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MOVIE REVIEW: Paranoia

Reader Nomusa Nkabinde reviews new thriller Paranoia on behalf of the Randburg Sun and Ster-Kinekor Northgate.

GENRE: Thriller

RUNNING TIME: 108 minutes

STARRING: Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), Amber Heard (The Rum Diary), Harrison Ford (Cowboy & Aliens)

DIRECTED BY: Robert Luketic (Monster-in-Law, Legally Blonde)

RATING:

one star

Currently screening at Ster-Kinekor Northgate.

 

PLOT: Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) is a low-level intern at Wyatt-Mobile, a large corporation owned by Nicholas Wyatt (Gary Oldman). After a pitch to Wyatt goes wrong, Cassidy and his team, fellow interns and friends, are fired. Cassidy suggests a vengeful drinking spree at the best club in town on the Wyatt-Mobile credit card that the group still has in their possession. This lands Cassidy in hot water and Wyatt threatens to have Cassidy arrested for fraud unless he spies on Wyatt’s former mentor and rival Jock Goddard (Harrison Ford), providing Wyatt with information on a new product Goddard’s company is developing. The stakes are high, but Cassidy wants more out of life. He quickly finds himself in a web of lies, danger, industrial espionage and a war between bitter rivals.

THE GOOD: The casting was good, especially that of Liam Hemsworth as the lead character Cassidy. He fit the “profile” so to speak. The beginning had much promise as a high-tech thriller and it draws you in.

THE BAD: Unfortunately, the hook does not last long as the movie becomes very dull very fast. Where does one start? Contrary to what the title suggests, there is no paranoia in the movie. There is no suspense and the movie is preachy. Instead of the theme coming through from the story it is told rather than shown to us in the form of narration. Even with an all-star cast the movie fails to impress and the direction fails to bring out the best performances, especially for Liam Hemsworth.

VERDICT: When it comes to directing it seems specialising in a genre and sticking to it is a good idea, and Robert Luketic’s direction of this thriller is proof of this. He should stick to making romantic comedies. As for the story, one can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t have worked much better had it been turned into a television series instead, it certainly felt like an episode rather than a movie. It is not worth the time or ticket price, if you really must see it then waiting for the DVD release is the better option.

*Special thanks for Ster-Kinekor Northgate for making the review possible.

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