19 Movies Where We Might as Well Just Ignore the Ending

When you watch a film, you’re not just in it to experience the ending. After all, you could just look up how it ends online, if that’s all that you cared about. The reality is that a movie is an experience where every part of the story is meant to be significant, that means not just the end, but the beginning and the middle as well.

The selection we’ve brought for you today is made up of movies that nail that beginning and middle parts, only to fumble the endings. They’re still worthwhile experiences to go through, even if their endings leave a lot to be desired.

Sunshine

This gripping sci-fi thriller about a crew trying to reignite the Sun falls apart in the final act. It suddenly shifts from a thoughtful space drama into a completely different, slasher-style movie that ruins the earlier tension.

Signs

This is a M. Night Shyamalan thriller that built masterclass tension only to stumble at the finish line. The famously silly twist revealing the invading aliens are incredibly weak to water left a bad taste for many viewers.

Now You See Me

This heist movie features a widely criticized twist revealing FBI agent Dylan Rhodes as the mastermind. The unforeshadowed ending was deemed profoundly insulting and mind-bogglingly stupid, ruining the fun illusion of the entire film.

Lucy

The setup of a woman unlocking the full capacity of her brain is highly entertaining. The finale, though, becomes far too abstract, leaving behind the grounded action elements for a bizarre conclusion that lacks clear resolution.

Law Abiding Citizen

This vigilante action thriller directed by F. Gary Gray built a fascinating moral conflict. Then, the final outcome completely contradicts the tension developed earlier, simplifying a complex story into a very conventional and disappointing resolution.

Wonder Woman

The first DC Comics feature for this iconic superheroine was widely praised for its emotional weight. Unfortunately, the final battle devolves into a generic, CGI-heavy brawl that completely undercuts the thoughtful anti-war themes established earlier.

Knowing

This atmospheric thriller built genuine dread as a catastrophic event approached. Ultimately, the film received mixed-to-negative reviews, with major criticism directed toward heavy-handed implausibilities and a polarizing conclusion that felt like it belonged in a different movie.

The Abyss

James Cameron’s 1989 science fiction adventure offers breathtaking underwater visuals and intense isolation. Sadly, the theatrical cut wraps things up with a rushed, overly preachy alien encounter that deflates the incredible human drama that preceded it.

Source Code

This tight, inventive thriller about reliving the same few minutes on a train had a perfect, bittersweet stopping point. Instead, it pushes past that moment into a confusingly happy resolution that breaks its own established time-travel rules.

10 Cloverfield Lane

This 2016 science fiction thriller directed by Dan Trachtenberg is a masterclass in claustrophobic psychological tension. Then, the protagonist escapes the bunker only to suddenly find herself in a ridiculous, over-the-top action battle against literal alien ships.

High Tension

This French slasher directed by Alexandre Aja focuses on a brutal home invasion. The intense ride is completely ruined by a final twist that introduces massive inconsistencies, making earlier scenes logically impossible to reconcile.

Downsizing

This science fiction comedy-drama directed by Alexander Payne had a clever premise about shrinking humans to save money. Unfortunately, the narrative abandons its fun concept entirely in the final act for a heavy-handed environmental message.

Glass

The conclusion to this grounded superhero trilogy resolves major character arcs incredibly quickly and with minimal emotional impact. It reduces the weight of a story that took nearly two decades to build, leaving fans feeling completely empty.

The Devil Inside

The ending of this horror movie was singled out for mockery upon release. It literally cut to black and told viewers to visit a website for more information, prompting articles discussing whether it is cinema’s worst ending.

Savages

This action thriller directed by Oliver Stone builds to a violent and tragic climax, only to pull a massive fake-out. The story abruptly rewinds itself, offering a much safer and less satisfying resolution instead.

Identity

A clever whodunit structure keeps this thriller engaging for most of its runtime. However, the final explanation relies on a psychological twist that erases the stakes entirely, making the previous hour of murder mystery feel totally pointless.

Baby Driver

Edgar Wright’s action film about a getaway driver is a stylish, music-driven thrill ride. The final moments, however, abandon the kinetic energy for a drawn-out, highly conventional courtroom wrap-up that drags down the film’s incredible momentum.

The Wolverine

This standalone superhero film offered a fantastic, grounded look at a beloved mutant dealing with mortality in Japan. Sadly, the introspective journey concludes with a cartoonish battle against a giant robot suit, ruining the serious tone completely.

The Forgotten

This psychological thriller starts as a gripping mystery about a grieving mother whose memories are being erased. The fascinating setup is entirely ruined when the culprit is revealed to be a ridiculously absurd alien experiment with zero foreshadowing.