The biggest problem is not just that the movie is stupid (it is, but more on that later), it’s that the script proposes situations which bastardize the basic premises on which the film is built. The movie attempts to be an allegory for a number of ideological conflicts (creationists vs. evolutionists; technophiles vs. technophobes; fascism vs. socialism) all at once while never convincingly making a single argument for or against any of the myriad philosophies it irresponsibly employs. Like a college freshmen eager to impress his friends, Transcendence references an array of disparate ideas while having very little understanding of any of them.
Let’s start with the film’s central concept: the idea that one day, through exponential advances in technology, the intelligence of a computer will surpass the intelligence of humans. The brilliant Ray Kurzweil has talked for years about this inevitability which he calls “the Singularity.” In the movie, Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) refers to this event as “transcendence” (hence the title of the movie) while inexplicably casting aside the accepted term Singularity. But, what happens in the course of the movie is not the Singularity (or transcendence)! After being attacked by an anti-technology group known as RIFT, Will and his wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), find a way to upload his consciousness – that which makes him human – into a super powerful computer which allows him to bypass death. So, the title of the movie is meaningless since it refers to an event that never actually happens in the movie.
Ostensibly, the villains of the film are the members of RIFT, their goal being…well, it’s not quite clear. They hate Will Caster and other researchers working in the field of artificial intelligence, but it is never explained where they draw the line on good vs. bad technology. This militant band (which looks like it is comprised of extras from Portlandia) opposes technology, but they have more sophisticated computer networks and instruments at their disposal than the FBI. Early in the movie, Will is challenged by a RIFT member during a lecture, accusing him of attempting to create a god (not Will’s intention, by the way). So, are they only trying to prevent technological advances that “play god”? What about advances in medicine that save lives? Is that off limits? Obviously not as late in the movie RIFT uses modern medicine (i.e. technology) to try to prevent a man from dying.
Transcendence is the directorial debut of Wally Pfister, who has previously been a director of photography and who has made every one of Christopher Nolan’s films since Insomnia the beautiful works that they are. Pfister is wonderfully talented as a cinematographer, but his first attempt as a director proves he did not learn as much from Nolan as he should have. Transcendence is a mess from the very beginning, its pace stalling between nearly every development in the plot. The movie moves into the action so quickly that we know next to nothing about the characters or their relationships. For example, Evelyn does everything she can to keep Will “alive,” including crossing some very clear ethical boundaries. Why? We are made to assume she loves him because they are married, but we never see more than a very cold professor/TA relationship between them prior to Will being shot. Similarly, our entry point into RIFT, Bree (Kate Mara), is a complete mystery. We know nothing about her: Why does she fear/hate technology? Can she be trusted? Does she understand the technology she is trying to destroy? Transcendence doesn’t have characters; it has movie tropes which are used only to serve the story.
Written by Jack Paglen, Transcendence somehow landed on the 2012 Black List (the annual list of the best unproduced screenplays) which begs the question: How much was stripped away from the original script to make it more palatable for mass audiences? It’s hard to imagine that a script filled with this many asinine lines of dialogue and partially thought out plot points would be considered the best of anything.
Aside from Rebecca Hall, who gives a very good performance with a great deal of depth, the talented cast is completely wasted. Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy play characters that add nothing to the story. Mara’s perpetual frown becomes monotonous and annoying. Paul Bettany, who plays a close friend of Will and Evelyn, seems to think he is in a production of Hamlet and not in a barrel of drivel which makes Michael Bay seem insightful. Unsurprisingly, Depp is asleep through most of the film, uttering his dialogue in monotone through a clenched jaw, most likely a result of the self-loathing he feels from having signed on in the first place.
Transcendence is bad and unrepentant in its badness. Do not see this movie and please prevent anyone you love, care about or even begrudgingly tolerate from seeing it. Ever.
Grade: F
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