Transcendence (2014)

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?