What Single Scene Killed an Otherwise Great Movie?

[K12]

Well as for my own examples. I was amazed that the final Harry Potter film decided to adapt the books' terrible epilogue chapter into a terrible epilogue scene.

Ironically, while I thought that epilogue almost ruined the whole book by its inclusion and was really terribly written, I actually thought it was done WAY better in the movie. Maybe because it completely leaves out the cloying and unnecessary "everything is completely fine and great now, forever, no question" overtone.

I think while that's somewhat true the film version added a few extra issues, like how implausible some of the actors look as middle-aged parents, Ginny being the biggest offender. Personally the thing I hate the most is that every single one of their offspring is named after two dead characters, does nobody just give their kids names because they like them in this universe? It was an extremely clumsy way to say "their sacrifices were not forgotten", It would have been much better to have the kids get off at Hogwarts and go past a memorial or something (or just leave the whole thing out completely).

I'd categorise the film version as "less awful" rather than "way better" (I realise that's very nitpicky by the way, sorry in advance)

 

[K12]

The point of this was to restore the husband's faith...which was only in question BECAUSE HIS WIFE DIED!

And that's my complaint about the movie in a nutshell. The message I took away from it was more "God's a dick" than "God works in mysterious ways."

Oh, and yeah. He restores the faith of one man by creating an alien invasion that causes fear, mayhem and death. After torturing a family for years.

This is kind of the reason I didn't like "Life of Pi", due to Pi's "Well, this story is obviously BS but you want to believe it because it's more awesome, you know, like God" moral. Except to me that's pretty much saying "Believing in God is purposefully lying to yourself because the world is too ugly".

Way to mix messages.

Shit, how could I forget "Life of Pi" for this subject. I love the majority of that film but the "moral" was fucking atrocious. It was intellectually insulting and liable to anger both sincere religious people and Atheists alike. The only people who'd like a moral like that are the smug, new-age, post-modernist crowd who don't actually care what's true at all, they only care about what makes them sound deep.

I don't even mind the parallel story bits. It's actually a pretty cool twist to suggest a gritty realistic version and that his wild and magical story was an escape into his own fantasy allowing him to keep trying to survive. It could have been a really good statement about the power of fantasy and escapism... but then they ruined it.

Actually the adult Pi is a smug prick for the entire film and if you could edit out the entirety of the modern day interview bit then the film would be 10 times better.

 

[HybridChangeling]

Up until mah boy Blue came skidding around the corner FUCK YEAH TEAM-UP FIGHT WOOOO!!!

Blue is my main man bruh.

For me I think the dinosaur rescue scene in The Lost World took the movie from "It's alright" to "Why am I watching this". It really annoyed me man.

I can barely watch the beginning of Return of the Jedi because of "Jedi Rocks", it turned me off that movie fully for awhile.

 

[happyninja42]

Oh god yeah, hah! I forgot about those. I could kind of buy it in the first movie, as it culminated after days of research on the woman's part, to uncover his secret. Highlander: The Quickening though. *stabs self in stomach* "Hey babe! I'm immortal yo! Let's bang!" "Ok!" *jumps bones* So lame. xD

It's been a while since I watched Highlander 2: The Final Dimension, but yeah, it was similar to the first one, close to note for note in terms of "I can't die. Take me now." Though, this time it was to Bonny Portmore. Ironically, my aunt bought me a Loreena McKennitt CD because of that scene.

Where Connor was doing mortal number 626.

I'm not sure if it's to the series' credit that Duncan apparently did several women first, and then showed them he was immortal. But there were a couple repeat beats there, too.

They probably did. It's been a while since I've seen the series. But they stayed pretty true to a lot of the Highlander tropes, so it wouldn't surprise me. I can only remember 2 love interests of Duncan that were mortal. Tessa and that doctor woman. Tessa already knew he was immortal before the pilot of the show, and the doctor...Anne I think her name was? Learned looong after they were boinking. I actually liked how that scene played out. When he returns from the dead, months later, and she's like ":O You're alive?! Um...I'm pregnant." And he's like " -_-, I see, does the father know?" And you could see him kind of shutting down on certain levels emotionally. It was pretty good I thought. Yeah, I really do appreciate the effort that show went to, to try and convey the life of an immortal. It didn't always work, but it basically consisted of "We all end up with PTSD to varying degrees after a century or more.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

I gonna typed Prometheus but it kinda hard to pinned down the the specific single scene since there were several-

Those two scientist that got lost at the start of the film and both were stupid to approach that alien cobra vagina.
The other scientist touching stuff inside like there were no tomorrow!
The two female characters running away from the spacecraft SHADOW when it is clear the length/ width of the craft is alot shorter to escape from!

