# 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:** 7
**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 28, 2026, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/121 "2026-01-28T23:13:43Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > There’s even a movie called _John Dies at the End_. I used to sell that guy graphics, over to _Cracked_. Aside from that, he’s one of the few people I’ve ever seen publicly opine that maybe the reason Sherlock Holmes has such a grip on our culture is that his semi-Asperger’s personality appeals with its freedom from having to ever consider the feelings of others. (Not in exactly those words.) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/122 "2026-01-28T23:22:56Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I used to sell that guy graphics, over to _Cracked_. Is there a word missing here? I can’t quite parse this. I do like the Sherlock Holmes observation, and I think there’s definitely some truth in it. I’ve been watching _The Murderbot Diaries_ on Apple, and a big part of the fun is watching Murderbot (who is very heavily coded as autistic) just not giving a fuck about other people’s feelings, even as he’s enacting extreme amounts of violence to keep them alive. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/123 "2026-01-29T00:25:52Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > > Doesn’t _Sunset Boulevard_ begin with Joe Gillis dead in the water, literally, and then the movie is about how he got there? > > Yeah, it’s a pretty common trope. There’s even a movie called _John Dies at the End_. > > Guess how it ends? > > Psyche! He survives. There is also _Penn & Teller Get Killed._ Guess how it ends? Penn & Teller get killed. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/124 "2026-01-29T00:48:32Z")
The Star Child ending makes “2010” a cop-out from beginning to end - in “2001” Bowman is transformed to a new kind of being, at least as different from mankind as the monolith-touched apes are from untouched apes - and 9 years later, that has had no consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/125 "2026-01-29T01:06:50Z")
I don’t think consequences were ever implied. He interacted, he changed, he left to go to an elsewhere that didn’t involve us. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/126 "2026-01-29T01:19:59Z")
The film ends with the Star Child looking at Earth, which implies some sort of intent. The alien’s apparent motive in seeding the monoliths was to uplift species, not individuals. Moonwatcher didn’t just fuck off into the hills after he figured out tool use, he stuck around and taught his tribe. I think the ending it pretty clearly meant to signify that mankind as a whole is entering a new stage of evolution, and not that Dave Bowman is going to go off an be inscrutable somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/127 "2026-01-29T01:22:24Z")
At the end of _2001: A Space Odyssey_, didn’t the “Star Child” remove all of the nuclear weapons from Earth? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/128 "2026-01-29T01:26:34Z")
That was Superman IV. No, you’re right, but that was in the book. The Star Child detonates all the orbital nuke installations. ---
**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 29, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/129 "2026-01-29T01:40:39Z")
_ **They Might Be Giants** _: If you don’t actually have an ending for your story, go allegorical. ---
**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 29, 2026, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/130 "2026-01-29T01:55:36Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Is there a word missing here? I can’t quite parse this. David Wong (author of John Dies at the End) was a reasonably prolific contributor over at Cracked, prior to it being downgraded to an endless pile of listicles (still too many in they heyday though). [https://www.cracked.com/members/David+Wong](https://www.cracked.com/members/David+Wong) I wonder what sort of graphics @Sherrerd was involved in though. Maybe he was one of the key providers for said Listicles? Amusing top graphics? Providing images of Eldritch Things that drove the members mad? Wait. Maybe I _don’t_ want to know. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/131 "2026-01-29T03:05:01Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Sounds like Weapons of Choice. Like the author watched _The Final Countdown_ and wanted a better ending. The future fleet stays back in WWI and alters history. > > I haven’t read it yet, so I can;t say how it goes, but it is on my short pile. I liked the first book. Also liked the second, though not quite as much, Never got hold of the third, and just learnt today about the other three. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/132 "2026-01-29T04:22:29Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Look, let me go back in there and face the peril. Bloody hell, I meant to say “certain peril”, not “_the_ certain peril.” Screwed up my own witty reference. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/133 "2026-01-29T04:23:56Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > No, you’re right, but that was in the book. The Star Child detonates all the orbital nuke installations As spectacular as the movie was visually, I think the original story/book was much better. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/134 "2026-01-29T04:33:19Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I think the ending of _Holy Grail_ is absolutely brilliant. It was set up perfectly and is a logical result of a series of scenes throughout the film. > > _Blazing Saddles_ OTOH, is clearly Brooks not knowing how to end the movie and throwing out non-seqiturs to hide the fact. It’s the obvious cop-out and comes out of nowhere. I agree. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/135 "2026-01-29T04:50:53Z")
I think **Hell In The Pacific** (1968) is a film that was a masterpiece until the final 15-20 seconds. The original ending was low key and may have lacked “finality” but was really the only way the story could logically end. It can be seen as an extra on the DVD. As I understand it the studio suits decided the ending was too high brow and unresolved, switched the director’s finale with an obviously pasted in moment of footage from some other source, punctuating a masterpiece with a turd. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/136 "2026-01-29T04:56:53Z")
Like the staged version of the play, the films _ **Pygmalion** _ and _ **My Fair Lady** _ tacked on the sentimental ending where Eliza Doolittle returns to Henry Higgins after walking out on him to attend her father’s wedding. In the original text, it’s quite clear that she has no intention of remaining with Higgins. George Bernard Shaw, the author of the play, hated the contrived ending and said she would logically have gone on to marry Freddy Eynsford Hill. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/137 "2026-01-29T05:05:21Z")
**Fatal Attraction** - in the [original ending](https://youtu.be/8GawicT1j88?si=vn0Myzkxf_vXP09V), Glenn Close’s character killed herself and framed Michael Douglas, but it didn’t test well with audiences so it was remade with a new ending. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2026, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/138 "2026-01-29T05:06:14Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > then have the hero end up with the pampered noblewoman and not the poor but talented blacksmith who has scrapped for the chance to prove herself _just like he did_. I for one _liked_ that they didn’t _Some Kind of Wonderful_ it up. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/139 "2026-01-29T05:58:03Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > > [@Miller](#): > > > > No, you’re right, but that was in the book. The Star Child detonates all the orbital nuke installations > > As spectacular as the movie was visually, I think the original story/book was much better. “Original” isn’t exactly the right word. The book and film were developed simultaneously with Kubrick and Clarke working together on both. The book came out after the movie. There are differences since the book is based mainly on early drafts of the movie. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099/140 "2026-01-29T13:08:54Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Like the staged version of the play, the films _ **Pygmalion** _ and _ **My Fair Lady** _ tacked on the sentimental ending where Eliza Doolittle returns to Henry Higgins after walking out on him to attend her father’s wedding. In the original text, it’s quite clear that she has no intention of remaining with Higgins. George Bernard Shaw, the author of the play, hated the contrived ending and said she would logically have gone on to marry Freddy Eynsford Hill. He also wrote a very extended account of their life together, that was published in editions of the play. Shaw himself wrote a screenplay for the play, which certainly doesn’t end with Eliza going back to Professor Higgins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-cop-out-in-the-end/1027099.md?page=8)