A great remake...of Icarus

Rating: 8/10 (8 June 2002)

Much modern drama is not really so new. In this case, Cronenberg took the original plot of "The Fly" and used it as a framework for the retelling of Icarus.
Goldblum is the genius who flies so high...higher than anyone before him. Even the telepod is bottom-lit, as if he were flying over the sun.
But flying so high has a price, and he pays it in spades. The film's focus is more on his descent than on his rise. The end is inevitable: you know at least half way in that Seth Brundle is deluding himself about becoming a new, better creature. You know what waits for him as he falls.
The ending is as traditional greek tragedy as it gets. Seth has met his fate, and Veronica's life is shattered.
I know a lot of people who disliked this film for its ending. Granted, it was abrupt and tragic, but that was the story. God bless Fox for not insisting on a happy ending, as is the case with so many films these days.