When you’re immersed in a movie, riding every twist and turn and engaging with the characters’ journeys as they unfold, there is nothing worse than the film suddenly dishing up a jarring, unnecessary scene that distracts from the story and shatters the enjoyment of the picture. Unfortunately, many movies over the years have done this.
The question was recently posed to the r/AskReddit community about which otherwise brilliant films were ruined by “that one scene” that tainted the viewing experience. Ranging from major franchises like the MCU and Star Wars to cult hits from decades ago, the community did not hold back in their evaluation of the topic.
10 ‘Spectre’ (2016)
Daniel Craig’s tenure as 007 enabled the franchise to do things it had never attempted before, namely, giving James Bond an ongoing character arc. While this was largely rewarding across Craig’s five movies, it did occasionally present minor issues from film to film.
The fourth of Craig’s Bond movies, Spectre, struggled as it tried to weave the villains from the past three Bond films into Blofeld’s (Christoph Waltz) vengeful scheme. SirZapdos commented on the antagonists sharing ownership of Spectre rings, saying “when they reveal that Le Chiffre, Greene, and Silva all inexplicably had that one ring, I roll my eyes.”
9 ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ (2008)
A long-awaited follow-up to the famous adventure trilogy, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull became a divisive extension of the Indiana Jones movies. It follows Harrison Ford’s iconic hero as he teams up with a young greaser to investigate the legend behind the crystal skulls while being pursued by Soviet agents.
The film was running smoothly for Tuminus right up until the aliens were revealed to be real. The comment sparked a sporadic conversation in the responses with some Redditors agreeing with Tuminus and citing the swinging monkeys scene as being too ridiculous while others observed the franchise’s history of dealing with fantastical and mythological ideas.
8 ‘Hancock’ (2008)
Following a reckless and self-destructive superhero as he is befriended by a PR expert who tries to improve his image, Hancock was an early subversion of superhero cinema which had a fun central idea and the blockbuster budget to match. Interestingly, it’s not so much one jarringly out-of-place moment that harmed the movie, but rather how its mid-point changed the trajectory of the film.
That was the sentiment of spaceraingame who commented “The first half of Hancock was actually pretty good until that terrible twist halfway that completely ruined the rest of the movie.” The twist in question revealed that the PR expert’s wife also had superhuman abilities and had been romantically involved with Hancock (Will Smith) centuries ago.
7 ‘Showgirls’ (1995)
Despite performing poorly at the box office and being met with poor reviews, Showgirls became an unlikely hit on home video and has achieved cult status for its satirical value. The 1995 erotic thriller follows a young drifter who arrives in Las Vegas and pursues a career as a showgirl only to be confronted by the seedy lifestyle.
While Showgirls‘ filmmakers have expressed their regret for the film’s mistakes, it has earned appreciation for its comedic value, even if it was unintentional. However, a graphic rape scene towards the end of the film completely shattered that ironically enjoyable vibe, as was evidenced by one Redditor who said “that scene took it from ‘so bad it’s good’ to just ‘what the f**k were they thinking?”
6 ‘The Wolverine’ (2013)
An underappreciated hit not only within the X-Men universe but in superhero cinema at large, The Wolverine was a rewarding change of pace for long-time fans of the comic book character. Set predominantly in Japan, it follows Logan (Hugh Jackman) as he is reunited with an old, dying acquaintance only to be dragged into a conspiracy containing mutants and criminals.
While the majority of the film was well received, it stumbled in its final act as plot twists and CGI-heavy fights left fans underwhelmed. The movie was put forth by RyzenRaider who said it “is pretty solid until they go Full Silver Samurai… Never go Full Silver Samurai.”
5 ‘Black Panther’ (2018)
As arguably the MCU’s greatest offering and a defining hit of modern blockbuster cinema, Black Panther was understandably a film of great cultural significance. The film follows T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) as he returns to Wakanda and inherits the throne in the wake of his father’s death only for his reign to be challenged by a distant relative with vengeful intentions.
Beloved by moviegoers and critics alike, Black Panther became a landmark success on its way to being the first MCU movie to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, however, there were still some moments that fans had issues with. The user wonderlandisburning was left wanting by the death of Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis), stating “he was shaping up to be a really fun and interesting villain… but he was sacrificed because the movie needed to pivot into a different direction.”
4 ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ (2014)
A runaway hit that parodied major spy movies to hilarious effect without skimping on any of the genre’s thrills, Kingsman: The Secret Service excelled as an action-comedy with no small amount of style. It follows an English street kid who is recruited to the Kingsman organization to help prevent a megalomaniacal eco-terrorist from wiping out the majority of the human race.
Primarily lampooning the James Bond movies, Kingsman derived a lot of its comedy from its ridiculous and sometimes crude mocking of Bond tropes. While many hit the mark, one of the film’s final gags was a bridge too far for some, with roto_disc stating that the shocking sex scene at “the end of the first Kingsman movie really put a damper on the whole thing.”
3 ‘Blank Check’ (1994)
A farcical crime comedy aimed at younger audiences; Blank Check was semi-successful though the 90s film was critically panned upon release. The film follows a young boy who inadvertently comes into the possession of a check worth $1 million and starts spending big only to find himself being pursued by the crooks who accidentally gave him the check.
While a childish premise, it is easy to see why kids at the time enjoyed the overall idea, but it does have a particularly eyebrow-raising scene near the end of the film where the young protagonist shares a passionate kiss with the FBI agent working the case. AlefgardHero commented, “when I was 10 I thought it was awesome but last week my current [10-year-old] thought it was gross and so did I.”
2 ‘Wonder Woman’ (2017)
Still the highlight of the DCEU, Wonder Woman took what had been a spluttering, inconsistent franchise and finally gave it a strong, talismanic direction for the future. Set during WWI, it follows Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) as she works with an American soldier to find the God of War who must be defeated to bring an end to the conflict.
The film’s thematic investment into human nature and the nature of war gave the movie one of its greatest, most somber dynamics, only to backflip on the idea at the end. Nafeels expressed their disappointment, saying “Wonder Woman was very good but they had to show Ares, huh?”
1 ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015)
Released 10 years after the previous live-action Star Wars blockbuster, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a fan-favorite sensation that re-ignited the sci-fi franchise under Disney’s management. The new beginning presented as a fresh start which was more than comfortable hearkening back to the saga’s first installments.
While this gave the movie a nostalgic charm, it did sometimes stick too close to what had come before, particularly with its climax involving Starkiller Base. That was the sentiment of yeahsuresoundsgreat, who complained about how “there’s another death-star-sort-of-planet, except there’s one flaw that we can exploit to blow it up… this is the third time you f**kers are doing this to me, think of a new idea.”
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