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Summary
Great cliffhangers are much more common in idiot box than they are in movies , but there are still a few unforgettable examples that elevate their flick . Since a cliffhanger is usually designed to get audiences excite for the next chapter , movie franchises have a better probability at pulling them off . However , standalone moving picture can often use cliffhangers to pose an equivocal question correctly at the end .
Whether they are standalone movies or part of a big dealership , moving-picture show with good cliffhangers ensure that they have memorable finish . These end course revolutionize audiences to deliberate what might happen next , even if the film maker have no aim of revealing this secret . With the unspoilt cliffhangers , they can live long in the memory even after their sequels have resolved the dramatic tenseness .
unnumerable movie franchise have abruptly terminate without a satisfying conclusion , but luckily , many of their stories hold out on in Bible or other media .
10Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Thanos Snaps His Fingers, Wiping Out Half Of All Life In The Universe
Cast
The MCU has so many interconnected movies that it ’s uniquely positioned to deliver large cliffhangers . Each post - credits view from Phase One shows Nick Fury putting together the Avengers , withIron ManandCaptain America : The First Avengerdelivering especially exciting cliffhanger . The heroes finally get some time to loosen up in the post - credits setting of 2012’sThe Avengers , where they rust some shawarma together , but the MCU had more cliffhangers in storehouse .
The MCU has so many complect movies that it ’s unambiguously positioned to deliver cracking cliffhangers .
Arguably thebest cliffhanger in the MCUcame in 2018’sAvengers : Infinity War . The Avengers team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy and practically every other superhero in existence to stop Thanos , but in the end , they are unsuccessful . Thanos ' snap wipes out half of all lifetime in universe , andone - by - one , the MCU ’s sterling heroes are turned to dust . This is a vast shock , and it set upAvengers : Endgameperfectly .
9Back To The Future Part II (1989)
Marty Receives A Telegram From Doc, Calling Him Back To 1885
8Inception (2010)
Cobb Doesn’t Know If He’s Still Dreaming
Christopher Nolan ’s moving-picture show usually terminate with a bang , although not always a cliffhanger . The Dark Knightends with Batman on the run , andMementoshows Leonard with a novel mission . Nolan ’s just and most imperishable cliffhanger , however , is inInception . The spinning top , used by Cobb to understand if he is dreaming or awake in the real world , wobbles almost unnoticeably before Nolan undercut to black .
Inceptionleaves a few clues to fuel the debate , and it ’s human nature to want a definitive answer , but the point of this cliffhanger is that there is no resolution .
WhileInception ’s ambiguous endingobviously raises the question of whether Cobb is still dreaming , he chooses not to look at the resolution . Cobb determine that an documentary understanding of reality is not as authoritative to him as what he can feel and experience . Inceptionleaves a few clues to fuel the public debate , and it ’s human nature to want a classical answer , but the full stop of this cliffhanger is that there is no resolution .
7Before Sunset (2004)
Jesse Accepts That He’s Going To Miss His Flight
Romance pic do n’t tend to have cliffhanger , but Richard Linklater’sBeforetrilogy has two of them . Before Sunrise , the first in the trilogy , ends with Jesse and Céline agreeing to revert to the same spot six months later on , but the flick end before Linklater reveals if the two lovers stick to their vow . Before Sunsetprovided some block to that special enigma nine years later , but it ends with a similar cliffhanger .
Before Sunset ’s cliffhanger ending is loaded with high stake thanBefore Sunrise , because the relationship between the two characters has evolved from a summertime fling into a potentially sprightliness - altering human relationship .
Before Sunsetopens with Jesse reading his novel based on the event ofBefore Sunrise , and three journalists in the interview debate whether the character will ever run across again . After Jesse and Céline share another day together , just their second in a decade , it becomes clear that Jesse has step down himself to missing his flight home to his family . Before Sunset ’s cliffhanger end is loaded with higher bet thanBefore Sunrise , because the relationship between the two characters has acquire from a summertime spree into a potentially life - altering relationship .
Custom image by Yeider Chacon
6Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Tom Receives A Phone Call As He Gets Ready To Dispose Of The Guns
Lock , Stock and Two Smoking Barrelsis a quintessential Guy Ritchie movie , with a large cast of scheming British gangsters tangled up in a complex criminal plot of ground . Despite Ritchie ’s elaborate narrative , standardized toSnatchandThe Gentlemenin that regard , Lock , Stock and Two Smoking Barrelsends with a brightly simple cliffhanger . This moment of composure do the decisiveness all the more agonising .
Despite Ritchie ’s detailed narrative , similar toSnatchandThe Gentlemenin that regard , Lock , Stock and Two Smoking Barrelsends with a brilliantly simple cliffhanger .
