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Reviews have been pouring in for Spiderhead – the latest film from Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski.
Chris Hemsworth stars as a prison warden with a unique approach to the justice system. He administers mind-altering drugs to the prisoners in exchange for shorter sentences. Things get complicated in the Netflix thriller when his experiments with two subjects, played by Miles Teller and Jurnee Smollett, go awry.
The film is currently at 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, as first reviews have landed. Jordan Hoffman from TV Guide (opens in new tab) praises Hemsworth’s performance in the thriller. “One minute he’s pure charisma, the next a menacing mad scientist,” he writes. “I’d go so far as to say it’s the best thing he’s ever done. And no, he’s not pumping me full of a love drug to get me to say it.’
Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab) Calling the film “an unclassifiable good time,” writing, “The film doesn’t quite manage to navigate its stylistic twists, feeling all too familiar by the time it hits its final action-packed act. But It’s imaginative fun along the way, thanks to the bold premise and clever screenplay from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Deadpool, Zombieland) that doesn’t take themselves too seriously.”
Chris Hemsworth gives his “best performance yet”, according to Ross Bonaime of Collider (opens in new tab)† He writes: “Kosinski has already made one of the best films of the year with Maverick, and with an extremely intriguing concept and fantastic performances across the board, Kosinski has shot one of the best films of this year for the second time this year. made summer.”
However, not all critics enjoyed Netflix’s latest thriller. Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt (opens in new tab) calls the film’s plot a “maze”. She concludes, “There’s a version embedded here somewhere that could have been fun, even camp, if not for the constant painstaking effort of telegraphing every plot twist and motivation.”
While Carlos Aguilar of The Wrap (opens in new tab) writes, “It feels distracted and only superficially invested in its grand ideas about second chances and the conundrum of usurping the bodies of individuals that society has deemed irreparable.”
Varieties Peter Debruge (opens in new tab) says the film is a “new low for Netflix”. The critic states, “All the ingredients are there for a daring satire — a George Saunders story, adapted by the Deadpool duo and directed by Joseph Kosinski — but the icky execution makes any creative decision wrong.”
Spiderhead will be released on Netflix on June 17, 2022. Check out our guide to the best Netflix movies to watch right now.
