What’s so great about twist endings?

[Theodebernacius]

I know some people who think that Brian Singer is a genius because of the clever twist in the final minutes of “The Usual Suspects”. I dislike the device because I think it encourages the production of movies that are watchable only once. Or twice if you want to look for clues with the benefit of hindsight. I was myself never curious enough to watch “The Usual Suspects” a second time.

We don’t need more disposable movies. We want durable movies that we’ll keep for the rest of our lives. What draws you towards a movie again and again in the course of your life? I sure don’t know the exhaustive list of reasons but we’re interested in people so complex characters should be near the top. If there’s any truth in them, you’ll find yourself relating to them in new ways as you pile up experiences in your own life. Esthetically pleasing images won’t hurt. Every few years I find myself longing for the desert colors of “Lawrence of Arabia” or the lush greens of “Ryan’s daughter”.

I can understand the use of twist ending for short films. In 10 mn you can’t do much character exploration.
But if you have 2h why resort to such a contrived device? Unpredictability is overrated.

 

[Tinalera]

I don't think I understand you properly.

Watch any movie once, twist or no twist, and you'll know how the film ends. Aside from a few rare and gimmicky exceptions, such as the theatrical Clue/Cluedo films, that actually have different endings, there is no reasonable expectation to go watch a film and to be surprised again at what happens.

The Death Star will still blow up... Indiana Jones will always defeat the Nazis... Kaiser Soze will always do what he does in the final minutes... no matter how many times you watch the films.

A good film is a good film, no matter how the ending is resolved.

Maybe you just feel a bit cheated that you'll never experience that singular "high" of a revelation again?

I agree

I've watched movies that have had twist endings multiple times-I always watch them a second time at least to see if the "twist" can be caught by following the film KNOWING the ending. I also appreciate the craft that goes into it to make it so. It's also fun to watch the film with friends who haven't seen it, and watch their reactions to the ending, and how it compared to your own.

A quality film is just that, twist or no, you'll go back and watch it again if it was well done IMO.

 

[rayw]

I understand the argument against throw-away stories whose only merit is the one-shot twist ending.
"Yay. Moving right along... "

The viewer has to enjoy the adventure along the ride, not just the destination.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know how it ends. We just wanna watch 'em get there!"
THAT is what makes for a good movie worth watching repeatedly.


Then again, you can think of it from the writer/producer side (rather than from the consumer perspective).
If the goal is to separate a fool from his money then any production that breaks even or better, good or bad reviews, is a commercial success.
There are LOTS of sucky movies where everyone went crying all the way to the bank.