 years ago
It, he’ll recant, he’ll be saved, everything will be alright, this is an American remake, surely, they’ll have a big ol Happy End!?! Then they hang him. I was DEVASTATED.
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Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
Dark City. Beautiful, dystopian movie ruined by a cheesy happy ending. Also, Silent Hill. "They were dead the whole time." Contrived and annoying.
Erika Jones 3 years ago
Dark City is definitely underappreciated. I love Rufus Sewell, but Jennifer Connelly seemed like she was heavily sedated or half asleep the whole movie. I didn't mind the ending though.
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Aliquid A 3 years ago
I absolutely loved that movie. It most definitely is a fairy tale. Just a more traditional one. All of the original fairy tales were quite dark.
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Radek Suski 3 years ago
The series "Terranova" (sadly another one good series cancelled): the whole premise is that people overcrowded the planet and found out way back in time to dinos times. It's explained that it creates a new timelime but still there are dinos so you know, the big rock from space is coming anyway. So what'd be the plan?
Charlotte A. 3 years ago
I can't recall how far back in time they went, but presumably it was millions of years away from the time of the asteroid. Most species don't live that long anyway. And if they did, they'd have time to prepare and protect themselves, being "forewarned". I like the series too and it's a real shame it was cancelled - I liked the dinos :)
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Doubleheader 3 years ago
Anyone remember the Van Helsing film? I loved that one! It was such a fun action-filled movie with tons of awesome monster designs. The ending totally KILLED it for me though. It was so cheesy. -_- It kind of felt like they had writer's block for the ending.
Wubbleyew 3 years ago
Well, my take away from this is that I clearly don't get as invested in movies as a lot of people do. Sometimes I watch a movie and think 'meh' then move on with my life. I can't actually name a movie of the top of my head that I hated
Katchen 3 years ago
When I dislike the end of a movie or book, I just change the story in my head. Actually took a pencil to cross out sections of Harry Potter. “Nah, that didn’t happen.”
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Carole Reid 3 years ago
It just goes to show you that 99.9% of the time the book is better than the film.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 3 years ago
Avengers: Endgame. Can't even talk about the reasons without getting agitated. Also: Les Rivières pourpres (and sequel, too) - so creepy, so good, so fantastic had me sitting on the edge of my seat. And then... blam. Nazis. WTF? Same goes for "L' empire des loupes" - and I just found out that those are by the same book-author, so I guess that's his fault. Anyway - such interesting and hooking starts and then ... blam. Stupidity.*sigh*
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 3 years ago
Oh! And the last movie of The Hobbit. Did they forget the movie is called THE HOBBIT and not The Dwarf's Fight?
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Redhead Mode 3 years ago
Night of the Living Dead original! Really?! He makes it through the night then gets shot! My son was mad at me for DAYS after I let him watch it.
Pan Narrans 3 years ago
Dune! Herbert wrote seven books about a desert planet and the stupid movie end with it raining!
Stille20 3 years ago
Some of the complaints where about the plot of the original source material.... I mean I guess that still counts but shrug
Johnnee 3 years ago
Yes alot of the complaints is about the movie not being like the book. People need to understand that movies are a visual storytelling primarily. Yes, alot of people nowadays watch movies on their phones but normally some things just don't work on the big screen.
Load More Replies... Logic and Reason 3 years ago
The Rise of Skywalker. Ended terribly, acted as a terrible ending for the sequels. Finn’s secret was pointless, the Force went from an omnipresent energy to a mythical power that turned Rey into a god, and what was supposed to be Kylo’s dramatic death scene made my entire theater start laughing both times I saw it. Plus that stupid stunt they pulled with Chewie. The whole thing was just relentless fan pleasing.
PjandBolt 3 years ago
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Finn's secret is that he's force sensitive. It was such a dramatic build up and everyone thought it was going to be that he was in love with Rey but clearly that theory was shoved right out of our brains with the last scene with Kylo and Rey. I almost screamed because of how random and forced it was. Like why does Rey need to be in love with every guy she meets??
