Upgrade is a film, written and directed by Leigh Whannell, that is set in the not-so-distant future where autonomous cars dominate the roadways (in a much more technologically advanced fashion than anything currently existing, like Tesla’s autopilot system) and artificial intelligence far exceeds the likes of our modern-day Alexa or Siri. The film follows Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green), who spends his days refurbishing old muscle cars for high-end clients and listening to music on vinyl (such as the classic blues song “Smokestack Lightning” by Howlin’ Wolf) – he is “vintage” and proud of it. When Grey and his wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo) get into a car accident, a group of criminals kill Asha and leave Grey paralyzed. Grey is then offered a unique opportunity by Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson), one of Grey’s clients and a wealthy whiz-kid technology innovator. Eron offers to implant Grey with a biomechanical enhancement chip called STEM that will allow Grey full functionality of his body again. This quickly proves to be the miracle Grey was waiting for, but upon discovering a wealth of additional abilities that are afforded to him via STEM, Grey sets out on a revenge spree in the name of his wife to bring the men who killed her to some form of justice. Chaos ensues as STEM (voiced by Simon Maiden) begins taking more and more control over Grey’s actions.
I will point out for you now that Upgrade is not a cinematic masterpiece or a film that will go down in the history books as a “classic.” However, the movies finds itself in my personal Top 10 this year because it is visually stimulating and energetic and simply provides some of the very most fun I have had watching a movie this past year – that experience I had was worth the entry at No. 7. The movie is produced by Blumhouse Productions, a studio which has notably put out horror franchises like Insidious, Paranormal Activity, and The Purge – it has also produced the likes of Whiplash, Get Out, and 2018’s BlacKkKlansman. Additionally, the writer/director has a rich background in horror, penning the scripts for the first three installments of the Saw franchise and all three Insidious films (the most recent of which he also directed). I recite the filmographies of Upgrade’s creative vessels to point out that in Upgrade, this vast horror/thriller acumen plays a central role in the film’s success.
Upgrade consists of an interesting mixture of film genres that all come together spectacularly to form an exhilarating movie – it is equal parts science-fiction, horror, action, and thriller. (It also features a dose of an appropriate amount of humor, most notably via sarcastic and witty banter between Grey and the inner voice of STEM that only Grey can hear.) Although this movie highlights these elements of various genres in a way that builds upon tropes that you will have no doubt seen many times over in previous films, I assure you that Upgrade still feels new and refreshing.
The movie is premised on the classic theme of “humans vs. robots,” and the technological advances depicted on screen are enjoyable, which includes characters with guns built into their arms, making for some action-packed shooting scenes. Whannell’s exploration of this theme is vivid and presents a world in which the rapid advancement of technology becomes increasingly dangerous. This is where Upgrade thrives the most – the film employs high-tech weaponry and artificial intelligence to tap into rousing scenes of adventure and gore, with the help of active cinematography and visually arresting action stunts/choreography.
The film’s casting is also spot-on for a movie of this nature. Logan Marshall-Green is fantastic in his role as Grey, authentically depicting the character’s immense resistance to modern technology – Marshall-Green skillfully executes Grey’s sardonic dialogue and demeanor. Although only featured in a supporting role, I was notably impressed by Harrison Gilbertson’s performance as Eron Keen – Eron is eccentric to the point that it borders on creepy, and Gilbertson neatly portrays Eron’s tendencies to appear both vainly confident and frantically vulnerable. Upgrade is rated R for strong violence, grisly images, and language.
Upgrade trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9fXbkiKfmY
This movie is not your run-of-the-mill sci-fi. This movie is an experience unlike many others I’ve ever had—it’s a psychological thriller that is more of a character study than anything else. I have enjoyed a range of other “artificial intelligence” films in the past, such as Steven Spielberg’s A.I. (2001) and I, Robot (2004), but those movies never quite accomplished what Ex Machina has—in my opinion, the depth and genius of Ex Machina starts with writer/director Alex Garland. Garland cemented himself in the industry with his striking screenplay for the horror film 28 Days Later (2002), and in that script, he created one of the finest films in the horror genre; however, his story never became too “tropey,” meaning it never seemed cliché. In Ex Machina, he has done the same thing—only better! The plot of the film leaves the door wide open for a filmmaker to shell out the same boring motifs that already saturate this genre. Thankfully, Garland avoided this temptation and delivered a film that this genre should look to as the modern standard.
I do not want to sugarcoat anything—the film definitely gets incredibly philosophical, pondering what really makes us human. It is a lofty idea to conceptualize, but Garland does so in stunning fashion. His visuals are remarkable (Ava was part live-action and part-CGI), and his characters are even more spectacular. For starters, Ava’s entire existence and ability to learn how to interact like a human sets the tone for the twists, turns, and overall message of Garland’s film. She constantly poses thought-provoking questions to Caleb during his “Turing Test” research. Little by little, these questions create struggles for Caleb that manifest in him questioning his true role in Nathan’s experiment—he especially wonders about his very own existence. 
Speaking of Nathan, he is the most captivating character for me. He is a billionaire tech-genius with seemingly enough resources to live a lavish life. But the lavishness is not what one would imagine—he lives in a beautiful home (which doubles as a research facility), but he is completely secluded from the real world. In this home he is imprisoned, both mentally and physically, and he appears to be nothing more than a reclusive savant/madman. He claims to create Ava for purely scientific purposes, but it is apparent that his motivations are to create the perfect woman—this is his downfall.
Aside from Garland’s filmmaking vision, Ex Machina impresses from an acting standpoint. I am a huge fan of Domhnall Gleeson—he is incredibly charismatic in every role he takes on, but in Ex Machina, he ends up being more of a placeholder than anything else. It is worth noting that although Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac outperform Gleeson, this is not due to the latter’s own acting abilities, but instead the fact that Garland left the real story arcs to Ava and Nathan. Vikander nails her portrayal of Ava with grace, yet mystery. Playing a robot-like character is a tall task for any actor, but Vikander succeeds by delivering a perfect character equilibrium—Ava is not too robotic, but not too human, either. Vikander broke out as an actress in 2015, but despite the Oscar nomination for The Danish Girl, this, in my opinion, was her best performance from the past year. As alluded to earlier, I was exceptionally fascinated by Oscar Isaac’s performance as Nathan. He makes hilariously dry jokes and drinks copious amounts of alcohol—Isaac thrives off his character’s apparent charm. But at the same time, Nathan is demented and scary. This two-faced personality profile makes Nathan a character that cannot be trusted, even by the viewer—you never know if Nathan is showing his true colors. 
Oscar Isaac also helmed my favorite scene from the film. At a critical point in the movie where Caleb’s trust in Nathan is rapidly waning, Nathan’s assistant (Sonoya Mizuno) starts to dance on Nathan’s command. Nathan tells Caleb to dance with her, but Caleb has no interest—he wants to speak one-on-one with Nathan and question him about Ava. While asking Nathan what he was doing with Ava, Caleb says, “You tore up her picture.” Without missing a beat, Nathan pompously boasts, “I’m gonna tear up the fucking dance floor, dude, check it out.” Not taking Caleb seriously, Nathan and his assistant then proceed to engage in one of the greatest dance scenes in film history—far and away my favorite moment! Ex Machina is rated R for graphic nudity, language, sexual references, and some violence.
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