It's been 16 years since Air Force One hit theaters and pitted Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman against each other, but now they are back in the all-new thriller Paranoia. While these two power houses are obvious the draw to see this film, Liam Hemsworth is leading the charge backed up by a great supporting cast including Amber Heard, Josh Halloway, Lucas Till and Richard DFreyfuss, but does it pack the punch needed to bring this thriller to life?
Paranoia follows a young superstar in the tech world who is forced into a world of corporate espionage between two of the most powerful tech billionaires in the world. Seduced by the unlimited wealth and power that comes along with it, he is pulled into this world too deep for them to just let him just walk away. This film had everything it needed to deliver a great thriller, yet it still failed. The story works fine, but there is no sense of urgency to anything that ever happens no matter how much they try. There is also a love story mixed in that bogs down the direction the film is trying to go leaving it disjointed. No one here ever seems to really hold a grudge or become overly concerned with what is happening to them hence loses all the effectiveness. Liam Hemsworth does a fine job with the lead role, but never comes across as much more than a pretty face, which works for what the character needs to be, but doesn't pack the emotional punch that it needs for the rest of the story. Ford and Oldman are great especially in the couple of scenes that they have with each other, but sadly they aren't on the screen all that much to save the overall film.
There are some interesting twists that make this film work a bit better by the time its all over, but still never really accomplishes what it is going for. While it's not a horrible film it felt more like a straight to video release than much else. With a bit more fleshing out and some better choices with music and tone, they could have left this film in the hands of Oldman and Ford and created a way more effective and entertaining film, but instead it ended up being a missed opportunity for these two greats.
Paranoia follows a young superstar in the tech world who is forced into a world of corporate espionage between two of the most powerful tech billionaires in the world. Seduced by the unlimited wealth and power that comes along with it, he is pulled into this world too deep for them to just let him just walk away. This film had everything it needed to deliver a great thriller, yet it still failed. The story works fine, but there is no sense of urgency to anything that ever happens no matter how much they try. There is also a love story mixed in that bogs down the direction the film is trying to go leaving it disjointed. No one here ever seems to really hold a grudge or become overly concerned with what is happening to them hence loses all the effectiveness. Liam Hemsworth does a fine job with the lead role, but never comes across as much more than a pretty face, which works for what the character needs to be, but doesn't pack the emotional punch that it needs for the rest of the story. Ford and Oldman are great especially in the couple of scenes that they have with each other, but sadly they aren't on the screen all that much to save the overall film.
There are some interesting twists that make this film work a bit better by the time its all over, but still never really accomplishes what it is going for. While it's not a horrible film it felt more like a straight to video release than much else. With a bit more fleshing out and some better choices with music and tone, they could have left this film in the hands of Oldman and Ford and created a way more effective and entertaining film, but instead it ended up being a missed opportunity for these two greats.