He wasn't even originally cast in the movie. Peter Stormare just levitated down through the ceiling one day and pulled some cancer out of Keanu Reeves' lungs.
I'd argue Constantine is a banger from beginning to end. The ending only works because of the setup throughout the rest of the movie, like a movie should work.
That movie was so good that Hellblazer fans didn't mind that Keanu doesn't look or (mostly) doesn't act like Constantine.
An adaption that is good in it's own right is a rare thing.
I absolutely lost it. Literally perfect. Had no inkling this is where it would go.
The only thing that kinda ruined it was that a picture of her outside with a cigarette looking hard was used in a lot of promotional material for the film so I kept waiting for that moment only to realize it was at the end. But honestly how we got there was still excellent.
I disagree entirely. I enjoyed the whole horror escape, hunter/hunted type of thing and didn't need it to take a supernatural turn. Not that it made the movie bad, i just felt like it was not the direction I would've taken it
Freejack is a massively underrated movie. I don’t know why it got so much hate when it came out. The premise is great, the story is really good, the acting is top notch, the worldbuilding is great and it’s got a lot of memorable scenes.
It compelled me to read the source book “Immortality Inc” by Robert Sheckley. The two mediums really only share a premise, but the book is absolutely fantastic and a surprisingly quick read for how much happens.
Steve Miner's slasher movies range from average to mediocre to downright awful, but they all have genuinely bravura endings. Friday the 13th parts 2 & 3, and Halloween H20.
Jamie Lee Curtis explained the ending really well. She said she initially agreed to do the movie under the condition that she would kill off Michael to end the series for her there. Later on they tried to reneg because the studio did not want to end the Halloween series right then and there so she struck another deal. she said she would return for the sequel under 2 conditions. 1) she gets to kill Michael as planned. 2) she gets killed off right away in the sequel. The studio agreed.
The reason she did it was so that fans could get that ending to H2O and close it off as a trilogy.
She basically said just watch 1 2 and H20 and pretend like Resurrection never existed.
Halloween is such great franchise it’s got like a pick your own adventure feeling.
Now you can either watch 1,2,4,5,6 or 1,2,7 or 1, 2018, Kills and Ends or my personal selection 1 & 2018 and imagine Michael died or disappeared at the end of that.
Final Destination 5 wasn't all that better than any previous entries, and then we get the final twist tying it to the other films. I love the way they did it and they didn't just hint at it, they went all out showing the end results. Plus the dude at the end in the bar getting his comeuppance. Prob the only reason I even remember it at all.
If you mean that very last scene yes, the way that bookends with Raiders made it worth it for me. The rest wasn't perfect, but I would still say it's far better than any moment in crystal skull.
That’s actually not the ending in the original novella by Stephen King. The novella ending isn’t particularly uplifting, but it’s nowhere near as brutal as the film ending. I believe King said that he wished he had thought of that ending and said it was better than what he had originally written.
I don't think he missed the landing with the novella, it's just different. His isn't hopeful but its not as brutal. Plus there are other key differences - for instance in the novella they realize the monsters use smell, not sight, to find them so they are able to find some level of protection.
I seem to be in the minority but the ending didn't work for me. It was too Twilight Zone-y. Too perfectly ironic. Almost comedic after such a long, rough ride. The timing had to be just so; if he had done the deed any earlier, the rescue wouldn't have been so traumatic. Any later and it wouldn't have been tragic. It was perfectly timed for maximum irony. Plus, no father would do the deed if there were any chance of survival, and there was. They had survived this long already. Roll the dice again.
I dislike the ending because I think it’s unearned and made no sense given what we’ve seen of those characters. None of them were suicidal, 30 seconds after you run out of gas (which you all should’ve known would happen, switch cars at some point?), you kill yourselves. They all fought to get out of there but then decide immediately to end it so fast? Felt like a cop out.
The book ends more like that, on a somewhat ambiguous note, with the protagonist writing that they've been bouncing from place to place and have found no end to the mist but they're all still alive.
I agree, and although I've got people watching the mist because it hits so hard at the end, the rest of the movie is quite limited. The characters, especially the antagonist are cliched and it is pushed to quickly, the scenario develops rapidly. I was actually impressed how the managed to expand the concept for the first Netflix series. It wasn't popular, but I felt it was a nice evolution of he movie.
The Mist is a movie gets praised too often, but the movie is pretty bad until the ending. I showed it to someone for the first time after a decade of not watching it and man, is the movie rough. Clichéd, heavy handed, awful dialogue. It's not a good movie. If it wasn't for the ending, it would've been forgotten already
This right here is my favorite response so far. A lot of top-tier talent wasted on a mediocre script with a gut-punch ending. I still recommend it, though.
Mine wasn't a bad guys win movie but a protagonist doesn't win movie. I was like What, that can happen?
The movie was >!Miracle Mile!<. I rewatched it recently as an adult and it didn't hold up.
Good one. I have fond memories of this movie because of how good it portrayed the main character and the ending. But man is this a 90s movie, through and through. Acting is a bit all over the place and over the top.
But that ending...
I’ve been trying to get my fiancée to finish watching this with me so I can get to the tournament because it’s so good with a great ending. But the earlier parts of the film are dragging and have some other issues
My wife and I are apparently the only people that actually liked the entire film. Not saying that’s when i knew i was gonna marry her but it sure did help. We either have great taste out terrible taste in films lol
It doesn't really save it, but the final scene in Jet Li's 'The One' is such a fucking kick ass way to close out a somewhat mediocre film. They even made the shitty nu-metal Papa Roach song sound awesome.
Oh I would put Hero in that category as well. A beautiful if slow movie, that could be accused of being a Crouching Tiger rip-off. But the ending is such a welcome twist. And yes I'm aware that the story is old
I remember being a kid seeing the intro and being so hyped by the super speed kind of fighting but being disappointed that it was basically the only time the movie did it.
