Reprogrammé

Upgrade is unfortunately in the club of great movies that completely flew under the radar when first released. But that might actually work to its advantage, as this is definitely one of those movies where the less you know going in, the better. The only reason I was aware of Upgrade is because of writer/director Leigh Whannell (Saw, Insidious), and the fact I'd heard plenty of great things from friends who'd seen it. The film takes the all-too-familiar premise of a man looking to avenge the murder of his wife, and puts an interesting new sci-fi spin on it. Whannell clearly loves the classics, because Upgrade's influences are easy to spot - RoboCop, Blade Runner, Dredd, Death Wish. They've all been thrown in a blender, and what comes out is something that feels like its own movie, while also paying tribute to everything that inspired Whannell to become a filmmaker in the first place. Upgrade is violent, thought-provoking, funny, surprising, with some terrific fight sequences, an awesome soundtrack, and a dynamite performance from Logan Marshall-Green. I also get the feeling I'm gonna love it even more the next time I watch it. Highly recommended for fans of sci-fi/action.

Really enjoyed this movie. A very good dose of future technology and where it would lead us to. We are already seeing the birth of some of the concepts shown in this movie and like with any technology there will be good usage and bad. I dont understand the bad comments on violence as it is "indirect" (without giving away). Fast paced and suspenseful. Logan Marshall-Green acted well without any "overacting" or showing off. Screen play and direction were very good. It is original concept and I did not see any connection with Death wish or other movies - not even close or people did not understand the movie?

What an unexpectedly brilliant movie. Lots of laughs, some moments that I almost couldn't look, fabulously different story line, last minute surprise ending, car chases, and brilliant fight scenes.

This film is basically "Robocop" meets "Death Wish", with less satire than the former and more humor than the latter. And it's a B movie blast. An unrelenting pace, fantastic fight choreography that doesn't skimp on the gleeful blood and gore, and never not fun or interesting to look at.

Yeah some of the one-liner dialogue as delivered by Logan Marshall-Green feels a bit forced and the plot isn't exactly clever or unique, but damn it, it all works and it makes it's own beautiful alchemy out of a bunch of borrowed parts. This is cheap genre filmmaking done right.

I went into this with fairly low expectations. The trailer looked good, and the cinematography looked exciting. But the premise seemed tired and worn.

*in a deep, movie-voice over voice* some guys kill his wife, and now he's seeking revenge".

But this film surpassed my expectations, and was a well-worth experience. Not only was I correct about the cinematography being exciting and engaging, but the plot actually strung together compelling way. This film came out of nowhere for me, and now, it's a memorable film that accomplishes the most important goal of any great film: gets the audience to keep wondering about it.

Since I don't want to go into spoilers, I'll say one last thing: pay attention to the Foley artist's work. The sound design is poignant and additive to the experience. It reminds me of the clever usage of music from Baby Driver. Nothing is wasted and is always enriching of the world building. With Baby Driver, the music was giving us Baby's personal experience. Here, the sound effects give us Grey's point of view. Didn't experiences, but both are elevated through sound, masterfully.

I genuinely want to see it again. If the trailer interested you at all, go see it. It's worth your while.