Entertainment
10 Worst Action Movie Endings, Ranked
An ending can make or break a movie. Audiences will forgive clunky dialogue, ridiculous action, or paper-thin villains as long as the finale delivers a satisfying payoff. There are subpar movies with great endings that make audiences walk away feeling high, but there are also entertaining movies that plunge themselves into ridicule because they fail to stick the landing. Some endings are so frustrating that they overshadow everything that came before them, leaving viewers more annoyed than thrilled once the credits roll.
Here, we take a look at some action movies with the worst endings. Most of these movies have strong foundations, but they just forgot to conclude them neatly. These movies stumble into endings that feel unfinished, overly convoluted, emotionally hollow, or simply absurd. From fake-out conclusions to inconsequential universe-breaking twists, these action movies crash-land their endings and become memorable in ways they do not want. Warning: spoilers galore!
10
‘The Grey’ (2011)
The Grey follows a group of oil workers stranded in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash. Led by the group’s sharpshooter John Ottway (Liam Neeson), the men have to withstand freezing conditions and a relentless pack of wolves hunting them one by one. The film also stars Frank Grillo and Dermot Mulroney.
The Grey is not a bad film at all, and its infamous ending is actually in line with its introspective and philosophical tone. However, the marketing and trailers promised the audience “Liam Neeson versus wolves,” when it was actually a gritty, character-driven story. The ending sees Ottway preparing to fight the alpha wolf in what appears to be an inevitable last stand, only for the movie to cut to black before the battle begins. There is a brief post-credits shot which shows both the wolf and Ottway lying on the ground, both still breathing weakly. Depending on where you stand, the ending can be considered a terrible one.
9
‘Terminator Genisys’ (2015)
Terminator Genisys attempts to reboot the Terminator franchise by setting it on a different timeline. The film follows Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) as he travels back in time to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), only to discover that Sarah is now a seasoned fighter raised by an aging Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Skynet is evolving into a new global operating system called Genisys.
The setup of Terminator Genisys is already wobbly. The film has one of the most badass and iconic characters being called Pops, and it is a standalone entry, but you still have to be familiar with the franchise to fully understand it. Its ending that teases future sequels undid everything that the characters went through. After seemingly defeating the immediate threat, the ending still teases that Skynet survives, clearly setting up sequels that never happened. Nothing feels resolved because Genisys is obsessed with launching a new trilogy instead of telling a complete story.
8
‘Edge of Darkness’ (2010)
Edge of Darkness follows Thomas Craven (Mel Gibson), a Boston detective investigating the murder of his activist daughter, Emma (Bojana Novakovic). Believing that he was the intended target, he starts a mission to find out who’s responsible and uncover corporate and government corruption in the process.
As his first leading role after a brief hiatus following a notorious controversy, Mel Gibson shines in this action thriller. Helmed by Martin Campbell, who also directed Casino Royale, it is a gritty revenge flick with an ambitious storyline. However, its ending is too tacky for the film’s tone. After uncovering the conspiracy, Craven dies at the hospital before the spirit of his daughter comes to him and leads him to the bright light, which will probably trigger unintentional laughter. The film bombed at the box office, most likely because of its generic title and Gibson’s public persona, but that cheesy ending also did not help.
7
‘Savages’ (2012)
Savages follows two California marijuana growers, Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), whose operation attracts the attention of a violent Mexican cartel. They share a romantic relationship with O (Blake Lively), and together they become trapped in a war with the cartel that escalates when O is kidnapped.
Leveraging the hottest young actors at the time, Savages is a solid crime film up until its fake-out ending. For a few minutes, the ending actually commits to a nihilistic tragedy. The three leads appear to die together in a murder-suicide after everything collapses around them; it’s bleak and honestly fitting for the story. Then the movie immediately reveals that the entire sequence was a dream imagined by O and that they actually survive and escape to start a new life abroad. It’s a Hollywood twist ending that doesn’t belong in this film, which is about violence and moral decay.
6
‘Extinction’ (2018)
Extinction follows Peter (Michael Peña), a factory worker haunted by recurring nightmares about an alien invasion destroying humanity. His visions begin affecting his personal life and mental health until the invasion suddenly becomes real. Massive alien forces attack the city, forcing Peter, his wife Alice (Lizzy Caplan), and their two daughters to find safety.
