There’s nothing worse than watching a great movie with a completely unsatisfying ending. Someone on a popular online forum asked, “What was a great movie ruined by an awful ending?” Here are the top 26 responses.
1. The Game (1997)
Many people noted The Game has an ending that ruined the movie. “The idea that Michael Douglas gets pushed to insanity and is magically okay with the explanation ‘It’s just a prank bro’ is just insane. Puts a damper on the whole movie,” one disappointed movie lover said.
Another agreed, calling the ending “ludicrous,” noting, “What happens if Michael Douglas doesn’t jump from that exact spot?”
2. The Abyss (1989)
We can also add The Abyss to the list of “movies ruined by an alien ending.” One film buff put it best, noting, “Director James Cameron ran long on the human drama and then stuffed a few seconds of environmental preaching from aliens.”
3. Wonder Woman (2017)
Despite the poor reception to most of their DC films, Warner Bros scored big with the release of Wonder Woman in 2017. Fans and critics loved it, unlike Justice League, which was released later that year. The major drawback of the film is its ending. As one person said, the film did “Set up a really interesting plot that maybe evil is inherent in humankind — but nope! It was actually Ares. Ares all along.”
4. I Am Legend (2007)
There were many people who said they were disappointed by I Am Legend, with one movie fan saying it’s “hands down” their top choice for a disappointing ending. Another explained, “It’s well known at this point but they did film the real ending and test audiences didn’t like it so they redid it and made it way worse.”
5. It Chapter Two (2019)
Everyone seemed to love the first It film, but people cannot stand the ending when it comes to its sequel. “I like the ending, but I also hate it,” said one user. The film’s ending sees the protagonist’s bully Pennywise defeat him. It’s understandable why many wouldn’t like this ending, but it’s better than the original ending from the book.
6. Now You See Me (2013)
Now You See Me was an interesting film. A heist movie with magicians is a premise that grabs your attention. Unfortunately, that interest disappears once you get to the film’s ending. One commenter said the film “Could have been great until they randomly had the main character basically switch sides at the end.”
The twist where Mark Ruffalo’s cop character joins the thieving magicians at the end made no sense then, and it still doesn’t now.
7. The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
Destiny and fate are the focus of The Adjustment Bureau, but does that mean the film was destined to have a bad ending? As one user describes it, “You have all that chase, a hopeless escape, defying fate itself and God just says, ‘Yeah, whatever, we cool’ and that’s it. Roll credits.” This may be why many people forgot the film.
8. Source Code (2011)
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Source Code establishes its rules about how the film’s government program works. The film’s ending then undoes this. One movie buff said, “It sets up some kind of sequel when it didn’t need one. It was a weird ending.” Another said it would have been better if it “had ended about two minutes earlier instead of going just one step too far and undercutting an otherwise perfect ending.”
9. The Last Exorcism (2010)
Like many endings on this list, The Last Exorcism goes against the rest of the movie by teasing that a supernatural element exists and that the town’s church and preacher are both satan worshippers. I agree with one commenter who said, “The Last Exorcism is such a good movie until the very last bit.”
10. Explorers (1985)
Explorers is another film ruined by an ending involving aliens. The movie is about teenagers building a spaceship to explore outer space. However, most movie fans seem to hate it once aliens are introduced, with one user referring to it as “That stupid plot twist alien reveal.”
11. Sorry To Bother You (2018)
Even after watching the trailer, I could tell Sorry to Bother You would be a weird movie. However, the plot twist involving people getting turned into horses and becoming enslaved to a corporation was too odd for me and ruined what could’ve been a genuinely great film.
12. The Departed (2006)
The Departed is a critically acclaimed movie with several awards to its name. Despite this, many are not fans of the ending, which sees many of the film’s main characters die in separate scenes. One movie lover said, “Everyone dying is not a good plot twist or ending.” Another added, “The Departed felt like they couldn’t figure out an ending so they just killed off everyone.”
13. Apocalypse Now (1979)
If you’re looking for a great movie about the Vietnam War, You can’t go wrong with Apocalypse Now. While most love the film, some have criticized its ending for hyping up the character of Colonel Kurtz. One person was disappointed that instead of this intimidating soldier, “He was a flabby, philosophically pretentious nut. Not the [tough] paratrooper who went through jump school at 38.”
