MovieChat Forums > ARQ (2016) Discussion > Such a huge missed opportunity with the ...

Such a huge missed opportunity with the ending...

posted 8 years ago by bobbykanae
51 replies | jump to latest

Really enjoyed the movie, But felt I there was a *huge* missed opportunity with the ending.

They could have gone full-Twilight Zone and had the time loop only looping them while the outside world kept moving on.

It then could have gone several different ways - riding out the Apocalypse to the end of the human race - or maybe they decide the best way to keep the ARQ from Torus is to trap themselves in a loop on purpose while the outside world goes on.

Instead we're left to believe somehow his statement to "trust Hannah" will somehow get them out of this situation the next time... Which simply is not a very strong ending.

Also, Torus is a great name for a world destroying corporation, sphere with a hole in the middle... LOL

- Editor of many movies you've probably noticed on Netflix but never actually watched.

[–] c4rter 8 years ago

It then could have gone several different ways - riding out the Apocalypse to the end of the human race - or maybe they decide the best way to keep the ARQ from Torus is to trap themselves in a loop on purpose while the outside world goes on.

That sounds great.

[–] Motoko_Kusanagi 8 years ago

They could have gone full-Twilight Zone and had the time loop only looping them while the outside world kept moving on.

I like this idea, it seems to go well with the fact they've been looping for so many times.

[–] !!!deleted!!! (6672705) 8 years ago

You're endings are actually both much better.

But I did like the movie

[–] slartibartfast-62706 8 years ago

*your

[–] DickFondleman 7 years ago

*yer

[–] chyau-00 8 years ago

I thought that was already implied based on thier reaction that they have been looping thousands of times....

[–] gotmyorangecrush 8 years ago

It was. Not to mention the fact that when they went outside they discovered that time was only looping inside that area around the house.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] mollykate3020 8 years ago

Yeah I dunno where the OP was at when they found the boundary to the loop outside the house and then when they discovered they'd replayed those 3 hours thousands of times... It was exactly like a Twilight Zone ending... I mean sure they could have smacked us even harder over the head with these realizations but I think it was pretty well laid out for us...

[–] slartibartfast-62706 7 years ago

Yeah I dunno where the OP was at when they found the boundary to the loop outside the house and then when they discovered they'd replayed those 3 hours thousands of times... It was exactly like a Twilight Zone ending... I mean sure they could have smacked us even harder over the head with these realizations but I think it was pretty well laid out for us...

Well, it could be argued that they didn't actually "discover" that.
They hypothesized it upon discovering the circle, but didn't confirm it.
I think smacking us over the head with it is exactly what the OP is talking about, though he/she may very well have missed the fact that they did kinda sorta do it. But a true "twilight zone" ending wouldn't have bothered to reveal that to the characters at that time in that way, but rather would have been saved for the very end and would have very much smacked us with it.

Just my take on it.

What OP also mentions that I agree they should have implemented, was the notion that the discovery could have/should have/would have had some significant impact on what followed, which it didn't seem to. They still acted on the assumption that the machine was crucial to the war effort without any exploration of the implications of the differential within/without the circle.
Even the scene in which they encountered the circle was handled horribly.
See my OP dealing with that scene in greater detail if you care to.

[–] nf1n1ty 7 years ago

And how would it make sense that the radio call to the Taurus ZMPs(?) would have the same relevance when the outside world doesn't loop and they get that call a thousand times or weeks after they expected it to happen?
A lot in this movie doesn't make the slightest bit of sense.

[–] eljefemartin 7 years ago

That's actually a hilarious observation and very true.

I felt like the whole "going out" scene was tacked on to the screenplay after it was finished. We're curious about what's going on outside, but the revelation can only be a disappointment. And it raises so many questions...

However - that apart, the movie stood its ground better than other - perhaps more stylish - movies dealing with time travel of lately. And the best part of it to me is that it needed what looked like a dissembled printing-press and half a dozen of actors to tell a convincing sci-fi story. It was not fantastic, but it stands out.

