Review of Upgrade (2018) by Arokistan R — 01 Jun 2018

***This is my first review EVER!***.

I immediately thought this movie was like 'John Wick' meets 'Ex-Machina', with a lil bit of Matrix sprinkled in there. I say that because it combines some major elements of all three. And while it doesn't hit the same high notes of those more iconic films, it deftly combines those elements in a way that was surprisingly cohesive.

Although 'Upgrade' definitely has some glitches & left me wanting for a better version, overall it was a fun ride that I think fans of multiple genres will enjoy.

Pros:

- Timely themes.

For me, 'Ex-Machina' is probably the recent (mainstream) sci-fi film that has done the best job in its handling of issues of AI in the not-so-distant future. Again, while this was definitely not to that level, I thought it did a good job updating some of those themes a little & having a more sweeping overview of contemporary themes, including: self-driving cars, use of drones/surveillance, the dark web, and powerful white techie guys who have an inordinate amount of power in our society. Sure, it only scratched the surface of each of these issues, but it also typically worked in giving an overview of all these interconnected issues.

- Good Back Story.

I actually did myself the favor of not watching any trailers before going into the movie, so I really didn't know what to expect or what exactly the film was supposed to be about. That worked to my advantage in the first 20 minutes or so of the film, as I found myself fairly immersed in the story of the film & characters. Now, don't get me the wrong, the main crux of the back story is a super tired trope at this point, but I still think it was important in establishing the main character's motivations & his humanity.

- Decent Overall Story.

Again, nothing new necessarily, but it did a pretty good job in keeping your interest & investment in the story, and not just waiting for the next action scene to start. Speaking of which...

- The Action!!!

This was a B Action movie in all the right ways. The action scenes themselves were pretty great (although nothing really too special), but I was more surprised by how well spaced they were. They tended to be high octane & pretty graphic, so I appreciated how they gave the audience space to breathe in between each one. And again, the plot was just developed enough to make the scenes actually feel like parts of the overall story & not just mindless fun (although they were also definitely that =o).

- Casting.

I thought it was pretty well cast, and each actor did a great job in embodying their part. I definitely don't feel like they were used to their full potential, or really allowed to shine (more on that later), but they picked the right actors for the parts.

Cons:

- Poorly developed Themes.

While I just praised the themes as a pro, I also readily admit that they were pretty poorly developed & superficial. I kept wanting the movie to scratch just a little bit deeper to get to that next level, but it never did. So yes, I thought it did pretty good job on touching on familiar themes, but I can also see people complaining about how all these themes were introduced but never given their full due or exploration.

- Erm, the story?

I'm keeping this spoiler free, but let me just say that the ending didn't really do it for me. In general, I thought the movie was a little too heavy-handed with certain things in terms of the point it was trying to get across, and I wish the writers hand a defter hand in crafting the story.

- The dialogue.

Look, I know I referred to this as a B Action movie earlier, so I'm not expecting Oscar-worthy dialogue by any stretch of the imagination, but some of it was pretty painful & I wondered if it was intentional/part of the social commentary of the film. Unfortunately, I don't think that was the case. Not only did it pull me out of the story a little bit, but it also sort of felt like a waste of talent (wait, is this my review for 'Upgrade' or 'Kong: Skull Island'???).