Paranoïa

"Privacy. Absolute myth. There's no such thing."

The film starts off on the wrong foot and never manages to get on track. In the very opening scene you have Liam Hemsworth using voice over narration explaining to us what we are about to see, and you realize that you are going to watch a clichéd unoriginal action thriller. Then there is a scene where Gary Oldman's character is looking at some art pieces with Liam and he mentions how Picasso once said that there are no original ideas, that everything is either copied or stolen. You kind of get a sense of a similar thing going on with this script. Paranoia is an action thriller that seems recycled with no fresh ideas and unfortunately lacks thrills. The script was adapted by Jason Dean Hall (Spread) and Barry Levy (Vantage Point) from Joseph Finder's novel, but nothing about it feels inspiring or original. It is a shame because I was excited to get to see Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman face off once again, but Paranoia easily belongs on my worst films of 2013 list mainly because these talented actors can't do anything to improve a weak script. Paranoia gets half a star for Amber Heard who looks stunning despite not adding anything to the story, and another star for Oldman and Ford's presence alone. I could forgive the uninspiring script if at least this technological thriller actually had some thrills, but it doesn't. There aren't any interesting thrills either and the narrative is pretty straight forward and predictable.

Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) has been working for an important technological company known as Wyatt Corporation for the past six years. He hasn't been able to ascend the corporate ladder the way he pictured it as he continues to be an entry level employee, but he and his team are expecting a break through when given the opportunity to present their next project to the boss, Nicolas Wyatt (Gary Oldman). The presentation doesn't go as planned and Adam is left unemployed along with the rest of his team. Feeling bad about the way things turned out, Adam invites them to a fancy club where they use the company's credit card. The next day Adam is called back to Wyatt's office as he is confronted for his crime. Taking advantage of Adam's hunger for wealth and power, Wyatt recruits him to spy on his nemesis: Jock Goddard (Harrison Ford). Goddard happens to run another billion dollar tech company which is his biggest competition. Wyatt wants Adam to win Jock's trust and discover what they are working on, and in return he promises him the life he has always dreamed of. Blinded by greed Adam accepts and soon will find himself way in over his head.

Richard Dreyfuss has a small role in this film as well and his presence only reminds us that a film focusing on him or the other secondary characters such as Oldman and Ford, would be so much better. Instead they allow Hemsworth to play the lead role and he simply doesn't have that on screen charisma to carry a film on his own. I don't think he's a bad actor, but he needs stronger material to keep the audience's interest. He is just outclassed in this film by the other talented actors and we are left out wanting to see more of them. Another issue I had with Paranoia is that the plot doesn't make much sense and it is so dull that it allows you to begin to think too much about it and find all sort of holes. Robert Luketic has just directed his third straight flop after the disappointing Killers and The Ugly Truth. I will defend him for 21, which was a film that at least kept me entertained, but his latest efforts have been really disappointing. Paranoia might just top them all; stay away from this film.

This movie is not gripping {Inception}. This movie will not keep you guessing {Now You See Me}. This movie is not Oldman/Ford material and why they took the job is beyond me. If you are 25 or younger it's a great date movie (because there's time to make out as the film drags in several spots). It doesn't twist and turn and the revelations are minimal and far from making the audience gasp. Four out of ten stars may be generous. Good-looking stars and block-busting legends does not a good movie make; much less a great movie. Though I would like to get hold of that ring-tone. Character development was sloppy and dialog was quite pedantic.

Thankfully, Gary Oldman can make almost any film bearable and his portrayal here of a ruthless, corrupt CEO is just about the only thing that this derivative movie has going for it. He manages to infuse a one-dimensional character with at least one more dimension.

The script is so full of hackneyed clichés that I felt like I was watching a Dan Brown novel. You have to assume that the writer's entire experience of the corporate world is based on a combination of Occupy Movement manifestos and Oliver Stone movies. Liam Hemsworth has evidently starred in something call the Hunger Games where, I have to assume, he was hired for his looks and not his acting chops.

August is usually the doldrums when it comes to movie releases and this dud simply proves the rule to which Blue Jasmine is the exception.

Cassidy and his friends work for Wyatt mobile and are pitching a new idea to the boss. He doesn't care for it and Cassidy gets arrogant. They're fired but for some reason he still has an active expense account credit card and they party that night. He also meets the pretty Emma.

The next day, Wyatt wants to meet with Cassidy. He will get him a job with his childhood competitor Goddard so that he can steal Goddard's next big idea. He's got a behavioral specialist on board and sets Cassidy up with the good life and trains him. Cassidy gets the job and Goddard is impressed with his idea. And as it turns out Emma also works for Goddard. Everything is going fine until Wyatt's people become more pushy and want him to steal the future device from Goddard's corporate vault. Of course he's caught and with that Goddard wants to buy Wyatt's company or put him in jail, but Cassidy has some plans of his own.

Paranoia has a lot going for a it- a decent budget, impressive cast, an OK story, good visuals. It even starts with some important discussion about how America has completely ceased being the country of opportunity it once was. The direction is poor and the script could have used some work. The movie's title is wrong or if they intended to highlight the moment of Cassidy's paranoia they failed. As a whole, emotionally, this movie is pretty flat. There should be a far greater sense of dread and danger. Perhaps it's because they went with a PG-13 rating. As an R-rated movie this could have been better. I get the sense that they aimed for a mature teen audience looking for a serious movie. And perhaps it would work for that crowd- not sure. Paranoia had a lot of potential. I wanted to like this movie as the cast does a good job, except for Oldman's and Davidtz's obnoxious British accent. But the director did his best and succeeded at frustrating the audience and not giving us as good a movie as it should have been.

PARANOIA is one of those corporate suspense thrillers about rival businesses, spying, and the like. All of these films seem to owe a debt to WALL STREET in the depiction of fresh-faced newcomers going under the wings of seasoned and cynical professionals.

Sadly, there isn't much to get excited about in PARANOIA, a distinctly average type film. The writing is of bog-standard quality and the most interesting thing about it is the sheer number of familiar faces playing in support: Embeth Davidtz, Julian McMahon, Josh Holloway, even Richard Dreyfuss in a minor put pivotal role. Sadly they have little to do in a storyline that feels devoid of suspense and is really very ordinary.

One of the the film's biggest flaws is in the central casting of the inexperienced Liam Hemsworth. Hemsworth fails to bring any charisma to his part and in fact feels wooden throughout, and certainly out of his depth compared to the seasoned pros surrounding him. On the other hand, there's a nice turn from Gary Oldman who successfully manages to capture some of that fire he had in the 1990s. Harrison Ford looks incredibly old but is pretty good in a cast-against-type role.