History Film / Upgrade

* Ironic Echo: "You have full control now, Gray." Turns sinister when [[spoiler:STEM takes over Gray's body unwillingly.]]

* VomitIndiscretionShot: Once when Grey is being treated by his mother during his first days as a quadriplegic, the second time after [[spoiler:he kills Serk.]]

* ArcWords: "A fake world is less painful than the real world".

* PoliceAreUseless: Three months after the murder of Grey's wife, Detective Cortez has made zero progress on the case despite having drone footage of the crime (drones that are evidently not programmed to sweep around to get more useful footage) and one of the assailants even removing his mask during the act. It's later implied she interrogated the killers, but released them. She does catch onto Grey immediately when he begins hunting the killers, but he leaves so many mountains of evidence that she'd have to actively try not to catch him.

* SmugSuper: Fisk really believes that being "upgraded" with technology makes him a superior life form.

* AllJustADream: [[spoiler: Cruelly subverted. Right before Grey is about to shoot himself and take STEM with him, he wakes up in the back in the hospital with only minor injuries and Asha alive, but it's actually STEM tricking Grey in a fantasy within his own mind as it finally takes full control.]]

* RedHerringTwist: [[spoiler:After Fisk reveals that he was paid to Asha, it's revealed that Eron was the one who hired them in order to find the perfect patient for Grey. But when Grey confronts him (or rather STEM controlling Grey's body), it turns out that Eron was actually following ''STEM's'' orders.]]

* NeverTrustATrailer: The trailer presents the movie as an action-packed romp of revenge. When in the actual movie, the action is surprisingly sparse and the film is an analysis of letting technology take away your free will and morality.

* PoliceAreUseless: Three months after the murder of Grey's wife, detective Cortez has made zero progress on the case. This despite having clear drone footage of the crime (drones that are evidently not programmed to sweep around to get more useful footage) and one of the assailants even removing his mask during the act. It's later implied she interrogated the killers, but released them. She catches onto Grey immediately when he begins hunting the killers, but he leaves so many mountains of evidence she'd have to actively try not to catch him.

* AutomatedAutomobile: At the start of the movie, Asha has just bought a new one, and a few others are visible on the roads.

* BigBad: [[spoiler:STEM is ultimately behind everything that happened to Grey]]

* 20MinutesIntoTheFuture: It's not made clear when the film is set, but it can't be too far into the future. Modern cars fill the highways, early-stage or existing technologies like driverless vehicles and home AI are still viewed as interesting new luxuries, and cybernetics appear to still be either rare or prohibitively expensive for most people.

Set sometime in the future, it involves a man, Grey Trace, who is involved in a car accident with his wife Asha, leading to a group of thugs to kill Asha and render Grey a quadriplegic. An inventor named Eron Keen offers Grey a chance to walk again by implanting an experimental computer chip called Stem in his spinal cord. Grey soon discovers that Stem has a mind of its own and is more than willing to help Grey catch his wife's killers.

* {{Cyborg}}: Fisk and his crew all have cybernetics and weapons implanted in their bodies to make them more effective killers. Grey is a more downplayed example since he only has Stem, but that's all he needs.
* {{Deconstruction}}: Of the revenge movie. Grey is no killer, and every life he takes in his revenge quest takes a toll on his sanity.

* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler:Grey's fate at the end of the movie, trapped inside a fantasy in his own mind while Stem takes total control of his body.]]

* SuperReflexes: STEM can quickly analyze an enemy's movements, allowing Grey to efficiently dodge and counter while granting Stem control of his body. Fisk has similarly enhanced reflexes, making them more evenly matched.

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Stem succeeds in taking over Grey's mind and body to have a vessel of his own to move around in.]]
* BigBad: [[spoiler:Stem is ultimately behind everything that happened to Grey]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Stem manages to take full control of Grey's mind and body after Grey's mind breaks down, leaving him stuck in a fantasy where he and Asha survived their car accident.]]

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Stem helps Grey go after the men that killed Asha and paralyzed him.
* SuperReflexes: Stem can quickly analyze an enemy's movements, allowing Grey to efficiently dodge and counter while granting Stem control of his body. Fisk has similarly enhanced reflexes, making them more evenly matched.

* CreatorThumbprint: [[spoiler:Leigh Whannell retains his use of big OnceMoreWithClarity style reveals from the ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' franchise.]]

* TheDragon: Fisk, as the leader and most deadly of the four attackers that Grey has to take down before confronting the real BigBad.

* TheEndingChangesEverything: [[spoiler:The reveal that STEM was behind just about everything that happened is a major twist that paints quite a bit of the movie up until then in a slightly different light.]]

Set sometime in the future, it involves a man, Grey Trace, who is involved in a car accident with his wife Asha, leading to a group of thugs to kill Asha and render Grey a quadriplegic. An inventor named Eron King offers Grey a chance to walk again by implanting an experimental computer chip called Stem in his spinal cord. Grey soon discovers that Stem has a mind of its own and is more than willing to help Grey catch his wife's killers.