Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, Upgrade is the story of a technophobe who barely survives a mugging as he’s implanted a chip into his body in an act of revenge and terror. The film is a revenge film of sorts of a man whose aversion to technology forces him to use it to get what he wants as well as make things right in the modern world. Starring Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, and Harrison Gilbertson. Upgrade is a riveting and exhilarating film from Leigh Whannell.
Set in a futuristic world where technology does a lot for civilization, the film revolves around a technophobic man who survived a car accident and a mugging that left his wife dead as he is given a new chip into his body where the chip gives the ability move again but also to kill those who killed his wife. It’s a film with a simple premise yet it plays into a man who has no interest in technology in favor of doing things by hand as he finds himself conversing with the microchip inside his body as it repaired his paralysis yet it would also help him deal with the people who killed his wife. Leigh Whannell’s screenplay follows the trials and tribulations that Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) endures as he is someone not in tune with modern technology and the modern world as he would finish building a car for a young yet reclusive tech genius in Eron Keen (Harold Gilbertson) who has created a microchip that is used for multiple purposes as Trace and his wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo) witness.
Yet, due to their car malfunctioning that lead to them being mugged and Asha killed. Keen offers Trace the chance to walk and have movement in his body in total secrecy from the police and many others. Trace is excited about having to move his body again but hearing the voice of the chip known as STEM (voice of Simon Maiden) who would help Trace find out what is going on but also give him the ability to find out what happened on that night.
Whannell’s direction is stylish as it is shot on location in Melbourne, Australia as this futuristic city of sorts to play into a world where technology runs the world as people have the cars do the driving for them as well as do all sorts of things though there’s some that prefer to do everything themselves. Whannell showcases a world where it does feel futuristic but not everyone wants to change with the times as Trace is someone that isn’t fond of technology despite being surrounded by it in his home as much of the presentation of the dramatic and character-building moments are shown in a simple manner of medium shots and close-ups. There are wide shots to help establish the locations as well as to showcase the world that Trace encounters including Keen’s secretive home and Trace’s own home. Whannell’s approach to the action and suspense does have elements of style that has Trace move as if he is a robot whenever he’s being threatened. The way the camera moves add to the robotic tone of the film while it also doesn’t shy into the extremity of the violence.
Whannell also create some unique tracking shots with the Steadicam for a chase scene involving Trace and a man who was involved in the mugging. Whannell’s direction does go into great care of the suspense while it also dwells into the realm of body horror as its third act is about Trace and STEM as well as some eerie discoveries over the latter’s creation just as some of their actions get the attention of Detective Cortez (Betty Gabriel) who is concerned about Trace as well as what is actually happening. Whannell would create a twist in the story that plays more into what Keen has created and the dangers that he brought to Trace as it all relates to Trace’s disdain for technology. Overall, Whannell crafts a thrilling and gripping film about a technophobe who is given a computer chip that allows his paralyzed body to seek revenge on the men who killed his wife.
Cinematographer Stefan Duscio does excellent work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on stylish low-key lighting for many of the interior/exterior scenes set at night with not a lot of bright lights for the scenes set in the day. Editor Andy Canny does terrific work with the editing as it has some stylish cuts to play into the action while not deviating into the style of chaotic-speed cutting in order to make sense of what is happening. Production designer Felicity Abbott, along with set decorator Katie Sharrock and art director Mandi Bialek-Wester, does brilliant work with the look of the homes of the characters as well as the design of some of the futuristic gadgets that people use. Costume designer Maria Pattison does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the exception of Keen who wears more fashionably posh clothing.
Hair/makeup designer Chiara Tripodi does fantastic work with the look of a few characters as it play into an array of different hairstyles and tattoos some of the characters that Trace meets wears. Special effects supervisor Angelo Sahin and visual effects supervisor Jonathan Dearing do incredible work with the visual effects from the design of the police drones as well as some of the tech that is used at home. Sound designer P.K. Hooker does superb work with the sound effects in the way some of the technology sounds as well as the sound of weapons some of the bad guys have in them. The film’s music by Jed Palmer is amazing for its brooding and pulsating electronic-based score as it help play into the suspense as well as the action sequences in the film while music supervisor Jemma Burns creates a soundtrack that consists of a couple of electronic cuts by Kollaps and a blues song by Howlin’ Wolf in the film’s opening scene.