[–] nicolaiheinhuis 7 years ago

Yea i also did not get that.. so the whole world is looping? Not only the house.. Or is Torus having a joke with them and sending the same robots every 9 loops?

[–] shoobe01-1 7 years ago

Exactly this. Have we found the mythical plot hole? Naw. Couldn't be that.

We also don't know what outside looked like before. But I wanted to believe not-actually-apocalyptic, and instead it should have been years passing as they loop. And then no bad guys, etc. Not even on the radio as they are running at an increased speed much of the story, etc. etc. etc.

Problems.

[–] Owiman 8 years ago

I'm guessing they have had many alternate endings in mind, like they're the last humans and they keep fighting over nothing really. Or the war ended thousands of years ago and they're now a liv tv show, or some bizarre event they monitor.

Most likely reason for the ending we have is the 2m$ budget. They simply didn't have any extra money to make a cool ending.

[–] gotmyorangecrush 8 years ago

No, I'm pretty sure the reason they went with the ending they did is it leaves it open to interpretation, which many directors find vastly superior to having an actual literal ending, especially with these kinds of films. Just like Nolan and the spinning top in Inception. And I have to admit, as a HUGE fan of science fiction, I actually really enjoy endings like this as they wind up creating conversation and debate on what could have happened as opposed to having a single ending/outcome, which may or may not have been satisfying at all. Some people find these kind of endings to be cop out's due to that very reason and while those people are certainly entitled to thier opinions, I for one disagree. Again, I really enjoy endings that are left open to interpretation especially when dealing with science fiction films.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] romik_kuts 8 years ago

What is there open to interpretation huh? Spoiler alert: they are in the loop, it repeated billion times, and will repeat infinitely, the end.

Also, ending of inception isn't open to interpretation, Nolan himself said it's not a dream, and you can clearly see that spin flinch at the very end.

[–] bobbykanae 8 years ago

No, Nolan has not said that. I googled the *beep* out of it and this is what came up:

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-christopher-nolan-doesnt-explain-movie-endings-2015-4

Basically the article says, Nolan once answered "what Inception meant to him" and has decided to clam up as fast as Ridley Scott because he doesn't want the end of Inception, or his other mind bending movies, to have one definitive answer.

- Editor of many movies you've probably noticed on Netflix but never actually watched.

[–] romik_kuts 8 years ago

10 seconds of googling

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/05/christopher-nolan-finally-explains-inceptions-ending

“The way the end of that film worked, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Cobb – he was off with his kids, he was in his own subjective reality,” said Nolan. “He didn’t really care any more, and that makes a statement: perhaps, all levels of reality are valid.”

[–] bobbykanae 8 years ago

Did you even read my whole post or do you just have some major blinders on?

- Editor of many movies you've probably noticed on Netflix but never actually watched.

[–] romik_kuts 8 years ago

Did you read who I was responding to?
I actually agree with you about the ending of this movie.

EDIT: Also, you said Nolan didn't say anything about ending of Inception, I gave proof he did and suddenly you're quiet about it.

[–] bobbykanae 8 years ago

I've been busy. The article states Nolan DID give his own personal interpretation of the ending.

But he has since decided he does not want that to become OTHER people's opinions, so he's taken the stance to not discuss his endings in that manner again.

- Editor of many movies you've probably noticed on Netflix but never actually watched.

[–] gotmyorangecrush 8 years ago

Your clearly not understanding the difference between a director giving his personal opinion on the ending of a film that is open to interpretation and a movie that literally has a definitive ending. The ending to Inception is open to interpretation and Nolan has stated many times that he wants people to interpret the ending of inception for themselves. The fact that Nolan has an opinon on the matter doesnt change that fact. Thats why he refused to even address the issue for the first year the film had been released. He even skipped out at the end of multiple screenings just so he wouldn't have to answer the question about the ending. No director in thier right mind would ever say that or behave in such a manner regarding a film that has an actual definitive literal ending.

http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/01/play/inception-director-lives-the-dream

I've always believed that if you make a film with ambiguity, it needs to be based on a true interpretation. If it's not, then it will contradict itself, or it will be somehow insubstantial and end up making the audience feel cheated. Ambiguity has to come from the inability of the character to know -- and the alignment of the audience with that character.

