Upgrade

What’s the best method for revenge? Connect the internal automaton and bypass the conscience. A masterful work both visually and acoustically, which in the first half sometimes feels like a mechanical prank, but in the end removes all doubts. Bloody and realistic cyberpunk cleverly working with a minimalist design and distorted filming and a soundtrack that awakens memories of Deus Ex in me ... I'm installing it! Ex Machina without unnecessary feeling of being too smart, a good mixture of B-movie momentum and A-movie solutions. (08/31/2018)

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. (08/24/2018)

In an interview with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk mentioned that he was about to announce something interesting in the area of connecting the brain with the digital world (this was immediately forgotten, because the newspapers only wrote about him smoking a joint with Joe). If this is what he had in mind, then we have something to look forward to. Whannell’s Upgrade is surprising both with its excellent action scenes and a story that works great. It's like Robocop, but more realistic, and it certainly has something to say with its nice ending and captivating visuals. Even though it has a bit of a B-movie plot, it has a lot of heart – and no shortage of blood. (09/09/2018)

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)