MovieChat Forums > As Good as Dead (2010) Discussion > the ending... MAJOR SPOILERS

the ending... MAJOR SPOILERS

posted 14 years ago by ManicMuse
8 replies | jump to latest

This movies ending annoyed me on several levels. Apparently it was not important to establish a motive for the murder, a relationship between the church and the main character, or a reason for a church lady widow to turn all vigilante-justicey. So Elwes was the murderer all along. So what? And his ex-wife covered for him? again, why? This movie simply does not work without a motive, or at least better written characters that make the end seem less like a gimmick set up to make you feel like a sucker. They could have at least tied him to a victim of the bus shooting, instead we are left to believe he & his coworker just decided to kill the guy and his family? Where they supposed to be an extremist threesome? well you need more than a photo to imply that.

This movie had a promising start, and a pretty enjoyable villain, but the rest was a straight-to-video mess.

"WHO'S ON TOP & WHO'S ON BOTTOM NOW, huh?! WHO'S ON TOP & WHO'S ON BOTTOM NOW!"

[–] Zhow 14 years ago

When he leaves the apartment, there's a picture of him, with his wife surrounding the crazy church follower who shot the people in the bus. It implies that the man & the woman decided to kill the head of the cult + his wife (but to spare their kid's life) to get revenge as they take them as responsible for the madness of theire relative. The madman was probably the man or the woman's brother. We don't know anything about the third guy involved in the crime.

______________________________________
The higher you fly, the faster you fall.

[–] balducci2 12 years ago

"When he leaves the apartment, there's a picture of him, with his wife surrounding the crazy church follower who shot the people in the bus. It implies that the man & the woman decided to kill the head of the cult + his wife (but to spare their kid's life) to get revenge as they take them as responsible for the madness of theire relative."

I saw the photo, but I do not think it was of the crazy church follower. I thought it was of Ethan, his wife, and Pete.

I'm not sure why they attacked and killed the preacher. I am thinking it is because Ethan and his wife lost a black child they adopted from Africa to the crazy bus shooter.

I do NOT think Ethan and his wife were extremist racists who were associated with the bus shooter in any way, because Ethan was shown to be very interested in 3rd world countries and was civil and friendly to minorities (e.g., the shop keeper) in the movie.

There certainly were unanswered questions at the end of the movie.

[–] balducci2 12 years ago

Found an interview with the Director Mossek about this movie:

http://archive.org/details/AsGoodAsDead_DirectorJonathanMossekIntervie w

Not too many answers, though, except that the movie is about right wing versus left wing extremists.

[–] RichardRichards2005 13 years ago

I agree, I felt this film was utter garbage and truely deserves its rating despite what others may say. I mean seriously where do I start?

He knew he had the photo as a 'cover' story all along so why did he let his neighbour die?

Why didnt the little girl scream for her life when she was caught by one of the abducters outside the apartment?

What was the lead characters motive behind the shooting and who was the third man?

Why didnt the mother take the gun that her son had and kill the guy that shot him?

I actually started fast forwarding around the hour mark because the film just went crap!

When he was in the shop and he saw the mother why didnt something click and in another scene when in the park again why didnt something click it should have been pretty obvious what was going on here and WHY the hell did he not have a gun hidden somewhere in his apartment? For a man that wasnt gun-shy I find that very surprising.

Thats an hour and a half of my life that ill never get back.

[–] chrisrocknroll 13 years ago

Yeah, this movie wasn't really for people who ask stupid questions. Good catch on the photo, I didn't identify the guy they were with as the shooter, but once that was called to my attention everything made sense. The filmmaker could have made that point a little clearer, but I appreciated the fact that he didn't have Elwes and his wife have an awkwardly explanatory conversation in the car at the end. It might have made sense for him to tell Andie McDowell why he attacked her and her husband before he shot her. Now that I get it, though, I kind of like how he let the picture tell the story.

[–] Guitarchic33 13 years ago

I can't really answer any of your questions, but I have a feeling the main character had something to do with the preacher's murder for the simple fact he preached racism? That may or may not have had something to do with it, but I'm willing to bet it played a part.
I agree though, there are alot of un-answered questions. It's "one of those" type of movies that leave it up to your imagination.

[–] dagaul101 13 years ago

I think the ending took a little twist than the audience is used to, maybe the director wanted to shock the audience, but it was a little far stretched considering the current depth of the charactersSource:Movie reviews - As Good As Deadhttp://moviereviews.noskram.com/2010/02/movie-reviews-as-good-as-dead

[–] andell 12 years ago

Wow...I couldn't agree less!

"...it was not important to establish a motive for the murder..."

Why are people so lazy when it comes to watching films? Seriously, not every film has to spell it out for you the way the "Saw" films do in the final minute!!!

The motive is implied...it's up to you to reason out how it fits.

"...or a reason for a church lady widow to turn all vigilante-justicey."

The fact that she suffered burns in the car fire, and her husband was murdered...doesn't strike you as a reason for her to turn "vigilante-justicey?"

"So Elwes was the murderer all along. So what? And his ex-wife covered for him? again, why? This movie simply does not work without a motive, or at least better written characters that make the end seem less like a gimmick set up to make you feel like a sucker."

The end implies that his ex-wife didn't just cover for him...she was a part of the plot from the very beginning. Moreover, the film is not cast as an investigative thriller...it's cast as a horror film about mistaken identity and vengence. The end merely serves as a plot twist...and again, stop being lazy and think it through for yourself!

"They could have at least tied him to a victim of the bus shooting, instead we are left to believe he & his coworker just decided to kill the guy and his family? Where they supposed to be an extremist threesome? well you need more than a photo to imply that."

Again, use your imagination. The preacher made a lot of enemies...Elwes along with his ex-wife and his work colleague worked together to effect the outcome. They were possibly hired to do it...or they were possibly anti-religious extremists who did it to eliminate a man who they saw as promoting hate.

"This movie had a promising start, and a pretty enjoyable villain, but the rest was a straight-to-video mess."

Let me guess...you're a "Saw" fan who likes the way those films wrap EVERYTHING up in the last minute or two, right?