What's the worst Deus Ex Machina in film in your opinion?
 

If you're going to explain your pick completely, try to use spoiler tags to keep the complaining down a bit. :)

One of my (least) favorites would have to be the ending of Signs. I was having a decent time with the movie as it struggled to reach a climax, trying my best to overlook a lot of the stupidity of the plot, and then BAM!, the entire flick was ruined for me.

The ending of Signs sucked hard.

But really, the biggest Deus Ex Machina is at the end of Ben-Hur. What a fucking travesty of an ending. Really, really stupid.

The 10 Commandments

With all the Superman threads going on, how about the end of Superman 1? ;)

Yeah all that earth spinning would do is make it go from daytime to night. Read a book superman!

war of the worlds. I know it was trying to be faithful to the book, but in the book it felt natural with the narrative. And we got to see character arcs and a story. The movie was just running until the 100 minute mark.

Speaking of Superman how about that damn cellophane "S" at the end of 2?

Huh? I must've missed that part. Could you clarify?

While we're at it, could somebody just give a clear definition for Deus Ex Machina? I've got the general idea, but it's still a little hazy...

Think of it as a "bolt out of the blue" - something that happens that could not be predicted and is not the result of what has happened so far.

Anytime the hero is corned by the villain, the villain draws his weapon, says his last evil line then a) the chamber is empty or bullets/jammed and won't fire or b) something swoops down, crashes it, materializes, etc. right before he can pull the trigger to distract, tackle or kill the villain.

deus ex ma·chi·na

1. In Greek and Roman drama, a god lowered by stage machinery to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a difficult situation.

2. An unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot.

3. A person or event that provides a sudden and unexpected solution to a difficulty.

GLINDA
You've always had the power to go back to Kansas.

DOROTHY
I have?

SCARECROW
Then why didn't you tell her before?

GLINDA
Because then there wouldn't have been a movie, you moron. Now click your heels and scram, kid!

At the end of Jurassic Park, when the T-Rex saves the day.

The thermal exhaust port in the Death Star. Ewoks beating a stormtrooper army. The 10 second scene with Yoda telling Obi-Wan that he can still communicate with Qui-Gon which is supposed to be the whole explanation for how they are able to become "Force ghosts".

The ending of Independence Day with a man-made computer virus affecting a vastly superior alien technology.

The end of The Matrix where Neo comes back to life because he has to be The One because Trinity loves him and she is destined to love The One.

The ending of Dodgeball... in large part to the chest saying "Deus Ex Machina" on it.

It's my understanding that Aliens are in fact Mac-compatible.

Wasn't a Deus Ex so much since it was built up from the first frames.

These examples, and the T-Rex in JP do NOT fall into this category.
All these examples are well explained in the plot and themes of the respective films. A Deus ex Machina would be like a plane crashing into the Raptors killing them. Totally outside the realm of the story and themes of the film.

I thought the ending of signs was great

Adaptation, where the alligator/crocodile comes out of nowhere. Except that there was a warning in the movie about not using Deus Ex Machina endings, which means you're expecting a Deus Ex Machina ending, so the end really isn't a Deus Ex Machina ending. :)

I'm gonna agree with liking the ending of Signs. The whole "revelation twist" that everything happened for a reason and that there is a higher being played a key role throughout this movie...

Yeah. Hell, FORREST GUMP showed the same kinda "things happen for a reason and are related" and people consider that one a classic but for some reason people hate SIGNS. I still think there's a silent beef out there about him finding his religion again. ;)

Anyway, I LOVED the ending of SIGNS.

No matter if you love the ending of Signs, or hate it more than just about any other ending ever, there's no question as to if it's a DEM or not.

Yep, it's definitely not.

I've only seen Signs once, in the theater, but I seem to remember the ending just coming out of nowhere. What exactly did I miss at the start of the flick that totally set up the ending?

Yep, it definitely is.

:) .

Unless we're thinking of other things, the continual emphasis on water (almost annoyingly so) from beginning to end, even the opening shots of the window implied it. Other stuff throughout was implied pretty heavily as well.

Good Will Hunting:

Hey kid! The movie's running a bit long and we haven't even begun to deal with your trauma. So let it go. Just let them go. Feeling better? Good.

Okay, I'm outta here!

Outside of that one, I've got to agree with Jurassic Park. Great movie but really cheap ending! (Though I do love the banner falling down)