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Parmeisan 3 years ago
Movies like "Bliss" or "I'm Thinking of Ending Things". I'm sure that this type of movie works for lots of people, but I hate it. They set up all these mysteries and it just seems like they're too lazy to answer them. If I knew ahead of time that any given movie was going to do this, I could avoid it. I don't care that they exist, only that I wasted my time. Because of course you never know until the end, and by then I've invested a bunch of time and I have to try to Google to find out what was really going on, and sometimes there's an answer but it's just really high-brow, and sometimes there's no answer and you're supposed to decide for yourself. It's not for me.
Alexis Draskinis 3 years ago
13 Ghosts. Good horror movie, great ghosts & fx. Ending is so ridiculous & sappy, it ruins the whole damn thing for me. I'll watch the whole thing until the last 8min & it just annoys me all over again
Random Panda 3 years ago
Possession (2009), a remake of a South Korean film, it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Lee Pace. For some unfathomable reason they completely changed the ending from the original, making it a very generic and forgettable thriller.The much superior alternate ending, which is similar to the original's, is 30 minutes and completely changes the tone and theme of the film.
Random Panda 3 years ago
Atomic Blonde and The Last Legion are two other movies where the final twist completely ruined it for me.
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Marcia Cash 3 years ago
"Being There" with Peter Sellers. Movie ends with an ironic metaphysical twist, then the producers added a stupid outtake scene over the credits. Sellers protested hotly, but the money men couldn't accept the lesson of his final scent. He committed suicide not long after, we miss him to this day. e
Joanne Hudson 3 years ago
I watched an M. Night Shyamalan film that I can't remember the name of but about 5 minutes before the climax the power in the theatre went out and I left without knowing (or caring) how it ended.
anarkzie 3 years ago
I would also add Black Panther to the list of movies with bad endings. Whoever wrote the film forgot that BB and Wikanda are not real places and tried to get the made up country to answer for not helping out black people when Africa was being colonised and for doing nothing to stop real world racism over the years, this was the motivation for the bad guy in the film while the good just wanted to be king because his dad was. It became a bit of a mess to be honest.
Jay Weigel 3 years ago
Cold Mountain. I hated that the lover died right after one of the great love scenes of all time.
Jane Alexander 3 years ago
I feel brilliant and blessed to have seen only one of these farces and never even heard of most of lthem. Having lived and loved the '50 s, 'Grease' got the 'DA' hair and leather right, but yeah, hollywoodized.
Roshelle Perera 3 years ago
angels and demons. The movie was horrible and the main characters from the book were missing such as Kohler, and in the movie, several plot holes like, if the cardinals tell the public that the carmelanger died from internal injuries, wouldn't the doctors and nurses treating him at the hospital know?
Julie 3 years ago
I don't know. High concept movies are what most people want and when any other film strays from that formula, you get a lot of complaining. So many times viewers miss the entire point, or hate it because it did not go how they wanted. If they do not like it, they deem it s**t. Why not just point out what you did not like, instead of proclaiming it the worst of all time, when clearly others feel otherwise. Some movies with the best writers, DP's, directors, producers cast and crew put out great work and people do not realize how their skill has made such a great piece of cinema look easy, they find it simple or stupid. I once watched a remarkable film "Adaptation" in theaters, and while exiting I heard a person say "I could have made that"...they had no idea how poignant the film was or were even aware of the main thrust. It seems if it is not spoon fed and formulaic, or surface..then it is dumb.
Julie 3 years ago (edited)
I admire filmmakers who do not insult viewers intelligence with over explaining or making obvious the idea of their work...I like they trust us to discover. I love Freddie Kruger movies because they are fun. I love deeper movies, indy films like "Jesus of Montreal" because they make me think. If I don't "get" a movie, I love deliberating and ruminating on it, at all angles, trying to discover the filmmakers visions. The one thing I know is movies are made to entertain us...shitting on all the hard work they do because you feel you are smarter or above it, well maybe you are just not a movie fan. I even liked "Mall Cop" for what it was.
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Kevin Hickey 3 years ago
The Hobbit movies, all of them. They could have made one good movie, instead they made three crappy ones.
Exotic Panda 3 years ago
Wonder Woman 84 should be on this. She couldn't break a lock but afterwards she flips a tank?!
Dippin Dot 3 years ago
If you're in the US, and you think you want to watch the #1 Netflix film Synchronic, don't waste your time. ***SPOILER AHEAD*** Dude's time ran out AFTER the girls? But she took the pill second??? Shouldn't he have gone back first?