EDIT-
I just remember this scene from Ant-Man

Spoiler: Baskin Robbin

Yes I know Ant-Man was more comedical for a Marvel film and I still overall loved it but dangit I have a sence of disbelief. Don't quote me that I can believe in a god cube, a man achieving a sonicboom in a metal suit (a mate say he should had pass out). I just can't believed a man walked in there thinking they sell hot stuff WITHOUT looking at their advertment sign inside the shop!
It would be like if I walked into KFC without knowing what the C in KFC stand for, didn't bother looking at the menu above the staff and asked for a BEEF burger!
Maybe I just haven't encounter that sort of idiot in retail yet.
Also yeah that "dog" scene was the same level of stupidity too!

Don't get a job in retail then. You will lose all hope. I worked in a co-op and had somebody ask if it was a sainsbury's. I had a customer holding a bottle of wine which was the colour red ask if it was red wine.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Don't get a job in retail then. You will lose all hope. I worked in a co-op and had somebody ask if it was a sainsbury's. I had a customer holding a bottle of wine which was the colour red ask if it was red wine.

I actual work in retail. I guess I should be consider lucky that I haven't encounter idiotic customers yet (well ok a few people had mistaken the store as the pound shop but I can let that slide due to how cheap the stuff the store sell).

 

[Tayh]

The scene in Sucker Punch (shut up, I thought it was great) where Babydoll is lobotomized... That ruined the movie for me. Taking away, or radically changing, a persons personality or perception of Self is one of the worst kinds of torture and punishment I can imagine. I just can't fit it into a happy ending.

 

[C14N]

It's funny that you mention that, because that scene of Jackson telling his erm, interesting story walked right on that very tight rope of being too much. It very nearly fell off it too, going the way of that Jurassic World scene if not for one important difference. Where Jurassic World's scene was pointless, Jackson's character had a clear reason to tell that story, namely to

Spoiler

goad the General into trying to shoot him so he could kill him without it being murder.

The kid deserved that blanket by that point though I mean, come now Mr. Jackson, come now...

I seem be the only one who thinks this but I'm fairly sure Jackson was completely making that story up. The scene right before it establishes him as a sociopathic liar and the Walter Goggins hillbilly character even raises that he's just saying it to get the general to shoot. I don't recall him giving any details to confirm that it was actually his son either.

 

[Something Amyss]

They probably did. It's been a while since I've seen the series. But they stayed pretty true to a lot of the Highlander tropes, so it wouldn't surprise me. I can only remember 2 love interests of Duncan that were mortal. Tessa and that doctor woman. Tessa already knew he was immortal before the pilot of the show, and the doctor...Anne I think her name was? Learned looong after they were boinking. I actually liked how that scene played out. When he returns from the dead, months later, and she's like ":O You're alive?! Um...I'm pregnant." And he's like " -_-, I see, does the father know?" And you could see him kind of shutting down on certain levels emotionally. It was pretty good I thought. Yeah, I really do appreciate the effort that show went to, to try and convey the life of an immortal. It didn't always work, but it basically consisted of "We all end up with PTSD to varying degrees after a century or more.

With Tessa, they do later show him telling her, and I think they were intimate before hat point. But he's had several, including one he made immortal in the movies (I think it was Faith, but I can't watch anything beyond TFD without cringing). So they sort of subvert their own clich

 

[happyninja42]

They probably did. It's been a while since I've seen the series. But they stayed pretty true to a lot of the Highlander tropes, so it wouldn't surprise me. I can only remember 2 love interests of Duncan that were mortal. Tessa and that doctor woman. Tessa already knew he was immortal before the pilot of the show, and the doctor...Anne I think her name was? Learned looong after they were boinking. I actually liked how that scene played out. When he returns from the dead, months later, and she's like ":O You're alive?! Um...I'm pregnant." And he's like " -_-, I see, does the father know?" And you could see him kind of shutting down on certain levels emotionally. It was pretty good I thought. Yeah, I really do appreciate the effort that show went to, to try and convey the life of an immortal. It didn't always work, but it basically consisted of "We all end up with PTSD to varying degrees after a century or more.

With Tessa, they do later show him telling her, and I think they were intimate before hat point.

I'll take your word for it, I don't remember the specific details of the show that well anymore. Last time I sat down to watch it regularly was like 5 years ago. Though I vaguely recall that flashback to their relationship before the show technically started, and I'm pretty sure you're right that they had sex before that. Considering she was the first mortal he ever told about his immortality, it would stand to reason that he regularly had an established relationship without telling them of his condition.

But he's had several, including one he made immortal in the movies (I think it was Faith, but I can't watch anything beyond TFD without cringing). So they sort of subvert their own clich?

