There’s nothing like a great movie that has us on the edge of our seats the entire time.
Unfortunately, even the best films can fall victim to a bad ending. No matter how good things were until the last ten minutes, they left a sour taste in our mouths.
These are the movies that had us hooked until their final moments. Caution: there may be spoilers!
I Am Legend
The 2007 Will Smith film is based on the 1954 novel by Richard Matheson.
Matheson’s novel explores darker themes, most notably the revelation that the main character, Robert Neville, is the real villain, not the undead vampire creatures he has been hunting throughout the story.
The theatrical adaptation, however, doesn’t pursue this ending and instead presents more of a traditional Hollywood conclusion.
Hancock
From one Will Smith movie to another, Hancock poses an interesting question: what if a superhero were a flawed person who caused more harm than good?
Better yet, what if it were possible for a PR executive to reshape his image? Sound intriguing, right? Well, there’s one problem: it’s not a superhero movie, it’s actually about two godlike aliens who are the last of their kind, and one of them was the PR exec’s wife the entire time!
This is what happens when you’re trying way too hard to throw in a third-act twist. Not everything needs to have a big reveal, people.
Boxing Helena
Pulling out the “it was all a dream card is lazy screenwriting, and Boxing Helena is a perfect example of that.
Sure, you can make the argument that the movie’s ending questions the true reality like Inception, but it’s more ambiguous here, resulting in a lack of real actual impact.
Instead, it comes off as cheap and weakens the entire film.
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A Cure for Wellness
There’s a lot of talent on display in A Cure for Wellness, starring Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, and Mia Goth with Gore Verbinski directing.
In short, the movie is about a stockbroker who travels to the Swiss Alps in search of his company’s CEO, who is staying at a “wellness center.” By the film’s ending, though, everything goes completely off the rails to the point where all of the prior events didn’t matter; some weird vampire people just burn everything down! It’s like the studio said, “okay, great movie, but it needs monsters.”
Now You See Me
Magicians doubling as thieves in a heist movie is an intriguing premise, which led to the success of 2013’s Now You See Me.
Part of magic’s appeal is the audience’s suspension of disbelief. Having said that, No You See Me tests that theory.
Revealing that FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes is actually the mastermind behind the Four Horsemen is a nonsensical twist, to say the least.
High Tension
When horror films aren’t afraid to get provocative, they can really shine. It’s important to make sure you stick the landing, though, because otherwise you ruin the entire movie. Sadly, High Tension did not stick the landing.
Here’s what Roger Ebert infamously said in his scathing review:
“I am tempted at this point to issue a Spoiler Warning and engage in discussion of several crucial events in the movie that would seem to be physically, logically and dramatically impossible, but clever viewers will be able to see for themselves that the movie’s plot has a hole that is not only large enough to drive a truck through, but in fact does have a truck driven right through it.”
Wonder Woman
During an era when the Marvel Cinematic Universe reigned supreme in comic book movies, 2017’s Wonder Woman was a breath of fresh air.
The DC Extended Universe was floundering, never living up to the hype from the Christopher Nolan Batman films. Wonder Woman helped change all that, but its ending is still a black spot on an otherwise great film.
Having Sir Patrick be Ares in disguise was an unfortunate twist that resulted in a rather boring and formulaic ending.
War of the Worlds
Steven Spielberg adapting the iconic War of the Worlds novel? Sign me up. I was hyped for this in 2005 and went to the theater on opening day.
I have no issue with the ending, even if it was beyond telegraphed. The point is that the invading aliens cannot survive Earth’s pathogens.
Seeing Tom Cruise’s son appear out of nowhere, though, was incredibly frustrating.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
I promise I’m not picking on Spielberg here, but I’d argue he’s more than capable of taking it.
Close Encounters is an incredible movie, no doubt about it. However, I can’t ignore the way Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) abandons his family.
Sure, his journey throughout the movie needs to be paid off, but surely there’s a better way.
Law Abiding Citizen
The action thriller starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler arguably suffers from Foxx’s strong performance.
You can’t help but hate his character. You understand the struggle and motivations behind Butler’s Clyde Shelton. You want nothing more than to see Fox’s Nick Rice die at the end.
Instead, he lives and somehow comes away a better person.
The Village
You either love M. Night Shyamalan, or you hate him. There’s no denying his impact on horror with The Sixth Sense, and I’ll defend Unbreakable until I die.
With The Village, though, that’s just too much for me. The story does enough on its own to make for an incredible movie that results in a frustrating twist ending.
City of Angels
It’s a tale as old as time: someone falls in love with Meg Ryan in a romantic comedy.
This time, it’s Nicolas Cage, an angel who left heaven because he was so enamored with Meg Ryan.
They meet, fall in love, and then Meg Ryan dies tragically after being struck by a truck. Nic Cage is stuck on Earth, though, having given up his immortal life as an angel.
Spectre
Despite a severe misstep with Quantum of Solace, the Daniel Craig James Bond reboot had been on fire heading into 2015.
Spectre was ready to introduce the iconic crime organization that would introduce Christoph Waltz as Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Only, totally honest, guys, he’s not Blofeld. He’s some guy named Fanz Oberhauser. He’s 100% not Blofeld.
…Just kidding, what a twist, huh?
No Country For Old Men
Over time, I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate No Country for Old Men‘s ending, even if it’s still frustrating to see all of its stories end off-screen.
I’d argue that’s the point, though. This isn’t a story about Anton Chigurh or Llewelyn Moss. It’s about Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), an old man, realizing that this isn’t the type of world he’s used to.
The Mist
Sometimes, the perfect ending to a great movie is the one that makes us furious.
That’s the case with The Mist, where if they had JUST WAITED A LITTLE WHILE LONGER, THEY’D ALL BE OKAY.
Again, it’s a perfect ending, but it’s still incredibly frustrating.
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