'Spiderhead' on Netflix: Critics say Chris Hemsworth 's comic thriller is fun, but 'loses its way'
Chris Hemsworth's 'Thor: Love and Thunder might still be weeks away, but it has managed to garner the buzz alongside his most upcoming release, 'Spiderhead'. The Netflix movie generated mixed reviews from critics and has a 57% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While the Australian actor alongside 'Top Gun: Maverick' star Miles Teller received a thumbs-up for a noteworthy performance, the plot did take a bit of a hit.
The official synopsis, per Netflix, reads "In a state-of-the-art penitentiary run by brilliant visionary Steve Abnesti (Chris Hemsworth), inmates wear a surgically attached device that administers dosages of mind-altering drugs in exchange for commuted sentences. There are no bars, no cells, or orange jumpsuits. In Spiderhead, incarcerated volunteers are free to be themselves. Until they're not. At times, they're a better version. Need to lighten up? There's a drug for that. At a loss for words? There's a drug for that, too. But when two subjects, Jeff (Miles Teller) and Lizzy (Jurnee Smollett), form a connection, their path to redemption takes a twistier turn, as Abnesti's experiments start to push the limits of free will altogether."
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Flickering Myth's Robert Kojder felt the movie wasn't as dark as it was portrayed to be. "Spiderhead doesn’t feel as dark and morally challenging as it is set up to be. It’s all played a bit too safe when it’s begging for a nastier and more sadistic treatment without sacrificing the dark humor," the critic opined. Polygon's Katie Rife said, "For a film that’s so realistic in other areas, Spiderhead seems to deliberately step around the fact that most people don’t need to be pushed that hard to hurt others."
Screenrant called it an "intriguing thriller" while The Guardian felt the movie loses its way at certain stages. The Empire focused on Hemsworth's performance stating, "While he’s fun, the character never musters up much menace, an issue given that this is positioned as a taut two-hander. As Spiderhead’s chief arachnid, he’s a bit of a let-down." Tilt magazine gave it a positive review: "Sitting comfortably between an episode of Black Mirror and a fun genre exercise akin to Steven Soderbergh’s Kimi or Unsane, Joseph Kosinski’s Spiderhead is a surprisingly thrilling experience built upon an intriguing premise and tightly wound screenplay."
This will be Hemsworth's latest Netflix release after his slam-bang action flick 'Extraction', a sequel of which is in development. He will next be seen alongside Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson in 'Thor: Love and Thunder'.
'Spiderhead' releases June 17 on Netflix.