The trailers for Upgrade checked a lot of boxes for me. I like science-fiction. I like dystopian stories. I like a good suspense/thriller. Check, check and check. With a free evening last night and little in the way of new premieres, Upgrade was an easy choice for me. My wife and I went to the fancy theater, since I had a free birthday ticket, popcorn and flatbread pizza. Since this theater doesn't accept movie pass, we don't go often. It was a nice change.
Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is a bit of a rebel. In a not-too-distant future, he is a low-tech hold out. His wife, Asha (Melanie Vallejo), works at an up-and-coming tech company. Machines have already begun to displace human workers. Grey is among them. He tinkers on old muscle cars in his garage. His wife makes a good living for both of them. But Grey manages to bring in some extra income from old car collectors. Among them is Wan (Richard Anastasio), who has built the preeminent software company. Among his creations is a chip called Stem.
After delivering a muscle car to Wan, Grey and Asha head home in her high tech self-driving car. The car malfunctions and crashes in a bad neighborhood. A para-military team of mercenaries arrive and execute Asha while leaving Grey alive, but crippled. Grey's injuries have left him quadriplegic. Wan offers Grey the ability to regain his mobility with the implant of a Stem device, which can reconnect his severed nervous system. Stem is an augmented intelligence. When Grey agrees to the procedure, he sets out on a mission of revenge, aided by the tools his implant has made available to him.
Upgrade is solid science fiction. There were some things that could have been better, but this film delivered beyond my expectations. While it checked all the boxes, good suspense (particularly science fiction thrillers) are hard to come by. It seems that film-makers like to show off bells and whistles without a thought-provoking story to go along with their CGI. Upgrade has both. The film has an interesting plot, a decent plot twist and an interesting ending. The film builds suspense while maintaining good pacing. There were times where I disengaged with the character, but I understood why. Grey is a likable lead character, but becomes more flawed as the film progresses. It is designed that way and makes sense in the end.
I'm not that familiar with Logan Marshall-Green. His initially struck me as a poor-man's Tom Hardy. The resemblance is eerie at times. But he is a good actor. There is a scene where he is struggling with the death of his wife that won me over to him as an actor. He did a great job. Breaking in as an "action" actor is not always the easiest thing to do. I like actors who have range, who are not just limited to selling the action sequences. Marshall-Green fit the bill. Anastasios was interesting in a mildly bizarre role as a young hermit-like tech king. I enjoyed Betty Gabriel as a police detective investigating Asha's death. She was solid in a supporting role. I particularly liked Benedict Hardie in a smaller role as mercenary Fisk. The casting was well done. The characters in this film trend towards bizarre. Good casting helped sell those roles.
Upgrade is violent. Graphically violent at times. The R rating from the MPAA seems like a no-brainer to me. The imagery doesn't spare a lot of details. Expect a bit of blood and gore. The film also has some strong language. But the rating seems driven primarily by the violence. It is contextual. This is a violent story. I would recommend teenage audiences or older. Upgrade has a run time of one hour, 35 minutes.
I liked Upgrade. It feels like a set up for a sequel, but it is also a stand-alone story. The pacing was great, the length was just right, the editing was tight, the characters were interesting and the concept was developed well. It is not particularly original and some people may see the plot twist coming. I was immersed in the story and didn't see it right away. The story was a bit linear, but engaging. The film has a Matrix-esque quality that could very well equate to a couple of solid sequels. I hope so. I enjoyed this film enough to go to the theater for a sequel. IMDb currently has this film at 7.6. That is probably about right. But I love the genre and don't see enough of it done well. I'm going a bit higher at 8/10. Great story from Director Leigh Whannell.
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