Quick Review: Paranoia (2013)

August 27, 2013 / Leave a Comment

PARANOIA

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
AUGUST 27, 2013

Only entertaining on the most basic levels, without its seasoned cast and glossy shine film quality, “Paranoia” would be, as the critics have already called it, “borderline unwatchable.” Touting a cast of Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman again on opposing sides, and Liam Hemsworth with Amber Heard getting stuck in between these moguls, no one would have guessed the plot structure and delivery not be anything less than amazing. Instead, Robert Luketic’s feature is stale and recycled, feeling like every other corporate espionage film ever made. Mostly unbelievable and often contradictory, the jabs the film makes on worldwide surveillance get brushed over to allow for the plot to carry on. In particular, the fact that all conversations are monitored on phones, whether the phone is on or not, would render the idea of becoming a spy completely impossible. There would be no way that Adam (Hemsworth) could infiltrate Goddard’s (Ford) company without immediately being detected, especially as he runs back to the rival company. The writing is surface level, relying on fixed stereotypes to get the viewer directly involved rather than developing characters richly and excitingly. The film becomes so formulaic that even the romance that blossoms are rendered unwanted. With a veteran cast like Ford and Oldman, it takes a very poorly written script and terrible execution to kill a film like “Paranoia.”