Jerry Mathers 3 years ago
AI- Spielberg's forced happy ending mantra killed what I felt was a great, insightful film. He should left David staring at the blue fairy until his battery died.
s. vitkovitsky 3 years ago
I don't see it as a forced happy ending, but as an examination of responsibility, attachment, and of what is or is not human.
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HooowlAtTheMoon 3 years ago (edited)
Not a movie, but the end of the TV show Shadowhunters. It got cancelled so they had to rush the ending, but I got so mad. I wanted to scream. Like seriously? That was so unsatisfying, everything was so great up until then, it just ruined the whole thing for me. If you watched it, you know what I'm talking about
Bole Perishon 3 years ago
Butterfly effect - theatrical cut. I saw the director's cut first and it was so f.. up - I loved it. Then, one day, I saw the theatrical cut on tv...
Penny Fan 3 years ago
Lord of The Rings: Return of The King. Peter Jackson rendered the whole trilogy pointless by omitting Saruman turning up in Hobbiton.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
In fairness, it was already three movies long. If I had to lose anything, that and Tom Bombadil are acceptable losses.
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Hooked 3 years ago (edited)
The Shining and Dr. Sleep. I usually never watch a film when I have read the book. And especially not if I loved the book. There are some exceptions but I really really wish I never watched The Shining. I know it's difficult to film everything that is in a book, but they ruined the end completely. And I only watched the first 15 minutes of Dr. Sleep and I will never ever finish it. Soooooo f-ing bad.
Pittsburgh rare 3 years ago
I actually prefer The Shinning film to the novel. I couldn't buy the building as a living entity and so the book never freaked me out but even the opening scene of the film gives me a chill to this day. Some insights of Jack's personality are better depicted in the book tho
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deathrose 3 years ago
Not a movie but an anime, Overly Cautious Hero, the reveal in the last 2 episodes of the MC being a hero before who was in love with healer who was pregnant with his child and the healer turning into his patron Goddess really irked me. Like the anime was unique with a fantastic protagonist that then instant makes him a generic hero was so incredibly infuriating that I almost didn't finish the last 2 episodes.
Curry on... 3 years ago (edited)
For me, two of the worst movies ever were "Mother" with Jennifer Lawrence and "Urge" with Pierce Brosnan. Mother was just ridiculous, and I couldn't even finish watching Urge. Neither had a good beginning, middle or ending.
Charlotte A. 3 years ago
Not a movie but GoT season 8... (Also I've either not watched or can't remember much of most of the above movies - some more info on how exactly some of them had bad endings would have been interesting. Yes, there might have been spoilers but if you fear spoilers you don't read a page like this...)
Raine Soo 3 years ago
Wasn't 'The Game of Thrones' series finale the worst ever? I can't believe the producers spent an extra year on that season, only to deliver sub-standard material.
Load More Replies... Sanne H. 3 years ago (edited)
Inferno. In the book the ending was the most relevant part of the entire story. But in the movie, they decided to turn that ending 180 degrees around. As a result, the whole point of the story was lost, and the movie became just a mediocre action movie. Dan Brown (the author) himself was not pleased either.
Karin Jansen 3 years ago
Thank you!!! Came down here to say this. Completely ruined everything. I was so mad.
Load More Replies... Jayne Kyra 3 years ago
Not just the ending, but the entirety of Avatar: The Last Airbender is so terrible I cannot think of one redeeming quality. Contrary to that, the original animation is spectacular, from story, to music, down to character development, and subtle details.
Eliška Hůlková 3 years ago
The movie is universally hated in the fandom of the original show. Very deservingly so.
Load More Replies... Chillace 3 years ago
Pacific Rim 2. The first was a masterpiece, great plot, great acting. The 2nd one just took rverything the first one made and just threw it away.
Logic and Reason 3 years ago
Yeah, the second wasn’t as good. Pacific Rim: The Black is pretty excellent IMO though.
Load More Replies... Matt Arn 3 years ago
Despite not a movie - Has anyone already mentioned the final of Dexter? I cannot even imagine they could undo the damage done with a new season.
anarkzie 3 years ago
What were they thinking when they came up with the idea for the ending of Dexter?
Load More Replies... Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
The time travellers wife. Hated the ending and won't watch it again. I also hated that Mamma Mia didn't reveal who the actual father is.
