Level Up (2016)

Level Up (2016)

Also known (especially in the French-speaking world) as Under Control (although nothing is controlled in this film, which controls nothing!). And I’ll never stop saying how ridiculous it is to change an original title by another title in the same language.

Not to be confused with the film of the same name by director Peter Lauer (which is an original Cartoon Network film), nor with the Swiss film Level up your life (2018) by Stefan Hillebrand & Oliver Paulus.

It’s hard to like this film!
Although the beginning quickly captivated me and the end still reminded me of Black Mirror, in this Manichean scenario, everything (or almost everything) is bad: the direction, the actors, the dialogue…

What’s more, it’s littered with inconsistencies, because the story is so implausible! One hell of a purge. But as you know, I like to be objective and find positives everywhere!

A man who leads a quiet, even boring life in the eyes of his girlfriend sees his life turned upside down when he is mugged and she is kidnapped. The criminals put a sealed waistcoat on him and ask him to deliver a package to someone. But things aren’t going to be that easy, as some people get in his way and try to kill him. Lacking the stature and skills of a hero, he has to go the extra mile to save the woman in his life…

But she’s horrible to him, making comments and even pushing him to spill his cereal, mocking him: “That way you’ll have something to do today!

If you pay attention to the details, it’s easy to guess what’s going on and why, but the plot isn’t so predictable – on the contrary, it’s well constructed. Adam Randall has succeeded in making something dynamic and complete thanks to a steady pace and various spots that make every stop Matt makes feel as if he’s in another universe… which makes it possible to play on different registers, since we go from an action-oriented scene to something a little lighter or downright absurd in the space of a few minutes.

‘Level Up’ is clearly not a great film, but it’s good entertainment that keeps you on the edge of your seat right up to the last minute.

I’ve seen all of Adam Randall’s films. Or at least the four most important ones. This one is probably the least good, although Night Teeth (2021) is pretty rubbish, too. iBOY (2017) is slightly better and my favourite remains I See You (2019).

A concept that’s been seen before, but regularly poorly executed. The Game (1997) succeeded, as far as I’m concerned!

As I said, it’s incoherent. The main character’s actions are so incomprehensible that you end up not caring.

Here’s a small selection:

• There’s no way that a concept like this, manipulating so many people and watched by thousands of people on the net, could exist without the police knowing about it.
• On numerous occasions during the film, the main character disobeys the kidnappers, at the risk of having his girlfriend killed. If you’re not going to follow the rules, why not go to the police?

On the other hand, what’s subtle about the film is that it’s a treasure hunt through London, showing the new architectural complexes (buildings, shopping centres, Olympic sites, neighbourhoods) that have been built recently, while systematically avoiding the well-known landmarks, which is a bit dizzying, because it’s hard to recognise the places, even if you’ve lived there for a long time. What’s more, there’s no spatial continuity, meaning that the film juxtaposes places that are very far apart in a single sequence (especially during the races, of which there are many). The result is a totally reinvented city.

The second point is that the film tries to surprise in every sequence by offering an unexpected turn of action.

The third point is the interweaving of the real world and the world of the video game, which disorients the characters, who can no longer distinguish the boundary between the two worlds. Another negative point is that this is a low-budget film, so the acting and direction suffer. Finally, and this is the problem with all films of this type, there’s a total absence of emotion (this is a game) and a total emptiness of the enterprise with no dramatic stakes.

When I think back on this film, I tell myself that there were plenty of good moments and that it had everything it needed to do well. So I didn’t hate everything about it and I like the ending.
Mind you, I’m about to spoil it, so thanks for reading this far. If you want to see the film, please don’t read on!

Have a great day!

Warning: Mega spoiler!!!

When the ‘hero’ discovers that his girlfriend has been kidnapped, he tries to call her.
No answer…
However, at the end of the film, we learn that she was never kidnapped and that she was at work all day. It’s lucky for the kidnappers that she didn’t answer the call or send a text message during the day. That would have screwed up all their plans…