Poll of the Day > Was there ever a reset button/it was all a dream/etc. ending that wasn't bad?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Not including comedies where it's played for laughs or "shows" where nothing that happens outside of each individual episode really matters.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ResetButton
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllJustADream

Generally, telling your audience that everything they experienced in your story and possibly got emotionally involved in (if the story was good) doesn't matter because none of it actually happened or mattered is one of the worst and most upsetting ways you can end your story.

So why would anyone end their story that way? Why do people even still do it?
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There's a show I want to talk about, but mentioning it is a giant spoiler
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PK_Spam posted...

There's a show I want to talk about, but mentioning it is a giant spoiler

You've lost me.
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board james dream phone
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Spoiler for a movie. Don't look if you haven't seen every movie ever.

the matrix?

green dragon posted...

the matrix?

No, the requirement was that it not suck.

And my answer would be no, because this method of ending a story is inherently shitty. It can't be done well any more than shit can taste good.

Edit: know what? I take it back. The ending of Total Recall is good if you believe he's actually still dreaming and the end goes white because he's being lobotamized. The ending for Django Unchained is good if you believe it is a dream and that ridiculous shit didn't happen. The ending for Equilibrium is good if you believe it's a fantasy as the guy is dying and that silliness isn't real. The ending of Mass Effect 3 is good if you believe it's all Reaper indoctrination. So basically it can be done well only if the viewer imagines better than writers ever seem to do.

Technically Braid
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*spoilers for an Adam Sandler movie*
I don't know how we're suppose to mark this stuff...

I normally hate that kinda thing but I really liked how it was done in Click. I actually just reeeally like Click.
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Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality
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The entirety of the show Newhart ended up being a dream of Bob Newhart's character from the earlier Bob Newhart show

I'm pretty sure that's the piece of entertainment most famous for ending in a dream sequence

Shin Megami Tensei games sometimes have an ending of that type to choose and it works, mostly because it doesnt usually play it up like that was the "right" choice since it doesnt really fix anything
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Vanilla Sky was decent to me, but I could see a lot of people hating that movie.
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*Zelda series spoilers*

Link's Awakening.
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faramir77 posted...

*Zelda series spoilers*

Link's Awakening.

This one was really cool and made me cry.

Especially the very last scene post credit.
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faramir77 posted...

*Zelda series spoilers*

Link's Awakening.

That wasn't the game's ENDING, though, you're explicitly told you're inside a god's dream early in the game.
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Well, I can think of at least *one* reset in a horror film that wasn't bad -- the ending to the first Wishmaster where the heroine's final wish prevents most of the film's events from ever happening. Of course, the fact that the sequel literally does the same thing kinda kills it, though.
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The Wizard of Oz's ending isn't "bad" but it's still not great.

I like the Braid answer though. eXistenZ does it pretty well too I think.
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Prey had a magnificent one.
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Super Mario Bros 2?

The correct answer is, "No."

helIy posted...

board james dream phone

Lol I love that.

My cousin had that game and when she was moving and chucking out old shit, I took it and a bunch of us played it once. I sold it at a garage sale, which must have raised some eyebrows...
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Inception
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Mead posted...

Inception

Technically that wasn't "It was all a dream," it was "It all may or may not have been a dream maybe."
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There's plenty. Things like "A Wonderful Life" or "Butterfly Effect" where the whole idea of resetting is integral to the plot.

Also, not the same but similar, movies like "Eternal Sunshine" or the game "To The Moon" bring up the idea of re-writing memories which is pretty thought-provoking.

Snuggletoof posted...

There's plenty. Things like "A Wonderful Life" or "Butterfly Effect" where the whole idea of resetting is integral to the plot.

Oh, yeah, plus Jumanji makes it work.
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