Here Are 24 Movies That Were SO GOOD...Until They Weren't

Spoilers ahead, obviously.

Not too long ago, the cinephiles of Reddit shared some movies that they thought had AMAZING STARTS but less-than-amazing finishes. Needless to say, people had some opinions to share in our post! Here are some of the best responses.

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. 

1. Sweet Home Alabama (2002):

Buena Vista Pictures

"Andrew's (Patrick Dempsey) mom (Candice Bergen) was right the whole time. Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) used and hurt both men in her life — who were two great guys. It made me sad, especially when she dumped her entire family after she got successful."

—hotpinkbunnychick

2. City of Angels (1998):

Warner Bros.

"What the hell was that? Seth (Nicolas Cage) gave up his powers, and Maggie (Meg Ryan) still died. If miracles exist, then why couldn't he find the power to raise her from the dead? Lame." 

—hotpinkbunnychick

3. Savages (2012):

Universal Pictures

"The ending was straight-up trash. I'm surprised it didn't make the original list."

—vcantu0503

4. Night of the Hunter (1955):

United Artists

"Such a terrifying, thrilling, and haunting performance by Robert Mitchum, and it ends with a cheerful Christmas party? One of my least favorite movie endings to watch."

—paulab30

5. Downsizing (2017):

Paramount Pictures

"The premise was soooooo interesting and I was really excited for it, only for the movie to not have anything to do with the 'downsizing,' and it was just preachy. I hated it. I hate that they destroyed such a promising idea."

—erins424aa92ea

6. Interview With the Vampire (1994):

Warner Bros.

"They massively changed it from the book, to the point where the subsequent books couldn't have made it into movies without a lot of plot gymnastics." 

—sassypants527

7. The 5th Wave (2016):

Sony Pictures

"It had a pretty strong start and a promising plot thrown away for teen romance." 

—maraelize

8. World War Z (2013):

Paramount Pictures

"I always thought it had a shit ending with no real resolution or finality to it." 

—michellec43fe901e5

9. Big Time Adolescence (2020):

Hulu

"This movie had me engaged the whole time, and the ending was THE MOST frustrating!" 

—Kylie Greeno

10. Onward (2020):

Pixar

"This is an awesome movie, but the ending sucks! I'm glad Barley (Chris Pratt) got to see his father, but it was really lame that Ian (Tom Holland) didn't get to meet him after all they went through." 

—sallybeteta

11. Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019):

Sony Pictures

"This movie belongs on this list."

—rickm16

12. Midsommar (2019):

A24

"I just watched it with my sister today, and I found it so boring! Nothing very eventful really happened, just some gruesome deaths and two people who went missing." 

—HamiltonFangirl888

13. Wanted (2008):

Universal Pictures

"It started off alright, but the ending with the loom? Nah, not for me." 

—joolzr2

14. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008):

Paramount Pictures

"I was SO excited about this, and all the way up to the last 20 minutes or half an hour, it was not too bad, but again, the ending? They totally tanked it, IMHO!!!!" 

—joolzr2

15. La La Land (2016):

Lionsgate

"I still know it's an objectively great movie, and the fact that they don’t end up together isn't what bothers me. I just don't like the turn it takes in the second half. The beginning is so much fun, and the musical part of it is great, but then it just slows down, and there’s no more music. I just wish it kept the fun pace it had in the beginning." 

—haleyw4ae66dcb9

16. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016):

Warner Bros.

"It still infuriates me to this day." 

—mariead

17. The Rise of Skywalker (2019):

LucasFilm / Walt Disney Studios

"It was such an epic disappointment, ESPECIALLY the ending. I will never get over it and will probably never rewatch it." 

—ssdawn29

18. Toy Story 4 (2019):

Pixar

"I thought that it was the perfect package — Woody and Buzz reunited, and everything seemed to be lollipops and rainbows until Woody gave Jessie his badge and they separated, potentially for good. Worst ending and worst movie of 2019 (not as bad as Cats, though). There goes 17 years of my life down the tubes." 

—u/MemeLife2

19. The Lobster (2015):

Sony Pictures

"WTF?"

—u/Pickle-riiiiiiiick

20. Sorry to Bother You (2018):

Focus Features

"The whole film was, well...a bit much, and the ending of the film didn't close any storylines."

—u/somegoop

21. Law Abiding Citizen (2009):

Overture Films

"The ending completely ruined the entire movie." 

—u/Milad04

22. Yesterday (2019):

Universal Pictures

"I thought it would end with Jack waking up from his coma and finding that the entire movie was a dream. The actual ending of the movie, with him NOT being in a dream and it all being REAL, was so dumb to me. So much lost potential." 

—u/mikeyboi3000

23. Ex Machina (2014):

A24

"Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) released a robot into the world and let himself get trapped in the other guy's office until he starved to death. Very disappointing." 

—u/[deleted]

24. Lastly, The Cabin in the Woods (2012):

Lionsgate

"Part of what makes horror movie effective is the illusion of 'This might have happened somewhere at some point...and it might happen to you.' The last like 30 seconds completely shattered that illusion beyond repair. That alone took what would have been a truly fantastic movie and made it just terrible, in my opinion."

—u/FFirebrandd

Is there a movie that you think should have made the list? Sound off in the comments below.