Upgrade

It’s fun when a futuristic idyll turns into Death Wish under the baton of a smart-ass computer like out of Space Odyssey. It’s even more fun when Whannell doesn’t give a crap about the characters and serves one interesting idea after another so thoughtful viewers would not get bored and would not mind that they can see far into the premise. A narration without major peaks, but also without hesitation and with an ending that arrives at the right moment and doesn’t disappoint. For a little love, a lot of attractive fun. (11/01/2018)

The most original little big cyberpunk B-movie in at least a few years. It has all the ideas, the swagger, the brilliant action and the blown heads that fans of revenge sci-fi need in regular doses every now and again. The production design is intentionally understated, with post-rock music that gives it the right mysterious atmosphere and moderate clear action without big military passages like in the Terminator franchise, but with a story that allows the filmmakers to indulge in relatively breakneck excesses. Whannell knows exactly how to mix this shake. Great fun. (08/25/2018)

Actually, I have no words. Upgrade is one hell of a cyber punk movie. A clever hard-core sci-fi, with the actor in the leading role who from now on should appear only in the best blockbusters (and I don't mind that he is an Australian copy of Thomas Hardy, known from the series Quarry) and especially with the story which can at any moment explode into a rollercoaster of emotions that the audience cannot handle all no matter how hard they try. One more exciting aspect is that you cannot expect or predict this explosion. I have not seen such a well-written and well-filmed sci-fi with such a good atmosphere and music in a long time. (12/24/2018)

With its spectacularly upgraded vengeance drama theme, Upgrade tells a story as simple as old Van Damme karate flicks, but with a futuristic dimension more reminiscent of – due to its lower budget – the original Terminator. This action sci-fi movie is innovative with some original details and has slight cult potential. Whannell surprised us. Even Wan himself couldn’t have shot it better. (10/04/2018)

This is one of those films where the plausible psychological evolution of the main character, following a brutal attack and the loss of his beloved wife, is completely brushed aside and subordinated to him being able to joke and be tough, immediately after getting “superpowers”. To be clear, in this particular case it didn’t bother me at all, but it’s worth noting in case someone went to this film expecting some serious technological sci-fi. Upgrade is nothing but a light-weight B-movie. A quality and proud B-movie with a lot of nice ideas, plenty of original tricks and a confident technical aspect. I would compare it a little to the new Dredd, but as an experience, Upgrade is a notch higher. What’s fun is that many of the things that seem silly while watching make a lot more sense when you understand the points. On the other hand, I’m not quite sure whether everything that makes sense while watching, still make sense in hindsight. In any case, I’m happy that, after five years, Whannell has written something interesting again, and happier still that he found a director. (08/15/2018)