enjoying a movie despite knowing the ending?

[IsraelRocks]

This came to me after watching Movie bobs review of"Rise of the planet of the apes "

With lord of the rings being the exception i find it hard to enjoy movies when the ending is well known in detail. to be more specific i am referring to "rise..." and the star wars 2nd trilogy.

what do you think escapist?

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

My example- Mass Effect 2.
I knew the ending long before I played it, and it is one of my favorite games of all time.

 

[basedg0d_a0s]

i can still enjoy a movie even if i know the outcome, i do it frequently.

 

[GigaHz]

Sometimes what makes a movie great is not what happens at the end, but the journey (physical or metaphorical) of the movie itself.

However, there are some movies that are solely presented as build ups to either a major twist or shocking ending. Obviously knowing the ending to those kind of movies remove all sense of drama and intrigue.

 

[Evil Top Hat]

I just did that not a few days ago with the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I paid good money to go and see it at the cinema despite knowing exactly what was going to happen, and still thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.

I'm not really sure why I (and judging by how much money DH part 2 made, lots of others too) enjoy watching a film when they know the ending, the experience of watching a film or playing a game is more important to me than the thrilling ending or dramatic twist.

 

[aba1]

I always say this "It is not about the ending but how they got there"

 

[Fanfic_warper]

Tough one. I'd say yes becasue the journey's half the fun, but if the ending is utter crap like a lot of horror movies (my opinion), then everything becomes worthless. If it doesn't end well, I'd rather not see it at all, if it does end well and I know that, I can still enjoy it.

I frequently do with the Harry Potter movies

 

[Kpt._Rob]

Absolutely I can still enjoy it even if I know the ending. Hell, even without spoilers it's usually not that hard to guess the ending of the average Hollywood film, so if you're caught up on the ending being a surprise, you're in for disappointment on a regular basis. That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy being surprised by the ending. I'm not big on spoilers for that very reason. However, there are lots of movies that I've rewatched multiple times.

A good film has more to stand on than just the fact that you don't know the ending yet. Hell, if the body of the movie isn't good, I don't even give a fuck about the ending. But if the main course is excellent then I doing mind knowing the ending already.

 

[Lieju]

It depends on what kind of movie it is.

If it's a mystery, knowing the ending will spoil your enjoyement more than in a comedy(since the jokes are more important) or an opera(you can enjoy the music).
And in case of the Ape-movie, even if you know what happens to the human civilisation, you don't necessarily know what happens to the individual characters.
And seeing the development of the characters can be enjoyable.

Movies like Titanic were succesfull, even if everyone knew how it would end, and Romeo and Juliet keeps getting remade and performed, even if everyone knows they will both tragically die (SPOILERS).

 

[Giest4life]

Lord of the Rings is an exception, indeed. But that's how I gauge the quality of the movies: can I still enjoy them despite having seen them before or knowing the ending?

 

[mushupork3mpire]

The movie 'Sunshine' was completely spoilt in great detail by one of my college colleagues mere moments after I handed the cashier my money for the DVD, so much so that I put off watching it for a week. When I finally watched it I was still amazed at how good it was and how the studio had handled the ending.

This could however be countered by the fact that about half an hour in the main property of the ending is quite obvious and explained, but still.

I know the ending to L.A Noire because I can't afford to buy it at the moment, but when I buy it I'll probably still enjoy it because the ending is all I know.

 

[jackpackage200]

Before i had seen shutter island, everyone felt that they needed to spoil the ending to me and i thought i woulden't enjoy it. They were wrong.

 

[Anachronism]

If you cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.

This is valid for any medium you care to name. If something is only good because of the shock value, then it's not going to hold up to repeat viewings and probably isn't worth your time. At the end of the day, the way a story is told is at least as important as the story itself, and that is what keeps your interest despite you knowing what will happen. Do I enjoy The Empire Strikes Back any less for knowing that Vader is Luke's father? Of course not. I still get chills when I watch it, and I've probably seen it upwards of 20 times.