# Movies that cop-out in the end **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 27, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099 "2026-01-27T18:16:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/181 "2026-01-31T21:17:41Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > But… imho… this was a cop out. A far, far better ending would have been showing that _Kennedy just sucked at being President_. Fully agree. If that were the premise, I might have actually watched it. As it stands, I don’t think I even made it through the first episode, putting it in an even lower category than _Dark Matter_ (which I ditched only after watching the first episode in full). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/182 "2026-01-31T21:40:06Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > But… imho… this was a cop out. A far, far better ending would have been showing that _Kennedy just sucked at being President_. I mean, it’s fiction, right? Just have JFK launch a nuclear exchange. Have him become a fascist. Have him become deranged and start a global pandemic. You might be right that this would have been a better ending, but I can think of two possible reasons why it wasn’t written that way. 1. I’m not sure King has the expertise in politics, world affairs, etc. to convincingly pull off something like that. The ending the book has is more in his wheelhouse. 2. It’s my impression that, for those who were around during the Kennedy years (which does not include myself but does include King), JFK was a sort of mythic, sainted figure, and they wouldn’t _want_ to see him sucking at being President. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/183 "2026-01-31T22:23:53Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > JFK was a sort of mythic, sainted figure, and they wouldn’t _want_ to see him sucking at being President. Hence the cop-out. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/184 "2026-01-31T23:36:33Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > A far, far better ending would have been showing that _Kennedy just sucked at being President_. I mean, it’s fiction, right? Just have JFK launch a nuclear exchange. Have him become a fascist. Have him become deranged and start a global pandemic. This might even be semi-historical. Rumors persist that his cortisone treatments for his enduring back problems were inducing mania, as well as his questionable womanizing. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/185 "2026-01-31T23:53:07Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m not sure King has the expertise in politics, world affairs, etc. to convincingly pull off something like that. The ending the book has is more in his wheelhouse. An aside, there is an common complaint that King has a problem with convincing, final endings _in general_ so as stated in the quoted section above, a poor/incomplete ending is very much in his wheelhouse. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2026, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/186 "2026-01-31T23:57:24Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > He got better? I definitely missed an opportunity, there. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/187 "2026-02-01T03:43:01Z")
**MINORITY REPORT** I actually REALLY liked the film when you think it ended with him shooting the child kidnapper and thus the circle was complete. Instead we find out it’s actually all part of a massive corporate conspiracy where the bad guys all wind up getting arrested in the end and you get a hopeful ending. Really the last 30 minutes of that movie turned a 5 star movie into a 2 star movie I hated the ending so much. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/188 "2026-02-01T05:44:01Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m opening it up for books Can I do a book I can’t remember the name of, but is probably 30-40 years old? For some reason I think it involved Arthur C Clarke. It had _two_ cop-out endings. They had figured out how to do past viewing, so they could watch historical events. At some point they go back to watch the resurrection of Jesus (or maybe the crucifixion), but so many other viewers are watching that everything is too fuzzy to see what really happened. The viewing followed ancestors, or something, so they try to go all the way back to see what was the very first life form. Eventually they reach a point where an intelligence from an earlier tree of life on the planet are leaving behind the seeds that will become our tree of life. The first forms are fleeing because of some impending global catastrophe, but once that passes the seeds will allow for new life to evolve. At least it was equal opportunity cop-outs. The founding myth of the largest religion on the planet? No stance, we don’t know, believe whatever you want. One of the greatest scientific mysteries of all time? Aliens did it. I’m happy for someone to come along and tell me I’m misremembering the ending of a book I don’t remember anything about, other than that I hated the ending. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/189 "2026-02-01T15:24:42Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > **Minority Report** > … > Really the last 30 minutes of that movie turned a 5 star movie into a 2 star movie I hated the ending so much. I think the last 30 minutes of the movie takes place in Anderton’s head while in prison. I think dialog supports this. Otherwise yeah, what a lame ending, that goes against the entire tone of the movie. it’s almost _Brazil_-like. