339. Upgrade; movie review

UPGRADE
Cert 15
100 mins

BBFC advice" Contains strong bloody violence, gory images, language

Could it be that one day all injuries will be resolved by computer chips?
And if that is possible could artificial intelligence replace the human brain?
This is deep stuff which probably demands a large table in the back of a pub with several bright people drinking copious amounts to come up with an answer.
Or the imagination of the bloke who visualised the horror movies Saw and Insidious - Leigh Whannell.
I can't say I've been a big fan in the past (although I was impressed by the original Insidious) but I benefited hugely here from keeping an open mind.
Upgrade has an original spin on the sci-fi offshoot of artificial intelligence taking over from man.

It stars Logan Marshall-Green as a mechanic who is left quadriplegic after a hold-up during which his high-flying wife is killed.
He has no desire for recovery until an inventor (Harrison Gilbertson) offers him the chance for renewed use of his limbs with a make-or-break operation and the insertion of an AI chip.
And then the chip speaks to him from within his own body, offering him superhuman abilities if he wishes to accept them.
It is an invitation which is tempting but dangerous.
Marshall-Green helps make the scenario believable by portraying the widower with mixed emotions about his new power which enable him to seek revenge but the real star of Upgrade is Whannell's imagination.
We have seen AI take over in movies as far back as Westworld and more recently in the likes of Ex-Machina but Upgrade offers a refreshingly different take.
It provokes the question over the ultimate ending if intelligent computers are brought in to aid recovery from potentially life-altering injuries but it also offers some very intriguing moral dilemmas.
And it is worth waiting to the finale because Whannell doesn't let up in coming up with shocks and surprises.

Reasons to watch: Powerful, thought-provoking sci-fi
Reasons to avoid: The gory violence

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8/10

Director quote - Leigh Whannell: "I was in my backyard and I just suddenly had this image of a quadriplegic in a wheelchair who stood up out of the chair and was being controlled from the neck down by a computer."

The big question - Can artificial intelligence really take over?

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