Upgrade. Ap… grade… Phew, wait a second, I need to catch my breath. What a wild trip it was! Modern art is so-so, but sometimes the right guys get to it with the right thoughts in their heads and straight hands at the same time, and from time to time something like an Upgrade comes out on the screens. Where should I start?..
I’ll probably outline the general situation to begin with. We have quite a budget movie here, because five million dollars is a mere penny in terms of cinema. Therefore, the film lasts according to the old school, only an hour and a half, instead of the usual two or more for our time. Therefore, there are no famous actors here. Therefore, there are only two muscle cars. But maybe that’s a good thing. Because it was this approach that kept me from going into boundless ecstasy, and I was able to watch the film meaningfully from beginning to end, thanks to which I am able to form the most complete opinion about it. Blumhouse, a notorious lover of low-budget and experimental horror and so on, produced the whole thing for us. These guys gave us both outright mediocrity like Sinister and Weegee, and a real freshman in terms of horror films in the form of films Away and Happy Death Day. Well, everything in between. Doomsday Night and Rob Zombie’s The Lords Of Salem are also their handiwork, for example. In short, the guys take on everything they can, wherever their hands can reach. Then, of course, only the best and bombastic films are indicated in the trailers.
The trailer is generally lying. It is designed for a mass audience, so I’ll tell you right away: there is very little neon in this movie, there is no syntwave at all, and the soundtrack is limited to three songs and a mediocre OST. Do not rush to listen to the OST, by the way, the tracks in it are named in such a way that they can spoil the movie for you. Nevertheless, despite the extreme minimalism in terms of music, the tracks in it are arranged extremely competently. In the end, how can there be a bad movie that starts with this track:
Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightning
Seriously, the very first shots show the record with this particular track. Probably, it was possible to pick up something less popular, but damn… one way or another, the tone is set in the right direction. And after a few seconds, the main character appears in the frame – the character is very correct. A technophobe who does not like computers and modern technology. It was easy for me to associate myself with such a protagonist: I don’t really like computers either, although I have to work with them regularly, and I understand them, and in general they are of a lot of use. However, there are no less problems from them, and I don’t really like them. And from the word ‘Upgrade’ in general, a chill runs through the skin. Here it is, an Upgrade: new bugs, new design, it’s not clear what the hell, get used to everything again…
Ahem. In general, our main character is Gray, and he is the right cat. He loves the right music and the right cars. And that’s why the Upgrade came to our website. It’s really easy to associate with him, probably for most of those who get to this page. It’s easier than with the hero of the same Drive, for example. If Ryan Gosling was cold-blooded and unsociable, then Logan Marshall-Green is the most ordinary man with the most ordinary family, the most ordinary desires, the most ordinary ideas and hobbies. You look at the screen and think:
Damn it, it’s me in 10-20 years, listening to records in my father’s garage, simultaneously trying to fix my ancient GAZ-24!
No, it’s not about you? It’s a pity. Honestly, that’s exactly what I thought. Maybe that’s why the movie hit me so hard.
As in the Drive, by the way, muscle cars play a central role here and appear in the most key moments of the film. The 78th Pontiac Firebird takes the hero to a fateful meeting, which will be the beginning of this whole story, and a little later the 70th Dodge Challenger will become the car that will take Gray to the finals, at the same time becoming the hero of a good chase. It is also worth noting that the Challenger was treated as carefully as possible. Yes, maybe when The Car doesn’t crumple and doesn’t fly apart, it doesn’t look so spectacular, but the cinema has already destroyed too many steel beauties, and there are so few of them left that I like chases of this type, as in the Upgrade, lately, perhaps even more than the battle of taxi drivers with Mustang’om John Wick, for example… Yes, it was spectacular, but damn! They smashed the classic Mustang to smithereens!
In general, the life of an old lover of vintage cars and music in the first minutes of the film changes dramatically and makes you take your mind off the blues and V8 engines. By the way, it would probably be possible to buy a couple more old tracks for such a movie, but come on. After the tie, nothing awaits us but a good action movie with a good plot. Yes, nothing else. Yes, the action movie is extremely good. Firstly, Blumhouse specializes in horror, and therefore they didn’t give a damn about the tender feelings of your children – we have a lot of blood pouring in here at every opportunity. But not over the edge, and a lot of time is devoted to the plot here. They even raise neo-philosophical issues, but not very much. Slightly. If you love philosophy, then you know all this from the time of that story about the dude who dreamed that he was a butterfly. If you don’t really read philosophical treatises, then the film will just invite you to think a little.
The actors are extremely well placed. Everything is in its place and corresponds to the characters. A reclusive millionaire programmer is exactly what I imagine him to be.Stylish, in abundance, but gray and not memorable. Used to working with computers, not with people. Former soldiers, drug addicts and bandits are bearded, tattooed, and so on, respectively. Everything is even somewhat stereotypical, but… it works and works perfectly. English Wikipedia states that this is a body horror, but… I’ve seen what body horror is. Upgrade does not apply to this genre. Yes, a gun in his hand, so what? Or are the games of the Deus Ex series now a body horror for you? Or, I don’t know, anatomy lessons? Probably, the filmmakers so persuaded Blumhouse to become their producers. Like, check it out, we have a body horror here… In short, there is no horror here. There is less of it here than neon and music.
But that’s what the trailer didn’t lie about – it’s that the film has an awesome staging of fights. Coupled with the unusual and extremely well-executed work of the camera, we get something unique at the output. At least in my memory, since I don’t remember anything like that. Perhaps this is even cooler than the first-person penetration from the movie DOOM, these sharp and smooth camera tilts work so well, and, fortunately, they are not only in the scene that was in the trailer. Yes, they are evenly scattered throughout the film exactly so as not to bother and impress from start to finish, and it really looks cool. Pure euphoria.
Герой лежит на полу...
What else can I say? Similar movies? Me, a Robot with Will Smith, because the main character is a technophobe. The Rippers of 2009, because all the films with problems regarding the implantation of glands in the human body are similar to the Rippers. The creators promise a possible sequel – I’m waiting and hoping, but I’m a little afraid. On the one hand, the story seems to be over and unexpected twists can only spoil it. On the other hand, it is very interesting with whom a hacker without a name is waging an invisible war and whom he cannot allow to win. And, of course, if there are more muscle cars and more rock’n’roll, then I’ll be the first in line, damn me. In general, an Upgrade, comrades, I advise everyone. 2018, fresh, who would have thought! And if there is an opportunity – buy it somewhere, support the creators with money. Thank you all for your attention.
