So were you surprised by it? What did you think was in the box? I've got to say, once the van arrived, I knew it was going to deliver a box and I suspected what would be in it. Shocking nonetheless.

not so surprised with content, more surprised by pulling the trigger, was not sure if he is gonna pull it off

Wasn't sure either. A very tense finale.

@Markoff said:

So were you surprised by it? What did you think was in the box? I've got to say, once the van arrived, I knew it was going to deliver a box and I suspected what would be in it. Shocking nonetheless.

not so surprised with content, more surprised by pulling the trigger, was not sure if he is gonna pull it off

Loved how this scene played out, the antagonist was very clever, most memorable character in my opinion.

If anyone here wants an even more shocking box reveal, definitely watch the original Oldboy (2003) film.

@Col Needswiss said:

I was disappointed. I was really hoping the box would contain the disembodied head of William Shatner singing Mr. Tambourine Man.

That would've been delightful!!

I called it as well when the van first appeared. A good shocker but honestly I was hoping for something that packed a bit more of a punch to match up with the bars set by Sloth and Lust, which were absolutely blood-curdling. Regardless, still a great ending to a masterful film.

SPOILERS BELOW.

What made the climax hit hard for me was the fact that Wrath took down one of the main characters, while the enactment of Envy caused the end of the villain's life.

This mystery does not have the strongest of causal storylines... John Doe just steps in out of nowhere and takes it into a new direction, IMO.

@howardburns said:

I called it as well when the van first appeared. A good shocker but honestly I was hoping for something that packed a bit more of a punch to match up with the bars set by Sloth and Lust, which were absolutely blood-curdling. Regardless, still a great ending to a masterful film.

I think that the punch was provided by the fact that we actually had some emotional connection to ...don't want to spoil it...but, suffice to say, all the other victims were not known to any of the main characters in the movie, nor to we the audience. As such, those gruesome scenes were more detached, violence porn, per se. The box scene, being about a person we (both the main characters and the audience) knew made it emotionally painful, without having to resort to visual gore gratification.

And that, for me, was far more impactful. In fact, not even showing the contents was far more artistic, a higher craft of storytelling, because, by that point, hadn't we already had enough gore? Crafting that scene as they did, after all we'd seen leading up to it, was better, in my humble opinion.

@DRDMovieMusings , I don't disagree with anything in your post necessarily, it was still very impactful since we could emotionally connect to that character. For me it wasn't even about showing gore, it was the way those two were dealt with. Just hearing Leland Orser describe the events of the "Lust" involvement gave me chills. These were the things that stuck with me long after the film was over. The ending just didn't have quite that same effect on me, but it was still extremely powerful.

I didn't really care for the film, much too slow-going (and also long for the script), per se. I have to give it a few bonus points for people staring, which I dig in a film. 4/10

@howardburns said:

@DRDMovieMusings , I don't disagree with anything in your post necessarily, it was still very impactful since we could emotionally connect to that character. For me it wasn't even about showing gore, it was the way those two were dealt with. Just hearing Leland Orser describe the events of the "Lust" involvement gave me chills. These were the things that stuck with me long after the film was over. The ending just didn't have quite that same effect on me, but it was still extremely powerful.

I hear you! You made me revisit the scene in my mind and, although the screenplay was really working when focused on Morgan Freeman's actions, behaviour and reaction to discovering the contents (after he realized what was in it, and that one shot of the box, flaps open, just sitting there, while we don't yet know what in the world is in it, really worked), I agree, what didn't quite work (and, I think, what supports your lack of punch ) was the following scene in which Kevin Spacey's character delivered the line revealing the contents - from the moment he said it...to the resolution of the last sin, that was a long, slow burn as we see Brad Pitt go through all the emotions and finally take action...I certainly agree that there was something...I dunno...amiss with that punch. As I said in my post above, the emotional connection seems to have been positioned to provide the punch, but how they shot the scene with Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey was off.

Granted, I'll bet we're all glad the scene did not resort to Brad turning his face skyward and yelling out "Noooooooo!" They really had some movie magic happening out by the delivery truck...but yeah, something was amiss.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

I think that the punch was provided by the fact that we actually had some emotional connection to ...don't want to spoil it...but, suffice to say, all the other victims were not known to any of the main characters in the movie, nor to we the audience. As such, those gruesome scenes were more detached, violence porn, per se. The box scene, being about a person we (both the main characters and the audience) knew made it emotionally painful, without having to resort to visual gore gratification.

Also, it was probably a stronger scene with the director letting our imaginations do the work for us as far as what was in the box. There was roughly a second of visual revelation when Brad Pitt is getting ready to take action, but that's more effective in my humble opinion than resorting to extensive "violence porn," to use your term.

'Twas a great ending and yes, I was surprised. I didn't see it coming.

A disembodied head can't sing or talk.

@Col Needswiss said:

I was disappointed. I was really hoping the box would contain the disembodied head of William Shatner singing Mr. Tambourine Man.

No No No - The disembodied head of William Shatner would have been TALKING "Mr. Tambourine Man". !!!

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@howardburns said:

I called it as well when the van first appeared. A good shocker but honestly I was hoping for something that packed a bit more of a punch to match up with the bars set by Sloth and Lust, which were absolutely blood-curdling. Regardless, still a great ending to a masterful film.

I think that the punch was provided by the fact that we actually had some emotional connection to ...don't want to spoil it...but, suffice to say, all the other victims were not known to any of the main characters in the movie, nor to we the audience. As such, those gruesome scenes were more detached, violence porn, per se. The box scene, being about a person we (both the main characters and the audience) knew made it emotionally painful, without having to resort to visual gore gratification.

And that, for me, was far more impactful. In fact, not even showing the contents was far more artistic, a higher craft of storytelling, because, by that point, hadn't we already had enough gore? Crafting that scene as they did, after all we'd seen leading up to it, was better, in my humble opinion.

Agreed. Somerset's reaction to it gave the audience all they needed to know. At first, I thought it was supposed to be the fetus of Tracy's unborn child inside the box. My mind went far darker I guess.