Top 10 Most Frustrating Final Scenes in Movies

#10: Its Just a Prank Bro!

The Game (1997)
Nick Van Orten[a] is a man with everything, so when his brother Connie gets him involved in an elaborate game for his birthday, Nick is intrigued. However, Nick soon becomes overwhelmed by the apparently elaborate conspiracy involved in the game. Hes driven to his wits end, even seemingly killing Connie and jumping off a roof in remorse. Except, he lands on a cushion on the ground! Connie is alive, the gun was fake, and everybody cheers and claps for Nick - it was all just a game after all. Nevermind the extreme psychological trauma and gaslighting his family put Nick through, or the numerous plot holes this creates! For every person who loves the ending, theres another viewer who despises it.

#9: Your Sequel is in Another Castle

Super Mario Bros.[b] (1993)
Movie adaptations of video games used to be more misses than hits, particularly in the 80s and 90s. Turning a bright and colorful platformer like Mario into a steampunk dystopia tale was certainlya choice. And once the day is saved and Mario and Luigi return to New York, all appears well. At least, until Princess Daisy arrives at the door, locked and loaded for a new adventure. The sheer amount of vague sequel bait packed into this final scene is impressive. However, for as much potential excitement as this ending brings, it ultimately comes to nothing, since the film never got a sequel.

#8: The Rest of Your Life

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
This thriller is a continual battle of wills between prosecutor Nick Rice and vigilante Clyde Shelton. Ultimately, Nick is unable to convince Clyde to call off using a bomb against the mayor. As Nick leaves, its revealed that he planted the bomb underneath Clydes cell, killing him and bringing his crusade against the corrupt legal system to an end. Its a discouraging ending, since, despite being a criminal, Clyde isnt wrong about the system hes fighting against and he proves relatable. Meanwhile, Nick is a much less sympathetic lawyer who goes against his own principles and gets to have a happy ending watching his daughters play. Nick didnt earn the victory - it instead feels like the studio chickened out on a more shocking ending.

#7: More Questions

Prometheus (2012)
Prequels are great for fleshing out a story and providing more context for the source materialusually. Prometheus took a different approach by instead raising more questions than it answered. The final survivor, Elizabeth Shaw, manages to use her bizarre alien offspring to fight off the Engineer who wants to kill all humans for some reason. Hoping to get answers on why his race is hostile to humanity, she heads off to the Engineers homeworld, leaving us more confused than when the movie started. Oh, but look - a Xenomorph[c]! Isnt that neat? That sure makes up for 2 hours of unanswered questions and baffling character decisions.

#6: Theatrical Ending

I Am Legend (2007)
This post-apocalyptic film is an engrossing and excellent film - until the ending. The conclusion first released in theaters sees protagonist Robert Neville sacrifice himself to save fellow survivors Anna and her son, Ethan. With the cure Robert gave them, the two head to a camp of other survivors outside the city. This ending is particularly frustrating because its not only exactly like every other movie ending in its genre, its also not the ending the filmmakers originally shot! So the foreshadowing for the intended finale is all still there, but none of the payoff is! Thankfully, the reported sequel will be using the original ending instead, where Neville survived.

#5: A New Skywalker

Star Wars: Episode IX[d] - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
After a divisive middle installment, the conclusion of the sequel Star Wars trilogy brought fans together by uniting everyonein dislike. Far from being the nobody the previous film painted her as, Rey is revealed to be Emperor Palpatines granddaughter. And as if making Rey related to the most powerful Sith Lord wasnt bad enough, the ending doubles down on the whole great families equal great power in the Force thing. Once the day is saved, Rey returns Luke and Leias lightsabers to Tatooine to bury them. When asked her name, Rey instead declares that shes Rey Skywalker. Most Rey fans preferred her as her own person, and her detractors hated her taking up the mantle of characters they saw as superior.

#4: Its Overor Is It?

The Happening (2008)
M. Night Shyamalan[e] films tend to end with either a mind-blowing twist, or an absurdly disappointing one. This finale falls into the latter camp. Amid some truly cringeworthy dialogue and acting, the films big twist is that its the plants causing everyone to seek their own deaths. And just when the protagonists are ready to give in to the inevitable, whatever toxin the plants are releasing juststops. Cue a time skip, and the apparent return of the bizarre event. Despite the title, the ending of The Happening has us questioning whether any of it needed to happen at all - or at least whether it was worth watching.

#3: Rhino Interruptus

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
While this sequel is something of a mixed bag, it doesnt really stick the superhero landing with its final scene. Peter returns to being Spider-Man after an extended absence, once again donning his spandex to battle Paul Giamatti[f]s Rhino whos wreaking havoc. Giamatti is having fun chewing the scenery, but as a conclusion to the movie, the scene feels like a letdown. People hoping for a more somber ending with the death of Gwen Stacy instead got a tacked on happy ending. Meanwhile, those hoping for a fun action scene instead got an abrupt cut to black just as its starting to ramp up. How disa-

#2: On the Edge

The Italian Job (1969)
A crime caper classic of the highest order, The Italian Job is a fun movie. It follows Charlie Croker[g] and his crew of neer-do-wells making off with 4 million in gold from Turin, Italy. All goes well, though not without a few hijinks. However, the gang celebrates their success a little too rowdily while their bus is navigating the narrow roads in the Alps. The back half of their vehicle is left dangling precariously over the cliffside, with the gold poised to fall out. Charlie has a great idea though! Too bad the audience is left hanging along with the rest of them. Most cliffhangers arent quite so literal!

#1: Lincoln Memorial

Planet of the Apes (2001)
Remakes can be tricky - they have to try something new, while also staying faithful to the original. This one fails on a few levels, with its ending being particularly lame. Ape villain General Thade[h] is defeated, and the human hero Leo flies off into space to return to Earth. He crash-lands at what appears to be the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. However, the familiar monument has Thades facefor some reason. Its a bizarre retooling of the it was Earth all along twist from the original, but with a different U.S. monument. Even those who never saw the first one rolled their eyes at Apebraham Lincoln.

Is there a movie conclusion that left a sour taste in your mouth? Swing into the comments to share your picks.

[a]van ORE-tin https://youtu.be/nsKdR05ZsGE?si=kqpnIjAGZomqryeT&t=67

[b]super MAWRRY-oh brothers https://youtu.be/0r0oXq2ko4E?si=qUHLyPhD3kBENfJH&t=10
[c]ZEENO-morf https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/6b153072-14d6-42e1-af08-c0b997263dc6
[d]IX = 9
palpa-teen https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/1e5e5e4d-059a-40c6-bf16-a26c483f390a
[e]SHAWMA-lawn https://youtu.be/ltC3VTAwGXM
[f]jee-uh-MAWTTY https://youtu.be/y8veXeZxzOE
[g]croaker https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/6684307e-6cb6-4ba5-b962-53de427368c5
[h]Thade rhymes with "made" https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/297998e4-5936-44a9-91f4-9113265c9380