Slingshot

Despite its many twists and turns, “Slingshot” shows no signs of life.

It feels like a movie that hates its characters. And hates you too.

The continued cutaways back to Earth effectively de-pressurize Slingshot’s main plotline.



The Swedish director Mikael Håfström, whose best-known American film is the chilling 2007 Stephen King adaptation 1408, employs jump scares and quick cuts to capture the looming sense of danger...

The movie is pretty much lost in space, but its saving grace is Laurence Fishburne, 63 (The Matrix) as Frank’s Captain. Fishburne always finds a place of truth from which to build his characters, however far-fetched.

A test of metal gradually turns into a test of mettle, with Mr. Affleck’s grit paving the way.

Overall, “Slingshot” is arguably a serviceable space thriller and nothing more.

Whether you prefer to consider “Slingshot” a bloated “Twilight Zone” episode or a cheesily downsized version of “2001,” you can surely sympathize with its main character, who complains about being confused by what’s happening to him in it.

What happens when you're losing your mind in space? The penultimate scenes present a rationally plausible explanation about what's going on... until the final scene hits you in the head with mind-twisting veracity. "Slingshot” is bracingly gutsy.

Another sad man in space where Casey Affleck’s flashbacks to his abandoned love lack any chemistry or interest and what we are asked to believe out in the vastness loses any further interest we have with each ridiculous twist until a hilarious final shot.