I would say *The Book of Eli* was a pretty standard post-apocalyptic movie with undertones of westerns. The ending turned the entire movie (and Eli's behavior) on its head.
The ending action sequence for The Lone Ranger is truly great, but not enough to save that movie, or even enough to watch the rest of the movie for it.
This movie is gonna get reevaluated in a few years and rightfully so, if you ignore the native american disrespect (big if) and Johnny Depp fatigue it's a great film
Tv movie, but, Storm of the Century. Although I love the whole thing, the ending has one of the best narration endings of all of kings adaptions ( which are always quite strong in that regard)
**" .. this is a cash-and-carry world, pay as you go. Sometimes you only have to pay a**
**little, but mostly it’s a lot. And once in a while it’s all you have. That’s a lesson I thought I**
**learned nine years ago, on Little Tall, during the Storm of the Century ...**
**... but I was wrong. I only started learning during the big blow. I finished just last**
**week. ... "**
This series had some really great moments. The build up to the ending of part 1 when the storm first starts to come ashore is so good. I remember watching it on TV when it came out and was super stoked for part 2.
Not the ending itself, but the scene in the Flash near the end where he says goodbye to his mother is pretty amazing
Shame they undo the lesson learned minutes later
It really felt like outside of that opening sequence and the scenes at the house, the entire budget of both money and effort was spent on that final shot and everything else was just scraped together to build to that ending. The craziest thing is is absolutely works because no human being is ever going to expect that, but it’s somehow still deeply engrained in the psychology of the film set up in the first few minutes.
The power of sleep away camp is that it legitimately almost feels like they are not actors and the dialogue between campers is way more vicious than we usually get in the genre
Which part of it? The father being in the photograph? I barely remember. I do know most people seem to agree that the last third of the movie brings down the phenomenal first 2/3s of it.
Oh I feel the opposite. The first 2/3 of the movie are excellent and then it falls off a cliff once they go into the kids mind or whatever and they show the Darth maul looking guy. Stopped being scary
I didn’t see yours when I posted my comment:
“Rogue One.
The movie has a great aesthetic, but Jyn is quite boring. She’s dragged from place to place without any agency until she finally makes a decision for herself before Scarif. Then it becomes one of the better SW movies I’ve seen.
I would have preferred if Jyn and Andor’s character’s were combined. She’s working in the rebellion as a spy, thinking her father’s dead, until an informant informs her that Galen’s still alive. She goes against the wishes of Mon Mothma and tracks down the pilot, revisiting traumatic memories of her past in the process (Saw Guerra). When she learns that Galen’s building a weapon of great power she must make a great decision. Multiple ways to go about setting it all up.
What I am trying to say is, I found Andor and all other characters in the film more interesting than Jyn. And as a result, the movie remained mediocre until Scarif.”
The first time I watched it I felt this way about Brazil.
I usually love Terry Gilliam, but thought this was a bit too silly and shallow, then the last couple of scenes floored me. Brilliant stuff.
Tiny Canadian indie movie from 2009 called **'The Wild Hunt"**
It's about a LARPing weekend gone wrong...and it's clever enough for the most part, and there's a climax that's pretty good...and then an unexpected final scene that absolutely slams.
Frailty is one that I think my friends would definitely say fits that description. A group of us decided to watch it one night after dinner, and we all haaaated it. To the point where about half of the group decided to just leave and go to bed. But those of us who stayed, even though we weren't enjoying most of the rest of the movie, we loved the ending, such that at breakfast, half of us were raving about it while the other half were just staring puzzled at why we were suddenly saying we enjoyed the movie when we all hated it the night before.
The American Godzilla 2014. Focuses way too much on boring side plots with really boring human characters ( who were so dull none of them were brought back for any of the sequels) continuously teased images of Godzilla, before cutting away and in general testing the Audiences patience for the first 90 minutes of the film. But that ending was a banger.
I really like Godzilla 2014 overall but I totally get why people get frustrated by the frequent teases and I wish they had shown us at least some of the airport fight. It really felt like it was building to it.
Yeah, De Niro is excellent as well. Playing it more subtle and creepy than other portrayals of the devil. And, Rourke is right there with him. The scenes where the two are speaking to each other are mesmerizing.
I love Melancholia as well.
I could not stand Melancholia. While I respect what he was trying to do, it came across as extremely hamfisted and pretentious. I could not wait for the movie to end.
A very bad 1968 movie I saw only once, on TV, in the early 1980s, called "The Day the Hot Line Got Hot."
It's a flat, unfunny Cold War comedy, and the listed "stars" are Robert Taylor (as the head of the CIA,) and Charles Boyer, (KGB chief.) But the actual main character is George Chakiris (the guy you hired if you couldn't afford George Maharis, who was the guy you hired if you couldn't afford George Hamilton,) as a computer programmer for IBM who -- get this! -- never, ever, ever tells a lie. We first see him nearly getting fired for directing a client to a competitor who has a better product... and you know the drill from here, right?
As he gets tangled up in a wacky Cold War caper, and falls (mutually) in love with a beautiful Western spy, the movie sneers and belittles him for being so quaint and foolish as to never, ever, ever tell even the slightest, kindest untruth. Unattractive ladies are insulted, opportunities lost, advantages squandered, because he keeps spilling the truth, left, right and center. Eventually, the movie reaches a climax -- the lady spy has been captured by the KGB,, and is being held backstage at the Bolshoi Ballet (or possibly a fictional substitute) for transport back to Russia to be tortured for information and then liquidated. He goes to the police, the FBI, they don't believe him. (She may be disavowed by the CIA, I don't remember,) and eventually, he goes to the theater itself to plead with the management to let him backstage to rescue a beautiful secret agent being held by the KGB, and again, he is rejected because -- irony of ironies! -- they don't believe the plain truth, dismissing it as a pathetically fanciful lie by a fanboy trying to get too close to the famous dancers!
