“Spiderhead,” the latest film from Joseph Kosinski after last month’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” agrees with me, because with its many similarities it even has its mad scientist—played by a winking Chris Hemsworth—grooving to pop music.
But the individual significance of "Spiderhead" is a larger issue, and it's ultimately not nearly as clever or eye-opening as it dreams of being.
“Spiderhead” imagines a different kind of prison system—one with an open-door policy that allows the incarcerated to have their sense of self, to cook for themselves, to work out when they want to.
One good side effect from "Spiderhead" is that the performances can have their own potency, but not when they're given a certain dosage.
Based on the short story by Saunders but given a distinct stench by self-amused “Deadpool” screenwriters Rhett Rheese and Paul Wernick, “Spiderhead” strives for a disquieting quirkiness.
Abnesti is not your average evil genius, nor is Spiderhead your average penitentiary, and this ain't your regular talky sci-fi thriller.
A lot of “Spiderhead” relies on the curiosity of its premise, which is teased by watching Hemsworth push Teller through different procedures, creating a friendship that this movie treats as its light stakes.
The concept of prison is as concrete as the edifice used for its titular penitentiary, but "Spiderhead" seems to say more with its premise than its follow-through.
It’s motivated to depict how the American prison system could be more humane, but then the plot's larger reveals about what's really going on are as close to an anti-surprise as you can get.