Paranoia
Director: Robert Luketic
Cast: Liam Hensworth, Gary Oldman, Harrison Ford, Amber Heard, Lucas Till, Embeth Davidtz, Julian McMahon, Josh Holloway, Richard Dreyfuss
Rating: (M)
Two stars out of five
Australian director Robert Luketic had a massive hit with his very first proper American movie, 2001's Legally Blonde.
He has been struggling ever since to come even close, and Paranoia (Rialto) is not the film to do it. It tries to tap into some sort of Gen-X hatred of the baby boomers, who are supposed to be so greedy that they just will not share with others younger and prettier than them, but instead proves that when it comes to acting the old stags can still run rings around doe-eyed newcomers.
Paranoia stars Liam Hensworth (best known for having an older brother who is Thor and as Miley Cyrus' fiance). Liam is almost as keen as Miley about getting his kit off, so I can say with authority that he has a nice chest, which may help you decide whether you want to see this.
He plays Adam, a computer hotshot who feels frustrated that even though he has been working for five years he still does not have a corner office. Finally he comes to his boss' attention, but not in a good way.
Nicolas Wyatt (Gary Oldman) decides that Adam is the perfect Trojan horse to plant in his rival's company. After some arm twisting, Adam goes to work for Jack Goddard (Harrison Ford) and quickly finds he likes his new boss better than his old one.
Best thing: Mostly it is a pretty listless affair, except when Oldman and Ford are involved. They are a blast of energy when facing off against each other.
Worst thing: It aspires to be a taut sexy thriller, but instead it keeps stumbling into moments of unintentional humour, most of which seem to involve Julian McMahon.
See it with: Your cellphone turned off and not just for the comfort of other people in the audience. Those things can listen in on you, you know.
