A sometimes entertaining but mostly disappointing film.
The trouble is typical, isn’t it. You wait an entire year to see Joseph Kosinski direct a one-man movie with Miles Teller, and guess what? Two come in at exactly the same time! Their first teamed up project, the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ which had a long standing release date, is thankfully now to be seen in the box office wherever you are (as of writing this), and their second one, ‘Spiderhead’, is out in Netflix now too.
But whereas the Top Gun is understood to be a high action violent film, Spiderhead is rather less bombastic. This is not to say that it should not be seen however; rather if you’re expecting a thrilling experience that quickens the pulse, there are chances that you will be a bit let down. You might also be disappointed if you thought that someone would show up with the body of a man and head of a spider, the movie’s expository title refers to the jail in which Steve (Chris Hemsworth) tries on his patients who are nothing but prisoners.
Spiderhead is also the prison where Jeff (Miles Teller) is serving his sentence, having already caused a car accident that resulted in some people’s deaths. It would have been quite a tragic occurrence but he now has Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett) as his girlfriend so his stay at Spiderhead is not that bad. Like other inmates, they are free to walk on the cold and uncluttered corridors of the prison, so they don’t have to spend hours in a single cell unlike other prisons.
Nonetheless, it cannot be said that those who have had their time behind the bars have fun as the ubiquitous and outwardly likable Steve does require them for his research and development purposes. Fortunately, they are not as dreadful as one might think hence as I mentioned earlier, there are no monstrosities of any sort which are the result of fusing a human body with a spider-like creature.
Rather, Steve injects mood-altering drugs into Jeff and the others for the purposes of experimentation. These are not all bad, some of them are happy and they enjoy their life while on that drug, on the contrary, there are some other drugs which make them feel sad and even want to take their own life. There is also a serum that seems to be so exciting to the target that he will have uncontrollable sexual intercourse while being watched by Steve and Mark, his assistant, who is Mark Paguio.
It does not take that long to appreciate that Steve is not the type of person who is concerned with the welfare of the inmates. He convinces them the tests are useful to society but like Jeff, who becomes suspicious of Steve’s real motives late in the film, many people will now start thinking there is a hidden agenda.
The film is inspired by the short story “Escape from Spiderhead” by George Saunders, which was also published in New Yorker. I am not familiar with the narrative so I cannot make a comparison between the two works but I wish the short story had provided more reasons than the movie’s screenplay, which never really explains Steve’s motivations for participating in the drug trials. By the end, he has become a stereotype another crazy scientist who wants to abuse other people for his unexplained benefit and not to help humanity.
As such, Spiderhead is rather annoying, as well. There are certainly many things to appreciate about this film; the terrific cast and, on occasion, the clever screenplay certainly help. But since the script didn’t leave much room for Steve’s internal motivations explaining his behaviors except for the most superficial ones throughout the movie, it is rather anticlimactic. Which is sad, because some of the other characters, including Jeff and Lizzy, receive rather more substantial character development and backstories.
This may have been a deliberate decision we are meant to sympathise more with Jeff and Lizzy and not Steve But why not have a film where there is a villain who could be easily pointed out? In general, the script of Spiderhead has been quite well crafted, the central motifs being free will and moral responsibility. If more focus was placed on Steve and what made him tick, this could have been a better film.
However, Hemsworth takes pleasure in his character and it is easy to watch him, even when his role feels underdeveloped. Teller’s performance is also quite as worth as all the other performers. And the film, in general, is even amusing though it may not gel to form a complete picture. While watching it, one is likely to have quite an enjoyable day but if one has high expectations from the movie because of Kosinski’s stunning Top Gun: Maverick, one might need to temper such notions as this film is never as breathtaking as that one.
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