5 of 10
Personal
Bias Alert: Likes sci-fi, likes the
previous work of nearly everyone involved in this film
“Transcendence”
is the kind of film that makes people like me drool with anticipation. It’s a big budget sci-fi story that seems
rife with social commentary. That it is
the directorial debut of Wally Pfister, longtime cinematographer for Christopher
Nolan, hardly scratches the surface of the impressive cast and crew. Starring Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul
Bettany, and a cavalcade of Nolan actors, you know performances won’t be an
issue. It’s edited by David Rosenbloom,
who among many things did last years “Out of the Furnace.” The music is by Mychael Danna, whose catalog
includes “Life of Pi,” “(500) Days of Summer,” and “Little Miss Sunshine.” If for some reason you’re worried about the
cinematography, rest assured that they got Jess Hall to back up Pfister, whose
credits include “The Spectacular Now” and “Hot Fuzz.” I could keep going, but you get the
point. This movie is stacked, and I was
pumped to see it until I thought about its release date. Putting it out in mid-April and free from comparable
competition felt like a vote of no-confidence from the studio, and after seeing
this underwhelming film, I have to agree with their choice.
“Transcendence”
follows married couple Will and Evelyn Caster (Depp and Hall), artificial
intelligence researchers whose lives are thrown off course after Will is shot and
killed by an extremist group. Evelyn,
along with fellow researcher Max Waters (Bettany), manage to upload Will’s mind
into their AI computers, allowing his consciousness to live on through the
computer. Max has reservations,
wondering if what they are making will actually be Will or an approximation of
him. As computer-Will becomes more and
more powerful, the ramifications of Max’s question threatens to influence all
of humanity’s future.
The
script, written by newcomer Jack Paglen, was strong enough to make the 2012 Black
List. For those unfamiliar with the Black
List, it is the product of a survey of film executives who select their
favorite unproduced screenplays. While
not a sure-fire barometer, inclusion on the Black List normally indicates a certain
level of quality. I’m not sure if this
is one of the anomalies or if the screenplay got altered during production, but
the story that made it on the screen doesn’t deserve any accolades. The story is derivative, the characters are
flat, and the ending is a messy failure.
It plods through its two hour runtime with no sense of pacing, making
the whole thing seem closer to three hours than two.
Pfister’s
directorial inexperience doesn’t help matters, allowing these shortcomings to
fester without correction. It’s clear
that he is most comfortable directing the camera; the whole thing really is beautiful
to look at. The shot composition and
lighting, even when there is a lot of CGI stuff on the screen, is top
notch. What emotion there is in this
film often comes from these flourishes, but this excellence accentuates how
average the rest of the film is. I can’t
help but think that Pfister lacked a clear vision of what he wanted from the
plot and from his actors. The cast and
crew is talented enough to produce something better than what the screenplay
gives them, but even the most talented teams need someone to push them. Pfister, it seems, failed to do so.
Many
reviewers are coming down hard on “Transcendence,” but I don’t think it
deserves as much ire as it’s getting. I
was never bored by it, and between the performances and the visuals, there was
just enough things going right to make it a mediocre but forgettable film. Its fallen victim to its own hype, and few
things skew reviews more than disappointment.
Other Notes:
Ø SPOILER
ALERT: I really didn’t understand the
ending. Why would killing the computer
program kill Will and Evelyn’s physical bodies?
If it killed them, shouldn’t it kill all the people computer-Will modified?
Ø I
got really distracted by the actor who played the first guy that computer-Will
modified. I thought he looked a lot like
Depp, but I also recognized him from “Capote.”
I don’t know why that distracted me, but it did.
Ø Evelyn
checked into the hotel under the name Turing.
I’m assuming that a reference to Alan Turing, the forefather of modern
computer science.
Ø In
the last scene, Will and Evelyn are wearing shirts with banded collars, just
like the characters in “Her” wore.
Coincidence?
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