3. Edge of Darkness
Watching the Mel Gibson-starring adaptation of the British TV series Edge of Darkness, it seemed like the happiest ending Thomas Craven (Gibson) could hope for was a tasty morsel of revenge, given that his daughter is murdered at the start of the movie, and outside of her, it doesn't really seem like he has a whole lot to live for. Don't worry, though, Martin Campbell certainly has something up his sleeve - by opening up this world to the notion of Heaven, it's still possible to crowbar in a happy ending in even the most miserable of circumstances. If the original series managed to arrive at something transcendent for its ending, it didn't quite go the whole hog as this film does. As Craven dies in the hospital, he sees a ghost of his daughter, and the final image of the film is him and her leaving the hospital together, walking towards a bright light. The allegory is just too simplistic, and it seems kinda cheesy given how many times we've seen similar images. After everything good that came before, this seemed rather unnecessary, and as a happy ending, pretty unconvincing.