Making a movie is hard. Even creating a film that has a gripping narrative is a tough proposition, let alone having the thing end in a way that satisfies audiences. When directors miss the mark, moviegoers let them know. Here are ten movies with endings that everyone hated.
The Return of the Jedi (Kind of)
Fans loved the ending of The Return of the Jedi back in 1983, but George Lucas tinkered with the film’s ending in re-releases and ruined fans’ memories of it. In the updated version of the ending, Anakin’s original Force ghost actor, Sebastian Shaw, is replaced by Hayden Christensen. Christensen plays Anakin in the prequels, but it’s weird that Anakin appears as his younger self instead of the age he passed away at, like Obi-Wan does.
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is considered one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. It’s a complicated, brainy movie that covers some pretty heavy topics. In the end of the film, Dr. Bowman ages and dies of natural causes and then becomes a “Star Child,” floating through the cosmos. This plot point was likely meant to be profound, but most audiences just found it confusing.
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises is a great conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s excellent Batman trilogy, but it has a particularly weird ending. In a contrived moment, we learn that Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character has the middle name “Robin,” a ham-fisted attempt to make him into a sidekick for a Batman who died getting a nuclear weapon away from Gotham.
Weirder still, Batman’s sacrifice for the city is immediately undercut by the reveal that he survived and is now just living with Selina Kyle far from the city he swore to protect. This is as out-of-character for Bruce as it is implausible.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The fourth Indy movie is a bit of an outlier for fans. While reception to it has warmed over the years since its release, even its defenders tend to agree that its rushed ending is weird. The climax of the film reveals actual aliens with a flying saucer who vanish from Earth forever. It’s just very incongruent with the style of the earlier films.
Titanic
The 1997 romance film Titanic shows director James Cameron at his most romantic. And, for the most part, it’s a stellar flick. One alternate ending is very, very frustrating, though. And we’re not talking about anything to do with the door that some claim Jack could have fit on. No, it’s a baffling scenario in which Rose throws the Heart of the Ocean into the sea instead of selling it and donating the money to art school in honor of her departed sweetheart!
Spider-Man 3
Even director Sam Raimi hated the way Spider-Man 3 ended, blaming the film’s many problems on Sony Pictures. Raimi says Sony wanted to cram as many villains as possible into the narrative, leaving the ending on a weird note as Peter Parker goes to a funeral and finally dances joylessly with Mary Jane Watson.
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Tim Burton’s 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes is a genuinely awful movie, and that extends to its schlocky, stupid ending. Mark Wahlberg’s character travels back in time to modern-day Washington DC, only to see the Lincoln Memorial depicts an ape wearing Abe Lincoln’s clothes. The film suggests this is the far future, but this invites so many questions. Did the apes just live out an exact replica of human history, down to recreating Washington DC in its entirety? Was there an Ape Civil War? Did the apes create perfect fascimiles of each human country? This “reveal” is just so, so ridiculous.
I Am Legend
I Am Legend is notorious for its frustrating ending. Will Smith’s character finally concocts a cure for the vampiric zombie virus but has to hand it off to other survivors. He stays behind to detonate explosives, killing many of the creatures—seemingly not learning that he, in fact, was the monster.
In the movie’s (much, much better) alternate ending, he realizes the error of his ways and releases the female infected he’s been experimenting on. The creatures, who are intelligent and have emotions, spare him for his change of heart.
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Man of Steel
Zack Snyder fundamentally misunderstands how Superman works. Clark Kent is not an edgy, brooding alien who looks down on humanity and executes his enemies with clinical efficiency. He would never kill anyone, not even the evil General Zod. Snyder having Man of Steel end with Superman violating this cardinal rule of the character cements the director’s complete disregard for Superman’s comics origins.
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Legendary comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail infamously ends without resolving the narrative at all. King Arthur and his knights are suddenly accosted by modern-day policemen and are arrested for all their misdeeds throughout the film. It’s funny, sure, but it’s jarring and suggests the filmmakers just ran out of money and had to figure out how to end the movie right away.
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