Upgrade (2018) Review

Upgrade may be nearly a decade old, but its relevance in 2026 seems far more appropriate than when it hit cinemas in 2018.

Set in the near future of 2046, we follow technophobe Grey Trace on a brutal quest for vengeance after the murder of his wife Asha.

Left paralysed from the neck down and confined to a wheelchair, Grey struggles with adjusting to his new life and having lost Asha.

This is when his previous client Eron Keen comes in, offering Grey the STEM implant we had briefly seen in the opening scenes.

Quickly regaining bodily movement thanks to the implant, it doesn’t take long for Grey to begin hunting down his wife’s murderers.

Logan Marshall-Green’s action scenes are fantastic, his robotic fighting fitting the narrative perfectly and pairing well with his looks of horror as things slowly spiralled.

Brain chips gaining control of a patient’s body sure sounds like science fiction, but it’s actually closer to reality than you’d think.

Back in June 2025 Neuralink gave an update video showing its progress with patients who had brain implants and how the project was progressing.

While we are certainly far from AI implants taking over our bodies, AI is evolving at an incredible rate so it doesn’t seem that farfetched anymore.

With a budget of $3 million, Upgrade demonstrated that you don’t need to try too hard to deliver a great action movie.

Toeing the line well in making its science fiction plot seem believable, the most ridiculous part of the movie was mercenary Fisk’s deadly sneeze attack.

From Simon Maiden’s clinical voicing of STEM to Harrison Gilbertson’s portrayal of socially awkward genius Eron, the supporting cast all smashed their roles.

Director Leigh Whannell showed that even on a smaller budget you can deliver a fun action flick for all.