Stymied, and with nowhere else to turn, he suddenly begins spinning some enormous lie about being a critic or something, which he spouts smoothly and glibly, and armed with his newfound mendacity, he almost effortlessly talks his way past all obstacles, rescues his love, escorts her to freedom and saves the world from nuclear annihilation.
Then, there's the denouement, with the hero and his beloved having a romantic breakfast on the balcony of a beautiful Riviera hotel, discussing how all the loose ends were tied up, and she says adoringly to him, "I love you!"
And he smiles back and replies, "And I love you."
And it's all been so tiresome and predictable and you're thinking about the hundred minutes you'll never get back, as she gazes lovingly but also sadly at him for a silent moment and says...
"I'll never really know, will I?"
And he replies, "No, you never will."
And suddenly, this trite, redundant, overdone exercise in the world's most tiresomely cynical theme of the foolishness of honesty, slaps us in the face, and says, "But look what that world costs us!"
I'll never forget that.
I don't know if I'd just say it was the "ending", but I was bored and fell asleep during the first half of Rogue One, but the last 30 minutes or so were great and saved the movie for me.
Most people agree the majority of The Return of the Jedi is minding at best. Everyone seems tired, jaded. But the combined Rebels Vs Imperial Fleet & Death Star II / Rebels & Ewoks Vs Imperial Stormtroopers & Walkers / Luke Vs Vader swordfight act is up there with the best of them. It's thrilling, cathartic, and the peril feels real.
TENƎT's final act is chef's kiss. The rest is sort of constant exposition mixed with silliness. But everything culminates in 5D ground combat. Love it.
Star Trek Nemesis is a shockingly bad final entry in the Picard and co series of movies but the nearly hour long space combat sequence is fantastic.
Damn I had the opposite reaction to Tenet. Felt more and more incomprehensible as it went on and on until the battle happened and I thought “Why the fuck is this…you know what fuck it, I don’t know what’s going on or why.”
Nah, Tenet's final battle feels cheap and ineffectual. There are only shots of one side shooting at nothing. It feels like they're just at a firing range, practicing.
Yeah that comment really stood out to me. The final battle in Tenet was by far the worst part of the movie for me. It’s shot terribly, where you’re never clear on who is doing what or why, but the absolute lack of an enemy is just ridiculous. People running around shooting at nothing, barely getting any resistance with no apparent goal. It was such a dud of an ending it’s actually interesting to me that anyone could think the opposite.
Technically it doesn't fit the criteria of the question, cus this movie isn't even mediocre, but I have the ultimate example of a movie having an ending that FAR exceeds anything else that happens in the rest of the movie.
"Jason Goes to Hell" (the ninth Friday the 13th movie) is AWFUL. Truly one of my least favorite movies of all time. But the very end of the movie *almost* makes it worth watching.
If you've never seen it: >!After Jason is finally defeated, there's a long shot of his mask laying on the ground in the dirt. The camera lingers for a moment, then FREDDY KRUEGER'S finger blades glove pops out of the ground & drags Jason's mask down into hell!!<
>!Not only was it a great moment that created buzz for fans of the 2 franchises, but it also teed up the fight between the 2 horror icons that would finally come to fruition about a decade later.!<
Like I said. TERRIBLE movie, but a fantastic final moment to end on.
This is easy: The life aquatic - Steve Zissou. The entire movie just crawled along - but the ending underwater submarine scene with Sigur Ros playing was fantastic.
Mediocre is too harsh, but these are 8/10 movies with 10/10 endings:
The Kid Detective - >!Our detective solved the case that has been cold since his childhood. He's now recognized by his community and parents, and is seen as a success now. He should be happy, but the movie ends with him crying *hard* because he's been traumatized by this case. Like, emotionally stunted!<
Promising Young Woman - >!What seems like a pretty linear movie of increasing revenge takes a sharp turn towards the end. Instead of killing the rapist, the main character is killed by the rapist, and he disposes of her body. She planned for this outcome, and made sure the guy gets caught!<
The Kid Detective was such a great blind watch. had zero expectations and was just entertained the whole time. im a Brody fan now and he was also great in Ready or Not.
PYW is an excellent example. Every time I hear Juice Newton's Angel of the Morning, I am immediately reminded of the end of that film. Sorry, Deadpool, PYW used it better.
I always think of that super jarring scene in It Chapter 2 where it plays suddenly during a creepy scene for comedic effect. Always takes me out of that scene.
Andy Griffith’s final movie, Play the Game. Didn’t expect the twist ending or Andy saying “Grandpa’s horny and he want to have fun!” or the scene where Seinfeld’s mother >!goes down on him!<
There’s a post-credits scene with him having an >!orgasm!<
Agatha Christie's "Endless Night"(2014) is like this. It's a murder mystery like all her others, but this one is presented quite differently. I think it's a made for tv movie, but the quality is good. I was starting to get a little impatient with it when suddenly it hit me, and I understood what was actually going on.
Stay (2005) with Naomi Watts and Ewan MacGregor was another one.
I don't think everyone would agree, but the recent In a Violent Nature hit this way for me.
It was an interesting premise that kinda worked despite lots of other shortcomings throughout (some of the acting was downright ameture).
But man the tension in the ending really got to me, and was really the only reason I recommended it to other people.
Hannibal! The whole thing is really very trashy, mediocre and disappointing as a follow up to The Silence of the Lambs, but the Ray Liotta brain scene near the end almost redeems it.
Mrs. Doubtfire. The bulk of the movie is silliness, and I enjoyed it well enough, but the ending very gently gives you a dose of thought provoking wisdom, especially if you're a kid. Back in the 90s Americans were still somewhat in denial about how many families ended in divorce, and the reality of that situation for both the kids and the adults. I remember thinking how refreshing it was that a family comedy was able, in the end, to see the reality of things with clear eyes and not sugar-goat it for its younger audience members.
