E's Reviews: Upgrade


Oh man oh man....Blumhouse has been killing it lately in the entertainment department...

UPGRADE stars Logan Marshall-Green as Grey Trace, a self-identified technophobe who lives in a world where technology more or less controls all aspect of life, who suffers a massive loss,  his only hope for revenge: an experimental computer chip implant called Stem that will allow him to walk again. Once he gets Stem implanted...well that’s when all Hell breaks lose and we’re treated to a massively entertaining sci-fi action flick. The film also stars Harrison Gilbertson as Eron, the man who developed Stem, Betty Gabriel as detective Cortez, a cop who is investigating Grey and what happened to him. The film is written and directed by the awesome Leigh Wannell, who is the co-creator of the SAW and INSIDIOUS franchises.

I brought Mike with me to see this movie, and gotta say, we were both spellbound by how awesomely entertaining it was. The action sequences, the editing, the cinematography, the amazing acting (especially from Logan Marshall-Green...can we get this man more leading roles please?), the score! I absolutely loved the music. It was futuristic and somewhat robotic, fitting the themes the film was portraying. I need to get myself a copy as soon as it becomes available on iTunes...

The film’s action sequences were reminiscent of some Animes, as was the screenplay. It’s obvious where the filmmakers got their inspiration. The cinematography was gorgeous, most sequences being filmed in what looked like one take, using handhelds. The scenery was gorgeous (particularly when Grey goes to Eron’s home by the ocean). Some of the CGI, that was few and far between, looked realistic and didn’t ruin the film’s appeal whatsoever.

Logan Marshall-Green was amazing in this movie, as was the rest of the cast. Everyone put on a performance that told me that they were 100% invested in the film, not trying to take anything too seriously, and were there to put on a performance that wanted the viewer to have fun with it, and that’s exactly what this movie was; an ultra-violent, fun action sci-fi movie. The thing I actually really liked about the film, was the social commentary about our lives, as we move closer to a world very similar to the one in this movie, where we rely on technology for everyday tasks.

All in all, this movie was insanely fun, very entertaining, very awesome fight sequences, and had an intriguing and interesting story. It’s like RoboCop meets John Wick, with a revenge story that’s even got some strong emotion along the way (seriously, Logan Marshall-Green is all over the spectrum in this one, and he was great).

Final Score: 9.5/10

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