H Edwards 3 years ago
Please read the book, if you haven't already. Hate the movie, but I have read the book about 3 times, it's really well-written and a very beautiful and intriguing story.
Load More Replies... Alexis Draskinis 3 years ago
And the new Pet Semetary. Killing the other child just to make it different. And being that its the older child who warns the mother, not sure how they can fix that with her dead. A 2yr old cant explain weird fever dreams that show the demise of their family...
Clearly sunny 3 years ago
Yeah, I really was disappointed in this ending. Left feeling that it ruined a great movie with how they finished it.
Load More Replies... Seabeast 3 years ago
I think bad endings were even more common in the so-called "golden age". A 1945 version of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" has a ridiculous happy ending in which two of the characters turn out to be not who the murderer thought they were. Not at all how the book ended.
Katchen 3 years ago
I definitely had a WTF moment when I saw the old And Then There None. The 2015 version is great.
Load More Replies... Stephanie IV 3 years ago
Sommersby. A remake of Le Retour de Martin Guerre. Some time after the secession war the missing, presumed dead husband of a lady farmer comes home and reclaims his position as husband, landlord, friend, fellow villager - but the wife never believes he is who he says he is. He is changed beyond recognition, both physically and character - wise. But, of course, he and she make up and bliss ensues. Everybody likes him now, where before he was awful, he is now nice. People want his story to be true. Then the marshals come and he is charged with some murder. Here’s the kicker: the wife absolutely KNOWS he isn’t her husband, if he’d admit to that, he’d walk scotch free. BUT HE REFUSES. The film has the most intense finale ever, where she tries to get to the front of the crowd to be close to him and he stands under the gallow, shakin, crying, sweating, searching for her with his eyes, frantic, because they’re just about to hood him before execution; she arrives, you think, yessss! That’s
Stephanie IV 3 years ago
It, he’ll recant, he’ll be saved, everything will be alright, this is an American remake, surely, they’ll have a big ol Happy End!?! Then they hang him. I was DEVASTATED.
Load More Replies... Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
Dark City. Beautiful, dystopian movie ruined by a cheesy happy ending. Also, Silent Hill. "They were dead the whole time." Contrived and annoying.
Erika Jones 3 years ago
Dark City is definitely underappreciated. I love Rufus Sewell, but Jennifer Connelly seemed like she was heavily sedated or half asleep the whole movie. I didn't mind the ending though.
Load More Replies... Aliquid A 3 years ago
I absolutely loved that movie. It most definitely is a fairy tale. Just a more traditional one. All of the original fairy tales were quite dark.
Load More Replies... Radek Suski 3 years ago
The series "Terranova" (sadly another one good series cancelled): the whole premise is that people overcrowded the planet and found out way back in time to dinos times. It's explained that it creates a new timelime but still there are dinos so you know, the big rock from space is coming anyway. So what'd be the plan?
Charlotte A. 3 years ago
I can't recall how far back in time they went, but presumably it was millions of years away from the time of the asteroid. Most species don't live that long anyway. And if they did, they'd have time to prepare and protect themselves, being "forewarned". I like the series too and it's a real shame it was cancelled - I liked the dinos :)
Load More Replies... Doubleheader 3 years ago
Anyone remember the Van Helsing film? I loved that one! It was such a fun action-filled movie with tons of awesome monster designs. The ending totally KILLED it for me though. It was so cheesy. -_- It kind of felt like they had writer's block for the ending.
Wubbleyew 3 years ago
Well, my take away from this is that I clearly don't get as invested in movies as a lot of people do. Sometimes I watch a movie and think 'meh' then move on with my life. I can't actually name a movie of the top of my head that I hated
Katchen 3 years ago
When I dislike the end of a movie or book, I just change the story in my head. Actually took a pencil to cross out sections of Harry Potter. “Nah, that didn’t happen.”
Load More Replies... Carole Reid 3 years ago
It just goes to show you that 99.9% of the time the book is better than the film.
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 3 years ago
Avengers: Endgame. Can't even talk about the reasons without getting agitated. Also: Les Rivières pourpres (and sequel, too) - so creepy, so good, so fantastic had me sitting on the edge of my seat. And then... blam. Nazis. WTF? Same goes for "L' empire des loupes" - and I just found out that those are by the same book-author, so I guess that's his fault. Anyway - such interesting and hooking starts and then ... blam. Stupidity.*sigh*
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 3 years ago
Oh! And the last movie of The Hobbit. Did they forget the movie is called THE HOBBIT and not The Dwarf's Fight?