The Sixth Sense. I mean it wasn't a bad movie, but it very much presented itself as the story of a psychiatrist trying to help a troubled kid all while he was hitting a rocky spot in his marriage. But when his wife drops the ring and it all comes flooding back, you have this very effective "oh shit!" moment. Very well done in my opinion.
I think the only real answer would be: Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. You cant have a more mediocre movie followed by an exciting ending. It is also a critics favorite!
Nonsense! That movie is great from start to finish! Over exaggerated “John!” at the beginning, fucked up aunt, pedophile camp cook everyone just kind of accepts, Ricky being an MVP with the dictionary, and so much more! The movie’s a gold standard for lowbrow sleaze. If the ending didn’t just go for it, then I would’ve been let down.
I liked Annihilation all the way through! It had a lot of really great moments. The bear, the flower people, the weird guts in the pool bit. Loved it all!
Underwater with Kristen Stewart. Mid movie, and honestly not a mind blowing ending but the monster reveal was pretty awesome and was the entire reason I watched the movie. Even knowing the reveal ahead of time, I was pretty happy with it.
Not necessarily mediocre, but Constantine is greatly elevated by its ending.
Peter Stormare as Lucifer was absolutely perfect casting.
All time favorite onscreen Satan. Followed closely by Viggo in The Prophecy.
Viggo was sexy and terrifying.
The way he so easily went from terrifying, to charming, to pathetic, and back again was just amazing.
He is an actor that nails his part no matter what it is
He wasn't even originally cast in the movie. Peter Stormare just levitated down through the ceiling one day and pulled some cancer out of Keanu Reeves' lungs.
"Hey guys, Peter Stormare just showed up in a white suit?" "Oh shit! Get the cameras rolling now! Go go go!"
I'd argue Constantine is a banger from beginning to end. The ending only works because of the setup throughout the rest of the movie, like a movie should work.
That movie was so good that Hellblazer fans didn't mind that Keanu doesn't look or (mostly) doesn't act like Constantine. An adaption that is good in it's own right is a rare thing.
IMO it’s *The Shining* of comic-inspired movies. So different. So good.
I thought Ready or Not was just okay, but the big ending scene is one of the funniest things I've ever seen in my life.
I absolutely lost it. Literally perfect. Had no inkling this is where it would go. The only thing that kinda ruined it was that a picture of her outside with a cigarette looking hard was used in a lot of promotional material for the film so I kept waiting for that moment only to realize it was at the end. But honestly how we got there was still excellent.
I feel the same about Knock Knock. Film was okay. But the ending makes the film worth watching.
I disagree entirely. I enjoyed the whole horror escape, hunter/hunted type of thing and didn't need it to take a supernatural turn. Not that it made the movie bad, i just felt like it was not the direction I would've taken it
Anyone remember Freejack? Great ending.
I love how Brad Pitt is watching that movie while stoned in True Romance.
I saw it in the theatre and the only thing I remember is that Mick Jagger was on the poster.
I completely forgot that movie existed until now.
Freejack is a massively underrated movie. I don’t know why it got so much hate when it came out. The premise is great, the story is really good, the acting is top notch, the worldbuilding is great and it’s got a lot of memorable scenes. It compelled me to read the source book “Immortality Inc” by Robert Sheckley. The two mediums really only share a premise, but the book is absolutely fantastic and a surprisingly quick read for how much happens.
Steve Miner's slasher movies range from average to mediocre to downright awful, but they all have genuinely bravura endings. Friday the 13th parts 2 & 3, and Halloween H20.
Halloween is my favorite of the series because of the ending. Too bad they ruined it with the next one
Everything about Resurrection was lame.
Jamie Lee Curtis explained the ending really well. She said she initially agreed to do the movie under the condition that she would kill off Michael to end the series for her there. Later on they tried to reneg because the studio did not want to end the Halloween series right then and there so she struck another deal. she said she would return for the sequel under 2 conditions. 1) she gets to kill Michael as planned. 2) she gets killed off right away in the sequel. The studio agreed. The reason she did it was so that fans could get that ending to H2O and close it off as a trilogy. She basically said just watch 1 2 and H20 and pretend like Resurrection never existed. Halloween is such great franchise it’s got like a pick your own adventure feeling.
Now you can either watch 1,2,4,5,6 or 1,2,7 or 1, 2018, Kills and Ends or my personal selection 1 & 2018 and imagine Michael died or disappeared at the end of that.
For me, Friday the 13th Part VII fits - that telekinetic fight scene at the end worked for me
Final Destination 5 wasn't all that better than any previous entries, and then we get the final twist tying it to the other films. I love the way they did it and they didn't just hint at it, they went all out showing the end results. Plus the dude at the end in the bar getting his comeuppance. Prob the only reason I even remember it at all.
I've told people it's almost worth watching the entire series for this ending
They can skip 4. Everyone can skip 4
I think it's possibly the strongest entry even without that ending, but the ending definitely does elevate it.
It was way superior than the atrociously lazy 4th one. For the rest, totally agree with you.
Dial of Destiny's ending/last segment is..something. Which you can't say about the rest of the film.
If you mean that very last scene yes, the way that bookends with Raiders made it worth it for me. The rest wasn't perfect, but I would still say it's far better than any moment in crystal skull.
I kinda enjoy all those Indian Jones movies equally. They’re all very weird.
The Mist I thought was pretty typical until that ending. Literally thought about that ending for days . That primal scream
That’s actually not the ending in the original novella by Stephen King. The novella ending isn’t particularly uplifting, but it’s nowhere near as brutal as the film ending. I believe King said that he wished he had thought of that ending and said it was better than what he had originally written.
It’s a pattern with him. He writes incredible stories about all sorts of stuff but has a hard time sticking the landing often. Love his work though.
To be fair, that has to be the literal hardest part of creating those stories.
True, but we can do better than space turtles and alien teenagers, I would hope.
I like it when the word "literal" appears when discussing literature.
