They Cloned Tyrone (Netflix) is a fun film with a stellar cast, namely John Boyega (Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Woman King) along with Jamie Foxx, in his first film release since his illness, and Teyonah Parris (Chi-Raq, Empire). The film is as unique as it is funny and clever, and on top of all that, it’s a sci-fi.
An homage to blaxploitation films of the 70’s, They Coned Tyrone, is a well-written and imaginative story with plenty of creative plot twists as it follows three street characters: a pimp (Jamie Foxx), a drug dealer (John Boyega) and a hooker/wanna-be Nancy Drew, played by Teyonah Parris. After a series of weird incidences, these three bumbling underachievers unwittingly discover that they, and the inhabitants of their poor and struggling community, are the subject of a clandestine government cloning experiment. Even if no one will believe them, they are hell bent on exposing the truth and taking their neighborhood back.
Poignant and socially aware, They Cloned Tyrone is a film about systematic oppression and forced assimilation that makes you think as well as laugh. The story takes place in a fictional low income inner city community rife with crime called The Glen.
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In his feature film directorial debut, Juel Taylor (Creed II, Space Jam: The New Legacy) does a great job giving the project a dark, gritty feel and stylish look. Taylor also wrote the screenplay along with Tony Rettenmaier (Space Jam: They New Legacy). The film is well cast with great performances, especially from Foxx who we can see is having a blast playing this character, and wearing these outrageous and colorful costumes. Foxx, Boyega and Parris have amazing chemistry on screen adding to the films appeal.
Identity, racism, cloning and science are a few of the many thought-provoking themes explored in the film. The ending of the story is open for interpretation adding to the films complexity.
Taylor explained in an interview that the film’s title was actually a “joke title” since none of the main characters were named Tyrone. The films title was actually supposed to be Reagan Era, but during filming the name They Cloned Tyrone caught on and they decided to keep it.
Rated 94% on RottenTomatoes.com, the film also received praise from around the film industry including Oscar-winning director/screenwriter of Moonlight, Barry Jenkins. Jenkins said on twitter, “THEY CLONED TYRONE is SOOOOOOO damn good!” He goes on to describe the film as “a modern day Spook Who Sat By The Door with shades of Edge of Tomorrow and Players Club, in the visual style of Peak…” He continued, “And it’s just sitting there… on Netflix… getting a fraction of the flowers it deserves.”
