Geek Girl Features

Much like the earlier summer hit “Now You See Me,” the Relativity Media release of “Paranoia” wasn’t on my radar until well into the summer. It hit my list of must- sees with a starring cast of Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Liam Hemsworth and a potentially thought provoking commentary on the current have’s vs. have not’s makeup of our world.

Set in New York City, the film features the rivalry between two tech-giant owners, Nicholas Wyatt (Oldman) of Wyatt Corp. and Jock Goddard (Ford) of eikon, and the man caught in the middle, Adam Cassidy (Hemsworth) as they compete to be the first out with an industry changing product that eikon has envisioned and that Wyatt is willing to do anything, even stealing trade secrets, to get.

From here the thriller movie doesn’t quite live up to its name. Paranoia it may be, but Cassidy, despite running for his life, manages to get ahead. Maybe the title refers more to its outstanding supporting cast, rather than its attractive, yet lackluster star?

The plot isn’t anything particularly new. A corporate espionage film based on the idea of the rich getting richer and the poor staying poor isn’t a new idea, nor does the film try anything original. Hemsworth puts in an effort as Adam Cassidy, but never quite connects with the audience, despite the efforts to make him as an everyman techno whiz with the posse of hipster techno whiz fighting the system alongside him.

None of this doesn’t mean that the film isn’t a good popcorn flick. Despite cringe worthy lines such, as Wyatt’s “You’ll never get away with this” the cinematography is great and the overall climax of the movie is a satisfying one. The best part of the movie is obviously its cast. Having Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman in the same scene is amazing, and then have other actors like Richard Dreyfuss and Julian McMahon as supporting characters makes a movie fun just for seeing fan favorites in the same movie.

I’m giving this film an C. It’s an engaging movie and while not an edge of your seat thriller, provides a good turn or two as the plot progresses. Despite the cast and decent, if predictable plotline, this movie wasn’t well marketed to audiences, and maybe helped the box office belly flop along. “Paranoia” is PG-13 for some sexuality, language and violence.