Upgrade (2018) Review

"While I am state-of-the-art, I am not a ninja."
-Stem


In the not so distant future, Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green), and his wife, Asha (Melanie Vallejo) are brutally attacked.  Asha is murdered and Grey is left a quadriplegic.  Now suicidal, Grey is approached by a scientist, Eron (Harrison Gilbertson), who offers him a chance to move again.  Grey is implanted with a device called Stem (Simon Maiden), which gives Grey the ability to control his body again.  Stem can also speak to Grey, analyze situations quickly, and even control Grey's body, if granted permission.  With the police unable to track down Asha's killer, Fisk (Benedict Hardie), Grey and Stem start hunting themselves, but Stem proves to be much more accepting of violence than Grey.  With Fisk, the police, and even Eron on the hunt for Grey and Stem, they have to work together in order to survive, but can Grey trust Stem, or does the device have its own plans?


What Works:

I went it to Upgrade with no real expectations, and man did I have a good time.  The movie is short and has a very fast pace.  All of a sudden, it's over, but that's not a bad thing at all.

Logan Marshall-Green's performance is excellent.  I was expecting generic movie protagonist, but he actually gives his character a lot of depth.  When he's suicidal, you feel it.  Being trapped in your own body...nightmare-fuel.  He also gives his character some quirks and does an-all around excellent job.

Visually, this film looks amazing.  I love the lighting, set design, and the cinematography.  It all looks great and pulls you into the film.  It helps that the futuristic setting isn't too far out of the realm of possibility, apart from the guns built into people's arms.  Everything else; self-driving cars, police drones, and trackers built in to everyone, are not all that far off.  It makes the world much more immersive.

Finally, I gotta bring up the gore.  There isn't a ton, but it's really sick when they use it.  There are a few gnarly kills.  I know I should have expected this, Leigh Whannell did make Saw, but this is more of an action movie, so the gore caught me off guard, but man is it awesome.


What Sucks:

My only complaint is Harrison Gilbertson's performance.  His character is basically a boy-genius, and he simply doesn't have the gravitas needed to pull this role off.  Someone like Dane DeHaan would have been a much better fit.  Gilbertson comes off as pretty bland.


Verdict:

Upgrade is probably the most pleasant surprise I've had in terms of movie so far this year.  I really wasn't expecting much, but Leigh Whannell managed to blow me away.  Logan Marshall-Green is great, the pacing, cinematography, set design, the gore, everything beside Harrison Gilbertson is great, and makes for a very fun movie.  Upgrade has absolutely got it going on.

 9/10: Great 




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