8 Films That Ended Too Soon

Over the last few years it's become common for films to be so long, we have the debate on whether we need the return of the intermission at movie theatres.

I would love to sit through three uninterrupted hours of The Batman, but me and my addiction to buying the largest soda available makes this a literal tall order. That being said, some films could dare to be that a little bit longer.

With some films storylines coming out of nowhere and really messing with the momentum, worse yet, engaging plot points can quite similarly wander off into nothing. Endings can be abrupt or unfinished, leaving you wonder if someone made a mistake in the edit.

Sometimes, even when a film has a decent final moment, it can feel like scenes and entire sequences were missing on our way to that point. Whatever the case, some films could do with at least an extra 10 or 15 minutes to really help themselves along.

These films all ended just a bit too soon and every one of them needed something extra. As you felt that climatic moment coming, you knew it deep down in your soul, so why didn't the filmmakers?

2011’s The Grey is a rugged, masculine tale of survival against the elements (and a hungry pack of wolves) that perhaps promised more than it could truly deliver.

The power of the metaphor is great and it’s certainly made abundantly clear that Neeson’s John Ottway facing down the alpha wolf is symbolism for him finally standing up to his problems, rather than running away.

After all, moments before the face-off we find out that John’s plans commit suicide in the film’s opening spawn from his inability to confront his wife’s terminal illnesses. Now death stares him down, he chooses to fight, and…

Credits.

The bigger problem is that the film’s post-credits scene actually tags on the revelation that he won that fight, albeit at great cost.

So… you mean to say I sat through the whole film, there was a face-off between Liam Neeson and the wolf that wasn't meant to be ambiguous, but most audiences didn't see it?

The abrupt ending of The Grey is more in-line with its deeper, philosophical tones, but is undermined by that very final scene; also cheapened by the fact that sometimes you just want to see a man and a wolf go toe-to-toe.

Don’t tease us with a showdown, cut away from it, then half-deliver a few moments later.