22 Awesome Movies Ruined By Their Awful Endings
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Making a movie can be a miracle in and of itself, but making one with a universally lauded ending can be almost impossible at times.
Focus Features
From independent hits to summer blockbusters, there have been plenty of films throughout history whose third-act problems became our problems as well. With this in mind, I've assembled 22 exceptional movies whose legacy will always be hampered by their oh-so-rotten endings.
1.High Tension
Cast: Cécile de France, Maïwenn Le Besco, Philippe Nahon, and Franck KhalfounDirector: Alexandre AjaRuntime: 89 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
In the breakout directorial effort from Crawl's Alexandre Aja, two best friends on a weekend study getaway find themselves on the run from a sadistic serial killer who savagely murders anyone in his path. High Tension was a solid and brutal horror offering that hit at the perfect time for international success, but almost all can agree its climactic twist and gruesome finale leave the audience's eyes rolling all the way until the end credits.
2.The Wolverine
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rila Fukushima, and Svetlana KhodchenkovaDirector: James MangoldRuntime: 126 MinutesRating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes
The second solo outing for James Howlett (aka Logan, aka Wolverine) in the X-Men franchise, The Wolverine is a singular effort that was miles above X-Men Origins: Wolverine, thanks to some awesome action and fairly inspired set pieces. However, the film's legacy is nearly nonexistent thanks to a bloated, overproduced ending that tosses the cool, intimate combat sequences out the window in order to have the titular character battle it out with a giant mechanical ronin. Furthermore, The Wolverine's post-credits scene failed the film after the fact, as the promised continued story was ultimately shaken up and completely disregarded in favor of Days of Future Past.
3.Sully
Cast: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Valerie Mahaffey, Delphi Harrington, and Anna GunnDirector: Clint EastwoodRuntime: 96 MinutesRating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes
Following the true story of pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, Sully is Clint Eastwood's crowd-pleasing salute to the heroic story of an ordinary man in an extraordinary ordeal and features one of Tom Hanks's most impressive recent performances. But despite everything that the film has going for it, this critical and commercial darling bafflingly ends with a freeze frame on a corny joke, essentially wrapping up this biographical drama on the same note as a '70s sitcom.
4.Prometheus
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Logan Marshall-Green, and Guy PearceDirector: Ridley ScottRuntime: 123 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
Ridley Scott’s imaginative and massive return to the Alien franchise has many high spots, most of which are bolstered by his ambition to explore themes you may not expect out of a creature feature. Yet while Jon Spaihts’s original script had a more logical and terrifying ending at hand, rewrites ultimately gave us the convoluted hot mess of a finale that the film now carries as an anchor to its eventual follow-up, Alien: Covenant.
5.Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, and Peter DinklageDirector: Martin McDonaghRuntime: 115 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
This critically-acclaimed comedy-drama from The Banshees of Inisherin director Martin McDonagh follows a vindictive woman as she seeks justice for her murdered daughter by publicly pulling her local sheriff department into the spotlight for their inaction. The acerbic and provocative film often showcases McDonagh’s strength for subverting expectations, but the same can’t be said for the film’s lame duck, antithetical ending, which essentially conflicts with the principles of the main character in a wry yet inorganic (and, frankly, unearned) fashion.
6.The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn, and Vanessa Lee ChesterDirector: Steven SpielbergRuntime: 134 MinutesRating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes
While the Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise has a wide berth between its hits and misses, The Lost World is often considered to be the second-best entry in the series, with Steven Spielberg returning to the director's chair to expand upon the universe he established in the original. But even the most ardent Jurassic Park super-fans find it hard to defend The Lost World's superfluous third act, which brings a T-Rex that incredulously raises hell in San Diego of all places.
