10 Best Sci-Fi Movie Endings Of All Time
Where we're going, we don't need bad endings.
An ending can either make or break a film and in the case of science fiction, that statement couldn't be truer. Exploring questions and concerns in modern society through imaginative ideas, a bad ending can undo all the lofty aspirations a film has set during its runtime, even if everything prior has been near perfect. And sometimes a great ending can even save an otherwise average movie, as long as it's done right.
Sometimes the ending can leave you in a state of euphoria, other times it can leave you scratching your head, and quite often they can leave you a broken mess, fearing for the future of your own society.
Not every sci-fi film has to have a dour ending to be great, and nor do they need to have a happy fairytale ending either. They just need to wrap up everything in a way that best fits the film in question.
Luckily these movies managed to land their ending, leaving the film imprinted on your brain long after the credits have rolled.
Be warned, this article is chockful of spoilers, obviously.
10. The Empire Strikes Back
The three-act structure has been a staple of a wide variety of fiction since the days of Aristotle, and there's a good reason for it. The setup, confrontation and resolution model of a narrative hits all the beats it needs to in order to entertain. So when it comes to the original Star Wars trilogy, the entirety of The Empire Strikes Back is the confrontation act of this three-act structure, and its ending is appropriately dark.
In a twist that's become so popular and parodied endlessly, it can be easy to forget just how impactful the Daddy Vader reveal was at the time. Not only has he had a world of truth in regards to his lineage dropped on him, but he's also now minus a hand and clinging on for dear life.
And that's not even all the bad stuff that's happened so far; Han's been frozen in carbonite after being betrayed by Lando, ready to be shipped off to the slug crime-lord of the Outer Rim, Jabba the Hutt.
It's even more insane to think that audiences at the time had to wait three years to find out what happened next. Imagine waiting three years for Endgame after Infinity War. It doesn't bear thinking about.