Unfinished Business? The Best and Worst of Deus Ex Machina

Deus ex machina. Translated simply as ‘god from the machine’, it’s a plot device used by storytellers whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is overcome by the intervention of a new event, character, object or act. The history of entertainment is littered with these, which can often be controversial and is often seen as an underwhelming way for a writer to resolve an issue.

The term’s origins are Greek and were originally penned to describe its use in plays, where characters would quite literally be lowered from above or lifted from below the stage by a machine. They were used regularly in Greek mythology and have been ever since.

Indeed, Shakespeare regularly employed deus ex machina in his plays, most famously in As You Like It. Draped in a spoiler warning, let’s take a look at some of the most famous examples in cinema.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Having overcome hoards of blood-thirsty zombies and settled in to wait for it all to blow over at The Winchester, the proverbial hits the fan and Shaun and co are awaiting certain death. Armed with only a baseball bat and with the flesh-eaters making their way through the pub window, Sean and Liz make their way out on a suicide mission to take on the world. Any horror movie worth its salt would surely end with painful disaster, but this was a light-hearted comedy and Shaun had to remain unscathed, right? Absolutely. The characters would have had more chance of winning the lotto than getting out alive, but just in the nick of time, the military bound in and clear the ghouls from harm’s way.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Taking $871,530,324 at the box office and winning no fewer than four Academy Awards, the use of deus ex machina was clearly no problem for the audience when it came to Sir Ian McKellen’s Gandalf cruising to the rescue with an army of eagles. Tolkien experts are always at pains to explain why it makes sense for the eagles to be allowed to intervene here and not at any other stage in the trilogy, or why they couldn’t just fly over Mount Doom and drop the ring in from above, cutting out hours of strife. Many remain unconvinced.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)

One of the few titles to make a mockery of deus ex machina is the genius Life of Brian, Monty Python’s satirical 1979 classic. Brian tumbles from a tall tower, which seems to be the end of him, before the Python’s unrivalled sense of nonsense kicks in and has a UFO catch and deliver him to safety, with absolutely no cause or explanation. If drawing the audience’s attention to the ridiculousness of such a plot device is what they wanted, it delivers in spades and is without a doubt the most amusing entry on this particular list.

War of the Worlds (2005)

Another shot from the blue that arrives just in time to save the lead characters is in the case of the immortal classic War of the Worlds. Written by HG Wells, both versions of the film had to include the slightly underwhelming ending, where after a drawn-out battle with a swathe of aliens taking over the earth, they basically die from a cold.
Do you feel cheated by deus ex machina or are they a worthwhile plot device? Which other major deus ex machinas did we miss here, and which are completely laughable? Let us know in the comments box below!