In the book that inspired the Hulu show Dopesick, Beth Macy writes that “America will remain a country where getting addicted is far easier than securing treatment”. It is immensely sad to see that we are living in a world in which millions and millions of people everywhere -this is not a problem unique to the US-, find themselves addicted to drugs (such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, or morphine) which can be legally prescribed by doctors, as it was originally said that the side effects might be usually minor, and that developing an addiction was something that could only happen to less than one percent of the users. 

Obviously, this was said by those representing other small percentage, albeit a more fortunate one – that of the owners of big pharmaceutical companies. 

Given the fact that our existence has been hit by Covid-19, Big Pharma conspiracy theories are gaining traction. Allegedly, we are being controlled by big corporations with nefarious intentions, although, their motivations appear to be that of providing us with a better, safer life – which brings us to Chris Hemsworth’s cool and friendly character in Spiderhead. 

Based on Escape from Spiderhead, a short story written by George Saunders, the film puts us in a not-too-distant future in which prisoners are used as guinea pigs to shorten their sentences. One of those inmates, played by Miles Teller, starts to wonder what is going on around him after taking part in an experiment for a drug that can generate feelings of love. 

Despite seeing Teller as the central character of the story, it is Hemsworth’s film through and through. Using his innate charisma, good looks, and comedic chops, the actor is able to make us sympathize with his character, no matter what his true intentions are… as he very well puts it when he remarks that ‘beautiful people get away with too much – I say that having benefitted myself from time to time’. 

While it could be said that his villainous yuppy who moves around doing what he wants, obeying nobody (and having lots of fun in the process) is one of his best performances, it is interesting to see Hemsworth trying to shed his Thor persona by appearing in films like Spiderhead, Extraction (also released in Netflix), Men In Black: International or Bad Times at the El Royale. It is clear that he has what it takes to be a leading actor. However, he is in dire need of a good, memorable project, considering that of those films mentioned above, the better one is Bad Times at the El Royale -it is not a great film, though- and he only appears in the third act.  

Directed by Joseph Kosinski (who also worked with Teller in the recent Top Gun: Maverick), using a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the film does exactly what it says on the tin. No more, no less. It is a Netflix film, which means that it is well made, there are several recognizable faces (alongside the aforementioned Hemsworth and Teller, Jurnee Smollett also has a role, although she does not have many things to do for most of the time), it has a good soundtrack, and its central concept is interesting enough to attract viewers, though it is not fully explored – as it might have happened, had it been made by another studio, one more concerned with ideas and not so much with viewing hours. 

As a result, Spiderhead is an adequate film, but by playing it safer than it should have had, it fails to capture the potential of the original text, wasting an opportunity to tackle some of the more profound themes explored in Saunders’ short story. Whilst this does not mean that it is not worth your time, it is just a film that will not make you think, or question many issues when you finish watching it. Well, perhaps, with the passing of time you might find yourself wondering as you wander along Netflix’s infinite back-catalogue: “Have I seen this film?”

The answer may very well be yes, but you will not remember it, and thus you will see it again, after all, what is the worst that could happen? Aside from the fact that Netflix will get more hours of your time (hours in which you could have measured the length of your toenails, or taught a platypus to play the pedal clavichord), and will keep producing films like this, films that are designed to be consumed – entertaining, yet not memorable (like Red Notice or The Adam Project). 

Perhaps, it might bring people to the work of Saunders… hopefully more than one percent of those who watch the film.