Geostorm aims to be a big disaster spectacle, and it’s clear early on exactly how it plans to get there. The plot runs on familiar beats, vague technical jargon, light climate commentary, and a hero who’s obviously going to save the day once things spiral out of control. It’s mildly entertaining in a surface-level way, but the story never strays from the safest possible path, making every turn feel pre-programmed rather than tense. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
You People feels predictable from the jump, leaning on the most obvious rom-com setup and never finding a smarter angle on it. The dialogue is packed with forced, surface-level commentary that telegraphs every conflict and resolution long before they arrive. Even with a stacked cast, the film drags through familiar beats so mechanically that nothing surprises, lands, or feels earned. | © Netflix
Top Gun: Maverick delivers an incredible theatrical rush, but the story beats are locked in almost immediately. You know exactly where Maverick’s arc is headed, how the training will play out, and what the final mission is building toward long before the jets take off. The film isn’t about surprise at all, it’s about execution, choosing familiar emotional payoffs and old-school heroism that feel inevitable, even as the spectacle soars. | © Paramount Pictures
M3GAN sticks closely to a familiar killer-doll formula, making its trajectory easy to read from the moment the AI companion is introduced. The film hints at darker, nastier turns but keeps pulling back, choosing safe beats and expected escalations instead of fully leaning into horror. Even when it finally ramps up near the end, the outcome feels pre-decided, more like a polished remix of Child’s Play than a story willing to surprise. | © Universal Pictures
Goodnight Mommy drops the biggest clue almost immediately, especially in how the mother interacts with one twin while acting as if the other isn’t there at all. Those moments aren’t especially subtle, and they quietly point to what’s really going on long before the film admits it. By the time the ending confirms that one twin died and the other has been coping through denial, the twist feels less unsettling and more like something you’ve already been waiting to be acknowledged. | © The Weinstein Company
Ready Player One telegraphs its message so early that the ending feels locked in from the start. The film builds toward a big moral about games and reality that’s not just obvious, but painfully generic, the kind of takeaway you can hear coming a mile away. When it’s finally stated out loud, it lands with a thud, turning what should’ve been a fun payoff into an eye-rollingly predictable lecture. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Avatar: The Way of Water looks incredible, but the story feels like it’s running in place. The same enemies return, the same threats circle back, and the same conflicts replay with new coats of blue paint, making it easy to guess every major beat ahead of time. Even the breathtaking underwater sequences can’t hide that the film repeats itself so often that the outcome feels locked in long before the credits roll. | © 20th Century Studios
The Purge leans hard on the same fake-out scare over and over, setting up a death only to save the character at the last second with a sudden gunshot or interruption. After a few repeats, the tension evaporates, and the pattern becomes impossible to ignore, especially when the surprises start landing right on cue. The idea behind the movie is genuinely strong, which almost makes it worse, since the execution feels designed to hold back just enough to keep viewers hoping the next installment will finally get it right. | © Universal Pictures
Troll wears intentions on its sleeve, settling quickly into the familiar rhythm of a straightforward monster movie. The human characters are sketched in broad strokes, clueless authority figures, a sidelined expert who’s obviously right, which makes every conflict and turnaround easy to predict. Even when the troll’s backstory hints at something more interesting, the film defaults to the usual “monster equals threat, humans must win” outcome, confirming exactly where it was headed all along. | © Netflix
Jungle Cruise plays like an action-adventure greatest-hits reel, ticking off familiar beats without adding much personality of its own. Every turn feels borrowed, right down to the undead conquistadors who look suspiciously like leftovers from Pirates of the Caribbean. Once that resemblance clicks, the movie stops feeling surprising and starts playing like a glossy, off-brand remix that takes itself far too seriously. | © Walt Disney Pictures
The Usual Suspects spends most of its runtime mythologizing Keyser Söze as a near-legendary criminal, someone even hardened crooks are afraid to name out loud. At the same time, it quietly positions Verbal Kint as the harmless narrator, leaning hard on his meekness, disability, and outsider status. That “least likely suspect” framing ends up giving the game away, making the final reveal feel less like a shock and more like the obvious endpoint of the setup. | © Gramercy Pictures
The Visit leans on M. Night Shyamalan’s reputation for twists, but this time the reveal is surprisingly straightforward. The story follows two kids staying with grandparents they’ve never actually met, which immediately plants doubt about who these people really are. Between the mother’s convenient absence, the creepy behavior, and the heavy mood hanging over the house, the final explanation feels telegraphed long before it’s spelled out. | © Universal Pictures
Don't Worry Darling sparked plenty of conversation, but the mystery at its center never really holds together. Clues about Victory being a controlled simulation show up so early and so loudly that the audience has ample time to connect the dots long before the third act. By the time the truth is spelled out, helped along by not-so-subtle visual symbols, the reveal feels less like a twist and more like a confirmation of what everyone already assumed. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Shutter Island follows a U.S. marshal investigating a remote mental hospital, though most of the film is spent drifting through ominous halls and chasing dead ends. The setup practically begs you to question whether the main character’s version of events can be trusted, and the movie leans into that suspicion hard. When the reveal confirms he’s actually a patient living out a constructed fantasy, it feels less like a shock and more like the only possible conclusion, draining the story of real consequence. | © Paramount Pictures
Secret Window keeps you hooked for most of its runtime, following a troubled writer hiding out in a cabin after his life quietly falls apart. The mystery sharpens when a stranger appears and accuses him of plagiarism, pushing the story toward what feels like a dangerous confrontation. Then comes the reveal: it’s all another imaginary villain twist, a post-Fight Club cliché that had already been used so often by 2004 that the ending feels easy to spot and oddly deflating. | © Sony Pictures Releasing
Some movies don’t even try to hide where they’re going, and somehow, that’s the point. You can see the twist coming, the hero winning, the lesson being spelled out, sometimes within the first act. These films aren’t remembered for surprise, but for how loudly they telegraph every move along the way.
