Upgrade
Directed by Leigh Whannell
Produced by Jason Blum, Kylie Du Fresne & Brian Kavanaugh-Jones
Written by Leigh Whannell
Starring Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson Simon Maiden (STEM voice)
Music by Jed Palmer
Cinematography Stefan Duscio
Edited by Andy Canny
Production companies Blumhouse Productions, Goalpost Pictures, Nervous Tick Productions, Film Victoria
Upgrade is a nifty 2018 movie in which Grey Trace, a auto mechanic (Marshall-Green) is paralyzed in a mugging, and one of his clients, a mad scientist (Harrison Gilbertson) who for some reason is not Elon Musk, implants a chip (STEM) which gives him full mobility again.
Trace’s wife was killed in the same crime, and now that he can move around, he decides to track down the four men who shot him and his wife.
There’s just one problem: Eron Keen, the mad scientist, doesn’t want the existence of STEM known to the world, and has Trace sign a non-disclosure agreement before the operation. As a part of that NDA, Trace must conceal that he has been cured of his paralysis, and when with others, pretend to be a quadriplegic in a power chair.
However, Trace has an unexpected ally: his resident chip, STEM, who not only is an AI, but is self-aware. Not only can he let Trace stand and walk, he can make him move at super-human speeds and punch with super-human strength.
He tracks down and kills the first of the four assailants, in the process coming to the attention of Detective Cortez (Gabriel) who finds it odd that he was seen in his chair at the scene of the murder but somehow forgets to ask him why he was there at all.
The story isn’t without a few plot holes like that, but credible acting and some good action sequences, plus a deftly spun mystery/suspense story keep the viewer engaged. The ending isn’t entirely a surprise to the genre-savvy, but pulled off with considerable panache.
It’s a decent story told well. Now on Netflix.