Another added, “I’ve always felt that the moment Marlon enters the movie, all the momentum it built up getting there was lost.”
14. 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
You were wrong if you thought this list was done with alien movies. 10 Cloverfield Lane is an intense thriller that manages to sneak extraterrestrials into its ending. The film teases an alien invasion, but it should have been left ambiguous. The fight with the aliens at the end doesn’t mesh well with the rest of the film.
15. The Golden Compass (2007)
“The Golden Compass,” one movie fan said. “Solid cast and execution right up until the point where they just cut the last few chapters of the book. Which, if you’ve read it, you know those chapters and the ending are arguably the most surprising and important parts of the whole series. Teenage me was absolutely furious.”
Another added, “I’m not sure how they could have done it. They had diverged so much from the plot already.”
16. Passengers (2016)
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence in a science-fiction film? How could it go wrong? Well, by having a terrible ending. It ended up resolving the relationship problems between the two characters poorly. Many people agreed that the film’s conclusion should have been better, with one saying it was “A wasted opportunity.”
17. Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
The ending to Law Abiding Citizen is controversial and divisive, depending on how you feel about the film’s antagonist, Clyde. Some said he should have won because they sympathized with him, while others believe his death was a satisfying conclusion to the film. Several movie fans disagreed on the ending, showing that maybe there’s more to the movie than what’s on the surface.
18. Signs (2002)
M. Night Shyamalan is known for plot twists, but I don’t think anyone was prepared for the twist in Signs. The aliens that invade Earth in the movie are revealed to be weak to water, which makes their invasion of the planet a bad idea since it has so much water on it. I agree with one commenter who said, “Great movie until aliens die too… Checks notes… Water, a very abundant element that falls from the sky.”
19. Glass (2019)
Glass is another M. Night Shyamalan film with a lousy ending. One of the film’s protagonists, David Dunn, is an invincible superhero who a police officer drowns. We were also robbed of seeing a real showdown between David and The Beast, but that is the film’s point. It subverts the typical superhero movie ending and gives something more realistic. It makes sense, but it’s still disappointing as a fan.
20. The Hateful Eight (2015)
The Hateful Eight was such a long movie that it gave me a headache in the theater. What really bothers me is that it could have had a better ending than “everyone shoots each other and dies.” That’s how it ends. Tarantino’s movies are known for being violent but also creative. This ending was anything but innovative. It was just violent, and that was disappointing.
21. The Little Things (2021)
The Little Things had so much potential as a film with its great cast and interesting premise, but it all gets squandered by the ending. It’s a murder mystery where nothing gets solved and nothing is left for you to speculate about. It just ends.
22. Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan is known for his primarily original films with exciting plots, such as Interstellar. In a film about space travel and humanity being doomed, the movie delivers a weak ending. One movie fan said, “The 4th dimension being love and then being found out in the middle of space was just too stupid for me, but up until that part it was amazing.”
23. The Black Hole (1979)
Back in 1979, Disney released The Black Hole. The movie ended up having a disappointing ending due to its director Gary Nelson. He didn’t have an ending planned while shooting. One user commented, “So much world building and excellent art direction — still a fun watch despite the less than satisfactory ending.”
24. Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019)
Pokémon Detective Pikachu is considered one of the best video game movies, but many people dislike its ending. It’s revealed that the father of Tim, the protagonist, was Pikachu for the entire film, yet he somehow doesn’t notice his father’s voice. One movie buff pointed out, “The entire plot hinges on the idea he doesn’t recognize his own father’s voice.”
25. White Noise (2005)
White Noise might have one of the strangest endings on this list. It’s about a husband trying to talk to his dead wife. The way it ends is odd, as he gets attacked by ghosts. “It’s laughably bad when compared to the rest of the film, which didn’t show a single ghost or use CGI in any memorable way,” one disappointed movie fan said.
26. Limitless (2011)
Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper, is an exciting, intense movie. Its ending, however, is not. Instead of sticking with something more interesting or creative, the film fixes the issue with the pill the protagonist takes so he can use it with no negative side effects. One person described it as “a spoiled masterpiece, like someone added a surprise hopeful ending to 1984 or something.”
Source: Reddit.
