Leigh Whannell is one of the creatives behind two of the most successful franchises of recent years – Saw and Insidious – but goes it alone for this timely slice of horrific sci-fi.
Grey (Logan Marshall-Green) is an old-fashioned guy living in a near-future that he hates. He enjoys doing up and selling gas-guzzling cars, listening to Howlin’ Wolf on his record player and revelling in not having a clue what his wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo) does when she’s at work for her hot-shot tech company.
When Asha’s self-driving car malfunctions and crashes in the wrong side of town, the pair fall victim to a gang who kill her and leave Grey paralysed from the neck down. Wishing for nothing but to get those who perpetrated the crime as well as his own death, he’s visited by his last paying customer, reclusive genius Eron (Harrison Gilbertson) – the head of a tech company whose ‘cloud’ is quite literal – who offers to give him back the use of his body if he’s become a guinea pig for his miraculous invention: a microchip called Stem.
Once installed, Stem not only allows Grey to move once more but – as he finds out when he tracks down one of the crew who attacked them – gives him superhuman strength and Matrix-style reactions. Communicating with his new partner, Grey sets out to bring his own kind of justice to the gang.
Upgrade has a familiar feel – an unspecified hi-tech future that’s a mix of shining neon and grim brown – but is full of unique visual flourishes and enough gory set pieces to keep viewers smiling. It doesn’t take too long before we’ve sussed out what’s really going on, but getting there is an exhilarating self-driving ride. Giving the camera the fluidity of Grey’s super-enhanced body is a masterstroke and allows for just enough light comedic moments to offset the effective body horror. Tom Hardy lookalike Marshall-Green excels throughout; both in the heartrending portrayal of his loss and in the aforementioned action scenes – Venom can only wish to be this much fun.
There’s a wry Stark/JARVIS type relationship going on with Grey and Stem (as voiced by Simon Maiden), and it adds to overall enjoyment and keeps the interest when the plot becomes a little predictable.
Why would anyone choose to live in a world of VR Grey asks at one point, with the rather logical answer being “A fake world is a lot less painful than a real one”. It’s a statement that will no doubt resonate with many, and by spending most of the time in the less salubrious areas of the future, we’re not left relishing what’s to come in our own world.
UPGRADE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: LEIGH WHANNELL / STARRING: LOGAN MARSHALL-GREEN, MELANIE VALLEJO, BETTY GABRIEL, HARRISON GILBERTSON / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Expected Rating: 7 out of 10