The casting by Nikki Barrett and Terri Taylor is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Richard Crawthorne as a criminal in Serk Brantner, Kai Bradley as a hacker named Jamie, Christopher Kirby and Clayton Jacobson as a couple of thugs in Tolan and Manny respectively, Linda Cropper as Trace’s mother, and Melanie Vallejo in a terrific performance as Trace’s wife Asha who becomes the motive for Trace’s vengeance. Benedict Hardie is fantastic as Serk’s brother Fisk as a mysterious criminal who carries secret weapons in his body as it play into intrigue over why Asha was killed. Harrison Gilbertson is excellent as the young yet reclusive tech genius Eron Keen as a man who has created a chip that he believes will change everything while offering to help Trace in repairing his paralyzed body unaware of the chip’s unlimited potential.
The voice of Simon Maiden as STEM is brilliant as he displays some life into this computer chip that is allowed to do many things including getting Trace to walk and move again while offering advice of what to do and such as it’s a complex voice performance from Maiden who manages to bring a lot of depth into a tiny chip. Betty Gabriel is amazing as Detective Cortez as a homicide detective investigating what happened to Trace and his wife as she also suspects about something off as it relates to some recent criminal activities as she’s kind of the film’s conscience. Finally, there’s Logan Marshall-Green in an incredible performance as Grey Trace as a mechanic who isn’t fond of modern technology as he becomes paralyzed following a mugging and the murder of his wife as he is given a chip that allows his body to move again where Marshall-Green displays the air of loss and confusion that he endures as a chip controls his movements as he also copes with some of the things he does as it a career-defining performance for Marshall-Green.
Upgrade is a remarkable film from Leigh Whannell that features a great leading performance from Logan Marshall-Green. Along with its stylish visuals, futuristic setting, themes on the dangers of technology and artificial intelligence, and a chilling electronic music score. The film is a crafty genre-bender that offers a lot of action, terror, and suspense while exploring a man trying to get revenge for what happened to him and his wife. In the end, Upgrade is a marvelous film from Leigh Whannell.
Leigh Whannell Films: (Insidious: Chapter 3) – The Invisible Man (2020 film)
© thevoid99 2020
Directed by Ridley Scott and written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof, Prometheus is the story about two scientists who join a space crew to travel to a distant planet thinking they have found the origins of humanity in this unknown planet unaware of what might really be lurking. The film is a prequel of sorts to the Alien franchise which Scott had started back in 1979 where it explores ideas of faith and humanity in a sci-fi horror setting. Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Rafe Spall, Kate Dickie, Benedict Wong, Sean Harris, and Guy Pearce. Prometheus is a sprawling though somewhat messy film from Ridley Scott.
The film is about these two scientists who believe that an archeological drawing might have the answer into who created humanity as they travel to a distant planet on a ship headed by the Weyland Corporation. What they would eventually find is something else as it causes a lot of trouble as well as the end of humanity. It’s a premise that is simple but since there are things in the story that leaves a lot of questionable gaps as well as the motivations into some of the characters. Driving the story is Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) who is convinced that the drawing she and her longtime boyfriend in scientist Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) is an invitation to find the answers of human existence as they convince the ailing Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) to help them find these answers.
The film’s screenplay by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof does raise questions into what might have existed in another world and were these so-called Engineers the creators of humanity. Yet, the script doesn’t really explain much into who they were and where they really come from as Dr. Shaw, Holloway, Weyland manager Meredith Vickers, and an android named David (Michael Fassbender) all try to find the answers. Yet, Vickers and David have motives that are very different as the latter is programmed by his master to find things where he would eventually tamper with some of his discoveries.
There aren’t clear motivation about Vickers as she is this very ambiguous individual as she is just looking over everything as she’s also being kept in the dark by David. Then there’s the ship’s pilot Janek (Idris Elba) who is the film’s realist who is convinced that something isn’t right as his confirmations prove to be true. It all plays to the element of suspense though its outcome doesn’t really payoff as it becomes very obvious as it’s a major flaw in the screenplay. Even as several characters get killed off and more questions start to emerge about what is inside this mountain they found in a planet.
Ridley Scott’s direction is quite spectacular in the way he presents the film from this opening sequence of an Engineer drinking this mysterious substance only to fall into a waterfall as he is disintegrating setting the stage for what he might become later on. Much of the film is set in mountains as much of the film’s location was shot in Iceland to play into a world that is unique and almost Earthly. Scott’s presentation of these locations do have a sense of wonder as it’s set in the late 21st Century where humanity is becoming more eager to find its origins in a planet that is vast and probably filled with all of those things. Much of the film’s interior settings as it’s all shot in a soundstage play into that element of suspense and mystery where it’s about the characters trying to find out what is inside this mountain.
