Transcendence (2014)
THE SCOOP
Director: Wally Pfister
Cast: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara
Plot: As Dr. Will Caster works toward his goal of creating an omniscient, sentient machine, a radical anti-technology organization fights to prevent him from establishing a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain.
Genre: Drama / Mystery / Sci-Fi
Awards: -
Runtime: 119min
Rating: PG for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality.
IN RETROSPECT (Spoilers: NO)
“Shut
it down!”
This will go down as one of the
most disappointing films of summer 2014.
Transcendence comes with the
clout of the great, accomplished cinematographer-turned-director Wally
Pfister. This is his first feature as
director after a string of stunning works as director of photography in
collaboration with Christopher Nolan in films such as The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010).
Transcendence
is
a movie of poor execution, despite its interesting themes. In my opinion, Pfister and first-time
screenwriter Jack Paglen should take most of the blame, while some of those I
think would come out unscathed from this disaster are Rebecca Hall, who turns in
a fine performance despite the insipid script, composer Mychael Danna with an
atmospheric and occasionally rhythmic score, and ironically, Jess Hall, who
shot a visually composed and elegant film.
Johnny Depp headlines another
dud of a movie after the spectacular failure of The Lone Ranger (2013), but at least that tried to entertain. He plays Dr. Will Caster, a giant in the
field of technology and artificial intelligence, who is shot by a member of a
radical anti-technology organization.
The bullet contains radiation and he is expected not to survive after a
few months. With his expertise and
secret technology at his disposal, he uploads his brain to the computer mainframe
with the help of his wife (Hall) before he 'dies'.
The bulk of Transcendence centers on the idea of
life after death, of existing through a network that connects us most – the Internet. Other themes, many of them familiar in the
sci-fi genre, such as the self-awareness of sentient machines, the perils of artificial
intelligence, and religion (omnipresence) versus technology are explored.
There are never too many ideas
to portray in a sci-fi film, but Transcendence
messes them all up in a narrative that is so heavy with exposition that the
movie never ever gathers momentum.
Reviewer Jake Coyle of the Associated Press described it as “the movie
version of a paranoid TED talk”. My
fellow reviewer friend Vernon Chan calls it “this decade’s The Net (1995)”.
For me, I think it feels like
you are in a car with only the first gear working. Pfister’s film is flat and lifeless. I suggest you avoid it even if you may be
curious. Transcendence is also about regeneration, even if the film is
beyond repair. Well, the final nail in
its coffin is seeing satellite dishes magically fixing themselves after being
destroyed. Now that is pushing the wrong
button.
Verdict: There are interesting ideas, but this movie
heavy with exposition is a mess with poor execution.
GRADE: D
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