# Movies That Overstay Their Welcome (SPOILERS POSSIBLE) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 21, 2007, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800 "2007-01-21T04:47:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/21 "2007-01-21T19:21:42Z")
Hey **Stranger** , thanks for the spoiler warning. I wanted to see the Abyss, too. I was going to contribute to this thread, but am no longer in the mood. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/22 "2007-01-21T20:12:41Z")
The original theatre release of Blade Runner should have ended with the elevator doors closing. IE where the director ended it. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/23 "2007-01-21T23:44:10Z")
_Die Hard: With a Vengeance_ is a fun and clever send-up of the first two films. Much like _Star Trek IV_ and _Gremlins 2_ it takes a more-or-less serious franchise and has fun with it. Unfortunately it just goes on way too long. Lots of scenes should have been cut. Evacuating the school was particularly unnecessary. Driving the truck through the tunnel didn’t add much. A lot of stuff on the freighter could go too. It might take some creative editing to get rid of those scenes and still have the ending make sense, but since the whole thing was already so goofy I don’t think it would be that hard. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/24 "2007-01-22T06:38:23Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Hey **Stranger** , thanks for the spoiler warning. I wanted to see the Abyss, too. I was going to contribute to this thread, but am no longer in the mood. [/QUOTE] It’s a 17 year old movie. Nobody is spoilering _Forrest Gump_ or _Mystic River_, and they’re both far more recent. Plus, you have plenty of time–nearly the first paragraph before any significant detail is admitted–to decide that you don’t want the movie spoiled and stop reading. Get a grip. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Promethea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Promethea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Promethea)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/25 "2007-01-22T08:53:21Z")
Full Metal Jacket. Should have ended at the completion of the Boot Camp scenes - the Vietnam scenes are not nearly so interesting. Having said that, for all I know it might have the most amazing ending ever - I’ll never know because I’ve always given up on it long before I get there. ---
**Author:** ![nevermore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a587f6/32.png) [@nevermore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevermore)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/26 "2007-01-22T09:19:36Z")
[QUOTE=Promethea] Full Metal Jacket. Should have ended at the completion of the Boot Camp scenes - the Vietnam scenes are not nearly so interesting. Having said that, for all I know it might have the most amazing ending ever - I’ll never know because I’ve always given up on it long before I get there. [/QUOTE] agreed. the only thing worth watching after boot camp is over is the whole “me so horny” bit, and even that ain’t all that great. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/27 "2007-01-22T10:30:08Z")
_Boogie Nights_ - should have ended on the cut to black after Julianne Moore and Heather Graham are doing coke in the bedroom and one of them says (words to the effect of) “I never want to come out of this room again”. The rest of the film is just pointless. mm ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/28 "2007-01-22T11:19:35Z")
_Psycho_ is a great picture, but it’s got a completely unnecessary expository scene at the end with Simon Oakland as a shrink who explains Norman Bate’s screwed-up head and double identity to us. (Several good Hitchcock movies have annoying, clumsy exposition, most notably _Vertigo_.) _Psycho_ should have either ended with the great climax in the attic, or cut from there directly to Norman in the nuthatch, with the internal monologue in his mother’s voice. ---
**Author:** ![Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/29 "2007-01-22T12:34:54Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] I believe I read that The Abyss was meant to have a different ending and be longer, but the budget got cut. So I guess we’ll never know. But looking at the extended version of T2, I think that another Cameron goodness is knowing what scenes to edit out. [/QUOTE] This is true, but he did manage to finally complete it, which is now called the Abyss - the Special Edition. I think it actually makes a lot more sense then the bastardised version that was shown in cinemas that made no sense whatsoever. But I do agree that is a bit hackneyed, although I absolutely love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/30 "2007-01-22T13:43:16Z")
Armagedon was not terribly bad until they took off. We could have skipped the whole silly toy commercial and just do with about 15 more minutes to let us know that they had some sort of success and call it that. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/31 "2007-01-22T14:06:32Z")
_Bad Santa_ should have ended with BIlly Bob laying shot on the front porch. Instead, this otherwise “brave” movie goes to the most stupid, out of character ending when he sends the boy letters from jail. If ever an ending felt tacked on because some focus group didn’t like the downer aspect of it, it was this. It almost felt like if Titanic ended and then she met Jack on a rescue ship, “I made it, Rose, I made it!” ---
**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 22, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/32 "2007-01-22T14:24:25Z")
I opened this thread intending to nominate **The Abyss** , not realizing it’s what prompted the thread. It has nothing to do with the Special Edition stuff. Even in the as-reloeased version, the film feels too damned long, and it’s not structured well – it has too many climaxes. My wife has taken to calling it “The Abysmal”. I like it myself, but not anywhere near as much as I would if it were considerably shorn. (By the way, I prefer , as in all Cameron movies, the Special Edition. His director’s cuts of Aliens and Terminator 2 were much better and more complete than the released versions.) ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/33 "2007-01-22T15:49:41Z")
_Marie Antoinette_ should have ended at the balcony scene. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/34 "2007-01-22T15:54:51Z")
**Chasing Amy** should have ended after the scene in the pickup truck in the rain. What comes after that isn’t nearly as good or interesting as what came before. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/35 "2007-01-22T17:30:16Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] _Psycho_ is a great picture, but it’s got a completely unnecessary expository scene at the end with Simon Oakland as a shrink who explains Norman Bate’s screwed-up head and double identity to us. (Several good Hitchcock movies have annoying, clumsy exposition, most notably _Vertigo_.) _Psycho_ should have either ended with the great climax in the attic, or cut from there directly to Norman in the nuthatch, with the internal monologue in his mother’s voice. [/QUOTE] I used to agree with you, but now I think that scene is an (extremely) straight-faced joke on Hitchcock’s part. But it does bring things to a screeching halt. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/36 "2007-01-22T17:42:03Z")
[QUOTE=Rocketeer] I used to agree with you, but now I think that scene is an (extremely) straight-faced joke on Hitchcock’s part. But it does bring things to a screeching halt. [/QUOTE] A joke? I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![According\_to\_Pliny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@According\_to\_Pliny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/According_to_Pliny)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/37 "2007-01-22T17:53:14Z")
That one with Tom Hanks stranded on the island became a bore once he was rescued. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/38 "2007-01-22T17:57:34Z")
For entirely opposite reasons (read: there’s a hopeless romantic underneath this gruff heartless exterior), I always, like Willow, stop the DVD of _Moulin Rouge!_ at Chapter 32 so it has a happy ending. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/39 "2007-01-22T19:39:07Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] I thought the most common reply would be _AI_. End it with David underwater. [/QUOTE] Darn right. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800/40 "2007-01-22T21:24:15Z")
I know there are many other reasons to hate it but I think the ending to “Revenge of the Sith” would have been much stronger if they had stopped right after they stood Darth Vader up. (pause) Roll credits. Did we really need a recap of what just happened five minutes ago? And I think the world would be a better place without _NOOOOOOOOO!!!_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-overstay-their-welcome-spoilers-possible/388800.md?page=3)