They Cloned Tyrone Turns Into Netflix’s Biggest Surprise

(CTN News) – The They Cloned Tyrone story begins like this: three pimps, a drug dealer, and a prostitute stumble upon a clandestine government cloning lab.

That’s Netflix’s elevator pitch for They Cloned Tyrone, a sci-fi comedy-thriller starring John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, and Teyonah Parris.

This Blaxploitation-y genre mashup is directed by Juel Taylor, a writer on Creed II and Space Jam: A New Legacy. It’s a combination of Jordan Peele’s Us and Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You.

It’s about doppelgängers and political satire. One of this year’s funniest, most thrilling, and most surprising movies.

It’s about Fontaine (Boyega), a steely-eyed drug dealer living in a predominantly Black neighborhood.

Afraid of losing his little brother and estranged from his mom, Fontaine struggles to make ends meet, shaking down clients and battling rival dealers.

Then he’s ambushed and killed. Fontaine wakes up in a cold sweat the next morning, miraculously unharmed and seemingly forgetful of what happened.

Slick Charles (Foxx) and Yo-Yo (Parris), a sex worker who dreams of escaping the Glen, help Fontaine find answers. His neighborhood has turned into a cruel experimentation lab after he discovers a sinister conspiracy.

They Cloned Tyrone has been described as a bootleg Scooby-Doo adventure where a ragtag team of ill-equipped sleuths crack open a terrifying mystery with their own peculiar teamwork.

He nailed it. Taylor’s existential mystery-thriller vacillates between the farcical and the macabre. It’s not just a reflection on gentrification and exploitation of minorities, but a darkly humorous and poignant meditation on the power of one’s own choices and the need for cooperation in the face of oppression.

It’s a real surprise for a Netflix Original, and that’s mostly because of the film’s chemistry.

Foxx steals every scene he’s in with his flamboyant personality and knack for getting into trouble.

It’s Parris, the heart and conscience of They Cloned Tyrone, a strong-willed woman with an eclectic range of talents and interests who can pull all the pieces together and rally the troops.

Boyega also delivers a multifaceted performance through Fontaine’s tumultuous emotional arc.

They Cloned Tyrone is at its best when it plays off Boyega, Foxx, and Parris’ dynamic.

Charles and Yo-Yo constantly bicker, while Fontaine fumes with frustration and confusion over the entire situation, is genuinely hilarious to watch. Taylor and Rettenmaier’s writing is great on its own, but when the cast performs it sings.

Fontaine and Slick Charles have a memorable conversation in the movie, where they contemplate whether any of their experiences or choices were real at all after being confronted by one of the masterminds behind the experiment and sworn to secrecy.

Fontaine tells Charles, “I ain’t never had a little brother.”. But they still love each other. This statement motivates them to expose the government’s deception for everyone’s sake.

They Cloned Tyrone is funny, thrilling, subversively satirical, disarmingly poignant, and above all, a blast to watch. Netflix and other streaming services could do with more witty and original storytelling like this, and it’s a surprise contender for one of the year’s best.

Juel Taylor has the same knack for weaving social issues into genre fare that’s both edifying and entertaining as Jordan Peele and Boots Riley.

The film has heart, humor, and soul, but still isn’t a clone of its predecessors, but rather something entirely its own.

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