Upgrade Review
R: Strong violence, grisly images, and languageOTL Releasing, BH Tilt1 Hr and 35 MinutesWriter/Dir: Leigh WhannellCast: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison GilbertsonDear, Leigh Whannell:I forgive you for writing the most recent Insidious movie which left me and my copy editor feeling pure embarrassment. Now, I encourage you to specialize in action films. You’re great at it.
Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when Grey, a self-identified technophobe, has his world turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant called Stem.THE GOODIf this was released in the 80s alongside the movies that inspired it, such as “The Terminator” and “Robocop,” this would’ve blown audiences’ minds. Now, while it isn’t mind-blowing, it is a nostalgic action roller coaster thrill ride that harkens back to the films of the 80s. In a time like today where every summer release is a tent pole CG fest, “Upgrade” is a release that feels more refreshing than ever. This 5 million dollar budgeted feature has all the elements to be that bloated action flick but, thanks to Leigh Whannell’s experience in working in low-budget flicks, “Upgrade” thankfully looks as great in quality as your average blockbuster. All of the effects are practical and the action is brilliantly choreographed to make this layered action flick feel like an exhilarating awesome time.
If there was any movie to solidify my thoughts on the upcoming “Venom” film sucking, “Upgrade” is it. “Upgrade” features:- Brilliant action sequences with outstanding choreography- Gory violence- An emotional narrative- A Tom Hardy lookalike that I keep forgetting isn’t Tom HardyThe majority of his works were primarily writing horror, but “Upgrade” is his first outing with the action thriller genre as both writer and director. With this being Leigh Whannell’s second directorial feature, there is a level of passion and inspiration that is infused throughout the duration. After a while, you just wished that this movie would’ve been released in IMAX because of the immense amount of effort put into the film’s production.
Logan Marshall-Green establishes himself as, not Tom Hardy but, a charismatic actor who displays a various range of emotions in the role of Grey. His character is a decent guy who is going through this tragedy of his wife’s death and through his performance you fully sympathize with him and all the decisions he makes. Then, when he gets STEM implanted in his system, Green does a great job switching around, blending comedy to the role, especially since the majority of his performance relies on him talking to himself.The way I see it, it feels as if Whannell saw both "Robocop" 2014 and “Hardcore Henry”, was hella disappointed by them, and responded with:
While the budget on the film is small in value, the scale of the story is larger than anticipated. There are locations very reminiscent of, and inspired by, 80s films but Whannell incorporates a nuisances look to his world where it’s futuristic but still isn’t as pristine as other futuristic sci-fi films; yet, it isn’t that much of a dystopia either.Though the film plays off a lot of familiarities in its story, some predictable elements are thrown out of the window because of how entertainingly fun the action is. So, when a right-turned twist occurs, not only is it earned, but it’s also effective to the extent that the finale will leave you going:
THE RENDYIs Betty Gabriel forever indebted to Jason Blum? Because it seems like you see her in nearly every other production they release. It started with “The Purge: Election Year” where we saw her for the first time. Then, there was “Get Out” and who can forget this scene:
Now, she’s in “Upgrade” where she does a good job playing the detective but, even before the film started, they played a trailer for the upcoming “Unfriended: Dark Web” (yeah, I know. Another Unfriended movie?!) and guess who’s in it?! BETTY GABRIEL! She is becoming more prominent in this production company than Jason Blum who runs the damn company. I have no issue with her being in these Blumhouse productions, but it would be nice for her to spread her wings and fly to other studios. Now I’m just waiting for that one guy to make a crazy theory of her characters being tied together in all these Blumhouse movies.LAST STATEMENTLeigh Whannell’s “Upgrade” is a violently brilliant breath of air that is both tightly written and directed in an overcrowded summer of blockbusters.Rating: 4.5/5 | 93%Super scene: STEM’s first kill.