I don't think he missed the landing with the novella, it's just different. His isn't hopeful but its not as brutal. Plus there are other key differences - for instance in the novella they realize the monsters use smell, not sight, to find them so they are able to find some level of protection.
I have a theory that he does shit endings because he doesn't want it to end. 11.22.63 on the other hand, that has a great ending...thanks to his son!
I seem to be in the minority but the ending didn't work for me. It was too Twilight Zone-y. Too perfectly ironic. Almost comedic after such a long, rough ride. The timing had to be just so; if he had done the deed any earlier, the rescue wouldn't have been so traumatic. Any later and it wouldn't have been tragic. It was perfectly timed for maximum irony. Plus, no father would do the deed if there were any chance of survival, and there was. They had survived this long already. Roll the dice again.
Plus he had the exact amount of bullets to kill everyone but himself. If he had shot one more or less, it wouldn't work.
I dislike the ending because I think it’s unearned and made no sense given what we’ve seen of those characters. None of them were suicidal, 30 seconds after you run out of gas (which you all should’ve known would happen, switch cars at some point?), you kill yourselves. They all fought to get out of there but then decide immediately to end it so fast? Felt like a cop out.
The book ends more like that, on a somewhat ambiguous note, with the protagonist writing that they've been bouncing from place to place and have found no end to the mist but they're all still alive.
I agree, and although I've got people watching the mist because it hits so hard at the end, the rest of the movie is quite limited. The characters, especially the antagonist are cliched and it is pushed to quickly, the scenario develops rapidly. I was actually impressed how the managed to expand the concept for the first Netflix series. It wasn't popular, but I felt it was a nice evolution of he movie.
The Mist is a movie gets praised too often, but the movie is pretty bad until the ending. I showed it to someone for the first time after a decade of not watching it and man, is the movie rough. Clichéd, heavy handed, awful dialogue. It's not a good movie. If it wasn't for the ending, it would've been forgotten already
Arlington Road
This right here is my favorite response so far. A lot of top-tier talent wasted on a mediocre script with a gut-punch ending. I still recommend it, though.
“Welp I guess the bad guy won”
Literally the first time I ever saw a movie do that. I was maybe 10-11 years old and my dad was watching it on TV. I was absolutely gutted
Mine wasn't a bad guys win movie but a protagonist doesn't win movie. I was like What, that can happen? The movie was >!Miracle Mile!<. I rewatched it recently as an adult and it didn't hold up.
Good one. I have fond memories of this movie because of how good it portrayed the main character and the ending. But man is this a 90s movie, through and through. Acting is a bit all over the place and over the top. But that ending...
Tin Cup is an ok movie elevated by one of the best endings to a sports movie imaginable. One that understands sports in a way few movies ever have
"Nice par, David" is a killer line as Kevin Costner is walking off with Rene Russo.
Tin Cup is a pretty darn good movie, elevated by a perfect movie ending.
I’ve been trying to get my fiancée to finish watching this with me so I can get to the tournament because it’s so good with a great ending. But the earlier parts of the film are dragging and have some other issues
The Thomas Crown Affair (90s version). The movie was fine, but the final heist scene in the museum with Nina Simone playing was so damn good.
It was very slick and it took a lot of artistic licence. But, that last heist with the doubles was both an ingenious and endearing touch.
I can't remember any other scene in that film, but that last heist lives rent free in my head. Amazing.
You can’t remember any other scenes involving Rene Russo? Because I can think of one or two that made an impression on my teenage brain.
For real, that VHS had a lot of rewinding
That was my first encounter with the song and every time I hear it I always think back to that movie. Such a memorable scene indeed.
Vanilla Sky is alright, but the ending makes it great.
My wife and I are apparently the only people that actually liked the entire film. Not saying that’s when i knew i was gonna marry her but it sure did help. We either have great taste out terrible taste in films lol
I’m another person who liked the entire movie, but I’m not looking for a throuple.
It doesn't really save it, but the final scene in Jet Li's 'The One' is such a fucking kick ass way to close out a somewhat mediocre film. They even made the shitty nu-metal Papa Roach song sound awesome.
Somewhat mediocre? It's a masterpiece.
Seriously lol The earliest live-action depiction of the multiverse that I know of, too. It was ahead of its time.
Peak cinema, it was.
Blud is just kicking people off the mountain 😂😂😂
Oh I would put Hero in that category as well. A beautiful if slow movie, that could be accused of being a Crouching Tiger rip-off. But the ending is such a welcome twist. And yes I'm aware that the story is old
"I AM NOBODY'S BITCH! You are mine."
I remember being a kid seeing the intro and being so hyped by the super speed kind of fighting but being disappointed that it was basically the only time the movie did it.
I would say *The Book of Eli* was a pretty standard post-apocalyptic movie with undertones of westerns. The ending turned the entire movie (and Eli's behavior) on its head.
Agreed. The film was good not great. But the ending was pretty cool.
The ending action sequence for The Lone Ranger is truly great, but not enough to save that movie, or even enough to watch the rest of the movie for it.
This movie is gonna get reevaluated in a few years and rightfully so, if you ignore the native american disrespect (big if) and Johnny Depp fatigue it's a great film
Tv movie, but, Storm of the Century. Although I love the whole thing, the ending has one of the best narration endings of all of kings adaptions ( which are always quite strong in that regard) **" .. this is a cash-and-carry world, pay as you go. Sometimes you only have to pay a** **little, but mostly it’s a lot. And once in a while it’s all you have. That’s a lesson I thought I** **learned nine years ago, on Little Tall, during the Storm of the Century ...** **... but I was wrong. I only started learning during the big blow. I finished just last** **week. ... "**
This series had some really great moments. The build up to the ending of part 1 when the storm first starts to come ashore is so good. I remember watching it on TV when it came out and was super stoked for part 2.
