Upgrade (2018)
Film Review
By the Geezer of Oz
In the not-so-distant future, technology controls just about every little aspect of our lives. Grey, is a muscle-car loving, old-school technophobe. His world is suddenly turned upside down when his wife is murdered and he is rendered quadriplegic after an attack by a group of unprovoked, enhanced human-cyborg assailants. Grey is thrown a lifeline by a young tech genius, who offers him the use of an experimental computer chip implant called Stem, which can get Grey up and going again and give him a chance at taking vengeance.
Yet another revenge-themed film from the past year or two that comes very close to delivering, but doesn’t quite get there. The film seems to be a mix of several others, reminiscent of Transcendence, Robocop, Terminator, Mad Max and in some ways, even aspects of The Usual Suspects. Overall, it does make some interesting, yet unoriginal, social commentary, but is saved by the fact that it doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously.
It is really a sci-fi revenge thriller, but the dark setting and some of the gore showcased here can shift it into the horror realm somewhat, giving it a very Cronenberg-like feel in spots. It is really a B-Grade fun ride that should appeal to many viewers. It lacks depth and seems to gloss over a few issues (almost criminally underdeveloped characters) and its structure is a little off in places, but when the film is meant to be taken purely as entertainment, it is very difficult to fault it too much for those.
Leigh Whannell (co-creator of the Insidious and Saw franchises) writes and directs and does a competent enough job at both. There are some lines here that should get a laugh, or at the very least a smirk, out of most viewers. Logan Marshall-Green (Devil, Prometheus, The Invitation) stars as Grey and does a fairly impressive job in a tough, physically demanding role. Harrison Gilbertson (Haunt, Hounds of Love, Look Away) is a kooky character choice as the young genius, Eron Keen. Benedict Hardie (Observance, Nekrotronic) is a surprisingly effective choice for the leader cyborg villain, Fisk, so it is a shame his character is not developed more. Betty Gabriel (The Purge: Election Year, Get Out, Unfriended: Dark Web), as Detective Cortez, was also extremely underdeveloped, which was a shame as she is a very interesting actress and did well with the few screen moments she was given.
There are a few twists and turns in the plot that would have been more interesting had they not been telegraphed far in advance. Just because a film is made purely for entertainment value, does not mean that it cannot be challenging and surprising in spots. Unfortunately, Upgrade does not surprise much, though fortunately, it does entertain quite a bit. It feels shorter than its 1 hour and 40 minutes, which is a good thing as after viewing, you are unlikely to feel like you wasted your time. It also needs to be added that this film was made on a US$5M budget, but looks like it was made for a lot more. The production value and cinematography are quite impressive.
Revenge by the numbers, yet entertaining. 6.5/10.
