One thing I hate in films more than anything is a lame and unsatisfying ending. When the story is going so smoothly, and then suddenly some unexpected or predictable lame ending happens. An unsatisfying ending can completely ruin a film's overall potential.
Can anyone else relate?
There some endings that have pissed me off over the years but none more so than The Last Broadcast. Completely ruined a good film.
What's some examples of yours?
Overly happy ending.
You know, movies that put the main character into a super difficult situation againts an over powered villain so it seemed practically impossible to win. It goes on and on even harder and harder near the end. With threats of a bomb and kidnapped loved ones for a good measure.
But suddenly the protagonist overcomes all the hurdles ever so perfectly and conveniently saves the day, saves every hostages, defeats the badguys, without any injuries nor any casualties at all.
This kind of endings are not satisfying at all.
Agreed. Overly happy endings are the worst. I can tolerate a neutral / realistic happy ending. But an overly happy ending borders into being an unbelievable pipe dream.
shareWhen the credits roll without closure or any kind of reflection for the main character(s).
shareI hate it when you wait for something exciting to happen in the film, and then, something does happen at the end, and then that's it. So you end up wasting an entire movie hoping something exciting would occur, and find out it's a huge bore-fest with an ending that leaves you hanging.
There are some tv shows that are like that too, where it doesn't get exciting until the last few seasons, and then you wish there had been more to it, and feel cheated when the series is canceled.
Abrupt endings are also annoying, because you were hoping for closure and didn't get it.
While I know it's done for marketing sequels, I dislike fake happy endings, where everything looks like it's all wrapped up for the heroes, and then you get an ominous hint that they didn't really kill the bad guy, or that another one is coming.
The worst ending I ever saw as for Tim Burton's version of "Planet of the Apes," where the hero supposedly goes back to his time, but ends up going sideways through time and lands on an alternate earth ruled by the apes, and he's about to be arrested by gorilla police officers in front of the "Thade" Memorial. (In the film he crash-landed on a different planet than earth). It would have been a great movie, had it not been for that shitty ending.
When you just see Tommy Lee Jones sitting at a table talking about the rain and the sun. And then it stops.
hate that.
While I don't want a lot of manufactured happy endings, one movie I really like has a happy ending and some of the chatter was that it wasn't realistic for the two lead characters to end up together after such a random and harrowing event they managed to live through. Personally, I love that they seem to get together at the end, practically brings me to tears and has a nice symmetry to the beginning of the story.
shareCliffhangers. Its one thing going into a movie when its being advertised as pt 1 of 3, or being a prequel, etc., but when its advertised as a stand-alone only to have the ending be a cliffhanger... its just very insulting to the audience.
Also, endings that arent endings, as in the conflict still exists and the filmmakers just needed an ending (almost all zombie movies, for example).
Part of seeing a movie is looking forward to how the films antogonist(s) and/or conflict will be resolved and/or defeated. Im all for a gloomy ending, but a gloomy ending deserves to be book-ended just the same as a happy ending.