Life, that Ryan Reynolds/Jake Gyllenhaal alien horror flick, was pretty by the numbers. That ending though didn't wuss out. Props to them.
Ryan Reynolds part is extremely misleading tho... Why is he top billed for that
Not the ending itself, but the scene in the Flash near the end where he says goodbye to his mother is pretty amazing Shame they undo the lesson learned minutes later
The only time Ezra acts like a fucking human in the whole movie.
Onward It was a Dreamworks movie for 95% of it, with a classic “hit you in the feels” Pixar ending.
Are Dreamworks movies considered mediocre? I love them.
Phantom Menace, best lightsaber battle in all star wars
Sleep away Camp. Whole thing is a subpar slasher…but that ending makes it more memorable above average trash.
It really felt like outside of that opening sequence and the scenes at the house, the entire budget of both money and effort was spent on that final shot and everything else was just scraped together to build to that ending. The craziest thing is is absolutely works because no human being is ever going to expect that, but it’s somehow still deeply engrained in the psychology of the film set up in the first few minutes.
Most 80s horror movies rely on one or two scenes to carry the rest of the garbage script.
It does have one of the best lines of dialogue ever written, however: "Eat shit and die, Ricky" "Eat shit and live, Bill"
The power of sleep away camp is that it legitimately almost feels like they are not actors and the dialogue between campers is way more vicious than we usually get in the genre
Saw
Bodies Bodies Bodies.
I thought this movie was spectacular
I enjoyed the movie but I predicted the ending about half way through so I was more just looking at how crazy things got for basically no reason
That ending was the only laugh I got from the movie but it was *such* a good laugh.
Saved it
Insidious is kind of dull. But that ending is so brilliant that it tricked me into thinking I liked it
Which part of it? The father being in the photograph? I barely remember. I do know most people seem to agree that the last third of the movie brings down the phenomenal first 2/3s of it.
Yeah that’s the one. I love that ending. I guess I’m on the opposite end, don’t find it particularly interesting and mostly dull.
Oh I feel the opposite. The first 2/3 of the movie are excellent and then it falls off a cliff once they go into the kids mind or whatever and they show the Darth maul looking guy. Stopped being scary
Rogue One. Wasn't very taken with any of it until the last thirty minutes, and particularly the last FIVE minutes.
Sometimes I just watch that big space battle all on its own
It’s just so fucking good, I am so glad they made that movie
I didn’t see yours when I posted my comment: “Rogue One. The movie has a great aesthetic, but Jyn is quite boring. She’s dragged from place to place without any agency until she finally makes a decision for herself before Scarif. Then it becomes one of the better SW movies I’ve seen. I would have preferred if Jyn and Andor’s character’s were combined. She’s working in the rebellion as a spy, thinking her father’s dead, until an informant informs her that Galen’s still alive. She goes against the wishes of Mon Mothma and tracks down the pilot, revisiting traumatic memories of her past in the process (Saw Guerra). When she learns that Galen’s building a weapon of great power she must make a great decision. Multiple ways to go about setting it all up. What I am trying to say is, I found Andor and all other characters in the film more interesting than Jyn. And as a result, the movie remained mediocre until Scarif.”
I liked Rogue one first time I saw it, but it doesn’t hold up for me. Ending battles are good though.
Split. I wasn't really feeling it until the big reveal at the end, and then it all made sense.
And then you get Glass
Now I’m angry. So much wasted potential if they just thought about what these characters were for a second.
Surprised to see this at the top. That movie was _not_ mediocre at all.
I misread it as *Splice* and I was concerned about the commenter at first 😅
The movie was amazing from the first to the last scene, what are you smoking?
The first time I watched it I felt this way about Brazil. I usually love Terry Gilliam, but thought this was a bit too silly and shallow, then the last couple of scenes floored me. Brilliant stuff.
Brazil is my favourite movie, and I’ve always loved pretty much every scene of it. But that last fifteen minutes or so is just amazing, to be sure.
It turned around my whole opinion of the film. I remember I rewatched it the next day. I really need to see it again. It's been about 20 years!
DOOM. The FPS sequence at the end carries the entire film.
Tiny Canadian indie movie from 2009 called **'The Wild Hunt"** It's about a LARPing weekend gone wrong...and it's clever enough for the most part, and there's a climax that's pretty good...and then an unexpected final scene that absolutely slams.
Dark Star (1974). Kinda wonky for most of the movie, but the ending is genuinely fantastic.
I love the whole movie because it's just goofy fun, but yes, the ending is insane. Let there be light.
The Others. It was meh all the way through then it was Wow that’s amazing.
Nah, it deserves more than a 'meh' for the first two acts.
It definitely had some great genuinely creepy moments.
Escape from L.A
I don’t know, the Bangkok Rules and Surgeon General scenes are pretty great too.
"Welcome to the human race"
He's not even heeeere he's a hollow gram!
Frailty is one that I think my friends would definitely say fits that description. A group of us decided to watch it one night after dinner, and we all haaaated it. To the point where about half of the group decided to just leave and go to bed. But those of us who stayed, even though we weren't enjoying most of the rest of the movie, we loved the ending, such that at breakfast, half of us were raving about it while the other half were just staring puzzled at why we were suddenly saying we enjoyed the movie when we all hated it the night before.
It’s criminal that you rate Frailty as an “otherwise mediocre movie”. Criminal.
Not just criminal. Clearly a demon.
Great pick. It's the last thing you expect to happen...it's like getting a bucket of cold water thrown on you.
The American Godzilla 2014. Focuses way too much on boring side plots with really boring human characters ( who were so dull none of them were brought back for any of the sequels) continuously teased images of Godzilla, before cutting away and in general testing the Audiences patience for the first 90 minutes of the film. But that ending was a banger.
I really like Godzilla 2014 overall but I totally get why people get frustrated by the frequent teases and I wish they had shown us at least some of the airport fight. It really felt like it was building to it.