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/190 "2026-02-01T17:13:02Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > I think it involved Arthur C Clarke. It had _two_ cop-out endings. They had figured out how to do past viewing, so they could watch historical events. “The Light of Other Days” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/191 "2026-02-01T17:22:11Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Here’s looking at you, _Newhart_ (TV series). Anyone game for a TV copout thread? ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/192 "2026-02-01T17:34:17Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m opening it up for books > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Any movie where it’s all a dream is a cop out By that standard the C.S. Lewis novel “The Great Divorce” is a cop-out. But Lewis gives a legitimate reason in-story: he doesn’t want to claim that the story is an actual revelation of the nature of the afterlife when he made the whole thing up as an instructive allegory. ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/193 "2026-02-01T18:08:32Z")
> Very cool! I guess it’s fair to say that Gilliam was still learning how to be a director at the time of _Grail_. (He improved.) Nope. In fact there is a documentary on that very topic, _Lost in La Mancha._ ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/194 "2026-02-01T18:49:35Z")
Just in case you aren’t joking, I counter with “Brazil”, “Twelve Monkeys”, and “The Fischer King” (La Mancha notwithstanding). ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/195 "2026-02-01T19:20:16Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > A far, far better ending would have been showing that _Kennedy just sucked at being President_. **Red Dwarf** did that in the episode _Tikka to Ride_. They go back in time and accidentally save JFK. It turns out the new timeline sucks and they have to have Kennedy shoot himself from the grassy knoll. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/196 "2026-02-01T20:26:13Z")
I saw Pixels recently. While it’s a horrendous movie all around (and ensured that I will never, _ever_ be a fan of or make excuses for Adam Sandler), the ending _really_ takes the cake. In short: Brenner is this arrested-development brat obsessed with old arcade games who gets involved with Violet, a highly-ranked member of our nation’s defense, and they have zero chemistry and spend most of the movie in petty sniping; Eddie is an absolute scumbag, also obsessed with old arcade games, who’s had an extremely nasty rivalry with Brenner for decades, which we later learned started when he _cheated_ to beat Brenner at Pac-Man. Pixellated aliens attack, Brenner and Eddie (and “nerd” buddy Ludlow) come to the rescue, and Eddie, opportunistic sleazeball that he is, manages to finagle a small island and a date with Serena Williams as payment. During the date (which we are given _no_ indication that she ever consented to, BTW), we learn that she finds him absolutely disgusting and will put him through a wall if he lays a finger on her. So the heroes save the day, Brenner’s discussing his future with Violent, and _of course_ they completely hit it off. Haaahhh… well it _is_ Sandler’s character, what the hell did I expect. Well then, I guess Eddie’s going to sod off to his one-man island kingdom, like some kind of… …and then Serena Williams fires a message saying she wants to spend the night with him! And we see her smile and wave at him through a window so we know that she’s serious! 😲 😠 (Baffled as to why she took this role. Baffled.) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/197 "2026-02-01T22:04:36Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > And we see her smile and wave at him through a window A window in the _White House_, yet. That screenplay had a LOT of problems. Not least that the Josh Gad sidekick character ended up in a sexual relationship with Qbert… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/198 "2026-02-02T12:38:46Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > …and then Serena Williams fires a message saying she wants to spend the night with him! And we see her smile and wave at him through a window so we know that she’s serious! 😲 😠 > > (Baffled as to why she took this role. Baffled.) It’s not just Serena Williams. There are also cameos by Martha Stewart (!!) Dan Aykroyd Hall and Oates Toru Iwatwani (inventor of _Pac Man_) Sean Bean The movie also features Peter Dinklage and Brian Cox, both of whom should’ve known better, in major roles ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/199 "2026-02-02T12:54:02Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The movie also features Peter Dinklage and Brian Cox, both of whom should’ve known better, in major roles Sandler reportedly pays well and maintains a good and fun workplace. I doubt either of them thought they were doing Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2026, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/200 "2026-02-04T02:34:40Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I think the last 30 minutes of the movie takes place in Anderton’s head while in prison. I think dialog supports this. Yeah, I agree. It makes the most sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099.md?page=11)