Corporate espionage and blue collar crime films are nothing new. Smart filmmakers will turn to ‘Wall Street’ or, more recently, ‘Margin Call’ to see how it’s done right. Others will look at those films and try to emulate them but ultimately fail, as their brilliance goes far beyond what's merely seen on the screen. And then there are those who take a weak script, who are out of their depth with such material and simple put page to screen - nothing more, nothing less - see Robert Luketic and ‘Paranoia’.
Young, idealistic, tech whiz-kid Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) has just been fired by technology mogul Nicolas Wyatt (Gary Oldman) after he and his team give a less-than-inspiring presentation. In debt and now struggling to pay the bills, Wyatt sees Adam’s predicament as an opportunity to use him to infiltrate the company of his ex-mentor (Harrison Ford). Soon lines become blurred and trust becomes an unaffordable luxury as Adam finds himself being used as a pawn as he goes deeper and deeper in this corporate war.
SWITCH: PARANOIA - TRAILER
Contrived doesn’t even begin to describe this weak and lacklustre film. Romance and comedy director Luketic tried his hand in a similar genre back in 2008 with ’21’, a superficial flop that has since proved that the success of ‘Legally Blonde’ was a fluke and not due to its director.
Power-players Oldman, Ford and even Amber Heard are a waste here with this unoriginal overly formulaic drivel. Unfortunately even Hemsworth is thrown to the dogs, sadly outclassed by his co-stars despite his genuine talent. Even the title doesn’t fit as the film - in fact, the movie has absolutely nothing to do with paranoia. A thriller this is not, with the only tension conjured over whether you think you can get your money back.