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I hate to say it, but a film is only ever as good as its ending. No matter how enjoyable it has been up to that point, a naff tawdry ending has the potential to completely moot the better areas of the film. Endings have the momentous duty of providing closure and catharsis. So what makes for a bad ending? Those that eschew closure and catharsis to instead provide a ludicrous plot twist, a completely unnecessary cliffhanger, astounding tonal shifts that betray all of the build-up before and godawful celebrity cameos. That’s just to name a few. Oh there are so many ways for a film to go so very very wrong. So bear with me as I unearth unpleasant memories of the three most terrible endings in film history (according to me).
Superman: The Movie
Generally speaking, Donner’s Superman film is considered the best out of all of them. The film truly made one believe that this man can fly. It’s really good. Until that ending. Lex Luthor’s devious plans come to fruition, as Superman is forced to choose which coast to save- inevitable leading to the death of Lois Lane. Enraged, Superman screams and then takes to the sky, to fly around Earth- against its rotation. Initially, I thought this is just an act of uncontrolled rage but then, rudely found out that it was something that’s going to ruin the film forever and change the mythology irreparably. The catastrophe and destruction rewinds as Superman (quite nonsensically) uses super speed to reverse the rotation of the Earth itself- because that’s how physics works. Obviously. I am pretty damn sure that would just kill everyone, not save one life. But well, the franchise did invent a whole new substance just to make its hero weak. I would like to talk about that memory-changing kiss in the sequel too, but really, that’s just going to cause me further mental damage.
The Matrix Revolutions
The third and (thankfully) final installation of the Matrix trilogy had the enormous task of tying up the war between the machines and Zion as well as Neo’s battle against Agent Smith- grown well beyond the control of the matrix. Nearing the end, Neo negotiated for peace with the leader of the Sentinels, on the condition that he can bring Smith down. During the battle, Neo, who is connected to the Matrix by the machines, is assimilated by Smith at which point the leader fires a burst of energy into Neo’s body causing both Neo and all the Agent Smiths inhabiting the Matrix to be destroyed.
With Smith annihilated, Neo’s body is carried away by the machines, the Matrix reboots and the Architect and the Oracle meet in a random park to agree on peace and offering the humans a chance to leave the Matrix. Then, the Oracle tells the exile program that they will see Neo again. Got that? No? Well, obviously not because it makes no sense! This is a franchise that people were invested in, they cared about Neo. We deserve something more complete than the lazy cop-out that we got. A pretty sunset is nice, but it doesn’t answer anything! How long will there be peace? Will those who want to be released actually be released? What does the bloody Oracle mean by “we’ll see Neo again”? HOW? And the best part? The poignant last shot and the amazing score suggests the Wachowskis actually thought this was a fitting climax to the trilogy (Newsflash: it wasn’t).
Law Abiding Citizen
Law Abiding Citizen has always been one of my favourite films (when I carefully filter out the ending and only ever think about the alternate ending in my head). The film revolves around the demented quest of Clyde Alexander Shelton (yes the name is a mouthful) to make a mockery of the American legal system since it failed him when his wife and child were brutally murdered. He not only kills the murderers himself, but also turns on the legal servants who failed him, including Jamie Foxx’s well-acted portrayal of Nick Rice- a lawyer more concerned about win rates than what’s right. The murders of these legal officers, however, occur when Shelton’s in prison for the killing of his family’s murderer. Turns out that Shelton tunnels in and out of the prison through the garage that he owns right next to it. Yes, it’s definitely ridiculous but also, bloody entertaining and at this point, the audience are behind Shelton just as much as they were when Richard was making his monologues in Richard III (by Shakespeare). However, the film ends with Shelton being outsmarted by Rice and bombed in his own cell.
Shelton may be a homicidal freak but Gerard Butler portrays him so well and in such a way that audience are instantly rooting for him over Nick Rice’s clinical (arsehole) lawyer. Furthermore, the film was framing the legal system in such a silly way- shining light on all its hypocrisy- that when it “wins” in the end, the film’s whole point seems betrayed. Unsatisfying and just in general, nightmarish this ending.
Written by Bhagya (FC BOD ’15)
RGS FILM CLUB 