Angel Heart (Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet) The Life of David Gale (Spacey) Melancholia (Kirsten Dunst) Secret Window (Depp)
Booo, Angel Heart is great
That movie makes me uncomfortable from start to end. Great film.
Yeah, De Niro is excellent as well. Playing it more subtle and creepy than other portrayals of the devil. And, Rourke is right there with him. The scenes where the two are speaking to each other are mesmerizing. I love Melancholia as well.
Every shot and performance in Melancolia is astounding, unlike LVT's other films
I could not stand Melancholia. While I respect what he was trying to do, it came across as extremely hamfisted and pretentious. I could not wait for the movie to end.
The end of The Mist is the main reason anybody remembers it
A very bad 1968 movie I saw only once, on TV, in the early 1980s, called "The Day the Hot Line Got Hot." It's a flat, unfunny Cold War comedy, and the listed "stars" are Robert Taylor (as the head of the CIA,) and Charles Boyer, (KGB chief.) But the actual main character is George Chakiris (the guy you hired if you couldn't afford George Maharis, who was the guy you hired if you couldn't afford George Hamilton,) as a computer programmer for IBM who -- get this! -- never, ever, ever tells a lie. We first see him nearly getting fired for directing a client to a competitor who has a better product... and you know the drill from here, right? As he gets tangled up in a wacky Cold War caper, and falls (mutually) in love with a beautiful Western spy, the movie sneers and belittles him for being so quaint and foolish as to never, ever, ever tell even the slightest, kindest untruth. Unattractive ladies are insulted, opportunities lost, advantages squandered, because he keeps spilling the truth, left, right and center. Eventually, the movie reaches a climax -- the lady spy has been captured by the KGB,, and is being held backstage at the Bolshoi Ballet (or possibly a fictional substitute) for transport back to Russia to be tortured for information and then liquidated. He goes to the police, the FBI, they don't believe him. (She may be disavowed by the CIA, I don't remember,) and eventually, he goes to the theater itself to plead with the management to let him backstage to rescue a beautiful secret agent being held by the KGB, and again, he is rejected because -- irony of ironies! -- they don't believe the plain truth, dismissing it as a pathetically fanciful lie by a fanboy trying to get too close to the famous dancers! Stymied, and with nowhere else to turn, he suddenly begins spinning some enormous lie about being a critic or something, which he spouts smoothly and glibly, and armed with his newfound mendacity, he almost effortlessly talks his way past all obstacles, rescues his love, escorts her to freedom and saves the world from nuclear annihilation. Then, there's the denouement, with the hero and his beloved having a romantic breakfast on the balcony of a beautiful Riviera hotel, discussing how all the loose ends were tied up, and she says adoringly to him, "I love you!" And he smiles back and replies, "And I love you." And it's all been so tiresome and predictable and you're thinking about the hundred minutes you'll never get back, as she gazes lovingly but also sadly at him for a silent moment and says... "I'll never really know, will I?" And he replies, "No, you never will." And suddenly, this trite, redundant, overdone exercise in the world's most tiresomely cynical theme of the foolishness of honesty, slaps us in the face, and says, "But look what that world costs us!" I'll never forget that.
I don't know if I'd just say it was the "ending", but I was bored and fell asleep during the first half of Rogue One, but the last 30 minutes or so were great and saved the movie for me.
Most people agree the majority of The Return of the Jedi is minding at best. Everyone seems tired, jaded. But the combined Rebels Vs Imperial Fleet & Death Star II / Rebels & Ewoks Vs Imperial Stormtroopers & Walkers / Luke Vs Vader swordfight act is up there with the best of them. It's thrilling, cathartic, and the peril feels real. TENƎT's final act is chef's kiss. The rest is sort of constant exposition mixed with silliness. But everything culminates in 5D ground combat. Love it. Star Trek Nemesis is a shockingly bad final entry in the Picard and co series of movies but the nearly hour long space combat sequence is fantastic.
Damn I had the opposite reaction to Tenet. Felt more and more incomprehensible as it went on and on until the battle happened and I thought “Why the fuck is this…you know what fuck it, I don’t know what’s going on or why.”
Nah, Tenet's final battle feels cheap and ineffectual. There are only shots of one side shooting at nothing. It feels like they're just at a firing range, practicing.
They build up the final battle so much and it’s just confusing to watch.
Yeah that comment really stood out to me. The final battle in Tenet was by far the worst part of the movie for me. It’s shot terribly, where you’re never clear on who is doing what or why, but the absolute lack of an enemy is just ridiculous. People running around shooting at nothing, barely getting any resistance with no apparent goal. It was such a dud of an ending it’s actually interesting to me that anyone could think the opposite.
Seriously. 5D ground combat lol. That was that two hits of acid you took bud
Return of the Jedi has one of the strongest opening segments (Han’s rescue from Jabba’s palace) and one of the best endings, in my book.
The Mist
I love the whole movie, the ending is just a bullet through the soul
Four of them, even.
Oh fuck… The biggest gut punch of any movie I’ve ever seen
Everyone's gonna hate me for this, but The Post was a pretty mid movie with a great ending.
Skyline. Whole movie was kinda meh aside from visuals, but when it ended was when I was really hoping it would start
Technically it doesn't fit the criteria of the question, cus this movie isn't even mediocre, but I have the ultimate example of a movie having an ending that FAR exceeds anything else that happens in the rest of the movie. "Jason Goes to Hell" (the ninth Friday the 13th movie) is AWFUL. Truly one of my least favorite movies of all time. But the very end of the movie *almost* makes it worth watching. If you've never seen it: >!After Jason is finally defeated, there's a long shot of his mask laying on the ground in the dirt. The camera lingers for a moment, then FREDDY KRUEGER'S finger blades glove pops out of the ground & drags Jason's mask down into hell!!< >!Not only was it a great moment that created buzz for fans of the 2 franchises, but it also teed up the fight between the 2 horror icons that would finally come to fruition about a decade later.!< Like I said. TERRIBLE movie, but a fantastic final moment to end on.