Extinction is one of the very first studio films to be dumped on Netflix, so that says something about its quality. It has an intriguing premise executed badly, hinging on a big twist that reveals that these characters are sentient AIs, and the aliens are humans trying to reclaim Earth. It is a smart twist, but the film’s ending is unsure about who to root for, as the AIs are sealed off and the humans successfully seize the city. So, are we supposed to be on Peter’s side, whom we have been following from the start, or the humans? The twist muddles this perspective, and the film itself crumbles thanks to it.
5
‘Lucy’ (2014)
Lucy follows the titular character, played by Scarlett Johansson, as an ordinary woman forced to transport a synthetic drug in her stomach. That drug accidentally leaks into her bloodstream, giving her rapidly expanding mental and physical abilities. As she unlocks her full brain powers, she gains powers ranging from telekinesis to mind control to reality manipulation.
By the climax, Lucy has become incredibly powerful, even transcending human powers. The ending is infamous because it crosses the line from ambitious to absurd. Lucy literally transforms herself into an omniscient entity who dissolves into space and time before leaving behind a USB drive containing infinite knowledge; basically, she becomes a cosmic supercomputer, meaning all her powers are equivalent to a programme on a USB stick, which is disappointing. Even more disappointing is that the film suggests that all that knowledge can be contained.
4
‘Sweet Girl’ (2021)
Sweet Girl follows grieving husband Ray Cooper (Jason Momoa), whose wife died after the company pulled the drug that would save her off the market. As Ray and his daughter Rachel (Isabela Merced) try to expose the corruption within the company, they become targets, chased by hitmen.
After Ray and Rachel spend most of the movie on the run together, there is a twist revealing that Ray actually died earlier in the film and that Rachel has been imagining him while she carried out all the revenge missions. It is a nonsensical and bizarre twist that may have worked well in movies like Fight Club or A Beautiful Mind, but Sweet Girl lacks the careful construction of Rachel’s psychological state and journey to justify it. It gets worse too. Rachel continues to go on the run and exchanges all her money for cryptocurrency, which is a terrible financial decision to make in this economy.
3
‘The Flash’ (2023)
The Flash centers on Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) using time travel to prevent his mother’s (Maribel Verdu) murder. He accidentally creates an alternate universe where Kryptonians led by General Zod (Michael Shannon) invade Earth, and he meets Supergirl (Sasha Calle) and another version of Batman (Michael Keaton). Now, he has to return to his original universe and try to stop different worlds from colliding.
The core story is actually very strong. In Barry’s journey through time, he realizes that he cannot undo what’s done in the past, but he can try to make it right, and the scene where he briefly reunites with his mother is touching. However, everything fails because the film, and most likely the studio, wanted to push the multiverse aspect when in fact, it is very distracting and inconsequential to the story. After Barry helps his father win, the film ends with a multiverse-breaking in-joke where he meets George Clooney’s Batman. The result is an expensive misfire that further sinks the DCEU.
2
‘Next’ (2007)
Next follows Cris Johnson (Nicolas Cage), a Las Vegas magician whose secret trick is that he has the ability to see two minutes into his future, leading the government to recruit him to stop a nuclear terrorist attack by using his powers. The film also stars Jessica Biel and Julianne Moore. Admittedly, the movie has a laughable premise by today’s standards, yet the sheer star power sells it.
Alas, it has one of the most notorious cop-out endings in modern action cinema. After the terrorists detonate a nuclear bomb and countless people die, the film reveals that the entire final act was merely one of Cris’ visions of the future, which does not make sense because his whole shtick is that he can only see two minutes, not like a whole day. So, he simply rewinds the story by warning the FBI ahead of time. A similar trick is also used in Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, but to a much more successful effect. In this film, it just felt lazy instead of shocking.
1
‘How It Ends’ (2018)
How It Ends follows Will (Theo James) as he travels across a collapsing America with his girlfriend’s father, Tom (Forest Whitaker), after a mysterious apocalyptic event cuts off communication and plunges the country into chaos. As they travel to Seattle to find her, they find that roads are blocked by the military, finding themselves in the middle of desperate people trying to survive the disaster.
For a film with the title How It Ends, it never shows how it actually ended because it just abruptly stops. After spending most of its runtime building suspense around the apocalypse, Will reunites with her girlfriend, and they just continue their journey in post-apocalyptic America. It’s akin to that fake-out ending in The Simpsons Movie, but here, the film just continues to the end credits. It feels unfinished, as if the filmmakers ran out of ideas of how to close the film. Movies can leave questions unanswered, but maybe it should not be titled How It Ends.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login