That Twist Makes No Sense
Not all plot twists are created equal—and some just fall apart on impact.
A great movie twist can redefine a story. But a bad one? It sticks out like a sore subplot. I recently asked on Substack Notes: What’s the most overrated movie twist of all time? And you all delivered some excellent takes.
Jenean is tired of the villain resurrection trope: “When the meanie-pants keeps coming back after being killed. Perfect example: Fatal Attraction. How many times do you have to kill that broad?” Horror clichés like this have overstayed their welcome—and our suspension of disbelief.
Marko called The Sixth Sense twist “at the end of the first scene,” proving that even the most iconic reveals don’t fool everyone.
But Jordon had the strongest takedown yet: No Way Out. “It makes absolutely no sense and is totally arbitrary—there is just no f---ing way that the Will Patton character would happen to invent the actual story as a cover-up,” he wrote. “As a secret plan, what’s really happening is just moronic and would never work. It’s a garbled version of the infinitely superior The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.” Ouch—but fair.
Not every twist earns its payoff.
🎬 Daily Movie Question: What twist had you shouting “Come on!” at the screen? Drop your pick for the most overrated movie twist of all time.
Hey, thanks for the quotation and the kind words!
The Usual Suspects. It's a dude lying to a cop for two hours. The movie is just a recreation of the lie.
Not confusing, just not nearly as clever as it was initially made out to be.