7.Come True
Cast: Julia Sarah Stone, Landon Liboiron, Caroline Buzanko, and Christopher HeatheringtonDirector: Anthony Scott BurnsRuntime: 105 MinutesRating: Not RatedRotten Tomatoes
The latest visceral vision from up-and-coming horror filmmaker Anthony Scott Burns, Come True is one of the most bold and genuinely frightening genre gems in recent year whose cult fanbase has continued to grow since its quiet mid-pandemic release. Yet outside of its pulse-pounding scare sequences, the film has also gained notoriety for its controversial ending, which many cite as a confusing and underwhelming final beat that undersells the story as a whole.
8.Broadcast News
Cast: Holly Hunter, William Hurt, Albert Brooks, and Jack NicholsonDirector: James L. BrooksRuntime: 132 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
There's no denying that James. L. Brooks's Broadcast News is one of the definitive dramas of the 1980s, with the complicated love triangle at its center driving it to critical acclaim and even a spot among the Criterion Collection. Nevertheless, even the film's stellar legacy can't shake the longstanding divisiveness of its ending, in which the ultimate choice of Holly Hunter's Jane Craig has left a hollow feeling among a majority of viewers for more than 35 years.
9.The Entity
Cast: Barbara Hershey, Ron Silver, George Coe, and Alex RoccoDirector: Sidney J. FurieRuntime: 125 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
An unforgettable adaptation of the Frank De Felitta novel about a woman defending herself and her family from a violent and sexually abusive poltergeist, The Entity has become a cult classic for its unnerving boldness and genuinely scary haunting sequences, even becoming noted by Martin Scorsese among the scariest horror films of all time. However, it ends on a bizarre and sour note that will leave most viewers scratching their heads, as a woman returns to her haunted home only for the ghost within her house to call her a vulgar slur out of nowhere, which plays way more absurdly than intended.
10.Widows
Cast: Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, and Colin FarrellDirector: Steve McQueenRuntime: 128 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
Widows was a spectacular sleeper hit in 2018, proving that filmmaker Steve McQueen can make compelling and tense studio fare while preserving his signature style and exhibiting stellar performances from the ensemble cast. But a really lackluster third-act twist leads to a finale that feels too complicated and convenient for an otherwise really tight and straightforward heist thriller, which may be why the film hasn't remained as culturally revered as it should.
11.Contact
Cast: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, David Morse, and Angela BassettDirector: Robert ZemeckisRuntime: 150 MinutesRating: PGRotten Tomatoes
Based on the novel by Carl Sagan, Contact was a global hit and found high critical marks throughout its release in 1997, which helped reinvigorate the careers of stars Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. But if there’s anything that has hurt Contact’s reputation, it has been the maudlin and laughable conclusion, which somewhat subverts the intriguing themes and ideas presented in an otherwise gripping story.
12.Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Cast: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, and Naomi WattsDirector: Alejandro González IñárrituRuntime: 119 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
One of the biggest shocks of the Academy Awards in 2015 was Birdman being snubbed for Best Picture, as the film had long been the favorite for audiences and critics alike and properly heralded a comeback for star Michael Keaton. But one reason it may not have grabbed the biggest prize in cinema may be the film's polarizing ending, in which the darker and more humane ending features a somewhat fantastical post-script that feels like the "Hollywood" cherry on an art film sundae.
13.Red State
Cast: Michael Parks, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and Michael AngaranoDirector: Kevin SmithRuntime: 89 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
Kevin Smith's first foray into horror filmmaking came in the form of Red State, one of his most disturbing and dramatically potent films elevated by an awesome ensemble cast. Yet the film will never quite reach the heights of Smith's other classics thanks to a wet fart of an ending, bringing the film to a screeching, anticlimactic halt that makes you wonder why you were invested in the suspenseful story in the first place.
14.Spring Breakers
Cast: Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, James Franco, and Selena GomezDirector: Harmony KorineRuntime: 94 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
Spring Breakers has always been a divisive film, as Harmony Korine's neon-soaked art film was an unexpected hit, though its experimental tone was simply too strange for some. But if there's anything both fans and haters of the epic party drama can agree on, it's that the film's hard right turn into a trigger-happy revenge fantasy was ill-fitting to close an otherwise singular cinematic experience.
