They ruined the ending

The ending was perfect for the movie. Charlie completes the quest he embarked on 40,000 years ago. In his mind, he was met his "god" and saved his people. His death was full of joy for him, which was why even Shepherd smiled at the end.

Charlie could not have endured any longer as a caged pet or scientific specimen. It may have been possible to place him in a remote area and protect him from contact. But he would have kept looking for his god and his family and eventually gotten into trouble. He was just too far out of time to exist in the 20th century. The ending of the movie is sad yet happy at the same time.

I will agree, though, about how Charlie got out of his containment area. Much too simple...

" If you ignore all the grunting by prehistoric man Charlie",
"If Charlie had gotten his teeth fixed and a decent haircut, I see him fitting nicely into society and getting his doctorate in Anthropology"
Oh, come on. It was not "Charlie" But John Lone. Yes, the man is best fitting in society, thank you !
Why ignore the gruntings ? What's your idea of our ancestors ?

"the storyline develops fairly well up to near the end. Charlie does the "monkey see, monkey do" thing and escapes the compound (he is the find of all time and their security consists of a single button)"
Well, the expedition is not designed to revive a frozen human being. It just happens. Beside, they are short on time. Don't you know about what happens to frozen goods ? There is a reason why one musn't delay eating defrosted beef...

?? From here on the movie makes no real sense, as if the writer got mental cramps and couldn't come up with a decent ending. "
Usually poetry doesn't make much sense, it just IS.

Heartbreaking, but loving ending.

emm
"to tax and to please, no more than to love and to be wise, is not given to men"

I thought the ending was thematically perfect, Charlie was symbolically able to finish his dream-walk with the hope of returning home, and he ultimately returned unto the earth from where he originally came...

Hmm. The enclosure was designed for bears and other animals. There was no way for a bear to even get to the platform with the button. The one button exit worked for the original use of the enclosure. No one thought they would need to use it for a thawed 40,000 year old man.

I thought the ending was great. Charlie was going to die. There is no if about that. Kept in a cage, he would have died, like many animals who die in captivity, Charlie, altho a man, would have met the same fate (he had already lost the will to live). He would be a science experiment and die on the operating table during some experiment or flat out dissection. Or, he could finish his original quest, and die, thinking he had saved his people (he had no idea he was not in his same time), met his god, and will be going to heaven.

I thought the ending was both fitting and touching. Charlie completes his quest and dies happy.

I'm a totally bitchin' bio writer from Mars!