Top 10 Perfect Movie Endings That Sequels Ruined
#10: “X-Men: Apocalypse” (2016) & “Logan” (2017)
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The “X-Men” franchise was sent off in perfect style with both “Apocalypse” and “Logan.” “Apocalypse” nicely ended the core “X-Men” story, with Jean killing En Sabah Nur, Xavier and Moira reuniting, the reconstruction of the school, and the training of new recruits for a new generation. Taking place in an alternate continuity, “Logan” took the story forward a couple of decades and beautifully concluded the story arc of Wolverine. Really, the “X-Men” series should have ended on its melancholic note. But then “Dark Phoenix” came along with its sloppy story and sapped the good will that “Logan” had built up. It’s perhaps the biggest deflation of hype in the history of superhero cinema.
#9: “The Blues Brothers” (1980)
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Some things should be left well enough alone, and sometimes sequels should not be made many years after the original. “The Blues Brothers” was a huge success and ended on a surprisingly touching note, with the Brothers risking their freedom for the orphanage in which they were raised. Just as the orphanage’s tax bill is paid, the brothers are arrested by an army of police officers and sent to prison. The unnecessary sequel tarnishes this bittersweet ending and turns oddly tragic. Elwood learns that Jake died in prison and the orphanage that they had sacrificed a quarter of their lives for has closed. Without the charms of Belushi, this sequel should never have been made.
#8: “Men in Black” (1997)
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And speaking of surprisingly touching endings, “Men in Black” has a great one. It’s revealed that K was actually training J to be his replacement, not his partner, as K wishes to return to civilian life without the knowledge of aliens. J honors his request and neutralizes K with a glum goodbye before carrying on with Laurel. This moving ending is nullified in the sequel, which sees J attempting to re-recruit civilian K, who remembers nothing about his time in the MIB. It’s a fun twist, but it unnecessarily adds to a perfect ending and proves less fun in practice than in theory. K works best as the stoic leader, not the bumbling partner.
#7: “The Blair Witch Project” (1999)
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The ending of this groundbreaking film is suitably horrifying, and delightfully ambiguous. While it’s obvious that all three die, the events surrounding their deaths remain shrouded in mystery and continue to be debated to this day. And then the grossly unnecessary sequels completely bungled the series’ mythology with a string of bad stories. “Book of Shadows” is a metafilm that recontextualizes the original and presents it as the hit movie that it was. Fans of the original travel to Burkittsville as movie tourists, and seek out the locations of the original “Blair Witch Project.” “Blair Witch” then came along nearly twenty years later and ignored the meta nature of “Book of Shadows” by serving as a direct sequel, but by that point nobody much cared anymore.
#6: “Speed” (1994)
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If “Blues Brothers 2000” and “Speed 2” teach us anything, it’s that most sequels should never be made without all the original stars. Starring Keanu Reeves as Jack Traven, the original “Speed” is a beloved action film and ends on a perfect note with Jack romantically embracing Annie in the derailed train. A sequel was released three years later, taking place on an out-of-control cruise ship. While Sandra Bullock returns as Annie, it’s revealed that she and Jack had broken up between movies, and she is now dating SWAT officer Alex Shaw. The lack of Jack Traven is just a major loss. Jason Patric does what he can, but he just can’t replace Keanu Reeves.
#5: “Kingsman: The Secret Service” (2014)
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A worthy successor to the James Bond franchise, “Kingsman” impressed viewers with its stylish action and bold storytelling. In the movie’s most famous sequence, Colin Firth’s Harry is shot and killed by Valentine, and Eggsy goes on to save the world from Valentine’s device. But the movie was enormously popular, and Firth’s character widely beloved. So they brought him back in “The Golden Circle” through the use of some magical bag that has the power to heal fatal head wounds. It was a little too contrived and a little too fan service-y. And as we learned from “Men in Black II,” the “beloved character having amnesia and forgetting his past life” trope doesn't really work out.
#4: “The Matrix” (1999)
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Look, while the “Matrix” sequels were quite good (well, “Reloaded” at least), we think viewers could have done better without them. The first movie contains a perfectly plotted story, with Neo discovering he is The One, defeating Agent Smith, and obtaining the power to control The Matrix. He then promises that he will free the prisoners before flying into the sky. It’s a badass ending, and while it keeps the story open, it concludes Neo’s character arc in a spectacular manner. Besides, it’s nothing that the imagination couldn’t fill in. But then we got “Reloaded” and “Revolutions,” two increasingly convoluted sequels that needlessly expanded on the series’ mythology and ended Neo’s story with clumsy religious symbolism.
#3: “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989)
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The “Indiana Jones” franchise is a perfect example of the value of leaving nostalgia alone. “The Last Crusade” ends the original trilogy on a perfect note by introducing Indy’s father, and literally having them ride off into the sunset together. That’s the ending that we had for twenty years, and everyone was happy with it. And then came “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” While certainly not a bad movie, many fans were not pleased with the new entry. It contained some overly-goofy sequences (nuking the fridge, anyone?), and many people couldn’t buy the 65 year old Harrison Ford as an intrepid adventurer. It seems like the franchise took a sip from the Holy Grail and refuses to die.
#2: “Aliens” (1986)
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For many, the “Alien” franchise consists of nothing more than Ridley Scott’s original and James Cameron’s action-packed sequel. Cameron ends the story on a happy note with Ridley blasting the Queen into space and riding back to Earth with her new family of Newt, Bishop, and Hicks. And then “Alien 3” ruined everything. The filmmakers thought “How could we open this movie in the darkest way possible?” and came to a conclusion - have the escape pod crash on a prison planet and kill everyone but Ripley. It’s an extremely controversial opening that ticked off many people, including James Cameron and Michael Biehn. Even director David Fincher has disowned the movie. Let’s take a page out of his book and pretend that it doesn’t exist.
#1: “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991)
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James Cameron knows how to conclude a story. Just like the “Alien” franchise, many people consider the first two “Terminator” films as the only canon entries in the series. “Terminator 2” ends the story perfectly with the prevention of Skynet, the death of the Model 101, and the renewed hope within Sarah Connor. With “T2,” Judgment Day was officially prevented. But the story continued with increasingly convoluted reboots, direct sequels, and sequels that ignored previous continuities to form new timelines. By now, the “Terminator” franchise is a sloppy and meandering mess that requires a flowchart to make sense of. And to think, we had the perfect ending all the way back in 1991.
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