Review: Upgrade Is Running At 100%
- Jun 14, 2018
- 2 min read
Upgrade marks a triumphant return to the blood soaked schlock of the 1980s. And it's certainly a welcome one.
Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) has a relatively ordinary life until he finds himself on the receiving end of a violent attack, one that leaves his wife dead and himself paralyzed from the neck down. When he's approached by the mysterious Eron (Harrison Gilbertson), a technology giant and strange recluse, Grey is given an enticing offer. Eron can provide him with a chip known as Stem (Simon Maiden) that will restore his mobility. Unsurprisingly Grey accepts and finds himself mobile again. But when Stem begins to communicate with him, and provides information that puts Grey on the trail of his wife's killers, the time for bloody revenge arrives.
When Upgrade begins, things don't look great. For one, the writing is pretty awful, and the acting is pretty weak. At least for the first quarter. But Stem's arrival brings with it incredible violence, an interesting plot and an all around good time. Built around the idea that, when granted permission, Stem can take over Grey's body from the neck down, Upgrade delivers some thoroughly enjoyable action. Marshall-Green excels at delivering the direct and robotic movements of the Stem controlled Grey while also maintaining all the emotion, and at times confusion, in his face and voice. Stem/Grey in action is like watching John Wick by way of Terminator, and while it's never quite as large scale of either of those films, it's unique stylings, in both choreography and camerawork, brings a lot of excessively violent and blood soaked fun.
The biggest surprise however, is the story. While it starts off pretty standard, things rapidly evolve into something more interesting, with an ending that is, unarguably, the most enjoying finale I've seen in a long time. While it does feel a little short at times, and would benefit from a little more development of both the characters and the grungy cyberpunk styled world, I cannot argue with the massive grin that took over my face as the end credits rolled
Upgrade is far better than it ever had any right to be. It's a little bit Terminator, a little bit Robocop and a little bit John Wick, all rolled into one homogeneous and thoroughly enjoyable experience that I won't hesitate to recommend.
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