Yeah, though I don't really count that movie, since 1) I never saw it 'cause it looked like utter shit. And 2) Watching reviews of that movie by uber-Highlander fans, they establish that Faith was his wife, which was clearly established in the series as never having happened. He never got married, for one reason or another (usually some form of tragedy). So clearly the writer didn't actually know the material they were working with. I know the scene you're talking about, having seen it in the review, but it's that terrible movie, so don't worry about ignoring it. xD

 

[Something Amyss]

Yeah, though I don't really count that movie, since 1) I never saw it 'cause it looked like utter shit. And 2) Watching reviews of that movie by uber-Highlander fans, they establish that Faith was his wife, which was clearly established in the series as never having happened. He never got married, for one reason or another (usually some form of tragedy). So clearly the writer didn't actually know the material they were working with. I know the scene you're talking about, having seen it in the review, but it's that terrible movie, so don't worry about ignoring it. xD

I'm not sure they knew they were making a Highlander movie. There were fights on holy ground, multiple immortals teaming up against one in a fight, and for some reason Connor decided that they had to fight by the rules, there was an inexplicable romance with a bunch of elements that were retconned, and a couple of scenes I don't even know how to respond to. And it wasn't even as bad as The Source.

Unfortunately, this kind of dives off the topic, because this was a bad movie almost through and through. There were some interesting ideas, but not enough to save it, so I can't even say it's the reverse.

But yeah, this is why I joke about there being two movies. I do enjoy TFD, even if it has a couple of cringeworthy moments and is mostly dumb fun, and the original deserves its status as a cult movie. But the rest?

...well, I want a reboot just to get the taste of The Source out of my mouth.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

Heck, they even referenced this scene in the trailers.

I can't think of a movie that I'd consider "great" that's ruined by a particular scene.

However, I can think of a movie that had a scene that was... Well, to call it "tasteful" would generous, but the actual scene was extended in the movie and painful to watch. The movie being Liar Liar, when Jim Carry got into the elevator with his new neighbor.

Spoiler: Trailer/Movie

I find it incredibly hard to believe anyone thought this movie needed to be made, let alone that seen needed to be extended beyond what was in the trailer.

Liar, liar was great and there was nothing wrong with that scene.

There was nothing strictly wrong with the scene, but I can see where he's coming from with that sucky face being a little... I dunno, blatantly juvenile? For a lack of a better term? I mean, they already established the joke, he has to tell the truth, so of course he lets slip about her breasts being the likely cause for everyone being nice to her. Then he tries to backtrack but still basically says the exact same thing, so it's kind of amusing the second time around. Then they felt like they had to reiterate the joke a third time, and the best thing they could come up with was, "Say 'Mama' in a baby-ish way and make a sucky noises with your mouth." Like... really? They could have gone with a million things for that last-ditch effort line, and it just feels like they went with the lowest common denominator.

I do agree with you, though. It was a pretty awesome movie, over-all. So many hilariously quotable lines.

 

[WhiteTigerShiro]

The scene in Sucker Punch (shut up, I thought it was great) where Babydoll is lobotomized... That ruined the movie for me. Taking away, or radically changing, a persons personality or perception of Self is one of the worst kinds of torture and punishment I can imagine. I just can't fit it into a happy ending.

Firstly, I agree with you. Sucker Punch was a great movie. Anyway, I don't think they were going for a happy ending; at least not for Babydoll's story.

 

[shintakie10]

Here's a weird one that technically breaks the rules. The scene in question happens at the start and it only recently ruined the movie for me upon subsequent viewing.

Mrs. Doubtfire.

When I was younger I loved this movie, top to bottom, mostly cause I didn't notice how fucked up the situation is.

Robin Williams character quits a perfectly good job because he disagrees with the cartoon characters smoking. Sort of understandable though there had to be some other way around that, but whatever. I can dig it.

What is his characters response to that, after chopping their family income in half? Throw a gigantic birthday party for their kids involving farm animals, a ton of food, and what appears to be every kid in the area. This is with money they no longer have since he just quit his job. There's no fathomable reason why any rational person would do that.

When his wife gets home and finds the mess made and that her husband just quit his job and then spent money they wouldnt have she gets understandably pissed off. The way the scene is played out this is very clearly not the first offense of his and she is very clearly a women who is just sick and tired of her husbands bullshit and can't take it any more. Quitting his job and throwing a gigantic birthday party to celebrate was the last straw. Yet the movie treats her like the bad guy in the situation because she wants to keep full custody of their kids. This is a completely logical course of action what with her having a stable home life and a job while he has no job and is very clearly bad with money.

Watching this again it really dragged down the movie for me. Suddenly it was incredibly hard to root for Robin Williams character due to just how fucked up his methods and rationale are.

 

[Thiel]

Any kind of scene where there is violence against animals REALLY puts me off. One that comes to mind was a scene where an adorable kitten gets diced up in The Brothers Grimm. Up until that point I thought it had been an okay movie.

I know what some will say that it was just a cat and why didn't I get more upset at the humans being murdered. But frankly I like animals more than I like most people.

