Spoiler So Maleficent II has literally the worst movie ending I've seen in... awhile

So I just left the theater and I had to rant about this a bit. I actually enjoyed the movie. It's nice. The beginning is great, the middle is great. The ending, on the other hand... is just garbage. It goes from a movie I'd rate 8/10 to something like 2/10 in no time flat. I actually still managed to enjoy it, but left the theater quite confused.

I've tagged this thread as spoiler, mentioned that I'm talking about the ending in the title, and this is your last warning. Below, I'm actually going to explain why I was confused by the ending, and how it is, ultimately, just awful. Leave if you don't want to hear spoilers.




So the build up is fantastic, and the beginning of the fight is fantastic. You have the fae of the Moors trapped in a church and the isolationist dark fae returning ready for war and vengeance. It turns into a massacre. Fae dying left and right, fae in the church being slaughtered, soldiers dying when the fae finally manage to fight back. It's a tragedy. It's war.

And then suddenly it's not.

At one point everyone in the kingdom hates and fears the fae. The fae, Moors aside, hate and fear the humans.

And then they don't.

One moment you have two sides killing one another, sometimes brutally.

And then they aren't.

The shift from tragic slaughter to happily ever after is utterly abrupt and inexplicable. Somehow the fact that Maleficent survives the Queen's attack means that the fight is over, and everyone can get along now. Of course, the Prince was trying to cease the fighting, sure, but for awhile it seemed futile. A desperate, solitary cry for peace in the middle of a battlefield.

And then there's peace.

It just.. happens. And that's why it's awful. There's no real restraint of both sides, no particularly dramatic or tragic event that stops the fighting. Maybe Maleficent's revival was supposed to do that - and it does feel suitably dramatic - but it doesn't really come out as a show stopper. At best, she scares some of the humans, and awes the fae. I honestly expected the fae to see it as a turning point in the battle, in their favor, if anything. Maleficent herself doesn't even really call for a ceasefire. It. Just. Happens.

Suddenly, the fight is over.

Suddenly, everyone is cool with each other.

Suddenly, there's a wedding.

ON THE GODDAMN BATTLEFIELD, WHERE FAE AND HUMANS JUST FUCKING DIED. IN LARGE NUMBERS. IN A PARTICULARLY GODDAMN BRUTAL MASSACRE OF THE FAE. WITH THE MOST WAR-HUNGRY OF THE FAE IN ATTENDANCE WITH A SMILE. BECAUSE EVEN HE CAN'T OBJECT TO THIS PEACE, RIGHT?

But it's cool. It's a wedding now and everyone is happy. Maleficent even made some flowers grow.

Don't let the corpses and rubble spoil the moment, ya'll.

It's like they knew how they wanted the movie to end, but didn't actually know how to get there. So they just went for it. Full shift to the ending, in the middle of the climax. No logical progression, no real consideration for what's just happened. Sweep everything aside and have everyone live happily ever after.

Right. I can sum up the ending in those three words: It. Just. Happened.

 

I'd actually recommend it.

It's basically the final few scenes that just throw the entire movie up 'til then out the window, in what I can only describe as the biggest table flip in movie history. I mean, the movie showcases bigotry of the worst kind, extreme hatred, fucking GENOCIDE. ... and then happily ever after. A to B in record time, like someone flipped a switch.

Up until the final few scenes, it's a pretty good movie. And even taking the sudden ending into account, I did enjoy it.

Feels weird to honestly think the script suddenly became grade-school trash at the end and still feel satisfied, but, well. So it is.