Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Ana is an ambitious intern dreaming of a career in the art world while trying to impress her demanding boss Claire. When she's upgraded to first class on a work trip, she meets handsome Will, and Ana pretends to be her boss– a white lie that sets off a glamorous chain of events, romance and opportunity, until her fib threatens to surface.
Upgraded is a pleasant but formulaic romantic comedy that leans heavily on the classic mistaken-identity trope with little originality. The plot is predictable from start to finish — the lie escalates, things get complicated, there's a falling-out, and reconciliation follows the well-worn RomCom blueprint. Acting is serviceable and charming enough from the leads to keep things watchable but rarely transcendent. Cinematography is competent, making nice use of London and first-class settings without doing anything visually memorable. Novelty is low — the premise is a well-trodden device and the film doesn't subvert or reinvent it in any meaningful way. The ending is telegraphed well in advance and delivers exactly what audiences expect with no surprises, earning it a below-average score for resolution craft.