When you have three of the biggest names in the current industry leading a dramatic thriller like Paranoia, you ought to be able to expect a solid cinematic experience. Instead, you're left wandering how the film managed to so spectacularly waste the talents of such talented actors, who are undeniably all ordinarily at the top of their game.
Having made a name for himself in recent years in such films as The Hunger Games and The Expendables 2, Liam Hemsworth takes the central role here in Paranoia, starring as a young employee who discovers he is in the middle of a bitter, decades-long rivalry between two of the biggest tech billionaires in the world (Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford), seduced by promises of wealth and power, not to mention the femme fatale-like Emma Jennings (Amber Heard).
The premise is a simple one, and it's perhaps a little surprising that it hasn't been overly-done before, so the potential for it to be done well here is all the more. Corporate espionage is a track well covered in movies, but in a high-tech industry like this, it's not quite so frequently seen. Yet the technology's place in the movie is little more than eye candy, largely extraneous to the plot itself, which is a real shame.
It's difficult to find one main reason why Paranoia fails to live up to its full potential. Rather, it's lots of little things that gradually start to add up. When you are watching it, you can never really let yourself be totally taken in by this world; on the peripheral of your mind, you can't help but remain aware that it's a film you're watching, which I think is perhaps its biggest failing. A large part of that is down to the script, or lack thereof.
As a fan of Joseph Finder's original novel, I had big hopes for this adaptation, even more so when I learned that Barry L. Levy, who wrote the brilliant thriller Vantage Point, was co-writing the script. Finder's original characters have terrific dynamics, and their interactions are so sharp, but the script here is really missing that same sharpness. The characters always feel like they're playing out a pre-conceived dialogue, rather than actually living it; it lacks that natural feel necessary to keep tensions high.
Before seeing the film, I admit I was somewhat apprehensive, particularly as a fan of the source material. Director Robert Luketic has a slightly mixed bag of credits, with great films like 21 and even Legally Blonde under his belt alongside sub-par efforts like The Ugly Truth and Killers. I was really hoping that Paranoia would be a return to form, but sadly it falls among the latter. In fairness, I don't think that the faults like with Luketic. The directing is impressive in places, and it's the script that really lets Luketic and his leading cast down. The material just isn't there for them to work with.
Ultimately, I think my recommendation would definitely be to give this one a miss. I wouldn't even say you should see it just to be able to form your own opinion; trust me. If you want to see Hemsworth in better form, you need only look so far as The Hunger Games. Equally, Gary Oldman fans can go back to Leon, Harrison Ford fans to Air Force One, and Amber Heard fans to Drive Angry or the recent Machete Kills. Any and all of the above would be significantly better options, and much more recommended.
The cheesiness of Paranoia's tagline perhaps says it all, and ought to have served as a warning sign to me not to commence watching it in the first place: 'In a war between kings, even a pawn can change the game.' I'd hoped that it would live up to its potential, but alas I was sorely mistaken. I'd have to say very much not worth your time.
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Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play A high stakes thriller Paranoia takes us deep behind the scenes of global business and a deadly world of greed and deception The worlds two most powerful tech billionaires and bitter adversaries (Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman) will stop at nothing to outwit and destroy each others business empires But when a young rising star (Liam Hemsworth) falls between them he becomes trapped in the middle of the rivals life-and-death game of corporate espionage By the time he realises his life is in danger he is in far too deep and knows too much for them to let him just walk away
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