Spoiler Warning: The following article contains spoilers for... a lot of movies.
Movie endings are tirelessly difficult to pull off, and for as fun as the its entire ending is a plot hole. However, some movies that have been criticized to no end shockingly pull off the impossible and end on a high note.
Redditors have debated which terrible films they think have great endings, and between final entries in trilogies, the beginning of other trilogies, and some so-bad-it's-good movies, they make some great points. If it wasn't for 1.5 hours of messy storytelling that came beforehand, these movies' final minutes could have been classics.
The Village (2004)
M. Night Shyamalan's The Village is about a 19th-century village's resident's fears of creatures that inhabit the surrounding woods. However, the end reveals that the village was created in the 1970s by crime victims to protect themselves from the outside world and that the creatures are men in outfits. One Redditor thinks the movie has a great ending, claiming, "I found it funny more than anything, but the ending made me like the movie more."
This is somewhat of a hot take, as the movie's big twist was polarizing with audiences when it was first released. Some viewers preferred the monster movie-esque first half and were disappointed when the monsters were revealed to be nothing but outfits. Either way, the ending must have done something right, as many other films copied The Village's twist, most recently with 2020's Antebellum.
Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)
The Terminator franchise's legacy has unfortunately been tarnished time and again with each consecutive sequel. After the incredible one-two punch of the seminal horror original and the explosive action sci-fi sequel, Rise of the Machines was the first of many to disappoint fans. But HanSoloBolo notes, "A really sh***y movie with some cool action sequences and a super gutsy ending."
Though he's the protagonist, John Connor has no effect on the narrative, but it works so well when he reaches the bunker in the final five minutes. The character thinks he's going there to end a nuclear war, but he was actually sent there to stay safe while the war happens. It's a jaw-dropping moment, and it'd be considered one of cinema's greatest plot twists if it wasn't for the cringe-worthy 95 minutes that came before it.
Batman & Robin (1997)
Between Uma Thurman's depiction of Poison Ivy and the eye-popping visuals, Batman & Robin is a terrible movie.
But the Redditor its, "The ending with Batman istering the cure he received from Mr. Freeze to Alfred is surprisingly sweet and very well-acted." Given that Michael Gough, who plays Alfred in the movie, is the only thing that ties the first four Batman movies together, fans have a lot of attachment to him, and that final scene was shockingly powerful and heartfelt.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
The Usual Suspects has a great ending, but in doing so also argues that the rest of the movie is bad. The Redditor notes, "Pretty generic cops and robbers flick until the twist at the ending." This choice is a hugely unpopular opinion, as The Usual Suspects is generally considered one of the greatest mystery movies of the 1990s.
The 1995 film was massively influential at the time, and the sequence where the suspects trap the cop car during the diamond heist has been copied in myriad movies, with the most recent example being Tenet. However, as great as The Usual Suspects is, the final scene elevates the film to a whole other level. Nobody saw the reveal coming that Verbal was Keyser Soze all along.
The Godfather Part III (1990)
The Godfather Part III's ending is great and that it deserves a better movie. The Redditor posits, "It's basically a great ending in desperate search of a film to go with it..." The Godfather Part III is famously heavily criticized for redeeming Michael Corleone, who had committed some heinous crimes and murdered innocent people just to build his empire.
However, The Godfather Part III isn't as bad as fans think, and the ending is part of the reason why. The final few minutes of the movie see Michael's whole world come crashing down, as his daughter is murdered in front of him, and he grows old and dies alone, which is a death far more depressing and worse than being assassinated.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace has a great ending, and while they acknowledge that most fans don't like the movie, the Redditor argues, "I actually don't think it's bad, but still" There are some great moments in The Phantom Menace, such as the pod racing, the "Duel of the Fates" score from John Williams, and, of course, Darth Maul. The final battle between him, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon Jinn is epic in every way, and it managed to build suspense and be exciting, something that the rest of the movie failed at.
While Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is by far the worst live-action Spider-Man movie, but a deleted defends its ending. The Redditor argues, "Amazing Spider-Man 2 had a lot of problems but its ending and the handling of Gwen's death was perfect." For as goofy and ridiculous as most of the movie is, Gwen's death still hit audiences on a surprisingly emotional level.
The ending also makes one scene in the first move that much better and more devastating too. In The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter promises Gwen's father, George, on his deathbed that he would stay away from Gwen, which is the only way that she can be completely safe. But as Peter breaks that promise, it results in her death and proves George completely right.
Split (2016)
A lot of viewers enjoyed The Sixth Sense.
However, the Reddit also notes that 2019's Unbreakable, ruined what momentum the series had. Glass was a weak attempt at tieing two movies together that didn't need to be tied together and forcing a shared universe on audiences.
Saw II (2005)
The Saw movies have gained a reputation of becoming worse with each release, as many would argue that all but the original movie are bad. But the first Saw had a plot twist that nobody saw coming, and though the meat of the movie isn't quite on par with the original, Skywalkling loves the final few minutes of Saw II too. The Redditor mentions, "I really liked the twist in Saw II, probably more so than the first one's."
Just as the answer was right in front of the victims' eyes in the first one, the same thing happens in the second. At the beginning of the 2005 film, the Jigsaw killer tells Eric that his son is in a "safe place." It's then revealed at the end of the movie that his son was trapped in a safe, which was two feet away from Eric the whole time.
The Mist (2007)
The Mist has one of the greatest movie endings of all time, but they're more critical of the film, noting, "This movie is full of cringe-worthy performances and bad special effects..." But The Mist is far from a bad movie, and its production had everything working against it.
According to Chron, the film had a micro-budget compared to what it needed, and it had a shooting schedule of just 37 days, which is nothing by Hollywood's standards. With that in mind, some of the mediocre digital effects and questionable acting can be forgiven. The movie is full of terrifying and suspenseful moments, not to mention its truly shocking ending that wasn't even in Stephen King's original story.
