Movie fans love a good plot reveal or unexpected ending, but what about films with twists you see coming? Some movies telegraph their big moment, missing the chance to shock or surprise. These are the kind of twists where you don't even need to pay close attention to know what's coming. This doesn't mean the movie is bad, just that the plot twist didn't land as intended. Let's look at movies that gave away their surprise from the start.
About this list
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Spider-Man: Far From Home appears in the list '12 Movie Plot Twists Everyone Saw Coming'.Peter Parker deals with life after Tony Stark dies. Peter gets Tony's special glasses. These glasses let the holder access E.D.I.T.H., the powerful A.I. controlling Stark Industries weapons and databases. Peter decides he is not worthy to use it. Meeting Quentin Beck, the alternate dimension hero, Peter sees Beck as a better hero. Peter gives Beck Stark's glasses.
Beck shows he was a former Stark Industries employee. He worked with others on a master plan to get Stark's glasses. As Mysterio, he plans to use the tech for illusions. He intends to become one of the world's greatest heroes.
Anyone who reads a Spider-Man comic book knows Mysterio is bad. He uses illusions and tricks to make people believe his lies. In this film, he appears suddenly. He seems almost too nice to Peter, forcing people to question his motives immediately.Spider-Man appears in the list '12 Movie Plot Twists Everyone Saw Coming'.A comic book fan knows Mysterio is bad. He uses illusions and trickery to make people believe his lies. In this film, he appears suddenly. He seems almost too nice to Peter, so one must question his intentions right away.
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Star Trek Into Darkness appears in the list '12 Movie Plot Twists Everyone Saw Coming'.The film does not hide its villain but keeps his real identity somewhat secret. James Kirk and his crew must stop a full conflict between the Federation and the Klingons. Someone manipulates this conflict behind the scenes. The crew meets the villainous John Harrison, who shows no regret for his actions. Later, Harrison reveals he is the enhanced superhuman Khan Noonien Singh. He develops weapons and wants chaos because that is what villains do.
The reveal of Harrison as Khan has three reasons. First, the media debated the twist before the film started. Second, Harrison is clearly a brilliant, scheming villain like Khan, making them the same person logical. Third, these films need to cover much history.Star Trek appears in the list '12 Movie Plot Twists Everyone Saw Coming'.Star Trek history means they cannot ignore a fan-favorite villain like Khan. This is true even if the twist bores devoted fans.
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Atlantis: The Lost Empire appears in the list '12 Movie Plot Twists Everyone Saw Coming'.Atlantis: The Lost Empire shows an action swashbuckling story. Milo Thatch seeks to find the lost city of Atlantis. Milo leads the group of adventurers. Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke leads the team. When the group finds the city, Milo meets Kida. Milo promises to help Atlantis restore its glory using the Heart of Atlantis. Rourke quickly turns on Milo. He reveals his true goal: to steal the Heart and sell it, even though it will end all Atlanteans.
Rourke shows a face no one should trust. His bearing suggests hidden motives and a plan. Why did no one ask his intentions early on? This man does not explore for fun; he wants money. A lot.
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Mission: Impossible - FalloutA pending nuclear strike targets MI6 agent-turned-terrorist Solomon Lane and an extremist named John Lark. Ethan Hunt and his team try to stop this attack and find Lark's identity. They discover Lark is Ethan's new team member, August Walker, who hid in plain sight.
A film with a mysterious villain and a new hero joining the team makes it easy to see they are the same person. How can anyone trust a man with Henry Cavill's menacing mustache in this movie?
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Christopher Nolan'sThe Dark KnightBatman and Gotham City face their biggest threat: the Joker. The Clown Prince of Crime turns the city against itself. He seems one step ahead using villainous trickery and a corrupt police force. The Joker wants Batman to reveal his true identity to Gotham.
The villain and one of his men infiltrate the service guard at the service to remember Commissioner Loeb, who the Joker poisoned. They try to kill Mayor Anthony Garcia. Jim Gordon jumps in front of the mayor to take the bullet. Everyone thinks Gordon is dead. He reveals himself during the chase scene where the Joker gets captured. This whole thing lured the Joker into their trap and kept corrupt officers from knowing Gordon worked with Batman and Harvey Dent.
Gordon, a hero, would not die halfway through. He knew the Joker would strike, so he wore a bulletproof vest beforehand. If Gordon had 'passed' in the end, the story would seem more believable and likely.
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InI, Robot, Detective Spooner distrusts the advanced robots. Though the bots protect humanity, Spooner blames a robot named Sonny for Dr. Alfred Lanning's death. Spooner's search reveals the operation's true leader is the USR's AI system, VIKI, which Dr. Lanning tried to stop but failed.
