{"id":13930,"date":"2014-04-16T15:51:33","date_gmt":"2014-04-16T22:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qgp.ykq.mybluehost.me\/cinephiled\/?p=13930"},"modified":"2014-04-16T15:51:33","modified_gmt":"2014-04-16T22:51:33","slug":"review-mind-blowing-transcendence-settles-mind-numbing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinephiled.com\/review-mind-blowing-transcendence-settles-mind-numbing\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Mind-blowing? ‘Transcendence’ Settles for Being Mind-Numbing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transcendence <\/em>marks the feature filmmaking debut of Wally Pfister, the \u201cvisionary\u201d cinematographer who was responsible at least in part for the mind-blowing look of Inception<\/em>, Chris Nolan\u2019s 2010, love-it-or-hate-it, dream-world hit.<\/p>\n

Pfister\u2019s science-fiction thriller attempts to blow minds in the same fashion as that earlier film. But after a promising start, it eventually turns into the typical, big-studio movie release, in a brainless, style-over-substance manner that\u2019s more Michael Bay than Chris Nolan. As such, it has to settle for being headache-inducing and mind-numbing instead.<\/p>\n

However, that\u2019s not meant to completely come down on the movie, which has a few interesting ideas \u2013 some of which are very heady, much more so than you\u2019d expect for a May movie release. But Pfister and first-time screenwriter Jack Paglen are clearly confused about how far they should go in exploring them, settling on the more predictable, expected road.<\/p>\n

So as a result, Transcendence<\/em> winds up being in the position of being the first \u2013 but certainly not\u00a0 the last — big disappointment of the 2014 Summer Movie Season.<\/p>\n

On the plus side: For a change Johnny Depp isn\u2019t just offering yet another variation on the now-tiresome, drunk pirate caricature he\u2019s \u201cperfected\u201d in several huge film blockbusters. He stars as Will Caster, a scientist on the frontline of artificial intelligence research.<\/p>\n

In fact, he believes his latest invention is as close to being a \u201csentient\u201d computer as possible, and that it retains something he calls \u201ccollective intelligence.\u201d That may come in handy when Will is shot by anti-technology radicals. It\u2019s clear that Will, who\u2019s been poisoned by the radioactive bullets, is not going to survive the assassination attempt, so he tries to convince his colleagues \u2013 including his wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), and his best friend, Max Waters (Paul Bettany) \u2013 to download his consciousness into the machine.<\/p>\n

At first the experiment seems to work, and husband and wife are \u201creunited.\u201d But soon, the virtual \u201cWill\u201d begins suffering delusions of grandeur, and, as he consumes data and knowledge, he begins taking over computer systems around the world. And, as you\u2019d expect, Max and Evelyn may be the only people who can \u201cpull the plug\u201d (so to speak) on this technological nightmare. Both are conflicted — She’s not ready to let “Will” go, while Max has fallen under the sway of the radicals and their charismatic leader (Kate Mara).<\/p>\n

In themes and even some imagery, this material may remind a few viewers not only of Inception<\/em>, but of the should-have-been-forgotten Lawnmower Man<\/em> movies and the Ghost in the Machine<\/em> anime and animated features. Unfortunately, it\u2019s more akin to the former than the latter. Furthering the Bay comparison, things blow up all around the place, in loud, bombastic fashion. (If you thought this was a problem for the Marvel Studios movies, you haven\u2019t seen anything yet!)<\/p>\n

It does look good, though. As in keeping with tradition, veteran director of photography Pfister used actual celluloid to shoot the film, eschewing digital photographing for a more \u201corganic\u201d look. (This would be a seeming irony, considering what his subject matter is here, but you do have to respect Pfister for sticking to his guns.)<\/p>\n

However, his lack of cinematic storytelling experience is glaring at times. There are some real dead spots in the action and the story, and both Pfister and screenwriter Paglen have a hard time finding meaty things for all the members of the huge cast to do. The talented Irish actor Cillian Murphy is stuck in a go-nowhere role as an FBI agent, while Morgan Freeman seems to be there simply to explain the plot for the more confused audience members. Perhaps they should have named his character Mr. X Planation or Mr. X Pository instead?<\/p>\n

To be fair, this is supposed to be Depp\u2019s show, with support from both Hall and Bettany, of course. And if nothing else, the fact that he\u2019s doing something a little different in terms of his performance \u2013 he\u2019s deadly serious here, for the most part — should be applauded and encouraged.<\/p>\n

Jeff Michael Vice can also be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (<\/em>www.thegeekshowpodcast.com<\/em><\/a>), and can be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity\u2019s Big Movie Mouth-Off (<\/em>www.facebook.com\/BigMovieMouthOff<\/em><\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transcendence marks the feature filmmaking debut of Wally Pfister, the \u201cvisionary\u201d cinematographer who was responsible at least in part for the mind-blowing look of Inception, Chris Nolan\u2019s 2010, love-it-or-hate-it, dream-world hit. Pfister\u2019s science-fiction thriller attempts to blow minds in the same fashion as that earlier film. But after a promising start, it eventually turns into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":13931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,16,99],"tags":[1709,1229,1711,1710,1707,273,270,230,28,1708],"yoast_head":"\nReview: Mind-blowing? 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