Movie Details
Spiderhead. (2022)
Director-: : Joseph Kosinski
Cast-Chris Hemsworth Miles Teller Jurnee Smollett
Movie type- Sci-fi/Thriller
Release date- 11 June
IMDB Rating-5.5
Languages- English and French
Duration-1 Hour 33 Minutes
Trailer
Synopsis
Mixing the skills of Joseph Kosinski with the ruthless sense of humor of the Deadpool writers, the charisma of Chris Hemsworth and the talent of Miles Teller sounds like a perfect recipe for success. Even more so when it is based on a story by a Booker-winning author. Meanwhile, the combination of the powers of these five superheroes of entertainment cinema resulted in… another Netflix disaster.
A cure for all evil
Spiderhead is an adaptation of a short story by George Saunders, which appeared in The New Yorker in 2010. It tells the story of Jeff (Miles Teller), an inmate of an ultra-modern prison where there are no bars, orange jumpsuits or guards. It takes a lot of effort to be transferred to this unique place. The pass is consent to participate in medical experiments. It is carried out by a certain Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth) – an always smiling, open, friendly and unscrupulous scientist.
In such circumstances, feelings develop between Jeff and an inmate named Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett). However, it is subjected to many severe tests, as psychedelics are tested on inmates, which manipulate their emotions. Does true love have a chance to win in such circumstances? The creators of Spider’s Head are trying to answer this question , although the descriptions assured that they are preparing for us a psychological thriller filled with dark humor. Indeed, Saunders’ text could be used to create a dark satire on many elements of the modern world. Unfortunately, the filmmakers did not take advantage of this opportunity.
It was supposed to be so beautiful…
In Kosinski’s film, a device called MobiPak is implanted in the body of each inmate, in which vials with various substances are placed. Abnesti and his assistant Mark (smile at The Room fans ) dose the drug using a special application on their smartphones. In this way, they program the levels of happiness, joy, desire, fear or despair in the subject. Watching Spiderhead , one may get the impression that similar devices were implanted in the crew and cast while working on this production.
Joseph Kosinski is the creator of the biggest hit of 2022, which is now included in the canon of the most important films of the 21st century. Top Gun : Maverick may not be the most profound work of all time, but it is a perfectly executed work. Meanwhile, Spiderhead, in terms of direction, resembles a school film. He may be a talented final-year student, but he is still skilled in his profession. It’s as if Kosinki, making a film for Netflix, used only 60% of his skills.
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It’s similar with the script. You can see and hear that it was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. They put some of their iconoclastic humor and unique style into it (contrasting brutal scenes with cheerful hits from the 70s and 80s is certainly to their credit). They surprise with several plot twists. And yet this time their jokes are disappointingly cliched, the dialogues lack imagination, and the plot solutions are far too simple. Nothing here sounds strong enough. Oscar-winner Stephen Mirrione created a film without energy and proper pace, in which the fights seem artificial and the music seems mismatched. A group of such talented artists should know that simply setting a synth-pop hit to an action scene is not enough to achieve the effect of a postmodern remix. And yet, for some reason, they forgot about it. As a result, instead of a modern answer to A Clockwork Orange , an aesthetic science fiction pulp was created in the style of Maniac or Life with Yourself. There, the quality was also supposed to be determined by great names behind and in front of the camera. However, just like Emma Stone, Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd, Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller were not able to dazzle the audience with their brilliance enough to make the production’s shortcomings invisible.
The scientific revolution wears Prada
Casting a full-time god of thunder in the role of an unempathetic scientist seemed to be quite an unusual decision from the beginning. Due to my enormous sympathy for Hemsworth, I personally gave him some credit. The movie Thor may not be Daniel Day-Lewis, but he has shown many times that he can go beyond his handsome muscle cast and be genuinely entertaining in comedic roles, and even arouse fear as an unpredictable criminal. However, Kosinski did not take full advantage of the actor’s talent. In his perfectly tailored jackets and gold-rimmed aviators, he looks more like a man of science than a model from an advertisement for exclusive watches. Although Abnesti’s perfect smile is a bit disturbing, it is far from the perverse aura of the killer from Bad Times at El Royale .
Spiderhead is further proof that even the most talented creators and biggest stars lose their shine under Netflix. Even though – as David Fincher often emphasizes – the streaming giant gives them full creative freedom, much greater than that of cinema film producers. So why aren’t their productions commissioned by the platform even better than their other works? Why did Mank starring Gary Oldman disappoint most Fincher fans? Why was n’t Don’t Look Up half as good as The Big Short , even though all of modern Hollywood starred in it? Does this mean that the studio’s breathing on their backs forces artists to verify their vision and focus more on the goal of not only their satisfaction, but also the joy of the audience?