Spiderhead

Spiderhead banks heavily on its lead performers, and both Hemsworth and Teller deliver the goods when the plot struggles to. Very early on, you smell a lighter version of Ex-Machina (replace the robot with mind-control drugs), with several random tonal shifts. The writers (Rhett Rheese & Paul Wernick) are known for tickling the funny bone, but I think this film would have benefited from a more serious, psychological approach - which, credit where it's due - it did to some extent. The romantic subplot, while nice to see, ended up being exploited (such a cliché) as expected. The conclusion isn't all that exciting, because by then, Spiderhead has fully embraced its weirdness and is unfortunately stuck between making viewers care and giving closure to the plot.

I can say it is worth a watch. I do like Chris Hemsworth's charismatic personality and it's nice to see him do something other than Thor outside of the Marvel comic book films. I almost didn't recognize Miles Teller. Although I think this was a missed opportunity to have these two guys work together in a much better film. But the film wasn't remarkable, and I don't think anyone will remember it a year from now. As for a sci-fi film, it wasn't a good one. It could have been, but it wasn't.

The result is a movie that is less thought-provoking and more aggressively lame. Hemsworth's charismatic persona and Teller's dramatic performance are not enough to keep this film afloat. Everything culminates in a bonkers final act that's surprisingly awful. Once again, the tone is all over the place as the film ends with a jarring shift to a needle-drop action sequence that feels all over the place in a so-bad-it's-good way. What had the potential to be a darkly funny, suspenseful, claustrophobic sci-fi story amounts to none of that, leading to a colossal miscalculation that you won't care for once the credits roll.

Spiderhead starts very well, with a serious tone and lots of conversation, kinda similar to Ex Machina. However, the story doesn't holds itself well and the plot gets convuluted without much of a development for the characters.

Though it starts with promise, "Spiderhead" is heavy weighted sci-fi stuff that doesn't intrigue much with it's elements due to weak development, and leaves it's mark as a disappointment, rather than being something impressive.

My Rating : 5/10.

The premise is great but it could have done much more with these themes, being very predictable on his structure. Chris Hemsworth is great on this one and there is a fantastic soundtrack to listen. However, it feels much longer than it is, being a bit repetitive at times. There is a reasonable number of fun and inspired moments though.