This is easy: The life aquatic - Steve Zissou. The entire movie just crawled along - but the ending underwater submarine scene with Sigur Ros playing was fantastic.
I'm a big fan of that movie though. I'm surprised it didn't do well. but then again I am a huge Wes Anderson fan.
*Click* was a regular-ass Adam Sandler movie that dropkicks you in the heart out of fucking nowhere.
How has nobody mentioned Terminator 3?! That ending had my jaw on the floor, it was so good.
Mediocre is too harsh, but these are 8/10 movies with 10/10 endings: The Kid Detective - >!Our detective solved the case that has been cold since his childhood. He's now recognized by his community and parents, and is seen as a success now. He should be happy, but the movie ends with him crying *hard* because he's been traumatized by this case. Like, emotionally stunted!< Promising Young Woman - >!What seems like a pretty linear movie of increasing revenge takes a sharp turn towards the end. Instead of killing the rapist, the main character is killed by the rapist, and he disposes of her body. She planned for this outcome, and made sure the guy gets caught!<
The Kid Detective was such a great blind watch. had zero expectations and was just entertained the whole time. im a Brody fan now and he was also great in Ready or Not.
PYW is an excellent example. Every time I hear Juice Newton's Angel of the Morning, I am immediately reminded of the end of that film. Sorry, Deadpool, PYW used it better.
I always think of that super jarring scene in It Chapter 2 where it plays suddenly during a creepy scene for comedic effect. Always takes me out of that scene.
Andy Griffith’s final movie, Play the Game. Didn’t expect the twist ending or Andy saying “Grandpa’s horny and he want to have fun!” or the scene where Seinfeld’s mother >!goes down on him!< There’s a post-credits scene with him having an >!orgasm!<
Umm, I refuse to believe this is real.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=wfhX7S4suK0&pp=ygUbYW5keSBncmlmZml0aCBwbGF5IHRoZSBnYW1l
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_qVjHTrvEUU&pp=ygUbYW5keSBncmlmZml0aCBwbGF5IHRoZSBnYW1l
I’m not clicking!! (Plugs ears) LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!!!
Agatha Christie's "Endless Night"(2014) is like this. It's a murder mystery like all her others, but this one is presented quite differently. I think it's a made for tv movie, but the quality is good. I was starting to get a little impatient with it when suddenly it hit me, and I understood what was actually going on. Stay (2005) with Naomi Watts and Ewan MacGregor was another one.
Just rewatched Nobody and it fits. The ending third is way better than the first two thirds.
Meet the robinsons. From the scene where Goob is looking back at the mansion, all the stuff in between until that quote and ending song begins. Man.
The Mist. That ending makes the movie.
I don't think everyone would agree, but the recent In a Violent Nature hit this way for me. It was an interesting premise that kinda worked despite lots of other shortcomings throughout (some of the acting was downright ameture). But man the tension in the ending really got to me, and was really the only reason I recommended it to other people.
Hannibal! The whole thing is really very trashy, mediocre and disappointing as a follow up to The Silence of the Lambs, but the Ray Liotta brain scene near the end almost redeems it.
Mrs. Doubtfire. The bulk of the movie is silliness, and I enjoyed it well enough, but the ending very gently gives you a dose of thought provoking wisdom, especially if you're a kid. Back in the 90s Americans were still somewhat in denial about how many families ended in divorce, and the reality of that situation for both the kids and the adults. I remember thinking how refreshing it was that a family comedy was able, in the end, to see the reality of things with clear eyes and not sugar-goat it for its younger audience members.
The Thing 2011 Prequel- The Way it Ends exactly where the 1980's one Begins Also shoutout to Rogue One for doing the same/
The Sixth Sense. I mean it wasn't a bad movie, but it very much presented itself as the story of a psychiatrist trying to help a troubled kid all while he was hitting a rocky spot in his marriage. But when his wife drops the ring and it all comes flooding back, you have this very effective "oh shit!" moment. Very well done in my opinion.
Napoleon Dynamite. I legit had a hard time sitting through it on my first watch, but the dance scene completed the movie so well, I love it.
It’s The Joker for me
The more I think about this movie the more I hate it, but I sort of agree. "You get what you fuckin' deserve" is pretty iconic.
I think the only real answer would be: Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. You cant have a more mediocre movie followed by an exciting ending. It is also a critics favorite!
Sleepaway Camp
Nonsense! That movie is great from start to finish! Over exaggerated “John!” at the beginning, fucked up aunt, pedophile camp cook everyone just kind of accepts, Ricky being an MVP with the dictionary, and so much more! The movie’s a gold standard for lowbrow sleaze. If the ending didn’t just go for it, then I would’ve been let down.
I thought it was bonkers throughout but yeah that ending definitely sticks with you.
Rouge One is defined by its ending.
Rogue One was not mediocre.
best Star Wars movie in my opinion.
Bodies Bodies Bodies Saltburn
Lucky Number Slevin was a bit of a slog until the excellent reveal and everything that came afterwards. It made the rest more than worth it.
Lucky Number Slevin
Annihilation was a B- movie with an A+ ending.
I liked Annihilation all the way through! It had a lot of really great moments. The bear, the flower people, the weird guts in the pool bit. Loved it all!
Runaway Train with Jon Voight is an entertaining but fairly pulpy b-movie until its last 5 minutes, which are an operatic masterpiece.
Man, that movie in no way could be classified as “mediocre.” It’s one of the great action flicks of the 80’s.
Halloween Ends.
Twitch of the Death Nerve!
Underwater with Kristen Stewart. Mid movie, and honestly not a mind blowing ending but the monster reveal was pretty awesome and was the entire reason I watched the movie. Even knowing the reveal ahead of time, I was pretty happy with it.
Frailty. Just kidding… that movie is a masterpiece the whole way through.