As for what Nolan chooses to believe:

I choose to believe that Cobb gets back to his kids, because I have young kids. People who have kids definitely read it differently than those who don't. Clearly the audience brings a lot to it. The most important emotional thing about the top spinning at the end is that Cobb is not looking at it. He doesn't care.

You see he says "I choose to believe" and doesnt say the film has a definitive answer. Again, the ending to Inception is absolutely open to interpretation. To believe otherwise is really laughable at best especially given the way it ended.

As for this film, whats left open to interpretaion is the ending. if you think this film had a definitive ending your clearly living in la la land or have WAY to high of an opinion of your own opinion.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] romik_kuts 8 years ago

To believe otherwise is really laughable at best especially given the way it ended.

The spin flinched - a dream spin wouln't, end of story.

[–] triciawey 8 years ago

I mean, can we just quickly remember that it's explicitly stated that you shouldn't use someone else's totem and the top is his wife's? So, really, the top isn't reliable as a measurement of reality anyway.

[–] bobbykanae 8 years ago

Exactly Inception is a story built with contradictions FOR A REASON

- Editor of many movies you've probably noticed on Netflix but never actually watched.

[–] bobbykanae 8 years ago

Exactly Inception is a story built with contradictions FOR A REASON.

The film itself is structured like a maze.

- Editor of many movies you've probably noticed on Netflix but never actually watched.

[–] Lee-JS 8 years ago

That pretty much is what happened. The burnt ring around the outside of the house is where the time loop ended. Everything outside the ring carried on in normal time.

[–] mbdinger 8 years ago

That pretty much is what happened. The burnt ring around the outside of the house is where the time loop ended. Everything outside the ring carried on in normal time.

Except that Sonny contacts his Torus support EMPs or whatever they're called over the radio (and they talk back to him) which are some distance away (definitely outside of the ARQ perimeter). So clearly time can't be carrying on as normal outside the perimeter, or they either would be dead (from old age) or at the very least wonder why he keeps calling them every 3 hours + you have to explain why they don't turn up AFTER the reset (for example when Sonny calls them 2 hours in and they take 2 hours to arrive they'd arrive 1 hour after the reset WITHOUT him having to call them).

[–] Nick23123 8 years ago

maybe Torus is playing along. maybe they realised what is happening and they are just studying them. and the person that answers the call is surrounded by scientists and monitors and *beep*

[–] mbdinger 8 years ago

That seems highly unlikely since the creator of the device himself didn't know how/why it does what it does or the nature of the time loop.

[–] bobbykanae 8 years ago

I'd say this was probably the least explained plot element, they hint only the inside of the ring is affected it but then how did it affect the story? It didn't seem to.

- Editor of many movies you've probably noticed on Netflix but never actually watched.

[–] slartibartfast-62706 8 years ago

I'd say this was probably the least explained plot element, they hint only the inside of the ring is affected it but then how did it affect the story? It didn't seem to.

I think the only reason for that was that, if the reason people began to remember the loops was their distance from the ARQ, then if it didn't have a limit, people even further away would be aware sooner, hence the entire world would have been aware that they were looping from the beginning. Which would have been interesting too, but apparently they didn't want that. Possibly because it would have been a problem if this became the pilot for a series as many think it might have been intended.

[–] matt-e-d 8 years ago

I got the feeling they were looking to make a sequel, but I agree, not a good ending when so much more could have been done. Maybe they rushed to get finished, budget, time.
Matt.e.d

[–] yusef-ghanima 8 years ago

no, you didn't get the deep meaning

[–] slartibartfast-62706 7 years ago

Which apparently you feel you did, but don't care to share with the rest of us?

[–] revolution-hk 8 years ago

'trust hannah' is kind of stupid really. don't ever trust the ex trying to rob you
maybe that's why he failed to break the loop thousands of times