Saving Private Ryan (1998)
The Ending: An older Ryan stands by Miller’s grave, ponders whether he is a good man, then salutes his fallen comrade as the stars and stripes billow into shot.
Why It’s So Bad: It’s Spielberg at his most sentimental, and cloyingly patriotic to boot.
Batman (1989)
The Ending: Batman prevents the Joker’s escape by snaring his leg with a grappling hook and attaching it to a nearby gargoyle.
As a result, the Joker falls to his death.
Why It’s So Bad: The Batman doesn’t kill if he can possibly avoid it, but here, he basically executes his greatest foe!
Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003)
The Ending: Aragorn is crowned king and everybody is happy. The end!
Oh no, wait, now it’s back to the shire for Sam to get married.
And wait, there’s one more ending to come as Frodo heads off with the elves.
Is it over yet?
Are you sure?
Why It’s So Bad: None of the aforementioned scenes are “bad” as such, but the cumulative effect is a little wearing.
Just end it already!
Secret Window (2004)
The Ending: Johnny Depp’s shut-in writer reveals that he’s been the unhinged wack-job all along, and John Turturro’s apparent villain was just a figment of his imagination.
Why It’s So Bad: It’s a jarringly abrupt twist, but one you’ll have been able to see coming a mile off.
Proof that what might works as a short story can often fall flat on the big screen.
The Village (2004)
The Ending: The film is revealed to be set in the present day, with the village’s elders fabricating the monsters to keep the outside world at bay.
Why It’s So Bad: A twist for a twist’s sake, Shyamalan’s big reveal is a massive damp squib that strips away all the atmosphere created by the preceding events in one fell swoop.
Edge Of Darkness (2010)
The Ending: Mad Mel shoots up all the bad guys before succumbing to the hail of bullets his seemingly super-powered body has soaked up.
Happily, his dead daughter is on hand to stroll through the pearly gates with him.
Why It’s So Bad: They actually go strolling off into a soft-focus heaven together.
Bleurgh.
I Am Legend (2007)
The Ending: Will Smith’s hero blows himself up, allowing the two survivors he’s stashed in a handy cupboard, the opportunity to escape and save humanity.
Yaaay!
Why It’s So Bad: Author Richard Matheson’s original ending revealed that the vampires were only attacking Dr. Neville’s house to rescue one of his test subjects, thus revealing themselves to be more than mere monsters.
The movie scraps that altogether, purely to allow Smith to do his loveable badass routine.
Pah!
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2005)
The Ending: The crystal skulls awaken an angry alien who melts Cate Blanchett’s brain before taking his spaceship and flying off into the distance.
Why It’s So Bad: The whole sequence feels like a deleted scene from one of Lucas’ Star Wars prequels.
John Hurt’s “space… or the space between spaces” line is the icing on a particularly shitty cake.
Planet Of The Apes (2001)
The Ending: Marky-Mark returns to planet Earth safe and sound, only to find that General Thade’s simian mug has replaced that of honest Abe on the Lincoln Monument. Eh?
Why It’s So Bad: It makes no sense in the context of the rest of the film!
Thade was defeated, so how has the timeline been altered? We’re never told.
A cheap attempt to recreate the big twist at the end of the original.
The Devil Inside (2012)
The Ending: Seemingly in the middle of the final scene, t he screen fades to black, before the audience is referred to a webpage “for more information on the ongoing investigation”.
Why It’s Bad: If you can’t be arsed to finish telling the story on screen, we can’t be arsed to look it up for ourselves.
It's the worst ending of all time, because it's arguably not even an ending. It's a cliffhanger for a Google search!
