by Tim Gordon
The victim of a senseless crime, who loses everything, gets a chance for revenge with the help of a maniacal technical tool in the wildly entertaining horror film, Upgrade.
The film follows a man, Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) who is implanted with a chip that allows him to control his body after a mugging leaves him paralyzed. Down on his luck and feeling lost, Grey gets a new lease on life when he is offered the opportunity to regain the movement of his limbs through an experimental and unlicensed medical procedure. While Grey is able to walk again, his gift comes with unexpected side effects, including an internal artificial intelligence system that only he can hear in his head. What starts off as strange, spirals into an interesting subplot that drives this technological marvel.
The film is a simple story, which mirrors the original John Wick about a man who loses everything and finds a purpose, albeit with technology, to avenge the death of his beloved.
One part The Six Million Dollar Man, one part Death Wish revenge fantasy,” Upgrade is a brutal, bloody, futuristic sci-fi horror film that is another feather in the cap from Hollywood’s latest “it” producer, Blumhouse’s Jason Blum. The film excels because it embraces all that it is and never aspires to be more than an enjoyable and bloody good time. Quite simplistic, yet very effective story!
Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, the film stars Logan Marshall-Green, Get Out’s Betty Gabriel, and Harrison Gilbertson.
Grade: B
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