MOVIE REVIEW: "Spiderhead" is Saved by Its Star Power
7/12 ForReel Score | 3/5 Stars
Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to have a great start. Take Spiderhead for example. Joseph Kosinski’s newest film (no - not that film) begins with a slo-mo Chris Hemsworth strutting around, making people laugh, and flying a seaplane while Supertramp blares in the background. It’s a whimsical, fantastic start. It is, dare I say, too good of an intro. Because there was no chance that what followed would top it.
The rest of the movie plays out in a far less extravagant fashion. We follow Jeff (Miles Teller, sans mustache and Ray-Bans), an inmate at Spiderhead - a cushy, state-of-the-art island penitentiary, who (along with his fellow inmates) undergoes a series of experimental drug tests. These mysterious tests are overseen by the clearly evil Steve Abnesti (Hemsworth) - a character only one rung off from an Austin Powers caricature. As the drugs become more potent, and the tests more high-risk, Jeff uncovers a grand conspiracy and hatches a plan of escape.
From the outset of the film, it is clear that Spiderhead is aiming for a genre of film that is all but lost. The Supertramp needle drop in the film’s opening minutes harkens us back to the 1970s when conspiracy thrillers reigned supreme. Unfortunately, Spiderhead falls short of that era’s most propulsive works, like The China Syndrome or 3 Days of the Condor; it lacks the auteurism of a Brian De Palma or Martin Scorcese and it is far from the grounded and gritty Paranoia Trilogy of Alan J. Pakula. Spiderhead is no great conspiracy thriller (nor is it even a great Black Mirror knockoff), but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun.
Despite the film’s glaring plot holes, half-assed social commentary, anti-climactic climaxes, and descents into farcical violence, it stays afloat by an irresistibly charismatic lead performance from Hemsworth. The Australian actor most famous for wielding a particular hammer has turned into one of his generation’s leading comedic actors. (It should be noted that Hemsworth will helm yet another comedy in the coming weeks: Thor: Love and Thunder.) Chris Hemsworth’s charm makes for a convincing evil mastermind, but undercuts some of the film’s later storytelling, because he’s just so damn magnetic. I’m not sure Kosinski intended for audiences to leave the film thinking the wicked Steve Abnesti had some really good points, and yet…
Hemsworth makes Spiderhead entirely worthwhile, a rare feat for what amounted to an early summer Netflix dump. That’s because Hemsworth understood the assignment. Spiderhead isn’t as serious as it ultimately makes itself out to be, and Hemsworth seems to be the only person who knows that. He understands that slo-mo smiles, seaplanes, and Supertramp is silly enough (and badass enough) to keep anyone engaged, so he played it that way. In the end, that isn’t enough to maintain the heights set in the film’s opening minutes, but it is enough to save Spiderhead from crumbling under the weight of its own delusional seriousness.
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Acting/Casting - 1 | Visual Effects and Editing - 1 | Story and Message - 1 | Entertainment Value - 1 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 2 | Reviewer’s Preference - 1 | What does this mean?