Upgrade – The Movie

Yes, Upgrade is the kind of movie that should scare MoviePass (see because they pay full price for your tickets). You all saw Upgrade and remember who Leigh Wannell is right?

He’s the guy who wrote Saw. You remember Saw? No? It’s that Hitchcock-style thriller that didn’t actually show any gruesomeness and cost $1 million to make and went on to gross $100 million BECAUSE IT WAS EXCELLENT. Welp Wannell’s done it again with Upgrade. Upgrade is just exquisite storytelling and you can tell this movie was made for [relative]pennies but comes out looking like a big budget film. I love Wannell’s work. It’s easy to follow, there are no plot holes, only justifiable ambiguities that persevere the suspension of disbelief, and Wannell’s endings are, unlike Shamylan’s sham twists, AWE-SOME. Don’t worry, no spoilers. I also love that Upgrade, like Saw, didn’t rely at all on big name talent. Logan Marshall-Green, a very talented actor in his own right, but not a house-hold name (yet…), is the biggest star in the film, and it doesn’t matter because the story carries everyone (as does Wannell’s direction). Seeing Upgrade makes me wonder what Wannell could do with a Disney tentpole budget, the possibilities abound, but I believe its fair to say that he deserves a spot next to James Cameron, if not for behavioral style, then at least chutzpah and energy in seeing his vision realized. The ending though. Gosh what a great ending. No, no spoilers here.