'They Cloned Tyrone' hits Netflix after debuting with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score

After making its debut with a 100 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, the Netflix movie They Cloned Tyrone, starring John Boyega, Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx, is now available on the streaming site.

While the film's Rotten Tomatoes score has dropped down a bit to 96 per cent in the last week, the general consensus is that the film is an exciting, riveting, funny and incredibly well-written sci-fi adventure.

Directed by Juel Taylor, and written by Taylor and Tony Rettenmaier, They Cloned Tyrone follows lead character, drug dealer Fontaine, alongside sex worker Yo-Yo (Parris) and pimp Slick Charles (Foxx) trying to expose and solve the mystery of why people in their neighbourhood, The Glen, are becoming clones. That leads them to revealing a government experiment.

"When I read the script, I knew I wanted to be a part of this," Parris told Yahoo Canada in June. "I could not stop turning the pages to read it and so that was the first sign to me. It didn't take me a month to get through it. "

"I just loved the character of Yo-Yo, her chutzpah, how ambitious she is, and fun and loving she is, and just the crew itself, Slick, Yo-Yo and Fontaine, it seemed like it would be a good time."

As audiences will see in the film, Boyega not only plays the Fontaine we see at the beginning of the movie, but he gets the opportunity to play multiple characters as the story evolves.

"It's a good script and then it had the 'buy one get one free' effect for me," Boyega added in that June interview. "I was like, there's a couple of characters in this, ... this is going be my showreel as well.' ... And it just gives me a great chance to show a bit of range."

'It just gets you more engrossed into the world'

One aspect of They Cloned Tyrone that's particularly fascinating is the way Taylor has really been able to play with different genres, and really utilize the aspects that make up each genre as an integrated part of the narrative.

"You can't tell what genre we're in, what era we're in, and I think that speaks to the story we're telling, which is, this has been happening for how long now? When does it end? Has it stopped? When did it start?" Parris said. "It's all a part of the larger picture ... it's all kind of seamless and timeless, and you really can't pinpoint what's happening, when it's happening."

"I think the mesh of genres just speaks to Juel's crazy, weird brain," Boyega added. "The fact that he was able to think of this idea and add a world build that makes you not see the timeline, so you can focus on the journey of the characters, is quite cool."

"But you've still got your pop culture references in there, ... you've still got the '70s aesthetics, and I just think that's just imagination and more so testament to a director that knows what he wants."

Alongside that use of different genres comes really rich, detailed and attractive set design and costumes that allow the audience to be immersed in this world that feels modern-day, but has a strong 1970s look and feel. The movie also includes a re-recorded version of the 1997 song “Tyrone” by Erykah Badu.

But not only is that an alluring component of the movie for the audience, it's a useful tool for actors to be able to access as well.

"It makes an incredible difference because the tone is definitely attached to the colours you see, the aesthetics, the costumes, and a lot of that was just there," Boyega explained. "When you're moving into that environment your brain, as an actor, that you need to release to be able to embody a character, feels much more comfortable in that transition."

"So you find yourself on set. You see all these scientists walking around, there's a lab, it's all physical. It just gets you more engrossed into the world. And then you have a deeper understanding of what Juel wants to achieve as well."

'Chemistry is one of those things you can't plan'

While the storytelling in They Cloned Tyrone deserves all the praise, the casting of Boyega, Parris and Foxx is also a great mix of actors to guide us through this film. While the dynamic between these three actors worked so well for the movie, they never actually got a chance to rehearse together before filming started.

"I think Teyonah and Jamie have a commitment to their careers individually, before they even came to this," Boyega said. "So between Juel and everybody on the team, [producer Charles D. King], I think they definitely had their eyes on making sure that, with the restrictions that we had, to get a bunch of actors that are going to be a good vibe, in which that would translate to the characters and those dynamics."

"It just goes to show that when there's a commitment to the art then everything kind of mysteriously falls into place."

"Chemistry is one of those things you can't plan or rehearse anyway, so it was just praying, 'please let this happen,'" Parris added. "But the thing you can control is how people show up to set and if you show up open and generous, then I think you have a better chance of establishing some chemistry and rapport with one another."

All interviews were conducted prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.