I just watched two films that closed with incomplete stories: Across the Spiderverse and Fast X. I’m aware both are very different—the former was received very well, the latter was received as well as the other Fast movies—and I found both to be similarly frustrating experiences.
Infinity Wars was probably the first blockbuster to pioneer this strategy; after all, it’s great for business. The thing is, Infinity Wars did not end at the climax and leave the people watching it high and dry; it had a clearly defined ending, and the story was complete.
By contrast, in both cases, the films end at the climax of the story, with tons of build up and very little payoff. They all but screamed, “To be continued.”
Spiderverse has some savvy marketers and optimistic reviewers, who’ll say it closed with an open conclusion (ugh).
I can appreciate open conclusions. Fight Club had an open conclusion, Inception had an open conclusion. These two movies literally were only building up, without a release.
I was silly to expect more from Fast X, which employs every cheap trick in the book. I was disappointed to see that take place in Spiderverse as well.
Ordinarily I’m indifferent to these decisions; business is business, and let the people decide. However, I find myself—strangely!—drawing the line here.
It made me think of this piece by Becca Rothfield, which I read a few months ago and has been marinating in my brain:
What I am saying is: what ends up on people’s shelves and screens matters, so those of us who are concerned about the prospects of good art (which comprises more than high art, but also comprises high art) should not be indifferent to what gets made and widely disseminated…. But the crucial fact remains: if you care about the overall health of the culture, you should not be comfortable simply letting bad flowers bloom.
This seems like a stupid, silly, petty, thing to express irritation over. I’m still doing it because I’m the furthest thing from a film snob; I just wouldn’t like for movies to be like this. I don’t want more studios believing that they can get away with making a film that is 90% complete, only to tease the next film, because of some lazy artistic directions and there’s still a greater guarantee of return customers.
When I pay to watch a movie, I want to watch a movie, not a fraction of a movie—no matter how good it is.
No more cliffhangers, please.