Every type of medium builds up to some sort of a final act. Mysteries build up to catching the criminal and solving the case. Action/adventure stories build up to a final showdown between the protagonists and antagonists. While there are many great final acts, there are also many terrible final acts. A final act can be hurt from just one plot-hole or many. Contradict a character and it changes the direction. Worst Offender: The Wolverine: Fox's most popular X-Man saw the release of another stand-alone film this year. Based on the well acclaimed story by Chris Claremont, Wolverine travels to Japan and learns the Japanese culture while battling personal demons and new enemies. The general consensus from both critics and fans was the film was enjoyable until the atrocious nose dive taken in the final act. The last 20 minutes transform itself into X-Men Origins: Wolverine Part 2. Fans were forced to watch a 20 minute unsatisfying conclusion stuffed with generic action scenes, predictable plot twists, under-developed villains, shoddy CGI, and rushed plot resolution. The final act begins when Wolverine rushes to save Mariko Yashida from the venomous clutches of Viper. He is defeated by a small army of ninjas and placed in a machine. From there, one of the stupidest characters of 2013 was introduced as the Viper reveals the Silver Samurai. Instead of Kenuchio Harada, the protector of Mariko in the film, as the samurai, the two are separate characters. The Silver Samurai is changed into a giant robot made of adamantium with the ability to extract Wolverine's healing ability. The process is never explained how it's possible, it just is. Then in one of the most predictable twists of the year, IchirĀ Yashida reveals he faked his death and is wearing the suit. He also wields a scorching adamantium katana straight out of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The katana unexpectedly slices Wolverine's claws off forcing his bone versions to re-grow. Not only this, Viper's motivations are not explained. We are only left to ponder what she was doing after she is killed by Yukio. The three heroes win and search for future adventures. Best Example: Kick-Ass 2 and Man of Steel: Choosing a great final act was a bit easy as most final acts were underwhelming this year, but the two that did stand out of the competition were Kick-Ass 2 and Thor: The Dark World. KA2 built up a final battle between the superheroes and super-villains. Everything Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl sacrificed and lost was not in vein as they finally defeat the Motherf*cker and his small army. It's satisfying seeing Hit-Girl overcome Mother Russia, Kick-Ass defeat Chris D'Amico, and our new heroes gaining courage as they beat down the wannabe villains. Man of Steel may have polarized fans, but there is no denying the epic scale of its final act. The final battle between the Kryptonians and Superman is tremendous with wide scale destruction and dazzling special effects. Arguably, it makes The Avenger's final battle look small in comparison. It doesn't end when the Kryptonians are returned to the Phantom Zone, instead General Zod and Supes battle one last time in a no holds barred battle that accurately portrays their invincibility and God-like power. It's one of the best superhero fights in a long time, maybe ever. But the cherry on the top is Clark, finally wearing the iconic glasses, starting his first day at the Daily Planet.
