I think this is a real hidden gem of a film. Hidden in the sense that I didn't know about it before I came across the DVD, and a gem because I loved every minute of it, two times around now.
The setup.
In a partly technologically enhanced world, a technophobe man and his wife, a high flyer in an all powerful tech company, are in a car crash leaving them both injured in the wreckage. A group of men descend on the scene, killing the wife and shooting him, leaving him paralysed. He is unable to avenge her death until a tech wiz visits him in hospital, pitching a revolutionary new surgical procedure to implant a microchip called STEM, which will repair him and give him control over his body once again. With nothing left to lose, he agrees, although the control proves to be more illusive than expected. Thus ensues a rampaging crusade of vengeance against those that robbed him of his life and love.
The camerawork and cinematography suitably change when STEM takes over, to reflect the relinquishment he feels over his movement. Some of the fun loving nature of the film comes from the human-tech interface. Both parties talk to eachother to hand control of the body back and forth. There are a good number of impressive action sequences and gory kills utilising good special and practical effects. The twists at the end are for the most part signposted, but that is not to detract from the highly enjoyable ride and thought provoking evokation of the future.
With the A.I. and sci-fi heavy plot and inventive fights and kills, it plays in many ways like a live action Japanese manga comic. Ghost in the Shell meets Ichi the Killer perhaps. Upgrade was directed by Saw co-creator Leigh Whannell, who also directed 2020's The Invisible Man, making his first two offerings a very solid and creative double feature. With a Wolfman remake of his slated for 2025, he is a director to further watch out for.
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