15 Greatest Movie Endings Of The Decade

4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

For all the suggestions that the studio may have wanted a slither of happiness in the finale, Rogue One was never going to end on a positive note. If it had, we would have known the characters who are key to its plot beyond the limits of this story. For them to be brand new to us, they all had to die.

The big finale of Rogue One sees the unlikely band of heroes achieve their goal - which they all knew was a suicide mission with profound possible ramifications - as they're all devastatingly killed off. As Jyn and Cassian almost settle down to accept their fate, there's a flash of hope mixed in with the sadness that is very clever.

And then, as if that wasn't enough, we get the excellent, under-appreciated Vader moment tagged on after that point that bleeds into the start of A New Hope and gives us - FINALLY - a reason to believe Vader's hyper before he turns up in Episode IV. It's atmospheric, scary and tub-thumpingly brilliant action cinema.

The only sour note is that awful deaged Leia ghoul that appears.