They Cloned Tyrone

Available on Netflix now

Juel Taylor’s feature-length debut, a genre-bending homage to the Blaxploitation films which came to prominence during the 1970s, marks the director out as one to watch, despite its narrative meandering to a slightly underwhelming conclusion.

This is due to the sleek aesthetic in which Taylor and cinematographer Ken Seng present the world in which the events of They Cloned Tyrone take place, which manages to feel both contemporary and vintage. Indeed, the film’s grainy picture quality can be inferred as a tip of the proverbial hat to the aforementioned cinematic subculture which so clearly influences both Taylor and co-writer Tony Rettenmaier’s story.

The picture is also supremely acted, with co-stars John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, and Teyonah Parris making for a powerful and entertaining trio. Boyega, following on from recent powerhouse performances in Detroit and Small Axe, continues to demonstrate a penchant for brooding, intense roles, while Foxx and Parris showcase their comedic chops as a pimp and sex worker who become embroiled in a dark government conspiracy.

These qualities, along with Desmond Murray and Pierre Charles’ bopping score, ensure They Cloned Tyrone always remains a sleek affair. Taylor and Rettenmaier’s writing is, however, uneven and the film definitely struggles to progress through its gears, with the habitual repetition of its narrative growing somewhat tiresome over its two-hour runtime. Through no fault of its own, the film also suffers from inevitable comparisons to similar but more well-rounded films such as Get Out and Sorry to Bother You.

Nonetheless, there is more to like than dislike about They Cloned Tyrone and Taylor is certainly a filmmaker keeping track of.