Load More Replies... Redhead Mode 3 years ago
Night of the Living Dead original! Really?! He makes it through the night then gets shot! My son was mad at me for DAYS after I let him watch it.
Pan Narrans 3 years ago
Dune! Herbert wrote seven books about a desert planet and the stupid movie end with it raining!
Stille20 3 years ago
Some of the complaints where about the plot of the original source material.... I mean I guess that still counts but shrug
Johnnee 3 years ago
Yes alot of the complaints is about the movie not being like the book. People need to understand that movies are a visual storytelling primarily. Yes, alot of people nowadays watch movies on their phones but normally some things just don't work on the big screen.
Load More Replies... Logic and Reason 3 years ago
The Rise of Skywalker. Ended terribly, acted as a terrible ending for the sequels. Finn’s secret was pointless, the Force went from an omnipresent energy to a mythical power that turned Rey into a god, and what was supposed to be Kylo’s dramatic death scene made my entire theater start laughing both times I saw it. Plus that stupid stunt they pulled with Chewie. The whole thing was just relentless fan pleasing.
PjandBolt 3 years ago
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Finn's secret is that he's force sensitive. It was such a dramatic build up and everyone thought it was going to be that he was in love with Rey but clearly that theory was shoved right out of our brains with the last scene with Kylo and Rey. I almost screamed because of how random and forced it was. Like why does Rey need to be in love with every guy she meets??
Load More Replies... Parmeisan 3 years ago
Movies like "Bliss" or "I'm Thinking of Ending Things". I'm sure that this type of movie works for lots of people, but I hate it. They set up all these mysteries and it just seems like they're too lazy to answer them. If I knew ahead of time that any given movie was going to do this, I could avoid it. I don't care that they exist, only that I wasted my time. Because of course you never know until the end, and by then I've invested a bunch of time and I have to try to Google to find out what was really going on, and sometimes there's an answer but it's just really high-brow, and sometimes there's no answer and you're supposed to decide for yourself. It's not for me.
Alexis Draskinis 3 years ago
13 Ghosts. Good horror movie, great ghosts & fx. Ending is so ridiculous & sappy, it ruins the whole damn thing for me. I'll watch the whole thing until the last 8min & it just annoys me all over again
Random Panda 3 years ago
Possession (2009), a remake of a South Korean film, it stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and Lee Pace. For some unfathomable reason they completely changed the ending from the original, making it a very generic and forgettable thriller.The much superior alternate ending, which is similar to the original's, is 30 minutes and completely changes the tone and theme of the film.
Random Panda 3 years ago
Atomic Blonde and The Last Legion are two other movies where the final twist completely ruined it for me.
Load More Replies... Marcia Cash 3 years ago
"Being There" with Peter Sellers. Movie ends with an ironic metaphysical twist, then the producers added a stupid outtake scene over the credits. Sellers protested hotly, but the money men couldn't accept the lesson of his final scent. He committed suicide not long after, we miss him to this day. e
Joanne Hudson 3 years ago
I watched an M. Night Shyamalan film that I can't remember the name of but about 5 minutes before the climax the power in the theatre went out and I left without knowing (or caring) how it ended.
anarkzie 3 years ago
I would also add Black Panther to the list of movies with bad endings. Whoever wrote the film forgot that BB and Wikanda are not real places and tried to get the made up country to answer for not helping out black people when Africa was being colonised and for doing nothing to stop real world racism over the years, this was the motivation for the bad guy in the film while the good just wanted to be king because his dad was. It became a bit of a mess to be honest.
Jay Weigel 3 years ago
Cold Mountain. I hated that the lover died right after one of the great love scenes of all time.
Jane Alexander 3 years ago
I feel brilliant and blessed to have seen only one of these farces and never even heard of most of lthem. Having lived and loved the '50 s, 'Grease' got the 'DA' hair and leather right, but yeah, hollywoodized.
Roshelle Perera 3 years ago
angels and demons. The movie was horrible and the main characters from the book were missing such as Kohler, and in the movie, several plot holes like, if the cardinals tell the public that the carmelanger died from internal injuries, wouldn't the doctors and nurses treating him at the hospital know?
