The Stream: Can’t find too much wrong with this other than… when is this movie set in time?

The Big Screen: Good comedy with a very original plot

The Final Bill: A mash up of Black Dynamite and Sorry To Bother You but in a good way.

– S2S: Movie Review and Trip Fontaine
Director: Juel Taylor
Writers: Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier
Stars: John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris
Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Mystery
Rating: R for pervasive language, violence, some sexual material and drug use
Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
Production Companies: Federal Films, MACRO, Made With Love
Platform: On Netflix July 21, 2023
Notable Trailers: Happiness for Beginners, Heart of Stone, Pain Hustlers, The Killer, Leave the World Behind

Welcome, Streamers! As you can tell, there’s no hiding in this review. I don’t mean to cross the picket line with this promo, but I’m going to call a spade a spade. The Netflix film They Cloned Tyrone was just released on their platform this past weekend and it’s underserved by only being on Netflix and a limited theatrical release. It’s a pulpy, sci-fi mystery flick in which an unlikely trio begins to Nancy Drew a series of eerie events. Fontaine (John Boyega) has a “come to Jesus” moment after a run in with a rival drug dealer. Shocked to wake up in his bed the next morning unharmed, he along with Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx) and Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) begin looking into the incident. Sci-fi hijinks that affect the neighborhood ensue. Let’s see how it turns out for our crew.

They Cloned Tyrone has a nice mixture of sci-fi, comedy, and social commentary. It reminds me of Sorry to Bother You without the horse people in the end or extreme situations like throwing cellphones during a poetry show. This movie also has blatant references to Blaxploitation films of the 1970s that are used for laughs and to enhance the social commentary. Movies that have the ability to be intelligent, conversation starters, and actually funny at the same are few and far between.

They Cloned Tyrone can thank its excellent cast for successfully weaving the sci-fi, comedy, social commentary aspects together in such an enjoyable fashion. Everyone played their role tee. They were poignant or funny when necessary, and fierce in other scenes. The trio of Boyega, Foxx and Parris just worked. Of course, you know what you’re getting from Boyega and Foxx but, Ms. Parris comes to steal the show, a stark difference from her MCU role. Now, as good as the actors are, there would be nothing to be good at without this inventive and thoughtful screenplay by Juel Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier along with the creative direction by Juel Taylor. The one concern I have is whether the time setting is clear. The reference to Blaxploitation films are interesting, but both Slick Charles and Yo-Yo seem of another time and the movie doesn’t do a great job of explaining that.

Trip: I couldn’t let this one pass by without adding my two cents. I must agree that it is a shame that They Cloned Tyrone is only on Netflix and doesn’t get a big promotional push and an opportunity to be seen across the country on the big screen. This film is very clever. It has a lot of ideas and presents them in a funny and intriguing way. The mash up of genres draws you in and although it takes a bit to set the story up, the movie holds your attention until the last scene. I agree that this is a must see. It probably is good on a rewatch as well.

Long story short, Netflix again finds a way to get people to come to their streaming service without major promo. They Cloned Tyrone is original cinema that needs to be seen on the big screen. We get top level acting, comedy, originality and social commentary. Definitely grab a big box of popcorn and run to Netflix to check out this movie.