There is nothing more terrifying to me than imagining losing all of my physical faculties. And conversely, there is little more interesting to me than gaining complete command over my physical abilities, sprinting, flipping, punching with complete accuracy and fluidity the likes of which would normally be impossible. Upgrade is kind of a marriage between the two. In a slightly progressed sci-fi world, attacked by a group of armed men, a man loses his wife and his ability to move below the neck, but through the power of science is given the ability to not only move, but surrender himself to a computer consciousness that brings forth a brutality humans generally aren’t capable of. What plays out is a compelling Phillip K. Dick-ian paperback of love, loss, struggle, and corporate intrigue. And blood. Lots of blood.

Despite all the promotions claims of SXSW and film festival greatness, I had never heard of Upgrade until about a week before its mainstream release. Sometimes I make to the theater based solely on the power of the film’s trailer. There are lots of powerful forces in the world of advertising, but nothing really pulls me in like a good preview. Upgrade looked like it had a lot of good things for it: a perfect mixture of action and originality with a hint of comedy and sci-fi backdrop that surprises as much as it delights. It’s a cheap, gritty, paperback brought to life with some bloody violence that doesn’t wince, even though you might. On a low budget, this film saw quite a few of its own upgrades. And that was probably Upgrade’s greatest strength. They found a way to create a convincing sci-fi world on a low budget with action scenes that were a bit more camera play than physical motion.

What also made this film particularly convincing is it’s unironic use of pantomime. Logan Marshall-Green who plays main character Grey Trace pulls off his best human robot impression throughout the entirety of his time together with his internal supercomputer STEM (Simon Maiden), which gives him the ability to move and act despite being a paraplegic. What I loved about this performance is that it never felt like a joke or disingenuous, making it a delight to watch. The independent body movements, shoulders and head rotating independently, conjure images of Robocop and classic french mimes, a kind of bombastic union of surrealism. The lead villain, Fisk (Benedict Hardie), who plays the tiniest badass since Jet Li. He pulls out a intense, entertaining bad guy you want to root for just to watch him kick some more ass.

I suggest you catch this film on the big screen while you can. It’s a good night out and well worth supporting the team behind it. Its violent, bloody, short, and to the point. If you are a friend of sci-fi, there isn’t much in the story that will surprise you, but the dark, neon lit backdrops and deep orange sunset shots will keep you marveled between the crazy action shots, the futuristic tech, and some of the best performances in a paperback sci-fi film out there. While it doesn’t surpass performances like Ex-Machina, it has sets its own bar for sci-fi on the same shelf. Upgrade is a good, summertime flick to catch between the onslaught of other big-budget blockbusters.

~* 8/10 *~