Chris Hemsworth¡¯s Dystopian Thriller 'Spiderhead' Doesn¡¯t Translate Into Anything Substantial

Chris Hemsworth¡¯s Spiderhead directed by filmmaker Joseph Kosinski is a dystopian sci-fi thriller that doesn¡¯t translate into something very magnanimous. It has strands of Black Mirror and various other kinds of dystopian sci-fi but it just feels like a normal episode of a regular sci-fi.

Spiderhead is more of a character-driven story rather than a plot concentrated narrative which is good but it does need a good direction it feels as if the plot accelerates in a very directionless manner, unable to form a concrete and engaging hook point.

Spiderhead is Joseph Kosinski¡¯s second film just weeks after the release of Top Gun Maverick but it¡¯s nothing like the former.

IMDB

Spiderhead chronicles the life of a prisoner named Jeff who is incarcerated at the Spiderhead Penitentiary and Research Center, a unique facility on a remote island, and who is portrayed by Miles Teller, a mainstay of Kosinski's work. The prison at Spiderhead is not like others. It contains prisoners who have chosen to reside in this facility, which has a high-tech infrastructure resembling that of Norwegian jails.

In Spiderhead, there is a different kind of prison system where there is an open-door facility that allows inmates to cook for themselves, work out and do various kinds of activities. Elements like this are unique in this thriller but they don¡¯t translate into anything substantial.

The only good thing in this film is that performances have their own potency but this potency gets affected when a layer is added to match the needs of the plot. However, that is the main problem of the movie that the character feels so out of sync, that you seem to figure that the story is going nowhere. The antagonist to has a back story but it¡¯s barely touched.

The film is heavy on portraying the emotional undercurrents between the broken humans who are forced to live in a confined space. On the other side, Steve is very thinly drawn and the shift in the narrative makes us confused about who is actually the protagonist, losing a good chance to form a connection with Jeff, which probably would have worked better.

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Much of the problem lies in the tone of the film, it doesn¡¯t know if it wants to be a good paranoid thriller or a satire that¡¯s murky and engaging. There are too many convoluted plot points that seem to be picked off just to be dropped after a while, having no end fate whatsoever.

The overall exploration of the idea of loneliness through a science-fiction plot is definitely an interesting take but it isn¡¯t fixated to turn this into something worthwhile. The third act of the film has a major change in the tone which feels very unusual and makes you much more disinterested to know what going to happen ahead in the narrative.

IMDB

Another thing that bothers me is the timing of the film, the plot is unique but it has a treatment of a decade-old film style, we can blame it on the futuristic shows like Black Mirror, Love Death, Robots, and Sex, which have paved new ways to portray the darkness of sci-fi genre, this is why if something comes even a way ordinary as compared to them feels as if it¡¯s not worth the time.

There is a twist at the end of the film but that feels really average and uninspiring. It had the potential for a brilliant third act but it is very disappointing.

When it comes to performance, Chris Hemsworth aces his role and really seems to be enjoying this tech-savy role. Both Teller and Chris did their best to uplift the script but it seems their efforts weren¡¯t enough for a directionless plot.

IMDB

Lastly, I would like to mention the awesome soundtracks of Spiderhead. Every music from the film sounds fresh and really groovy which fits every mood, they probably work better than the drugs made in the movie.

Overall, this drug-testing sci-fi saga really has some great elements and had a great potential to be a good paranoid thriller but it got too lost in conveying the convoluted side of emotions. It¡¯s a new kind of experiment but it still needs a lot of experimenting before it reaches a point where it satisfies everyone.

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