"Fallen" spoiler warning -- but nothing worse than what Darien already posted...


> Now I would have to take issue with that. Not that I like predictability or any such nonsense; I just would prefer that, in the movies I go to see, the good guys win the day. I saw "Fallen" awhile back, and I must admit that the ending was a serious letdown and greatly diminished my enjoyment of the movie.

"Fallen" was unsatisfying for me too, but not because of the simple fact that its ending wasn't "happy." Fallen's ending was just bad -- it was not the natural and proper consequence of the movie that preceded it. People get funny about distinguishing "happy" endings from "sad" endings on artistic grounds, as if the relative happiness or sadness of the ending were all you needed to know to make an artistic evaluation. Happy endings do not make inherently unartistic works any more than sad endings inherently make artistic works. It's a lot more complicated than that. "Fallen"'s ending, IMHO, was a contrivance tacked on the end to provide a gloomy atmosphere -- but it compromises the film by the way that it's done. "Fallen" is an interesting case, actually, because I believe the right ending for the movie *is* a downbeat one. For an escapist fantasy about a serial killer with that much supernatural power, sure, make it a happy ending. But "Fallen" tried to be ultra-realistic about what would happen if such a being were unloosed on humanity. And let's face it. If a creature with that much power were after us, there would be *NO* way we could possibly do anything about it short of praying and hoping God would choose to crush it with his thumb (not that that's such a hopeless course of action). The appropriate ending for "Fallen" I do believe to be on the unpleasant side, but there's no reason it couldn't also be aesthetically satisfying. Shakespeare's tragedies do this and make it look easy. Fallen failed utterly. That's my take on it, anyway.

Of course when it comes down to personal preference, you're free to prefer anything you want, and that's perfectly valid.