15.8MM
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Joaquin Phoenix, James Gandolfini, and Anthony HealdDirector: Joel SchumacherRuntime: 123 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
Joel Schumacher's envelope-pushing neo-noir thriller has evolved from sleeper hit to full-on cult classic, as 8MM has since become among Nicolas Cage's most slept-on films among contemporary audiences. This could very possibly be the result of the film's tonally conflicted ending, as the narrative feels dead set on a less melancholy and more hopeful ending despite the truly dark journey that its protagonist previously endured.
16.Hancock
Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, and Eddie MarsanDirector: Peter BergRuntime: 92 MinutesRating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes
Hancock is one of those films that rests so close to the edge of greatness that it's a damn shame that it never quite became the subversive flick that both comments on and works as a superhero movie. Most fans will tell you that's because the film takes a fairly steep nosedive during its third act, betraying the fun, comedic tone of the first half of the film for a self-serious, lore-heavy finale that few remember and even less enjoyed.
17.War of the Worlds (2005)
Cast: Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Justin Chatwin, and Tim RobbinsDirector: Steven SpielbergRuntime: 116 MinutesRating: PG-13Rotten Tomatoes
It's strange that, out of all the filmmakers out there, Steven Spielberg somehow lands on this list twice. Alas, that's the case, as his second collaboration with Tom Cruise resulted in a gigantic sci-fi blockbuster that has you on the edge of your seat...until the film's closing minutes, as a ho-hum third act gives way to a climactic twist that is flat-out stupid, leaving the film to shuffle its story toward an ultimately inconsequential end point.
18.Destroyer (2018)
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan, and Tatiana MaslanyDirector: Karyn KusamaRuntime: 123 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
In her followup to her nail-biting thriller The Invitation, filmmaker Karyn Kusama enlisted Nicole Kidman to reinvent herself as a haggard and haunted former undercover cop who aims to solve a crime directly tied to her traumatic past. While Kidman is outstanding and the film is almost a home run, a really silly last-minute twist and a final scene that feels incredibly familiar to the genre keep Destroyer from reaching its full potential.
19.Us
Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Shahadi Wright JosephDirector: Jordan PeeleRuntime: 116 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
Jordan Peele's sophomore film certainly maintained (or, arguably, raised) the level of ambition he highlighted in Get Out, and for the most part, the film is very effective, with a number of shocking and scary set pieces throughout providing a new generation with some fresh nightmare fuel. Alas, no one is going to lose any sleep over the film's third act, which provides a stage for a style-over-substance fight scene, a curiously front-and-center Hands Across America riff, and a final twist that comes off as one indulgence too many.
20.Stripes
Cast: Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, P. J. Soles, and John CandyDirector: Ivan ReitmanRuntime: 105 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
A classic comedy that is not only renowned for its hilarity but the later projects it would inspire, Ghostbusters among them, Stripes doesn't necessarily have an ending problem as much as it has a third-act problem. With the film reaching its logical conclusion at the end of the second act, Stripes continues for another 20 minutes with an extraneous and nearly laugh-free war sequence that is frequently considered to be one of the big blunders in comedy film history.
21.Smokin’ Aces
Cast: Common, Chris Pine, Alicia Keys, and Ryan ReynoldsDirector: Joe CarnahanRuntime: 109 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
For the majority of its runtime, Smokin' Aces is a kinetic action film with fun, chaotic energy and a gleefully broken moral compass. But the bonkers and badass hijinks of the film are nowhere to be seen in the unexpectedly heavy-handed ending with a frustrating twist and a lame final beat that relies on unearned emotional stakes.
22.The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
Cast: Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, Robin Wright, and Stellan SkarsgårdDirector: David FincherRuntime: 158 MinutesRating: RRotten Tomatoes
David Fincher's English-language remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a seemingly impossible task, but he very nearly pulled it off, as the film matched the tone of the original adaptation with technical spectacle and an expansive scope for which the beloved filmmaker is known. That said, the film's ending feels sanitized and "Hollywood"-ified as opposed to the ending of the original adaptation and book, prioritizing a romantic angle over the nature of the characters themselves.