Julie 3 years ago
I don't know. High concept movies are what most people want and when any other film strays from that formula, you get a lot of complaining. So many times viewers miss the entire point, or hate it because it did not go how they wanted. If they do not like it, they deem it s**t. Why not just point out what you did not like, instead of proclaiming it the worst of all time, when clearly others feel otherwise. Some movies with the best writers, DP's, directors, producers cast and crew put out great work and people do not realize how their skill has made such a great piece of cinema look easy, they find it simple or stupid. I once watched a remarkable film "Adaptation" in theaters, and while exiting I heard a person say "I could have made that"...they had no idea how poignant the film was or were even aware of the main thrust. It seems if it is not spoon fed and formulaic, or surface..then it is dumb.
Julie 3 years ago (edited)
I admire filmmakers who do not insult viewers intelligence with over explaining or making obvious the idea of their work...I like they trust us to discover. I love Freddie Kruger movies because they are fun. I love deeper movies, indy films like "Jesus of Montreal" because they make me think. If I don't "get" a movie, I love deliberating and ruminating on it, at all angles, trying to discover the filmmakers visions. The one thing I know is movies are made to entertain us...shitting on all the hard work they do because you feel you are smarter or above it, well maybe you are just not a movie fan. I even liked "Mall Cop" for what it was.
Load More Replies... Kevin Hickey 3 years ago
The Hobbit movies, all of them. They could have made one good movie, instead they made three crappy ones.
Exotic Panda 3 years ago
Wonder Woman 84 should be on this. She couldn't break a lock but afterwards she flips a tank?!
Dippin Dot 3 years ago
If you're in the US, and you think you want to watch the #1 Netflix film Synchronic, don't waste your time. ***SPOILER AHEAD*** Dude's time ran out AFTER the girls? But she took the pill second??? Shouldn't he have gone back first?
Jerry Mathers 3 years ago
AI- Spielberg's forced happy ending mantra killed what I felt was a great, insightful film. He should left David staring at the blue fairy until his battery died.
s. vitkovitsky 3 years ago
I don't see it as a forced happy ending, but as an examination of responsibility, attachment, and of what is or is not human.
Load More Replies... HooowlAtTheMoon 3 years ago (edited)
Not a movie, but the end of the TV show Shadowhunters. It got cancelled so they had to rush the ending, but I got so mad. I wanted to scream. Like seriously? That was so unsatisfying, everything was so great up until then, it just ruined the whole thing for me. If you watched it, you know what I'm talking about
Bole Perishon 3 years ago
Butterfly effect - theatrical cut. I saw the director's cut first and it was so f.. up - I loved it. Then, one day, I saw the theatrical cut on tv...
Penny Fan 3 years ago
Lord of The Rings: Return of The King. Peter Jackson rendered the whole trilogy pointless by omitting Saruman turning up in Hobbiton.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
In fairness, it was already three movies long. If I had to lose anything, that and Tom Bombadil are acceptable losses.
Load More Replies... Hooked 3 years ago (edited)
The Shining and Dr. Sleep. I usually never watch a film when I have read the book. And especially not if I loved the book. There are some exceptions but I really really wish I never watched The Shining. I know it's difficult to film everything that is in a book, but they ruined the end completely. And I only watched the first 15 minutes of Dr. Sleep and I will never ever finish it. Soooooo f-ing bad.
Pittsburgh rare 3 years ago
I actually prefer The Shinning film to the novel. I couldn't buy the building as a living entity and so the book never freaked me out but even the opening scene of the film gives me a chill to this day. Some insights of Jack's personality are better depicted in the book tho
Load More Replies... deathrose 3 years ago
Not a movie but an anime, Overly Cautious Hero, the reveal in the last 2 episodes of the MC being a hero before who was in love with healer who was pregnant with his child and the healer turning into his patron Goddess really irked me. Like the anime was unique with a fantastic protagonist that then instant makes him a generic hero was so incredibly infuriating that I almost didn't finish the last 2 episodes.
Curry on... 3 years ago (edited)
For me, two of the worst movies ever were "Mother" with Jennifer Lawrence and "Urge" with Pierce Brosnan. Mother was just ridiculous, and I couldn't even finish watching Urge. Neither had a good beginning, middle or ending.
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