Movie Review - Upgrade

The science-fiction, action flick comes from the writer of Saw (2004) and two of its sequels, Leigh Whannell, so one can expect the preponderance of blood and gore and a leaning toward nihilism. Whannell is also the writer of Insidious (2011), a ghost story about possession with an air of fatalism. Whannell brings all those same things to this, except in his previous works there still felt like an appreciation for humanity or some kind of struggle for human life. Yet, it could be argued that all of Whannell's works contain a thread or through-line of misanthropy. Instead of psychopathy or even the supernatural, Whannell traffics in the oft-explored topic of robotics and artificial intelligence. Whannell doesn't say anything new or different about such technology. He ultimately delivers the same old message that this technology created by humans will kill its creators or take them over.

From The Terminator (1984) to The Matrix (1999), it's all the same messaging, which is the fear of so-called living machines. Whannell runs with that idea. The voice of the living machine here even sounds like HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). However, at first, the living machine reminded of Knight Rider (1982) and the crime-fighting dynamic between human and machine from that TV series seems like it was going to be replicated here, but again Whannell wants the nihilism and the paranoia of technology, taking his queue from Black Mirror or Ex Machina (2014) and other similar sci-fi.

Logan Marshall-Green (Prometheus and The Invitation) stars as Grey Trace, a mechanic living in a futuristic city with a lot of advanced technology. The city looks like it could have come from Steven Spielberg's Minority Report (2002), although not that far ahead but close. Grey is a mechanic who works on gas-powered vehicles, despite so many vehicles being electric and digitally controlled. He worries about all the technology advancements putting him or people like him out of work.

One night, a gang of men attack him, killing his wife and paralyzing him from the neck down. A tech genius approaches him and promises to give him mobility again using tech. It's not uncommon from The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) or RoboCop (1987). The difference is that in The Six Million Dollar Man, its protagonist had sole control of the technology inside him and in RoboCop, there was a question of whether the protagonist was being controlled by the tech in him. This movie is more about that latter property.

It's funny because Marshall-Green had a role in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), which had Tom Holland's character given technology to whom he talks and who amplifies his abilities and powers. Grey is given technology as well, specifically artificial intelligence, to whom he talks and who amplifies his abilities and powers, which allows Whannell to craft action scenes that are hyper-stylized, martial arts moments. These martial arts are brutal, fast and intense. Like Death Wish and all of its knock-offs, particularly this year, this movie seems to be made for those wanting vengeful brutality and killing.

Unfortunately, Whannell's writing hits a snag when his plotting seems done solely for brutality's sake. It shouldn't be surprising given that Whannell's Saw films could be categorized as torture porn. That aesthetic and instincts are very much present here, so brutality's sake tends to be a goal in film's like this, but arguably none of the deaths were necessary. Also, some of the motivations of other characters become muddled, namely all the motivations of all the bad guys.

Rated R for strong violence, grisly images and language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 40 mins.

Available on DVD and VOD.