 

[the December King]

Any kind of scene where there is violence against animals REALLY puts me off. One that comes to mind was a scene where an adorable kitten gets diced up in The Brothers Grimm. Up until that point I thought it had been an okay movie.

I know what some will say that it was just a cat and why didn't I get more upset at the humans being murdered. But frankly I like animals more than I like most people.

I hear you on this one... as a big horror fan, it's really hard sometimes to enjoy the movies when animals are often killed to prove how serious a situation is. Signs, among other ridiculous reasons for disliking it overall, was particularly bad with this, because both family dogs were the sum victims in the story.

And an alien, I guess.

And his wife at the beginning, or whatever.

That's why I really liked The Hills Have Eyes 2, waaay more than I normally would have, because early in the story one of the two family dogs is killed by a mutant, again, to prove how horrible they are... and the other dog loses it's shit, goes for bloody revenge and kills like three of the fuckers during the rest of the movie - it was awesome.

Like a fanged and furry goddamn alsatian/terminator.

On the other hand, when Jack Black's biker character kicked Baxter off the bridge in Anchorman, I almost wet myself laughing. I guess I'm complicated (almost typed that with a straight face!).

On topic, I reckon I have a hard time with grey areas when it comes to protagonists in more serious or dramatic action adventure-type roles. If everyone is a piece of shit, I find it hard to root for one over the others, just because the camera follows them around and music plays when they don't get what they want or they succeed at stuff. Why do I need a character to 'root' for? Well, let's say empathize with, then- I need to be able to connect on some level.

 

[Callate]

It doesn't exactly ruin the movie, but the scene in Finding Forrester where Connery reads what is supposed to be an essay so incredibly moving that it touches the heart of everyone in the audience and acts as a major plot-shifting game-changer... And the movie decides to swell the music so that nothing but the first few, rather dull and unaffecting lines of the essay can be heard...

Good grief, guys, the transformative power of writing is literally the major theme of the movie, and you don't even have confidence in your own writing.

Meet Joe Black did something similar with heavy-handed sountracking during what were supposed to be emotionally stirring speeches, but at least they weren't so craven as to actually drown what was being said out.

The scene in Sucker Punch (shut up, I thought it was great) where Babydoll is lobotomized... That ruined the movie for me. Taking away, or radically changing, a persons personality or perception of Self is one of the worst kinds of torture and punishment I can imagine. I just can't fit it into a happy ending.

Firstly, I agree with you. Sucker Punch was a great movie. Anyway, I don't think they were going for a happy ending; at least not for Babydoll's story.

Frankly, I'm okay with Babydoll's lobotomy. I'm just not okay with,

"No, it's okay... Sweet Pea was the real hero all along."

...The @#%$ you say? Not the hero of the movie you just made us watch, that's for sure. The non-existant prequel where she went to the asylum solely to protect her sister? Sure, maybe. The one where she spends most of the movie bitching at the people who are actually trying to do something about their situation? Not by any definition in the dictionary.

 

[stormtrooper9091]

alright, spoilers ahead. It's related to "This is where I leave you" which I saw last night

Spoiler

towards the very end, Jane Fonda's character suddenly revealed she became a lesbian. And while that didn't really kill the film, it also contributed nothing, the relations between the siblings wouldn't have changed an iota. All it did was break up a brawl which would have been broken anyway by a different mechanic. It felt forced and completely token, the movie already drove its point across

 

[syaoran728]

So at the end of Star Wars The Force Awakens when ***** meets ***** and they just stare at each other. The very final part has the camera pull back for a sweeping shot of the scene, the CGI in that like 3 second shot looked absolutely terrible. While it didn't kill the movie for me it really left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[chadachada123]

Any kind of scene where there is violence against animals REALLY puts me off. One that comes to mind was a scene where an adorable kitten gets diced up in The Brothers Grimm. Up until that point I thought it had been an okay movie.

I know what some will say that it was just a cat and why didn't I get more upset at the humans being murdered. But frankly I like animals more than I like most people.

How about I Am Legend? While it happens to also be my contribution to this thread for a different scene, the scene involving the dog was, in my opinion, both quite tasteful and quite depressing.

OT: I Am Legend. 90-95% of the movie was pretty damn great, but then it took a goddamned nose dive right at the end, particularly when it completely omitted the very origin of the freaking title. I'll keep it brief, but originally:

Spoiler

The original ending used some of the foreshadowing shown earlier in the movie, with Will Smith realizing that the mutants just wanted the kidnapped mutant girl back and giving her back. Instead, we have him dying without ever realizing why the hell they were attacking in the first place. He had started to become known as a "legend" among the vampire-zombies because he kept killing/kidnapping them.

Great movie otherwise, ruined by a rushed and altered ending and extra characters that felt out of place and bland.