Tom leans over a bridge in London , ready to dump the shotguns into the river , but with his phone ringing as his associate try desperately to tell him that the guns are worth hundreds of thousands of lb . Ritchie cuts to black before he let out what Tom does next . The mob probably deserve no advantage , but it ’s hard not to settle down for them , and desire that Tom put the gunman down safely before serve his phone .
5John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
John Runs For His Life After Being Declared Excommunicado
John Wicktells a perfectly ego - contain story . There is no cliffhanger that necessitates a sequel , but there are just enough unanswered mysteries to makeChapter 2work . However , it ’s the second movie in the franchise which place up a longer electric arc for John . John Wick : Chapter 2ends with John being declared " excommunicado " . grade of assassin ascertain him as he begins to run away , set up a thrilling sequel .
The second movie in the franchise set up a longer arc for John .
TheJohn Wickfranchise is growing even larger , but it ’s hard to conceive of this would have been possible without the cliffhanger at the end ofChapter 2.Fans would already want to return for more stylish , groundbreaking action scenes , butChapter 2gave the franchise a much more pressing narrative . Fortunately , Chapter 3 - Parabellumdelivered on the hope of this cliffhanger .
4The Thing (1982)
MacReady & Childs Suspect Each Other Of Being The Alien
The Thingfollows a group of scientists at an Antarctic research place who gradually turn against one another when they chance upon a condition - stir foreigner in their midst . In the ending , only two man outlive , but they know that their prospects do n’t look safe . As they each mistrust the other of being the foreigner , they sit and share one last drink together as the place burns right beside them .
The Thingnever reveals which of the two gentleman is the foreign , but it ’s also possible that neither of them are .
The Thing ’s end charm the paranoia and mistrust of the picture . If MacReady and Childs trust each other , there ’s a chance they could figure out a style to survive long enough for help to arrive . alternatively , they opt to keep a distrustful centre on one another as last draw in . The Thingnever reveals which of the two serviceman is the exotic , but it ’s also possible that neither of them are .
3Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Bill Reveals That The Bride’s Daughter Is Alive
Quentin Tarantino considersKill Billto be one movie dissever into two volume . To control that his audience can keep up the same pace , he bridge over the interruption between the two volumes with a remarkable cliffhanger that leads directly into the next . After lastly defeating group O - Ren Ishii and the Crazy 88 , the Bride leaves Sofie alive to charge a message to Bill , who reveal that the Bride ’s daughter is still alive .
This cliffhanger returns to the rationality why the Bride get down her revenge crusade in the first place , but the twist makes her mission more important than pure , righteous requital .
This cliffhanger returns to the reason why the Bride began her revenge campaign in the first spot , but the turn makes her mission more of import than pure , righteous vengeance . on the spur of the moment , the Bride has someone other than herself to fight down for , and this rear the stakes forKill throwaway : Vol 2.TheKill Billmovies are relatively light-headed on plot , but Tarantino injects just enough emotion to lend tension to his natural process sequence .
2Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Han Solo Is Trapped In Carbonite & Luke Finds Out The Truth About Darth Vader
After the happy ending of the firstStar Warsmovie , the franchise ’s first sequel shook things up with a cliffhanger that proved Luke and his allies would not have it so loose the 2d time around . After Luke discover that Darth Vader is his beginner , and has his script snub off in the cognitive operation , he watches Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian flying off to retrieve Han Solo , who has been frozen in carbonite and delivered to Jabba the Hutt .
By combining this dramatic personal narration with the on-going astronomical difference , the originalStar Warstrilogy sets up a show - hold back final chapter .
This is a moment of licking for Luke that teaches him the solemnity of his position . The cliffhanger also carries a true sense of jeopardy , since the wedge seem more vulnerable than they ever did before . By combining this dramatic personal story with the ongoing galactic dispute , the originalStar Warstrilogy sets up a show - stop over final chapter . Star Warsalso delivers a splendid cliffhanger inThe Force Awakens , as Luke reappears for the first time in decades as the resistance ’s last hope .
1The Italian Job (1969)
The Getaway Bus Hangs Off The Side Of A Mountain Road
One of Michael Caine ’s earliest hits , The Italian Jobuses every ounce of his rough cockney charm to recite the level of a group of British lout who pull a daring armed robbery in Turin . The Italian Jobremains one of thebest heist moviesever , and the iconic ending has only bring to its enduring prayer , with audience debating what happens next . Interestingly , this ending fare out of nowhere , but that does n’t make it any less appealing .
This open ending has activate plenty of theories and debates over the year , but there will never be a classic answer .
The Italian Jobends with a real cliffhanger , as the ring ’s getaway bus slue over the edge of a twisting mountain route . With the weight unit of the gold pulling the back end toward the abysm , Charlie Croker separate the group that he has a"great idea" . What this idea is , and whether it works , is n’t shown . This open closing has set off plenty of theory and debates over the years , but there will never be a unequivocal answer .
