Upgrade [Includes Digital Copy] [Blu-ray]

Overview

Director/writer Leigh Whannell presents a vision of a utopian future where technology is supremely ubiquitous. In that future, technophobe Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) embraces an experimental computer chip implant named STEM after a mugging incident leaves him paralyzed and his wife dead. STEM proves to possess its own agency, making for an unpredictable ally in Trace's vendetta.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/28/2018
UPC:	0191329072912
Original Release:	2018
Rating:	R
Source:	Universal Studios
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:40:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Betty Gabriel	Cortez
Harrison Gilbertson	Eron
Benedict Hardie	Fisk
Michael M. Foster	Jeffries
Belén Rueda	Laura
Marian Alvarez	Sara
Iván Mendes	Jamir
Nick Devlin	Sven
Florin Opritescu	Davor
Alfredo Araoz	Camara TV
Armando Jerez	Sonidista TV
Djedje Apali	Battiste
Malcolm Sitte	Omar
Bella Agossou	Masika
Maria Luisa Mayol	Irene
Ramón Barea	Padre
Astrid Jones	Lugarteniente
Santiago Adan	Tom
Santiago Adano	Tom
Rafa Rojas-Diez	Piloto Onu
Tim Verardi	Matt
Rafa Rojas	Diez-Piloto Onu
Yael Belicha	Cooperante Ong
Steve Danielsen	Actor
Melanie Vallejo	Actor
Richard Cawthorne	Actor
Linda Cropper	Actor
Clayton Jacobson	Manny
Sachin Joab	le docteur Bhatia
Richard Anastasios	Wen
Ming-Zhu Hii	Dr Diana Gordon
Arthur Angel	Old Bones Patron
Puven Pather	Old Bones Heavy
Ri-Jie Kwok	Old Bones Heavy
Rosco Campbell	VR Guy
Renah Gallagher	Tiana
Abby Craden	Actor
Jed Palmer	Composer
Logan Marshall-Green	Actor

Technical Credits

Leigh Whannell

Leigh Whannell	Director,Screenwriter
Brian Kavanaugh-Jones	Producer
Jason Blum	Producer
Kylie du Fresne	Producer
Rosemary Blight	Executive Producer
Benny Grant	Executive Producer,Executive Producer
Charles Layton	Executive Producer
Couper Samuelson	Executive Producer
Jeanette Volturno	Executive Producer
Terri Taylor	Casting
Nikki Barrett	Casting

Editorial Reviews

Leigh Whannell, co-creator of the Saw franchise, wrote and directed Upgrade. The movie inhabits a near-future world in which the Technological Singularity is in its infancy. Whannell's highly-stylized vision of this near-future cityscape is fascinating. In it, technology has invaded every aspect of life. Cars drive themselves, and people talk to their cars. Robotic arms, sterile and detached from any semblance of a body, hiss quietly while handing over a glass of protein shake or delivering shots of medicine. Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is introduced as the kind of man who likes to work with his hands, to tinker with mechanical machines that can operate without the use of digital technology. He's a car mechanic in a world that's come to rely on self-driving cars that shuttle people to and from their smart homes-abodes that automatically greet residents with playlists when they come home. Grey's aversion towards technology is vindicated. After the car that he and his wife were in took a wrong turn and crashed in a dangerous part of town, a band of thugs drag them out of the car. Grey and his wife are shot, leaving his wife dead and him quadriplegic. Eron (Harrison Gilbertson), a client whom he had restored a vintage muscle car for, offers him a way to walk again-an experimental implant called STEM. The implant is a computer chip that's driven by an artificial intelligence program (voiced by Simon Maiden), and it serves as a conduit that enables Grey to move his body. Once implanted, he regains full use of his body and starts hunting down the men who killed his wife and unravels an interesting conspiracy. The conspiracy plays out just a touch too slowly though, and some viewers might feel that too much time is spent belaboring the emotional and psychological pain that Grey suffers. Luckily, the well-choreographed action sequences are awesome to watch. Cinematographer Stefan Duscio does a great job with fresh camerawork during the fight sequences, showing us the whip-fast moves that STEM pulls off. The choreography is great too, with Grey's uber-precise movements matching the kind of exact motions that one might expect from a computer. Then there's the distinct visual feel. Instead of relying on technological widgets, Whannell injects the movie with vibrant lighting and contrasting colors that create a harsh neon look. The world also has a gritty feel to it, bringing to mind the cyberpunk-ish backdrop of Final Cut. All that coupled with a score that makes good use of the distinct vibrato of a synthesizer, the film excels at insinuating that digital energy is creeping into the parts of the city that are still analog. While the movie isn't as deep-reaching or cerebral as Ex Machina, its concepts are grounded and accessible to most audiences, and it's thoroughly entertaining. It's well worth a watch.