Summary
Office Uprising sees a weapons company turn into a war zone itself after a new test energy drink has some horrific side effects. An over-the-top satire that begins as a straight comedy quickly becomes a very fast-paced and humorously violent thriller.
A quite wonderful mix of Office Space and Shaun of the Dead, Lin Oeding’s movie Office Uprising stars Brenton Thwaites (Titans) as a regular office worker who couldn’t care less about his job. He, along with Jany Levy (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead) and Karan Soni (Deadpool) are forced to fight for their survival after their company, Ammotech, develops a new “efficiency boosting” energy drink that instead turns people into hyper-aggressive maniacs.
Thwaites portrays a very likeable character in Office Uprising and his performance is even more admirable after learning he performed his own stunts during the violent sequences. The scene-stealer, however, is Zachary Levi (Shazam!) as their regional manager. He fully embraces how ridiculous and satirical this movie is and it works wonders.
Office Uprising’s whole ensemble of characters play so well off each other and it is often the secondary characters that stand out the most. Whether it’s a group of advertising workers shouting “Sloganize me!” or Ammotech’s CEO insisting that “this is weapons company, there’s no place for violence here!”, the movie will certainly have you with a smile on your face.
The biting satire in Ian Shorr and Peter Gamble’s script comes from the fact that Ammotech seems to believe in non-violence and that they create “weapons of mass protection”. It makes you wonder if all the employees turning homicidal thanks to an energy drink is the best way of delivering that message.
The violent scenes and stuntwork are all impressive and that is understandable knowing that this was Oeding’s feature directorial debut after a prolific career in stunts. Even being an over-the-top movie, Office Uprising needed the more violent action thriller aspects to work equally as well as the comedic. Thankfully, they do just that.
Grimmfest hosted the European Premiere of Office Uprising and for a film that was ten years in the making, the satire still hits. The realisation of what could be bubbling just under the surface of every office worker is certainly a very interesting thought. This movie does take that to the extreme of course and is very entertaining for doing that.
Quite unlike many of the films shown at Grimmfest, this one can act as a palette cleanser after some of the more brutal films. That is a very appropriate way to look at this movie, as fun, easy, entertaining viewing. Yes, the satire is there but there are no deep themes or complex plots that sit in your head for days. This is interesting and very funny entertainment and that’s all it needs to be to be successful.
Office Uprising is a perfectly satisfying action comedy thriller. It’s worth watching just for Zachary Levi.