Due to the script’s shortcomings, Scott doesn’t do enough to build up the suspense where it’s obvious what’s going to happen as a couple of characters encounter some strange alien being that will cause a lot of trouble. Even as it would later play into the elements of the third act where Dr. Shaw has to either hold on to her faith or just accept the truth. Yet, her decision becomes crucial as she is fully aware of what is out there as there’s an added twist to the story which creates more ambiguities to the story. Despite some of the flaws in the story, Scott manages to create a very solid and extraordinary film about the idea of human existence and where humanity comes from.
Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the dark look of the mountain caves where the characters try to observe to the lights inside the Prometheus spaceship all the characters live in. Editor Pierto Scalia does amazing work with the editing from the use of rhythmic cuts to play out the suspense and action that occurs in the film. Production designer Arthur Max, with set decorator Sonja Klaus and supervising art director John King, do fantastic work with the set pieces from the look of the caves and the objects there to the interiors inside Prometheus. Costume designer Janty Yates does nice work with the look of the astronaut suit the characters wear when they go into the planet‘s exteriors as well as the clothes inside the spaceship.
Makeup designer Tina Earnshaw does terrific work with some of the film makeup effects such as the look of Peter Weyland as well as the Engineers. The visual effects by Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, and Martin Hill do brilliant work with the visual effects such as the 3-D holograms that appear on the visual maps inside Prometheus as well as some of the looks of the planet they landed on. Sound editors Victor Ray Ennis and Mark P. Stoeckinger do superb work on the sound to create some amazing sound design to play into the suspense as well as some of the scenes inside the spaceship and caves. The film’s music by Marc Streitenfeld is wonderful for its low-key yet brooding score to play into some of the wonders that is discovered as well as some ominous pieces to play into its suspense.
The casting by Nina Gold and Avy Kaufman is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small performances from Kate Dickie as the ship’s medic Ford, Emun Elliot and Benedict Wong as Janek’s wise-cracking co-pilots, Patrick Wilson in a flashback scene as Elizabeth’s father, Rafe Spall as the nerdy biologist Millburn, and Sean Harris as the more wild geologist Fifield who isn’t so sure about what is going on in the caves. Guy Pearce is terrific in a small role as Peter Weyland as this man who appeared as a hologram as an aging man who supports what Dr. Shaw and Holloway are trying to find. Logan Marshall-Green is excellent as Charlie Holloway as a scientist who is also eager to find the answers like Dr. Shaw as he becomes frustrated with the lack of progress in the search. Charlize Theron is pretty good as Meredith Vickers as this cold and distant manager who watches over the mission where Theron is hampered by the script by her lack of motivations and ambiguity which makes her performance a bit baffling to watch.
Idris Elba is fantastic as Janek as this no-nonsense pilot who just flies the ship as he doesn’t think this is going to go well as he also brings some humor to the film with his wisecracks. Michael Fassbender is amazing as the android David as a robot that is eager to please his creator while having the desire to want to be human despite some of his actions as Fassbender is just a real standout in the film. Finally, there’s Noomi Rapace in a remarkable performance as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw as this woman who relies on her Christian faith to believe that there is something out there only to find trouble as she deals with a lot that would challenge her idea of faith and existence as she dares to asks bit questions.
Despite some of the shortcomings and messiness of its script, Prometheus is still a worthwhile and engaging film from Ridley Scott. Thanks in part to some of the themes it presents as well as the performances of Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, and Idris Elba. It’s a film that has ideas that are compelling while balancing it with some suspenseful entertainment though it is quite flawed. In the end, Prometheus is a very stellar film from Ridley Scott.
Ridley Scott Films: (The Duellists) - Alien - Blade Runner - (Legend) - (Someone to Watch Over Me) - (Black Rain) - (Thelma & Louise) - (1492: Conquest of Paradise) - (White Squall) - (G.I. Jane) - (Gladiator) - (Hannibal) - (Black Hawk Down) - (Matchstick Men) - (Kingdom of Heaven) - (A Good Year) - (American Gangster) - (Body of Lies) - (Robin Hood) - (The Counselor) - (Exodus) - The Martian - (Alien: Covenant) - All the Money in the World
© thevoid99 2013
