Trascender

Directed by Ace Cinematographer Wally Pfister in his directorial debut, 'Transcendence' is an interesting watch! No, its not perfect, but it has a terrific concept & to an extent, it leaves an impression.

'Transcendence' Synopsis: A scientist's drive for artificial intelligence, takes on dangerous implications when his consciousness is uploaded into one such program.

'Transcendence' has a marvelous first-hour, with the drama unfolding most impressively. The second-hour loses steam. The narrative becomes abstract & the film overstays its welcome by at least 15-minutes. Also, the culmination is half-baked. The desired impact is missing.

Jack Paglen's Screenplay is innovative & offers some truly well-written sequences, but the mostly low second-hour, plays a spoilsport. Wally Pfister's Direction is good. Cinematography is appropriate. Editing lacks sharpness. Art Design is super.

Performance-Wise: Johnny Depp, despite limited screen time, leaves a mark. Rebecca Hall is excellent. Paul Bettany is very sincere. Kate Mara is natural. Cillian Murphy & Morgan Freeman are okay.

On the whole, 'Transcendence' isn't amazing, but it holds some appeal nevertheless.

Transcendence, much like most of the latest sci-fi themed films to hit cinemas, is a wasted effort. It exhibits signature Pfister cinematography that we've come to love over the past decade. With Nolan's Batman trilogy and Inception, it was only a matter of time for Wally Pfister to take a stab at directing. Unfortunately, the only thing that seems well done in this film is the cinematography. The story, while seeming fresh and exciting on paper, devolves into a half baked idea with mediocre acting. Johnny Depp does the best he can while only being a mere voice during the latter half of the film. The rest of the cast seems wasted, this is especially true because we know how great Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman and Rebecca Hall can be. Wally Pfister focuses more on capturing really fantastic shots but seems never truly devoted to the actual story. This comes as a major disappointment especially because of the hype that this film has been generating over the last year. When it boils down to it, Transcendence is just another exercise in style over substance, never matriculating to anything more than an average sci-fi thriller that has a criminally underused cast and phenomenal camera-work.

This film will most likely split down the middle because of it's religious tones of God and evolution. Some people will love it and some will hate it because it might go against their belief system.

For movie purposes, it has great acting, great story (though some may feel it's a little too far fetched, which I personally don't think is too far fetched when you see what the world was like 10 years ago before the mainstream web), and pretty good action scenes.

At the heart, it's a story about a woman, Evelyn, who loves her husband, Will, so much she tries to hold onto him by helping him save his consciousness. She begins to wrestle with whether this being is really Will or is something new. It's also about evolution and the line between humanity and evolving into something more. This movie might be a turn off for religious people but it does make you think of what humanity could become whether you're religious or not.

Overall, it's a great movie that's enjoyable, thought provoking, challenges some beliefs, and foreshadows some future realities we will all have to soon deal with.

I would say go see it!

I'm glad that some of the reviews that I had read, even from fairly reputable and reliable sources like Bluray.com, were ultimately not accurate in their description of this film. For example, that site made it seem like this was a rather shallow movie that basically was about an Artificial Intelligence that typically goes amok. That is not true at all and completely misses the point.

Now that I've just seen it, I can understand why they named it as they did; this wasn't just some usual commercially catchy phrase to sell a film, but after all is said and done (and viewed) that SPECIFICALLY was actually the primary theme of the film. It will be a little difficult to 'talk' about this aspect of it without entering Spoiler territory, which I do not wish to do.

There are deeper themes running through this film than one may think at first. Without being specific, the final few scenes reveal that 'Transcendence' is indeed what is going on here. So, first and foremost, PLEASE do not be put off by those who say that this is just a shallow Sci Fi film about a machine taking over; if you like serious Science fiction that is done very well, then you should like this film.

One caution though... My impression is that this movie is the moral antithesis of a film like, say, 'CHILDREN OF MEN', which I also just watched recently before this one. That film too is very beautifully shot and technically well done; AND, it also would be considered very serious, adult Science Fiction. But, I personally ***ENJOYED*** this one quite a bit more; the themes and mood of it resonated a LOT more with me personally than the other film. I just mention these particular films as a comparison of two well done, modern Sci Fi films, but with almost TOTALLY opposite philosophies behind them. Whereas 'CoM' is what I would call much more gritty and 'Realistic' and even quite Nihilistic in it's tone, where basically just about bloody EVERYONE dies, Mankind is shown to be nasty, selfish, and brutal, and with the supposed exception of it's last minute ending, completely without any hope at all. This film though, in my lowly and wretched opinion, is MUCH more subtle and enlightened in the themes that it is emphasizing, and it may not be until the very end when you fully realize what the point actually is (I'll give you a hint... It has to do with one of the last things Rebecca Hall says) Don't get me wrong, BOTH films are very well done, but I just wanted to show the extreme contrast in tone, so that it might help you to choose whether you would want to watch this one.

Also, quite frankly, it is just a great film. It's a lot of fun, there is excellent suspense where you do NOT know what is going to happen next or whether what is going on is truly Good or Evil...

So, as I mention in a lot of my reviews: If you are a bit on the cynical side and are the kind of person who likes their entertainment, whatever the Genre, to be of the more brutally 'Realistic' type, and you don't care for more imaginative or Idealistic films, then this one may not do much for you. BUT... IF you do appreciate films where the underlying themes may cause you to question your own attitudes towards Hope and Faith (and I DON'T mean anything Religious at all - Just Faith or Hope in things or people in general) THEN you might, as I did, really find this film quite refreshing and entertaining.

Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is a scientist who strives for artificial intelligence that also exhibits human qualities. His detractors want to stop him, and he is shot by them and is infected with Polonium and will die soon due to radioactive poisoning. To save his consciousness Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), his wife and his friend Max (Paul Bettany) upload his consciousness into Will's artificial intelligence program. Max sees the dangers when Will makes himself known on a monitor. He doesn't believe it is actually Will. Evelyn, on the other hand, believes it is Will and wants to go forward.

Hey, we all know this day may be coming and this movie may be a harbinger of that. But for now let's see where this takes us. Keep in mind, it's only a movie.

We see the dangers of Will becoming godlike and controlling the world's internet. However all we actually see is Will doing good healing the earth and people. But, the opposing forces see this as too controlling and fear it could get out of hand and doom everyone including the earth itself. There is that but what is forgotten - in this movie - is the love Will has for Evelyn for whom Will does everything. He constantly cites Evelyn's dream to her. The problem is that later on Evelyn also sees the dangers of a too powerful Will. The ending proves this point.

Some things were not brought into this scenario: no government including those worldwide, no religious groups demonstrating against Will and what he has become in their minds, and no worldwide denunciation by other nations. No, this stays with the small opposition group and the love story with Will doing everything he can to further Evelyn's dream although it may not be as evident as it could have been.

There is some excellent CGI in the works. A good supporting cast of Paul Bettany as Max and Morgan Freeman as Joseph were under used, but still good in this context. Kate Mara as Bree, a leader of the opposition is the only one who is animated and urges the end of Will and what he has become.

When a Johnny Depp character is on the screen or in a monitor on the screen, he is still a force to behold and performs in Oscar-worthy mode all the time. Kudos.

This movie provides us with something to think about. How far will we allow technology to go?

The pacing is slow, and we are never sure where this is leading us, but we are attentive and hope for the best. We like what Will is doing but we don't want him to become a god or godlike. How can he be stopped?

Yes, now only a movie, but one day…………………(7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No,Very brief soft stuff.