10 Good Films Utterly Ruined By Their Awful Final Act

4. Monty Python And The Holy Grail

Python Grail I love the surreal humour of the Pythons, and the Holy Grail film was a perfect extension of their unique brand of the surreal into a full-length feature stuffed with shrubberies, coconut shells, murderous bunnies and catapulted cows. So far, so ridiculous, and that was just great. Yet even the Pythons can take it too far, and I think they did here €“ we€™re hinted toward a final act where there€™s going to be a battle at the Frenchman-stuffed castle for the Holy Grail, and when more knights show up you think they€™re considering chucking the budget at something glorious. However, that€™s not the case. The knights charge but get arrested by the modern-day police before anything good can happen, leaving us all feeling slightly confused. I guess you can see what the Pythons were trying to do with this ending, creating a gag so surreal and unexpected that you had to appreciate it, if only for sheer chutzpah. However, what actually happened was quite the opposite €“ the joke fell flat, and we were left scratching our heads and wondering €“ was that it?
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Durham University graduate and qualified sports journalist. Very good at sitting down and watching things. Can multi-task this with playing computer games. Football Manager addict who has taken Shrewsbury Town to the summit of the Premier League. You can follow me at @Ed_OwenUK, if you like ramblings about Newcastle United and A Place in the Sun. If you don't, I don't know what I can do for you.