Upgrade is one of the most unnerving AI movies of the past 10 years, and the film is now on Netflix for a new audience of viewers to find. Artificial intelligence has been one of the biggest fears of the past few years, with discussions over AI’s impact on the world constantly raging. Because of this, movies dealing with the consequences of AI have become increasingly popular, causing audiences to look for more examples. Upgrade is one of the best artificial intelligence movies in recent years, and for viewers wanting to check it out, the film is now on Netflix.
Movies about the dangers of artificial intelligence have been around for years, with all kinds of movies focusing on AI becoming self-aware and attempting to destroy humanity. Beloved franchises like The Matrix, Blade Runner, and The Terminator center around this idea, while other critically acclaimed movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ex Machina look at AI through new lenses. Due to the overabundance of AI movies, the genre died out for a little while, although one movie from the past 10 years has been a shining example of an unnerving film that deals with artificial intelligence: Upgrade.
As of May 16, 2024, Upgrade is now streaming on Netflix, meaning that fans of the film and curious audience members can finally check the movie out once again. The 2018 action film is directed by Leigh Whannell, the filmmaker behind Insidious: Chapter 3, The Invisible Man, and the upcoming Wolf Man movie, and it stars actor Logan Marshall-Green, who has appeared in movies like Prometheus, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Devil.
Upgrade takes place in the future year of 2046, with it following Logan Marshall-Green’s Grey Trace, an auto mechanic who is the victim of a brutal mugging. Grey is left paralyzed, although he is given the opportunity to undergo an experimental surgery that uploads artificial intelligence into his body. Grey agrees to undergo the surgery, with it healing him and giving him enhanced strength, speed, and durability. With these new skills, Grey decides to hunt down the men who mugged him, turning Upgrade into an incredible action revenge movie.
Ever since Upgrade was initially released in 2018, Upgrade has gotten incredibly good reviews, with it being one of the highlights of the year for many critics. Upgrade has an 88% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, highlighting just how positive the reception of the film was. Upgrade got fairly positive reviews across the board, which is unusual for a low-budget action film. However, this goes to show just how good the movie is, with these scores possibly getting even higher now that the film has been released on Netflix.
Upgrade was a box office success, with it making $17 million on a $2 million budget, with the film making its budget back several times over. However, this apparently wasn’t good enough to warrant making a sequel to Upgrade, with the one film being all that has been released so far. As the review scores indicate, Upgrade is an incredibly fun watch, and the movie needs to be checked out by fans of action and sci-fi now that it has been released once again on Netflix.
Not only is Upgrade a super underrated sci-fi movie, but it is still one of Leigh Whannell’s best movies, with it standing up to the competition in a pretty big way. Whannell has currently directed three feature films that have been released, with those being Insidious: Chapter 3, Upgrade, and The Invisible Man. Insidious: Chapter 3 received mixed reviews, with it being the worst of the three films, but this can’t be said for The Invisible Man. The Invisible Man was a huge critical hit, with it redefining the Universal monster genre for the modern era.
Despite this, Upgrade is still the better film, with it sitting on top of Leigh Whannell’s filmography. The action, story, and tone are perfect, and in a genre that is full of stories about extraordinary men getting revenge on the people who killed their families, Upgrade manages to stand out as a shining example. Even all these years after the release of the film, fans are still begging audiences to check out Upgrade, and the Netflix release will hopefully boost the film’s popularity even further.