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Article created by: Ilona Baliūnaitė

I know that there are plenty of Pandas here who simply adore movies just like me. So here’s a question for you, folks: what matters more in a film—the journey or the destination? Does a film have to have a decent ending in order to be good? And does a bad, cliched, and tone-deaf ending necessarily ruin what was otherwise a perfectly decent flick?

Well, these people over on Reddit certainly think so. In a viral thread created by Minecraftplayer48, these redditors shared how, in their opinion, some film endings went disastrously wrong and spoiled the entire experience. How bad can things really be? We’re about to find out.

Potentially huuuuge spoilers up ahead, dear Pandas, so read on at your own risk. (Or just, you know, shut your eyes really hard and scroll down blindly as far as you need to go.) Remember to upvote the opinions that you agree with and let us know why you think so in the comments.

I reached out to writer and Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Doug Murano from South Dakota to get his take on what it takes to create a good story and how to craft a great ending. "As strange as it may sound, writing and piloting an airplane share an important similarity: taking off and landing are the parts that are most fraught with peril. These are times of transition and uncertainty. Most competent writers can write a solid middle, but hooking the reader (taking off) and delivering a satisfying ending (landing) often separate the competent from the good and the good from the great," he told Bored Panda. You find the rest of my interview with writer and editor Murano below.

#1

Three people wearing tin foil hats sitting on a couch, illustrating movie endings that ruined the entire film. Signs. You're telling me that this alien species that is vulnerable to water was trying to invade a planet that is 70% water?

-eDgAR- Report

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    #2

    Two actors from a movie scene displaying emotional expressions, illustrating movie endings that ruined films. City Of Angels, where Meg Ryan (human) dies in a bike accident right after Nicolas Cage (angel) decides to give up immortality to be with her

    martej Report

    #3

    Two excited people in a car scene illustrating movie endings that were so bad they ruined the entire film. I gotta go with the flying car in Grease

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    #4

    Superman standing in his iconic costume with a red cape against a city skyline, representing movie endings. Superman (1978), he reverses time by flying backwards around the earth.

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    Raymond Core
    Community Member
    5 months ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    He's not reversingtime for anyone but himself. BTW, the whole Superman saga is fiction.

    #5

    Scene from a movie showing a man and a German shepherd dog in a damaged urban street with wrecked cars in the background. I Am Legend. Stupid test audience approved happy ending

    MarkF6 Report

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    #6

    Three people in a forest scene from a movie with confusing or bad endings that ruined the entire film experience. Spielberg version of War of the Worlds, somehow Robbie is still alive and waiting for them in Boston. Not only did the circumstances make his survival virtually impossible, but his character was so annoying that the twist of him being alive just destroyed all my previous satisfaction in him being deceased

    MrBirdHorner Report

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    #7

    Man in a brown sweater sitting in a kitchen, holding a bottle, watching a tiny man on a counter, illustrating bad movie endings. Downsizing. Great concept that could've been done without the forced love story.

    jalepenogrlll Report

    #8

    Close-up of man with beanie showing frustration, illustrating movie endings that ruined the entire film experience. Hancock. Loved the premise and seeing Hancock start as this sarcastic, alcoholic, and bitter hero who's hated by everyone and then turn into an actual hero who people look up to and respect is touching. The PR angle for a superhero movie was interesting and unique. But then all of that is ruined by the lovers twist. I'm fine with either the superhero PR angle or the tragic lovers angle, but they're way too different and the latter is introduced too suddenly. Hancock really feels like two separate movies stitched together

    thwipsandquips Report

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    #9

    Young man in period costume posing against a decorative red background, illustrating movie endings that ruined the entire film. The Aladdin remake. I was beyond disappointed to not see a battle between Jafar as a snake and Aladdin. Nobody asked for the giant nameless parrot to chase them through the city. No one. Give me a snake battle

    SumGoodJuJu Report

    #10

    Two animated characters from a popular movie scene, highlighting discussions about bad movie endings ruining films. Frozen II. I don't think it was nice of Elsa to miss her sister's coronation! She wasn't even doing anything important

    beefa232 Report

    #11

    Two women working at computers in an office, focused on screens showing social media discussing bad movie endings. The Circle...seemed to be a film warning of the dangers of sharing too much online, only to do A COMPLETE 180 on the message at the end!

    leonmacdonaldrules Report

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    #12

    Teenagers behind bars in a jail scene representing movie endings so bad they ruined the entire film. The Breakfast Club. The premise of the whole film is, "teenagers can be judgy and awful to each other, but everyone is fighting their own battles so we should try to be nicer to each other" Then they give the weird quirky girl a makeover to look more like the normal girl, people partner up in order of attractiveness and the nerdy dude is left on his own...

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    #13

    Animated characters Woody and Forky from Toy Story stand in a colorful child's room, illustrating bad movie endings that ruined films. Toy Story 4, almost as if Woody had a complete personality shift

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    #14

    Man gently touching woman's face in a tense scene highlighting movie endings that ruined the entire film. Passengers. It could have been an amazing sci-fi movie where Jennifer Lawrence was forced to make the same decision Chris Pratt's Marvel character Star-Lord did. Instead they went for a happily ever after

    Lpreddit Report

    #15

    The Village Turns out it’s just a bunch folks that can’t handle living in the real world. Also, what happens if a jet airplane were to fly over a supposed farming village from the 1700s?

    unclejohnnydanger Report

    #16

    Actor in a blue shirt holding a remote, illustrating reactions to movie endings that ruined the entire film. Click. A fantastic movie about how life can pass you by if you let it and the consequences of your actions. If they ended it in the hospital as he was dying, it would have been a fantastic, insightful movie. But no, let's let him rewind and live happily ever after.

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    #17

    Young couple laughing and sharing popcorn in a crowded movie theater, illustrating bad movie endings frustrating viewers. "500 Days of Summer. Ooh, he met 'Autumn.' How quirkyyyyy. Lame."

    goodjokeanyway Report

    #18

    Black and white scene of a man and woman in vintage clothing having a serious conversation over drinks, movie endings concept. I hate the ending of a classic 1940s film called Gentleman's Agreement. Gregory Peck plays a journalist who pretends to be Jewish in order to write an article about antisemitism. His girlfriend knows about the ruse and as the story unfolds, it becomes clear that she's a closet antisemite. They argue about this but in the end he stays with her.

    BSB8728 Report

    #19

    Two young actors in a forest scene, illustrating movie endings that ruined the entire film discussion. Bridge to Terabithia broke me as a child. No one can watch that movie/read the book more than once. I went into the theater as an 8-year-old expecting a fun fantasy movie and that is not what I got.

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    #20

    Animated animals from a popular movie taking a selfie, illustrating examples of movie endings that ruined the entire film. Zootopia. The teeth for all the animals had been spot on (appropriate and detailed morphology for each taxon) but the final bit where they have Flash open his mouth revealed they gave him additional and inappropriate teeth for a sloth. As a slothologist and mammalogist, this was a huge letdown and betrayal.

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