SPIDERHEAD – “An effortlessly entertaining, albeit uneven, sci-fi genre bender”

spiderhead

RATING

DIRECTOR

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick – 2022)

MAIN CAST

  • Chris Hemsworth as Steve Abnesti
  • Miles Teller as Jeff
  • Jurnee Smollett as Lizzy
  • Tess Haubrich as Heather
  • BeBe Bettencourt as Emma
  • Mark Paguio as Verlaine
  • Sam Delich as Adam

SYNOPSIS

It is based on the dystopian short story "Escape from Spiderhead" by George Saunders.

Two convicts living in a near-future society grapple with their pasts while trapped in a facility that allows prisoners to reduce their sentence time by volunteering for experiments using emotion-altering drugs, which are run by prison overseer Steve Abnesti. Inmate Jeff comes to care for another prisoner, Rachel, and tries to outmaneuver the experiments of the prison to save her.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Spiderhead is an effortlessly entertaining, albeit uneven, sci-fi genre bender. I mean, it’s not a perfect film. For one, the movie has an “end problem.” Not only is it a major rush job, but they bypass some really fun opportunities (why cut the prisoner battle royal so short?). What we get is ok, but it does sully some of the great stuff that came before it. For starters, the movie’s themes around enhancement, control and manipulation are intriguing. The “hook” is almost immediate. The cast is also clearly having fun, with Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett committing to the oftentimes goofy scenarios. Chris Hemsworth is surely the highlight, however, as he delivers a wonderful performance full of cocky magnetism. Yes, it’s all entertaining, going down easy the whole way through. Could they have gone further? Yes, and probably should have. I feel like a lot of the concepts are only given surface-level explorations. But, that’s not the type of movie this is. It’s not a sci-fi brainteaser with detailed depth, it’s essentially a Netflix popcorn film. And, with the cast and director (Joseph Kosinski) putting forth their best effort, the result is a good time.

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