Before we got on with the review, a little background. With all this buzz around Spiderhead I didn’t read any reviews or first reactions. I simply watched the trailer and not even glance at the IMDb score. I wanted to judge the film without any pre conceived notions about it. Netflix’s original movies in my experience have always been a misfire except for a few genuine gems but I didn’t want the past ruin the present. So, I stepped into the film with hope and a clear head. The film is about two hours long and as you all know stars Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller in noteworthy roles. How was it? Well, let’s discuss that at length.
WARNING: The following article contains minor spoilers to the plot.
Rating – ★★
Does Spiderhead Live Up to the Hype?
The film opens on a slightly confusing note but I think that’s what you expect from a film like this. The locations shown in the films either the Spiderhead building or the sparse outdoor shots are absolutely beautiful. The visuals artistically juxtapose the theme and the premise of the film. The film is an adaptation of the short story by George Saunders of the same name. From the start the film raises many dramatic questions and that’s a great start, the way visuals are used especially close-ups to let us understand what its trying rather than a verbal confirmation.
The setting and the tone of the film reminded me of a sci-fi flicks mostly Arrival, Ex Machina and Annihilation but this film does carry through with what it started. The examples I have above are films that rely and trust on their way of storytelling while in Spiderhead you can feel the nervous filmmakers who were torn between giving us information so that we don’t shut our screens. Information through petty and convenient means that ruin the experience of a film that was designed to be a slow burn from the start. However, the burn extinguished quite early as the film was in a hurry to wrap up.
There were about 35 minutes left into the film when it revealed its big twist which I’ll agree I didn’t see coming but it wasn’t the saving grace of the film. A good chunk of the film’s runtime is kept for a action packed climax but that was not what the film was about, something like this was expected from Extraction but here it didn’t fit into the tone of the film that drew us in. Those of you familiar with Ex Machina will know how tastefully was the climax handled there and honestly I was expecting something like that. In the last 35 minutes of the film I was scrounging for another plot twist that would kick in but there was none.
The film was supposed to reveal and peel off the complex human behavior that we all are a victim of and it did start with that promise. However, the filmmakers were too worried for the film to naturally explore such themes and ended up maneuver its direction to the underwhelming plot. Honestly, I’ve not read the original short story and I’m not quite familiar with George Saunders’ work either so I have no clue whether the original story is also a victim of this or is it only this film because of the presence of a star like Hemsworth who also acted as the producer.
However, the long and short of it is that, No, it doesn’t live up to the hype.
Performances: Did We See a New Chris Hemsworth?
I’ll be honest Hemsworth is good in the film but that’s where it stops. He is good but he is not been able to up his performance from there. He plays a handsome, charming genius scientist. By default, Hemsworth brings the handsome and the charm to the role but he is supposed to be a force to reckon with or at least he should’ve been. The film shows him as that smiling evil who when teased with will unleash his wrath on you, I never felt that in 1 hour 49 minutes. I think I should clarify, this may or may not be Hemsworth’s, fault because honestly the script doesn’t give him enough to juice out.
There is no scene where he absolutely stands out, if the material provided to the actor is limited how can you expect a world class performance from him? Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina played a similar archetype and trust me when he did unleash his wrath he was scary. In that case, the script and actor were in sync with the motive of bringing out the best. In this case however, it is either both or at least one of them at fault. I know I have been constantly comparing it with Ex Machina but trust me they both had very similar tone even though their stories are miles apart.
Miles Teller as Jeff was good in the film, I mean the amount of material given to him, with that in mind. There is no scene in this film where you’d feel that his performance was weak. While there are many scenes where his character acts dumb but sure Teller manages a strong performance considering. I’ll explain myself, for anyone remotely familiar with Alfred Hitchcock you’d know he said, the stronger the villain, the stronger the hero. That is where his character falls short. We never see him in those ethical or moral dilemmas which this film touches upon as the Chris Hemsworth isn’t a strong enough opposition to him.
Many times I was like yes, now what will he do but they don’t go through with it rendering us not able to feel for the character enough as the sh*t never gets real. Its as if the filmmakers were too much in love with their characters that they didn’t let any evil befall on them. Honestly, the script does disservice to both the concept and the talented cast. For Teller however, its a good addition with a great performance in Maverick as well. These two were the only noteworthy performances I felt talking about others in the cast like Jurnee Smollett BeBe Bettencourt, Mark Paguio did what they could with the material they were given.
Final Verdict
To wrap up the entire discussion and the question I asked in the title, Spiderhead is not worth your time on Netflix. You might lured into the film with the impressive cast or the intriguing premise but the film like most Netflix original movies fail you by the end. On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d give Spiderhead a 2 that too for the interesting ideas it touched upon and the few surprises it had which did make the movie watchable. Honestly, I’d recommend you to tune into some other content this weekend and not in this slugish film. Let me know whether you agree with my verdict of Spiderhead.
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