Paranoia

As per usual there may be some spoilers ahead!

Paranoia got a bad wrap and that upsets me, it wasn't as bad as critics are painting it to be. I personally enjoyed it and would definitely give it a 6.5/10.

The plot of this film was good in the sense that it thought about what it was about and portrayed itself nicely. The idea of corporate espionage is by no means an exciting one and so to watch a film like this you have to be able to sit through a story that actually has a plot rather than a story that shows an explosion and a giant robot every five minutes. I found the plot satisfying and easy to follow, a very enjoyable film.

As far as cast went it was definitely one that had it's ups and downs. Liam Hemsworth, who played Adam Cassidy, was a decent protagonist in that he was able to keep the narrative of the film alive and that he had talent enough to be recognised for other films later on in his life. However the real credit for this film goes to the older members of the cast. Firstly, Embeth Davidtz, who played Dr. Judith Bolton, played a character with such detailed understanding of the human psyche that her cool cunning was perfect, which made it even better to see it come crumbling down. Richard Dreyfuss, who played Frank Cassidy, was a character who I initially wasn't too sure of, he came across as scummy and very cheap poor role model behaviour. However I was pleasantly surprised to see this man develop into someone we saw to actually have a lot of care for his son and who had a lot of great insight. Now down to the true stars of the film: Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford. Gary Oldman, who played Nicholas Wyatt, was pure corporate greed embodied, I truly felt intimidated by his on-screen presence. Oldman also knew how to do a complete 180 and tear his own character apart by presenting a weak Wyatt by the very end of the film in what can only be described as a beautiful display of character development. Harrison Ford, who played Jock Goddard, really surprised me. I was certain that Ford had become washed up and lost all his talent after drudging through films like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Cowboys and Aliens. However this film reminded me Ford can act incredibly. He presented us with a character who had charisma, and a tragic backstory that made us feel for him in a big way; ultimately he grew to be the smartest and most cunning character in the film and frankly I wish Ford had been the victor of this film. At least he would have earnt it.

Now Paranoia had some major problems when it came to plot. Firstly as a lot of the recent blockbusters have been, it was incredibly predictable. I never once was surprised in this film. I also wonder at Cassidy's stupidity in not getting the FBI involved sooner, it wouldn't of been hard and the same result would have come about. Finally can we just talk about how very much Cassidy screws his friends over in this film? They get fired, forced to work jobs below their skill set, aren't offered any help by Cassidy, are attacked as a way to get to Cassidy and then expected to do all the work for Cassidy to frame Wyatt and Goddard at the end of the film. Kinda makes Adam Cassidy a bit of a flawed protagonist if you ask me.

There were also some really poor examples of acting in this film. Starting with Amber Heard, who played Emma Jennings, in what was the most generic female lead role I have ever seen. She got used as a love interest, discarded and then went running back to Cassidy in the end; absolutely awful. I also have nothing fond to say of Lucas Till, who played Kevin, he was underwhelming and once he finally somehow managed to seduce a lady, developed a misogynistic relationship with her in which he protects her in a very over the top fashion. Finally in what was the biggest disappointment for me was Julian McMahon, who played Miles Meechum, in what was the least intimidating and most boring enforcer I've seen in awhile.