1. The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)
Perhaps the most infamous (and still probably controversial somehow) entry to this list is the final scenes of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Of course, with so many hours of fantasy epic to wrap up, Return of the King couldn’t just end without ceremony, but the film feels as though it ends about four separate times before the credits finally roll.
First, there’s the defeat of Sauron’s army at Minas Tirith. Of course, Frodo still hasn’t completed his quest at this point, but it’s a substantial enough moment that it feels like something of a conclusion. Then, there’s the Battle of the Black Gate and the destruction of the One Ring – perhaps the most logical place to end the film. From there, there’s another unintentionally hilarious slo-mo scene which shows the Fellowship reunite in Rivendell, which would also perhaps be a good place to end things.
There are more opportunities to leave the world of Middle Earth, but the film opts to take none of them. While Return of the King‘s ending does offer relevant and appreciated insight into the events that followed the completion of Frodo’s quest, it drags on far beyond the film’s logical end, making it feel like several minutes of post-credits scenes stuck together.
And that’s our list. Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to follow Corner of Film on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @corneroffilm to keep up to date with all our excellent content!