Synopsis
A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure — an artificial intelligence implant called STEM that will enhance his body. Now able to walk, Grey finds that he also has superhuman strength and agility — skills he uses to seek revenge against the thugs who destroyed his life.
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Cast
- Logan Marshall-GreenGrey Trace
- Betty GabrielDetective Cortez
- Harrison GilbertsonEron Keen
- Melanie VallejoAsha Trace
- Benedict HardieFisk
- Linda CropperPamela
- Simon MaidenStem (voice)
- Steve DanielsenJeff Handley
- Richard CawthorneSerk
- Christopher KirbyTolan
- 75
The A.V. Club
Whannell strikes out on his own with his first truly original concept as a writer-director...in a film whose production is as ambitious as its story is formulaic. Thankfully, the former mostly compensates for the latter, making Upgrade a genre-bending summer treat for those who don’t mind a little (okay, a lot) of blood with their popcorn. - 75
Consequence
Upgrade’s sheer energy and the strength of its concept do more than enough to elevate this revenge picture into something refreshing and eminently watchable. - 75
Boston Globe
Upgrade, Whannell’s second outing behind the camera, is yet another top-notch repair job, this time a kinetic sci-fi riff fashioned from scrap metal and human entrails, nervily updating Cronenbergian body horror for the iOS era. - 75
The Seattle Times
Upgrade is a brutish, efficient and well-executed slice of cyberpunk action horror with a silly streak. - 70
Village Voice
Upgrade offers memorable, legible fights, a compelling bombed-out retro-apocalyptic look and a mystery that seems obvious at the start but then keeps twisting. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
Infusing its familiar dystopian sci-fi tropes with stylishly gonzo, low-budget filmmaking and inventive narrative flourishes, Upgrade proves far more entertaining than it has a right to be. - 63
Slant Magazine
Upgrade is most effective when mining the comical and bizarre love-hate chemistry between Grey and Stem and pairing that singular conflict with batshit-crazy action, but the film’s follow-through is clunky and unfulfilling. - 58
IndieWire
At the end of the day, it’s the action equivalent of a secondhand musical – you’ll most likely come for the dance scenes, and they’re good enough to wade through the filler.