The new film, They Cloned Tyrone, a sci-fi/mystery/comedy arrived this weekend on Netflix. The film is a satire of the Blaxploitation genre from the 1970s as well as the manner in which black people are exploited by governments and the more powerful.

They Cloned Tyrone starred John Boyega as Fontaine, a drug dealer, Jamie Foxx as Slick Charles, a pimp, and Teyonah Parris as Yo-Yo, a sex worker. The three of them become involved in a secret conspiracy to continue experimenting on people in an attempt to find peace in America.

This is a weird movie with some much deeper moments than I expected. It sounded as if the film was going to be one of those dumb comedy films that try too hard to get someone to laugh. However, this had much better characters and had some real thoughts on its mind about themes that it wanted to cover.

I’m going to get this white guy criticism out of the way. I do not like to hear the use of the N-Word as often as it is used in movies like this. I understand that I am not black and it is a word that is used in different context in situations like this. I just don’t like the word.

Having said that, the best part of this film is the performances from the lead three actors. John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris are outstanding, both separately and together in every scene they are in. The interactions among the three of them are quick, clever, funny, standing out in the film.

Kiefer Sutherland played a role that I am not going to spoil, but he is exceptional as well.

The plot can be a bit convoluted, but I loved how the characters, especially Yo-Yo, approach the situation as if they are trying to solve a mystery and the references to Nancy Drew is both funny and ironic. There is a definite pulpy feel to scenes in They Cloned Tyrone.

The film does take a little time to get going, but once the three characters wind up together trying to figure out what had happened to Fontaine and what is going on around the neighborhood, the movie flies.

Teyonah Parris will be starring in The Marvels later this year as Monica Rambeau and, if this performance is any indication, she is going to be awesome. She showed that she is a rising star with this role, really fitting in well with John Boyega and the amazing Jamie Foxx.

They Cloned Tyrone takes some big swings. Some of them miss, but more than not, it is wildly successful and creatively effective. Director Juel Taylor went out on the limb in his directorial debut and you can tell that he is not afraid to break the mold.

3.75 stars