Paranoia is a 2013 American thriller film directed by Robert Luketic. Barry L. Levy and Jason Hall wrote the screenplay, loosely based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Joseph Finder. It stars Liam Hemsworth, Gary Oldman, Amber Heard, and Harrison Ford. The film was released on August 16, 2013, and bombed at the box office, grossing $17 million against a budget of $35 million. The film received negative reviews from critics and was described as "clichéd and unoriginal".
| Paranoia | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Robert Luketic |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | Paranoia by Joseph Finder |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | David Tattersall |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Junkie XL |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Relativity Media[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $17.1 million[2][4] |
Plot
editAdam Cassidy is a low-level inventor who works for a corporation run by Nicholas Wyatt. After being fired for insubordination, Adam uses the company's credit card to pay for bottle service for his friends at a club. Wyatt and his enforcer, Miles Meachum, blackmail Adam into becoming a corporate spy for Wyatt by threatening to have him arrested for fraud.
Adam is trained by Judith Bolton and infiltrates a company run by Wyatt's former mentor, Jock Goddard. He provides Goddard, who stole several of Wyatt's ideas, with advanced software that can hack into cellphones, with potential military applications. FBI Agent Gamble interrogates Adam, revealing that three other employees of Wyatt who transferred to Goddard's company were found dead, but Adam ignores him.
Adam finds out that Emma Jennings, a woman he met during the party, is the Director of Marketing at Goddard's company. He initiates a relationship with Emma to steal files about Goddard's upcoming projects. Wyatt threatens to kill Adam's father, Frank Cassidy, if Adam doesn't steal a revolutionary prototype cellphone, called Occura developed by Goddard. Adam later finds out Meachum and Bolton are monitoring him, so he destroys the cameras in his apartment. In retaliation, Meachum runs over Adam's friend, Kevin, with a car, almost killing him. Adam is given 48 hours to steal the prototype.
Adam uses Emma's thumbprint lifted from a spoon to gain security access to the company's vault. He is confronted there by Goddard, who intends to take over Wyatt's company with evidence that Adam was acting as Wyatt's spy. Emma finds out Adam used her. Adam recruits Kevin to help him. A meeting is set with Wyatt and Goddard, where it is revealed that Bolton has spied against Wyatt on Goddard's behalf. Both men speak of the crimes they have committed to sabotage each other's companies.
Adam secretly used software to transmit their conversation to Kevin, whose computer recordings are turned over to the FBI. Goddard, Wyatt, Bolton, and Meachum are arrested by Gamble, while Adam is released for contributing to the FBI's investigation. He opens a small startup company in Brooklyn with Kevin and their friends, and reconciles with Emma, thanking her with a passionate kiss.
Cast
edit- Liam Hemsworth as Adam Cassidy
- Gary Oldman as Nicholas Wyatt
- Amber Heard as Emma Jennings
- Harrison Ford as Augustine "Jock" Goddard
- Lucas Till as Kevin
- Embeth Davidtz as Dr. Judith Bolton
- Julian McMahon as Miles Meachum
- Josh Holloway as FBI Agent Gamble
- Richard Dreyfuss as Frank Cassidy
- Angela Sarafyan as Allison
- Nickson Ruto as Fala
- William Peltz as Morgan
- Kevin Kilner as Tom Lundgren
- Christine Marzano as Nora Sommers
- Charlie Hofheimer as Richard McAllister
Production
editPrincipal photography commenced on location in Philadelphia in July 2012, and returned for further filming at the end of November 2012.[5] The first trailer was released on June 6, 2013.[6] The film was scored by Junkie XL.[7]
Release
editRelativity Media released Paranoia on August 16, 2013,[2] and it was a box office bomb.[8] The film debuted at #13 in the United States, generating only $3.5 million in its first weekend and going on to gross a total of $7.4 million in the US.[2] It made $9.7 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $17.1 million.[2] Variety magazine listed Paranoia as one of "Hollywood's biggest box office bombs of 2013".[3]
Reception
editRotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 7% of 108 critics have given Paranoia a positive review; the average rating is 3.9/10. Their consensus is: "Clichéd and unoriginal, Paranoia is a middling techno-thriller with indifferent performances and a shortage of thrills."[9] On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 32 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[10]
Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote of Hemsworth, "Not since Taylor Lautner has Hollywood ogled a pretty boy this vacant and poorly prepared."[11] Andrew Barker of Variety wrote, "No one seems paranoid enough in this indifferently made, nearly tension-free thriller."[12] Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter called it "slick but muddled".[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g "Paranoia (2013)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Paranoia (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.-video/
- ^ a b Variety Staff (December 26, 2013). "Hollywood's Biggest Box Office Bombs of 2013". Variety. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ "Paranoia (2013)". The Numbers. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.
- ^ "Liam Hemsworth back in Philly to continue filming 'Paranoia'". November 29, 2012. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
- ^ "'Paranoia' First Trailer - Liam Hemsworth Beds Amber Heard". Film-summary.com. 2013-06-06. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
- ^ "Junkie XL maakt muziek voor Hollywood-thriller". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). 1 August 2013.
- ^ Smith, Grady (August 18, 2013). "Box office disaster: Harrison Ford's 'Paranoia' has the worst debut of 2013 (and his career)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Paranoia (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on May 9, 2024. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ "Home". CinemaScore. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (August 15, 2013). "A High-Tech Mole Living the High Life". The New York Times. p. C6. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
- ^ Barker, Andrew (August 9, 2013). "Film Review: 'Paranoia'". Variety. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- ^ Farber, Stephen (August 9, 2013). "Paranoia: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
External links
edit- Paranoia at IMDb
- Paranoia at Rotten Tomatoes