# Movies that would be better without the final ten minutes (yup, it's SPOILED) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 13, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863 "2002-06-13T14:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mooch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mooch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mooch)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/1 "2002-06-13T14:58:22Z")
Last night I was watching **Training Day** and it occurred to me that it I would have enjoyed it better had it not been for that forced fistfight at the end between Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Then I thought why not just end the movie with the gangbangers actually killing Ethan Hawke’s character in the bathtub. IMHO it would have made for a slightly better (if not more disturbing) movie. Cut out that whole Hollywood “bad guy always loses” ending. Another one that came to mind was **Desperado**. The director should have taken a page from **Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid** and faded to black at the beginning of the final gunfight. Anyway, are there movies out there that you would have liked better if you could just lop of the last ten minutes or so? ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/2 "2002-06-13T15:09:10Z")
**A.I.** …pretty good up until it _DOSEN’T_ end with him frozen at the bottom of the ocean at Coney Island for all eternity…aliens? mom? WTF??? ---
**Author:** ![BZ00000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/47e85d/32.png) [@BZ00000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BZ00000)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/3 "2002-06-13T15:24:35Z")
Psycho, thanks for explaining everything that happened in the movie in case we missed it. By the way, those were highly advanced Meccas at the end of A.I., not aliens. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2002, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/4 "2002-06-13T15:25:58Z")
Dude, the beings at the end of _A.I._ weren’t aliens; they were advanced Artificial Intelligences. That movie had at least three endings; I wonder what kind of movie Kubrick would have made on his own. I always thought Kubrick and Spielberg was a bizarre combination. Speaking of Spielberg, I would have liked _Saving Private Ryan_ better without the bookending sequences with the elderly Ryan visiting the graveyard in Normandy. Any number of recent action and/or horror movies could have done without having one more “climax” tacked on. I first started noticing this with _Aliens_. Once you’ve brought the audience to a peak of tension and then resolved it, you can’t just bring the same feeling back five minutes later. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/5 "2002-06-13T15:35:47Z")
In **Gone With The Wind** , I wish the movie ended with Rhett walking away. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/6 "2002-06-13T15:46:57Z")
Baldwin, you took the words right outta my mouth. I felt the same way about Saving Private Ryan. Way to screw up a perfectly moving and enjoyable and interesting movie. ---
**Author:** ![KXL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@KXL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KXL)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/7 "2002-06-13T15:55:48Z")
**The Abyss** has about three endings. X happens, and you say, “That’s the end. That was OK.” But then Y happens, and you say, “OK, \*\*that’s \*\*the end.” And then Z happens, by which time you don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![lenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3bc359/32.png) [@lenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lenin)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/8 "2002-06-13T16:00:03Z")
Blade Runner. Eek. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/9 "2002-06-13T16:00:09Z")
**Armageddon** had at least 5 climaxes (lucky bastard.) I actually enjoy the bad movie up until they start doing that. Oh no! The drill broke! Oh no! The Remote detonator broke! Oh no! We’re gonna get creamed by comet debris! Oh no! We’ve run out of Tang! Oh no! No brakes! Oh no! Look out for the nuns vs wheelchair athletes basketball game! ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/10 "2002-06-13T16:08:25Z")
**Speed** ---
**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:** [June 13, 2002, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/11 "2002-06-13T16:13:09Z")
_Blade Runner_ in the Director’s Cut ends a little earlier; it’s dark and ambiguous. _Old Yeller_ should end like this: kid pulls the trigger, gun goes off – **Bang!** bright red dog blood sprays the camera lens. Dimly, we see the gun reversed in the kid’s hands, so that it is under his chin. **Bang!**. Then fade to black. I realize I’m not going to get a lot of support for this. ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/12 "2002-06-13T16:25:46Z")
Ghost World had about four different endings … A great movie, but END ALREADY! The Magnificent Ambersons. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/13 "2002-06-13T16:25:46Z")
_City Hall_, with Al Pacino and John Cusack, should have ended with Pacino’s last speech, not with the exterior scene of Cusack running for mayor. Ruined the whole movie for me. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/14 "2002-06-13T16:36:09Z")
I agree with Baldwin and Cranky…Saving Private Ryan would have a been a whole lot better without the opening and closing scene…but that seems to be a Tom Hanks thing…Cast Away would have been a whole lot better without the opening and closing scenes (and why the hell wouldn’t you have opened that package after all those years on the island…it coulda been a satellite phone, dental kit or a porno!) Titanic…well, not a lot could have saved it from being nothing more than a good popcorn film, but deleting the opening and closing scene coulda helped. ---
**Author:** ![Doubting\_Robert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@Doubting\_Robert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubting_Robert)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/15 "2002-06-13T17:38:39Z")
Time Bandits. Perfectly good kids’ movie until the end. What did the kid do to deserve that ending? And why does Sean Connery just smile and wave at the kid as he is leaving? ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/16 "2002-06-13T17:46:26Z")
[hijack] There is an Easter egg on the Cast Away DVD that will let you see what the hell was in that box… [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/17 "2002-06-13T18:06:57Z")
**The Terminator** should have ended the 1st time Arnold died, not the fifth. And EJsgirl, since I have no plans to get that DVD can you tell me what was in the box? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/18 "2002-06-13T19:06:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EJsGirl \* > \*\*[hijack] > > There is an Easter egg on the Cast Away DVD that will let you see what the hell was in that box… > > [/hijack] \*\* Spoiler, please? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/19 "2002-06-13T19:13:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\* > > Spoiler, please? \*\* Yeah, tell us…pretty please, EJ’sGirl? (I didn’t like the film all that much to go out and rent the DVD, but curiosity has got to me…) ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2002, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863/20 "2002-06-13T19:20:19Z")
I always thought the bookend piece in Saving Private Ryan was worthwhile. But maybe overdone. The beginning could be left as it is, sure. But the ending. Just morph Matt Damon’s face into the old guys face and hold it. Then cut to the flag and fade to black. All the “Have I been a good man?” stuff needn’t have been there. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-would-be-better-without-the-final-ten-minutes-yup-its-spoiled/113863.md?page=2)