Yes, yes, let me re-define. I think the ending image was very creepy. But the entire movie was terrible, terrible build-up. And I mean terrible as in a ‘Is it OVER yet?’ sort of way. Then that. Then nothing.
GAH! OG SMASH!
Yes. They should have shown The Scouring. Or at least filmed it to have on the extended version. It diminished RotK from a Sublime Masterpiece like the other two, down to merely a Pretty Good Movie.
The underlying concepts of both those films sucked New Orleans street sewage. But the endings fit right in with the concept – in fact I can’t see how either film could have ended differently.
Agreed.
Definitely not one of the worst endings ever, but I agree with what you’re saying. The movie felt like it ended at least four times, only to come back for more wrapping-up. The slow-mo reunion scene was maybe the only complete clunker in the entire trilogy; that was pretty awful. I think some of the Scouring of the Shire advocates must have asses made of steel.
I disagree. The Scouring would have made the movie totally unworkable. I mean, I would not have minded having it in the extended DVD version, but for theatrical release it would have been a disaster. And filming something that would have been that expensive just for release on the DVD would be unrealistic.
You know what? And I may be banned from the geek mecca or valhalla for saying this but Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Why?
Because you shouldn’t use 5 fade effects in a row to transition between those wrap ups. Either include them seamlessly or with a narrative or CUT THEM. I am all for staying close to the story, but after a 3 hour movie, fading to black is a sign of closure - not that you’re transitioning. :mad:
Thanks, ronin; that explains why the ending is such a pain in the ass. It’s too long anyway, but it was like Jackson was trying to fake you out.
An even bigger crime was that it ruined the reputation of the book, which was so utterly awesome and ahead of its time. That wretched mistake of a movie also assured that none of Zelazney’s other works would ever be considered for a Hollywood production.
I happened to read Damnation Alley right after I read Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels. I hadn’t realized that DA was inspired by HA. I strongly recommend reading both books, in that order. It’s a fun ride.
That wasn’t the point of the movie. The point was that “macking” is ultimately unsatisfying and that relationships are what makes life enjoyable. He could have hit it any number of times, but he wanted to do it on his own terms. The ending after that was pretty random though.
Ditto A.I.. Man that could have been a pretty good movie if they’d ended it 20 minutes sooner.
No mention of The Abyss?
After the incredibly moving and powerful sequence in which
Bud tells his un-estranged wife that he knew it was a one-way trip to the bottom of the trench to disarm the bomb. (“KNEW THIS WAS A ONE WAY TRIP” “LUV YOU WIFE”)
Cameron proceded to:
Have Bud rescued by the water aliens and everybody returned to the surface in a big pink soap dish, all properly decompressed and everything.
Personally, I turn the movie off after the last text message Bud sends. It’s perfect.
And I cannot believe no one has mentioned the end of Four Weddings and a Funeral which, though it is a perfectly acceptable ending, makes the incredible mistake of handing the reins to Andie MacDowall and letting her perform possibly the worst line delivery in history.
Going back to Spielburg, Minority Report continues his streak of tacking on horrible endings to great movies.
After a brilliant, twisted and heartbreaking moment where Tom Cruise realizes that the man he’s predestined to murder is the man who murdered his son, he tries to fight fate but the guy grabs at his gun and it goes off, killing him anyway. Then an entire BS afterplot is tacked on to pin the blame on Max von Sydow’s character for rather stupid reasons and totally invalidate the devastating impact of the previous revelation. Nice job, Steve.
Amen to that. I even started a thread once, inspired by that scene, called “Worst Delivery in the History of Movies” or something similar… Is it raining? I hadn’t noticed. Gah!
yeah I felt the same way and I was like, “Dude, you just got 10 hours of my life for 3 awesome movies. Don’t begin screwing with me now.” sigh
The ending of the Director’s cut is MUCH worse.
[spoiler]The aliens create gigantic tidal waves that hover on the coast off all major coastal cities. They explain to Bud that they intend to wipe out humanity for being so violent and bloody. Then they back the waves off, saving all humanity and tell Bud it’s because his love for his wife has touched them so.
BARF[/spoiler]This is one case where the execs get my thanks for chopping the hell out of the Director’s original vision. Bad as it is, the released ending looks like a work of genius when compared to what Cameron wanted to put out.
Hey, I agree that the fades were a stupid way to transition. When I saw it for the first time I was thinking “Ahhh! The coronation’s over! Fade out! Now the movie’s over! No, wait! There’s still more!”
Even though the extra “endings” are a bonus for me rather than a negative, (even though I didn’t get the most important one,) the way it was faded was really jarring. Perhaps a scene or two of travel or just a clean cut to the next scene with a subtitle describing place and time.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but I think Dances With Wolves had the same sort of “fade to black” confusion. I do know that there was a point in the movie that I very definitely thought was the end of the movie (where Costner and his father-in-law are in the field) - it felt like the end - and suddenly, there was another hour and a half.
Not the worst ending ever, but close, and since I just watched the DVD over the weekend its fresh in my mind…Transporter 2
[spoiler]After an absurd fight in a rolling airplane, the plane crashes from a few thousand feet into the freaking ocean. The Transporter is unhurt, as is the bad guy. The Transporter cant kill the bad guy since he contains the only antidote to some virus he released. So what does the Transporter do? Manges to break his spine, under water mind you, in just the right spot that it paralyzes him from the neck down and swims with him to the surface.
Next scene; Everyone who was infected with the virus has been cured…despite the fact it should kill you in like 48hrs and how do you manaufacture an antidote from someones blood then distrubute it all, in just 48hours???..
Worst ending to a movie that wasnt really all that bad…!![/spoiler]
Agnes of God: Two hours with no hint of any supernatural elements in the story and you’re going to give us fucking stigmata?! :mad:
In all fairness, that’s how the book pretty much ends.
The movie still sucked however.
I’m trying to figure out if you’re kidding or what. It seemed a good way to end the movie.