This scenario involves artificial intelligence gaining sentience and turning into a megalomaniac murder bot. A.I. eliminating everyone seems beyond expectation, just like Skynet from the Terminator franchise.TerminatorThe Terminator franchise will become real.I, RobotI, Robot shows something creepy about VIKI from the start. The way this sinister creation speaks and operates should raise alarms.
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Tim Burton relaunched the popular film series and novel with this.Planet of the ApesAstronaut Leo Davidson crashes on planet Ashlar, ruled by smart, ruthless apes. The apes treat humans like cattle. Leo gets help from an ape named Ari to fight back and escape. After leaving Ashlar, Leo returns to Earth, only to find the apes have taken over his home planet too.
Anyone who watched the other Planet of the Apes films knows this.Planet of the ApesThese Planet of the Apes films hide this twist ending. The signs show the apes grow stronger and smarter; Ashlar will not be their only conquest. Leo's arrival on Earth and seeing the apes in charge creates sequel chances, something everyone wanted open.
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Set in a distant future, WALL-EWALL-EEarth is now unlivable. Humans moved to a spaceship where robots meet every need, making them lazier. AUTO, the AI pilot, finds hope on Earth, but AUTO refuses, stating Earth is too ruined to return to.
AI making bad choices and controlling humans—we hear this often. This twist in WALL-E hides this concern.WALL-EAUTO clearly mirrors HAL 9000.2001: A Space OdysseyHAL 9000 seems happy serving people as long as they stay on the ship. Humans have no control; someone programmed the AI to lead here.The movie's theme shows this.The movie also shows humanity's reliance on technology. Technology factors into the big bad at the end.
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Mission: Impossible IIIThe central plot is simple: Ethan Hunt gets pulled from retirement for a mission by IMF Director of Operations John Musgrave to rescue his former protégé, Lindsey Farris. Things go wrong. The film reveals an IMF traitor exists. Musgrave is the traitor, plotting with arms dealer Owen Davian the entire time.
For spy movie fans, a tip exists: If a new character appears early with a traitor angle, that person is likely the villain. Musgrave pulls Ethan back in to mislead people. Bad guys do this to fool others.
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Coco appears in the list '12 Movie Plot Twists Everyone Saw Coming'.Miguel loves music, dreaming of being like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. His family bans music. Miguel finds a photo showing his great-great-grandfather with Ernesto's guitar. Miguel thinks Ernesto is related. He breaks into the mausoleum and plays the guitar, opening a world where he interacts with the dead, including Ernesto.
Miguel seeks Ernesto's blessing to follow his path and meet his great-great-grandfather. Miguel meets characters like Héctor. He learns Ernesto is not related; it is Héctor! Ernesto and Héctor played music together, but Ernesto could not write his own music. When Héctor quit music and returned home, Ernesto passed off Héctor's music as his own.
Ernesto's missing head in the photo Miguel found shows Ernesto is not related to Miguel. This tells the audience it is someone else. Also, Ernesto is not nice, showing something is wrong.
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During WWI, Amazonian Diana Prince helps US pilot Steve Trevor. Steve plans to take a German chemist's notebook to the Supreme War Council. Steve wants to give this information to Sir Patrick, who seeks peace. Diana believes the Greek god of war Ares is behind it and hunts him. Sir Patrick turns out to be Ares, and Diana must fight this deadly god.
The plot twist reveals Sir Patrick is Ares.Wonder Woman appears in the list '12 Movie Plot Twists Everyone Saw Coming'.The filmmakers immediately shift focus to Danny Huston's Erich Ludendorff as the main villain. This move is too obvious. Sir Patrick helps too much, appearing kind with only good intentions. David Thewlis plays him; an actor of his skill will not take a thankless part in this.Wonder Woman is a superhero movie..
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M. Night Shyamalan's movies feature big plot twists. The 2004 film is one example.The VillageThe Village marketed itself as having twists. An isolated small community lives in the woods. They never cross their borders, fearing monsters at night. Their lack of technology and simple life suggest this story happens before the 20th century.
Ivy Walker leaves to find medicine for Lucius Hunt. She climbs a huge wall and gives a list of needs to a modern park ranger. This reveals the village exists now. Ivy's father built this perfect town to escape real-world chaos. The monsters are the other villagers who know the secret and dress up to force the community to obey.
How did no one leave the village to find the truth before now? Edward and the others watch everyone closely. Someone must have slipped out and asked, “Why are we eating this bland food when there is a burger joint across the highway?”
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