Spiderhead- 6/10
This is a really good script betrayed by having an ending tacked on. And its a real shame. In the 1hr 40min run time if you cut the the 20 min that takes place after the climax youd have something here. It has a great premise, Miles Teller and Chris Hemsworth both give strong performances, the writting is clever and well foreshadowed and it explores both the human condition and society in interesting ways. It has really everything youd want from a good sci-fi story. Its forced ending really betrays the films tone in a way the can only hurt it. I cant tell if they wrote themselves into a corner or this ending was forced on them.
I would give the 1st 1hr 20 min an 8 and the last 20min a 6.
I split the difference.
the story feels like it should have had a much darker ending. Likely the source material, being a short story after all, ended in a bleak way. Thats an assumption on my part but im willing to bet im right. The films ending is out of an 80s summer comedy and completely works at odds with the rest of the film. On some level they knew this because they set the last 20 min to an 80s sound track. It doesnt justify this shift however.