Thanks to Marvel and DC, we’ve seen literally every possible superhero. The excessive demand to produce more superheroes led to the creation of some of the weirdest comic book characters like Arm-Fall-Off-Boy and Matter-Eater Lad. Adding to the list, Netflix conceived the idea of iBoy, the story of a boy who gets bits of an iPhone stuck in his head and gets superpowers.
This Adam Randall directed film stars Bill Milner, Maisie Williams, Miranda Richardson, and Rory Kinnear. The cast has performed exceedingly well, especially Maisie Williams. Maisie’s character, Lucy, is the most explored of them all; having just lived through a traumatic experience in the beginning of the film. It was refreshing to see that mainstream media has gained an understanding of what assault does to a person. Maisie’s rendition of Lucy is also the biggest highlight of the film which is both unquestionable and sad.
Rory Kinnear, who plays Ellman, is also well deserving of praise although there’s not much to judge when it comes to acting. iBoy lacks substance in that domain and doesn’t really provide a platform big enough to exhibit one’s acting prowess. The movie immediately (and surprisingly so) becomes slightly more engaging with the introduction of Ellman.
The characters individually seem realistic and have been wonderfully portrayed but their relationships with one another seem fragile. Yet, iBoy isn’t exactly a likeable movie and the problem rests in the idea itself. Neither the gist of the story nor the central character is compelling enough. In spite of being brilliantly executed in the script, the sheer idea that shards of an iPhone in the brain of a boy gave him the power to control everything electrical is ludicrous. Even if I say I was convinced with iBoy’s genesis story, his powers should have been limited to controlling electronic devices as opposed to pooling in electrical appliances as well.
Although iBoy seems like the harbinger of innovative science-fiction superhero movies, the sheer idea is unappealing which not only makes it an uneasy experience but also unworthy of your time.
