Before I start, I want to mention that They Cloned Tyrone is rated R. You can expect cursing, sexual innuendos and gun violence. This movie is one of those you’d watch at a sleepover, rather than bundled up on the family couch with your grandmother and younger siblings. So, BE WARNED!!
Mystery, science fiction, comedy, movies– what do these things all have in common? That will be, of course, the 2023 July release of They Cloned Tyrone, directed by Juel Taylor. A Netflix Original, it follows 3 characters uncovering the mystery of their fictional town, Glen. When one of the characters, Fontaine, is killed at night, he’s suddenly up the next morning alive and well. How and why is he still alive? Well, you’ll have to watch it and discover yourself!
But I’ll be honest, this movie went in a completely different direction than what I thought it would. At first, it gave me 90s gang movie vibes, like Boyz in the Hood and Menace II Society. These movies were definitely used as inspiration, though, along with 70s-90s clothing, hairstyles and cars. It wasn’t until one of the characters brought up Bitcoin when I realized that this was set in modern day.
Fontaine (John Boyega), and two other characters, Slick Rick (Jamie Foxx) and Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris), find out that Glen is undergoing experimentations and mind control without the residents’ knowledge. Using products such as fried chicken and relaxers that contained mutated recipes aided in this mind control. Along with these products are the weird yet interesting plot points such as resurrection, underground secret buildings and clones.
My first time watching the movie, the one hour mark was when I was finally hooked on the mystery. I was confused about what was happening at first, but it was a good type of confusion, the type to leave you completely invested. So it isn’t the best idea to watch this on a Tuesday night with 3 assignments due the next day.
By the end of this movie I actually began to feel sad. The characters in this movie have dreams and goals outside of Glen, which, let’s face it, isn’t the best neighborhood out there. When gun violence and other illegal activities run rampant in the neighborhood you can’t help but sympathize with these characters. Especially when they realize their lives have been a lie. It doesn’t help that the main villain’s reasoning for the mind control felt a little silly and lacked common sense. But I’m pretty sure that was the point. I believe he was supposed to seem illogical and dramatic. The director did a good job, though, because I felt just as angry as everyone else in Glen.
But on my second watch of this movie, I realized something interesting. I actually think this movie was created for a bigger purpose. When I pieced together the 70s-90s aesthetic and mind control, the first thing I thought of was the 80s American crack epidemic. The epidemic led to a conspiracy that involved the CIA introducing crack into poor, usually non-white neighborhoods. Books such as Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion written by Gary Webb dive into this topic. Both the movie and the conspiracy show the government introducing products in order to control their citizens. To my knowledge, there is no actual evidence that this conspiracy is true, but it’s interesting to think about, especially considering the increased knowledge and popularity of government led mind control experiments, such as MKUltra.
While this movie was entertaining, it felt as though there were a lot of coincidences. Why are these 3 main characters the only people who realize what’s going on? Wouldn’t more people be confused about Fontaine suddenly being resurrected? I still had millions of questions going through my head when the movie ended. It wasn’t a satisfying ending.
Overall, I give They Clone Tyrone a 7.5/10! It was a good time waster yet felt a little unsatisfying. Maybe a (good) second movie would suffice.
