They Cloned Tyrone wears it’s premise openly, even stating it in the trailer: what if a hustler, a pimp, and a pro walk into a conspiracy.

John Boyega plays Fontaine, the hustler. When he tracks down Jaime Foxx’s Slick Charles to collect some money, violence breaks out. When Fontaine wakes up the next day he sets about his daily routine. Leaving the convenience store, he sees something strange in the distance. Himself, bloodied and beaten, stumbling down the street and a black SUV pulls out of nowhere and collects the shambling man. Teyonah Parris as Yo-yo joins the crew and they go out in search of the black SUV. When they find it, it leads to the discovery of Fontaine, in a body bag, in a laboratory.

They Cloned Tyrone is a dynamite movie. It’s a funny, science fiction, action comedy with a layer of social and historical critique. If you choose to, there’s some things to be learned here about medical and government experiments on Black communities and individuals (Dr. J Marion Sims the “father of modern gynecology” experimenting on slaves, The Syphilis Study at Tuskegee, Henrietta Lacks, and others). Here’s the thing, as heavy as this subject is, the movie is primarily focused on having fun. The theme and set-up are presented as slightly absurd enough and filtered through such a heavy genre lens that the social commentary comes through in entertaining ways. 

The three central performances are all commanding in different ways. John Boyega is a brooding bundle of dynamite. Jamie Foxx is chewing the hell out of the scenery. Teyonah Parris steals every scene she’s in.

They Cloned Tyrone is streaming on Netflix and is worth checking out.

Positive/recommended