12 Most Hated Blockbuster Movie Endings

It may be hard to explain to some younger readers just how crushing a let-down 2003's The Matrix Reloaded really was. The 1999 original was an instant classic which totally revitalised both the science fiction and action genres (not to mention Keanu Reeves' career), and revolutionised the use of digital FX.

Yet where The Matrix left unsuspecting viewers struggling to catch their breath, the sequel left an expectant audience going... "eh? What? Is that it?"

Shooting two sequels back-to-back was always an ambitious undertaking, and the troubles faced by writer-director duo the Wachowskis in that time have been well documented. But can this really excuse a follow up this over-complicated, incoherent and often embarrassingly silly (cave rave and orgasm cake, anyone)?

Worse yet, the attempt at a big shock cliffhanger ending - intended to leave audiences desperate for trilogy closer The Matrix Revolutions - wound up a real damp squib. As things get ever weirder, we end on a comatose Neo lying on an infirmary bunk whilst Morpheus and all the newly introduced boring elder types discuss the gravity of their current situation.

The final shot reveals the one human survivor of their botched attack on the machines - Bane (Ian Bliss), who unbeknownst to them is possessed by the evil Agent Smith.

The problem is, given how painfully convoluted things had been up to that point, much of the audience had either completely forgotten who Bane was by the end, or no longer cared either way.