Upgrade review

UPGRADE:

AN ULTRA-VIOLENT REVENGE FANTASY WITH A HIGH-TECH BOOST THAT’S WELL-CONSTRUCTED AND CONSISTENTLY THRILLING!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

BLUMHOUSE

Logan Marshall-Green is getting an Upgrade

            Director, Leigh Whannell (Saw franchise, Cooties, Insidious: Chapter 3) and producer, Jason Blum (The Purge, Get Out, Happy Death Day) add a new spin to the action revenge fantasy genre with Upgrade, that many people have described as The Six Million Dollar Man and Death Wish put together. In some respects, yes, they’re pretty much right but Whannell, who previously worked with James Wan on the first Saw movie on a low-budget, is able to take this tiring concept and make it feel fresh and new, and with little money to boot.

            Who would have thought a low-budget is the key to seeing legit R-rated action movies again? Well, if that’s the case give me more because this is one of the best modern action films I’ve seen in a long time. Upgrade doesn’t fall victim to the Hollywood formula or play it safe to get a wide audience, instead it cranks up the body count, takes risks, and delivers one hell of a brutal revenge film that’s both intelligent and popcorn entertainment.

            The film follows a stay-at-home mechanic named Grey (Logan Marshall-Green-24, Prometheus, Spider-Man: Homecoming) who, after a fatal car crash and four men shooting his wife, Asha (Melanie Vallejo-All Saints, Power Rangers: Mystic Force, Winners & Losers) and severing his spinal column, is left quadriplegic and wheelchair-bound with the inability to use his arms or legs. One of his clients, tech innovator and head of the company, Vessel known as Eron (Harrison Gilbertson-Beneath Hill 60, Conspiracy 365, The Turning) visits him and tells him about his latest creation, a micro-chip called STEM that can connect to anything and improve on it and suggests having STEM implanted into his spine to allow him to use his arms and legs again.

            Grey undergoes the procedure and is successfully able to move his limbs again, however he soon realizes that STEM has artificial intelligence and the ability to control his body when permission is granted, thus transforming a quadriplegic man into a killing machine. So, Grey decides to use STEM to go after the men that killed his wife and take them all down.

            The film also stars Betty Gabriel (The Purge: Election Year, Get Out, Westworld) as Cortez, Clayton Jacobson (Ned Kelly, Kenny, Animal Kingdom) as Manny, Sachin Joab (Neighbours, Conspiracy 365, Lion) as Dr. Bhatia, and Richard Cawthorne (City Homicide, Killing Time, Wolf Creek) as Serk.

            Overall, Upgrade is a well-constructed and clever take on the revenge thriller genre that blends old-school exploitation body horror with high-tech gadgetry and a sense of humor. It really is a hybrid of The Six Million Dollar Man and Death Wish, with elements of Total Recall, The Matrix, Blade Runner, Judge Dredd, Terminator 2, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, but not at all in a bad way.

            In terms of the extreme violence, there’s plenty of over-the-top and creative deaths and a lot of it is shown in great detail. Honestly, I think this is the type of gore that should have been in the Deadpool movies because even though they were R-rated and had a lot of bloody violence, they still felt bound to its genre’s conventions and tropes in some ways.

            Upgrade is a throwback to 70s grindhouse cinema that were popularized by films like Death Race 2000 and The Last House on the Left and isn’t afraid to get grisly when necessary. This is the kind of movie that exploits the R-rating and goes full force with its violence with an intelligent story, twists, and dark humor to boot.

            I’m serious, this movie can be really funny at times, when STEM controls the body and kills a bunch of bad guys John Wick style and Grey is looking confused and horrified while doing it is absolutely hilarious. There’s also a great scene involving Grey at a bar looking for the people involved with his wife’s murder and from the ways he tries to get information out of them to the inevitable brawl and killing spree had me howling out loud.

            What more can I say? Upgrade is action packed, gory, and funny, and unintentionally a much better Death Wish remake than the actual Death Wish remake. If you’re looking for something outside the Hollywood boundaries that takes risks and goes full force with its content, then Upgrade might be the movie for you.

            Also, WHY IS THERE AN UNFRIENDED SEQUEL COMING OUT!?!