FilmSnobReviews

Title: Spiderhead
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller, Jurnee Smollett
Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

What It Is: On an abandoned island a pharmaceutical company science/owner and genius named Abnesti (Hemsworth) tests all of his latest medications in a controlled environment on human test subjects. These subjects are various criminals originally imprisoned for various reasons. Among these criminals is Jeff (Teller) who is one of Abnesti’s premiere subjects. Jeff is smitten with a fellow subject named Lizzy (Smollett). There are a lot of things in the dark about each subject’s past and even more darkness about the man running things and what exactly his intentions are.

What We Think: Joseph Kosinski is proving to be an absolutely stellar director. When you look up and down his filmography one thing is clear he is excellent at telling stories on and about the human condition. From Only the Brave to one of 2022’s best films in Top Gun: Maverick. Here he definitely gets to the roots of the sci-fi short story this is based on. He also once again gets a terrific turn from Miles Teller (their third time working together). Some of the story here is a bit bumbled and though Kosinski tries to reign it in it gets a little out of his control. All of the acting is totally fine and Hemsworth and Teller are a dynamic duo in the scenes they’re in. This is a very well-put-together film.

Our Grade: B-, Check this one out! You’re in for a surprise as Netflix brings us one of the year’s best sci-fi films. A film that looks great and is well directed. Teller keeps showing his talent when working with Kosinski and I hope for more projects from the director/actor duo. It’s an easy find on Netflix and I can recommend this one for sure!