“Transcendence” presents itself as a smart movie while bombarding
the viewer with confusing plot turns, lapses in logic and smart characters who
are slow to realize the obvious. Johnny Depp plays Will Caster, a computer
genius who is close to making a key breakthrough in the advancement of
artificial intelligence. This makes him the target of fringe terrorist groups
who believe that rise of the computer is leading to the downfall of mankind. They
strike out at Will, critically injuring him. With only five weeks to live, he
begins the process of uploading his consciousness into the most advanced computer
on earth – a project continued by his wife, Evelyn, (Rebecca Hall), and a
colleague, Max Waters (Paul Bettany), after his death. The process works but
the ‘transcended’ Will is a cold, dangerous entity whose sole goal is the
accumulation of knowledge and power. Max is aware of the situation and alerts
others, including fellow computer scientist, Joseph Tagger (a wasted Morgan
Freeman) and FBI agent Buchanan (Cillian Murphy). It takes Evelyn longer to
realize that the Will in the machine is no longer the man she loved.
This is the directorial debut for Wally Pfister, the veteran
cinematographer who has worked behind the camera on all of Christopher Nolan’s
films since Memento. The film looks
great and the special effects are first rate, but the same degree of care wasn’t
accorded to things like storytelling and character development. There are
chunks of “Transcendence” that don’t make sense including a bit about a
computer virus. There’s no chemistry between Depp and Hall and their character’s
love story, so critical to the narrative, never seems real. And Depp is
strangely muted, which some might consider a pleasant change after his recent
flop as Tonto in The Lone Ranger.
Rebecca Hall seems to be trying too hard, probably to compensate for an
underwritten role while Bettany, Murphy and Freeman are underused. More than
any genre, science fiction has an obligation to convince the viewer to
willingly suspend disbelief. Unfortunately, rather than overlook the
contrivances, we find ourselves lost in a disappointing “Transcendence.”
4/18/14
No comments:
Post a Comment