OFFICE UPRISING (2018

OFFICE UPRISING (2018)

Tagline: Worst. Workday. Ever.

(Action, Comedy, Canned Beverages) [R]

Note: This movie never got an MPAA rating, but it would have landed an [R} due to language and violence.

Desmond, don't be too sad. We have a killer severance package.

Just in case you were wondering if Zachary Levi could play a jerk…look no further than this thing. The answer is yes. 

Oh yeah. I am supposed to give you an overview of the plot right now. 

This storyline revolves around a company called Ammotech which makes all kinds of weapons. Several employees end up drinking an energy drink called Zolt which is used to give soldiers alertness, but the first batch has results that are wildly unpredictable turning the employees into hyper strengthened violent murderers. A worker named Desmond who is a massive slacker there must now face down his homicidal coworkers with the help of his long-time work friend Samantha and a pacifist named Mourad. 

One thing you might notice right away is that this film is basically the same movie as MAYHEM which came out the year before. Both movies are extremely violent office craziness scenarios and both have casts involving actors I really like and have the main goal of trying to get to the top of a high-rise building. OFFICE UPRISING takes a more comedic approach than MAYHEM but is more violent while managing to be less realistic. 

Acting wise I mentioned Zachary Levi earlier and his character in this isn’t even remotely like his character in SHAZAM, or really anything else I have seen him in. He plays a real jerk in this as Adam Nusbaum, but his acting is superb. We also get Brenton Thwaites who is best known for playing Dick Grayson on the show “Titans” but he was also in GOD’S OF EGYPT and a few other big movies that got critically slammed for essentially no reason. He is good in this as Desmond, but that isn’t a surprise. He’s a great actor. Jane Levy does a pretty good job as Samantha. Outside of this, she’s done a bunch of handful of films I’ve never seen. Rounding out the top cast we get Karan Soni (GHOSTBUSTERS) who plays Mourad and does a fantastic job. I am sure he’s done some roles I wouldn’t like, but to this point, I have only seen him in stuff that I do like him in. Then finally we have a decent dose of Kurt Fuller (THE RUNNING MAN) as Lentworth and he is also pretty good in this. 

The pacing is fine overall, and the dialog is okay, but those parts of the film and the cinematic choices are very run-of-the-mill. In other words, there aren’t any real groundbreaking moments. I think if this had come out before MAYHEM it might have been considered a new concept, but instead, it does come across as “done before” with fewer funny moments than I had hoped for. 

Overall I have to give this thing a 3 out of 7. I do love the cast, but if they were going for an action comedy, I think having some funnier dialog would have helped. This movie isn’t without funny lines, but it does have an uneven delivery. By the way, this is actually nearly the opposite of some of the more scathing reviews that thought it was too goofy.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF MIND THE GAP PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.