Paranoia Review

Rated PG-13 (Some Sexuality, Violence and Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 46 Minutes

Cast-

Liam Hemsworth-Adam Cassidy

Amber Heard-Emma Jennings

Gary Oldman-Nicolas Wyatt

Harrison Ford-Jock Goddard

Richard Dreyfuss-Frank Cassidy

Embeth Davidtz-Dr. Judith Bolton

Julian McMahon-Miles Meechum

Lucas Till-Kevin

Angela Sarafyan-Allison

Josh Holloway-FBI Agent Gamble

Directed by Robert Luketic

You staring at my bald head? Get off my plane!

Note: Screened on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 at AMC Loews 34th Street 14.

You know summer is officially over when studios start releasing dreck like "Paranoia" into theaters. Given how privacy is fast becoming a thing of the past and the current hubbub surrounding the NSA's mass surveillance of American citizens (this is a surprise?), Robert Luketic's film, based on the 2004 novel of the same name from Joseph Finder, represented a great opportunity to explore the pitfalls of our modern digital culture but instead, it's content with recycling genre tropes that would've been already dated twenty years ago. Of course, this shouldn't come as a big surprise as Luketic has only directed one film that's actually worth watching (2001's "Legally Blonde") while the rest of his work is made up of insipid romantic comedies starring Katherine Heigl. Destined to fade from theaters quickly, "Paranoia" is another in a long line of generic techno-thrillers that neither thrills nor excites despite the presence of accomplished thespians like Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford, although women might find some enjoyment in seeing Liam Hemsworth's constantly shirtless frame.

Twenty-seven-year-old Brooklyn native Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) is an entry-level employee looking to climb the corporate ladder at Wyatt Industries. During a presentation with the company's founder Nicolas Wyatt (Gary Oldman), Adam and his entire team is fired on the spot when he makes a sarcastic comment about the CEO's lacking attention span. Despite being faced with mounting debt from his father's (Richard Dreyfuss) medical bills, Adam decides to treat his former co-workers to a night of drunken partying and blows $16,000 on the company credit card. The next day, a group of men led by Miles Meechum (Julian McMahon) stop Adam on his way home and brings him to Wyatt's office, where the CEO offers the recently-fired employee a deal: face jail time or take a job at rival corporation Eikon run by Jock Goddard (Harrison Ford), who just so happens to be Wyatt's former mentor. Blackmailed into becoming a corporate spy, Adam is tasked with stealing a smartphone design that is said to revolutionize the industry once it's released. In order to blend in, he is given a makeover by Wyatt's mysterious right-hand woman, Dr. Judith Bolton (Embeth Davidtz). Adam manages to charm the hiring manager and easily lands a job at Eikon but he quickly finds himself in way over his head when an FBI agent (Josh Holloway) starts snooping around, with his loyalties being put to the test due to his burgeoning romance with fellow employee Emma Jennings (Amber Heard).

A bland, lazy rehash of every mediocre techno-thriller from the nineties, Robert Luketic's "Paranoia" opens with our chiseled protagonist running around in nondescript alleyways while the names of the cast and crew appear with intentionally glitchy editing, just to clue you in that the film's about technology. The director must've thought he was being real clever with his stylistic choices here yet all it does is make you wonder if there's something wrong with the projector. That actually would've been preferable to sitting through this uninspired, clunky mess. In an attempt to add 'meaning' to the film, writers Jason Hall and Barry L. Levy position Adam as an entry-level worker who's become increasingly disillusioned with the concept of the American Dream. He voices his disgust via narration at the rise of greedy corporate executives who reap all the profits from the backs of decent, hard-working folks but at the same time, Adam worships this lifestyle and yearns to be part of their world. Not only does it make him out to be a hypocrite, it also prevents the audience from sympathizing with his plight. Adam complains about his inability to pay for his father's medical bills despite having a company card right in his hands and what's worse is that he ends up spending it all at some tacky nightclub with his friends. Even Wyatt, the 'greedy corporate executive,' points this out to him! If this was a comedy, Adam would be face-palming right now but that's giving the character too much credit.

The film tries hard to create a sense of tension and suspense, with Adam being chased around (in broad daylight no less) and having Wyatt's henchman Meechum watch his every move yet it all comes across as labored, with every twist and turn seemingly culled from the thriller handbook for dummies. Hall and Levy also display a complete lack of understanding of how modern technology works. The two throw in a bunch of technical jargon to give the appearance that their film is smart but its meaningless fluff meant only to fill the dead air left behind by the characters' banal dialogue exchanges. Apparently, a 2.72 GB file takes forever to transfer on a MacBook Pro (don't these things have USB 3.0 nowadays?) and Eikon, described as a corporation on the verge of a technological breakthrough, boasts a security system that's laughably easy to circumvent. Instead of actually scanning your thumbprint like it should, it scans a digital readout of that same print! When Adam hacks the cameras, one of the guards yell out this funny little gem: 'Get our IT guy on the line!' With dialogue like that, you have to wonder if anyone working on the film has ever used a computer before. The rest of "Paranoia" doesn't fare much better. Adam is magically transformed into a smooth-talking executive overnight and his romance with Emma is barely developed at all beyond a few scenes of them sleeping together. Coincidentally (or not), the two shared a one-night stand but Adam was too drunk to remember. The ending hinges on a ridiculous contrivance that relies on the central villains being completely unaware that tape recorders still exist. Given how overused this trick is, I'm surprised that people still fall for it again and again.

This is Liam Hemsworth's first role where he plays the lead but compared to his older brother Chris (whose star-power has risen since he was cast in 2011's "Thor"), he's little more than an 'empty vessel' as one character puts it and delivers a dull, listless performance that will put you to sleep, if the rest of the film hasn't already. Luketic seems to be aware of this so he has the actor spend as much time as possible without his shirt on. Amber Heard fares somewhat better, although she and Hemsworth share very little chemistry. Hell, watching two rocks make out with each other generates more heat when compared to these two. The only enjoyment that "Paranoia" will offer is seeing Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford reunite on-screen for the first time since 1997's "Air Force One," sixteen years ago. Oldman is in full scenery-chewing mode here with his thick Cockney accent while Ford (with his shiny bald dome) clearly looks bored but when the two share the screen together, you can literally see the sparks fly between them. They growl at each other with lines like 'You stood on my shoulders!' and 'Now I'm standing on your neck!' If only the rest of the film was this entertaining. Instead, we have mini-Thor running around for 106 minutes with absolutely no idea of what he's doing. The rest of the cast is rounded out by the always-reliable Richard Dreyfuss, Julian McMahon behaving like a total dick again, and Embeth Davidtz as Goddard's ice-cold right-hand woman. She even speaks with a posh British accent, just so it's clear that she's a villain. Josh Holloway's in there too in a blink-and-you'll-miss-him role as FBI agent Gamble.

Released on August 16, 2013, "Paranoia" has received the worst reviews of the year with a mere 4% on Rotten Tomatoes. There are only two positive reviews and one of them comes from 'quote whore' Pete Hammond. Funny story, I was the last one to get into the advance screening but by the end of the film, I was wondering if it was all worth it to begin with! Audiences are making the right choice by avoiding this mess of a thriller as it debuted in tenth place on opening day with a paltry $1.3 million, which means it'll disappear from theaters quickly. While "Paranoia" isn't so aggressively bad that it'll make you tear your hair out, the whole affair just feels tired, generic, and instantly forgettable. The only time you'll be gripping your seats is in anticipation of seeing this film end.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

Nicholas Wyatt: You stood on my shoulders!

Jock Goddard: And now I'm standing on your neck!