TRANSCENDENCE – The Review

A couple of good ideas can go a long way. Other times they could be just that – ideas without a proper framework to support them. Wally Pfister’s directorial debut TRANSCENDENCE seems to struggle to find a purpose for the “high-concept” thoughts that seem to expand its own head rather than the audiences. In fact, some audiences might struggle to stay awake during this uncompelling and preachy bore.

After a minor flash-forward that unceremoniously lets you know what will eventually happen, the film opens with Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) as he’s about to give a speech at a science conference. At his side is his loyal wife Evelyn played with heart and emotion by Rebecca Hall. Upon leaving the hall Will is confronted with a shooter who attempts to kill the scientist. This is only one action in what is soon revealed as a series of acts of violence committed by an anti-tech terrorist group; I thought for a second about how they might get in touch with new recruits and communicate with one another but quickly dismissed this logical thought. Even though Will survives the bullet, he cannot stop the poison that the bullet that hit him is laced with. A last ditch effort to save his mind is performed by Evelyn and fellow scientist Max (Paul Bettany) by placing all of Will’s thoughts and memories on several hardrives. This action allows Will and Evelyn to continue their research and to make technological leaps including building a huge underground laboratory where the duo begins to play God by combining the DNA of humans with Will’s computer code. As you can expect, negative repercussions ensue.

Like so many films that came before it, TRANSCENDENCE explores the idea of man’s connection with technology and his abuse of to science in order to play God. At times I began to feel that the film would fit nicely into the filmography of David Cronenberg. In the 80’s and into the 90’s the iconic director bridged the gap between the arthouse and the slaughterhouse with his bloody “body horror” explorations that also tapped into philosophical discussions about the relation between man and machine. He most famously did this in THE FLY and VIDEODROME and then a little bit later with the often overlooked gem EXISTENZ. All three films follow a protagonist who feels empowered by a new leap in technological advancement. TRANSCENDENCE continues this theme nicely, even though I’d argue it might be about ten years too late to the conversation. There’s not any new parts in this machine which makes all the gear spinning all the more tedious when there’s not more energy pushing them. Pfister obviously knows how to present a striking image – which he frequently does here as he previously did working with Christopher Nolan – but his images alone can’t elevate this vacant film. If only Cronenberg guided the film with his twisted mind than it might have had some more life to it.

There are moments where I could see what Jack Paglen was attempting to do with this limp story. What makes us human and whether or not the new “computer Will” really, truly is the human Will are questions that triggered enough of a curiosity in me that I didn’t fall asleep during the film. But I must admit that I was looking at my watch quite a few times. I never felt like I watching a character driven techno-thriller nor did I feel I was being forced to sit through a long-winded science lecture.

TRANSCENDENCE just feels stagnant. It exists and that’s barely an appropriate description of it. Even the actors on-screen acted as if they are there to just collect a paycheck. My iPhone’s Siri shows me more of a range of emotion than Johnny Depp. Morgan Freeman fills space in the handful of scenes he’s in occasionally mumbling some useless non-sense. The only actor that seems to care is Rebecca Hall, and in contrast with everyone else she seems like she’s auditioning for a Spanish soap-opera.

TRANSCENDENCE sets up a basic premise and doesn’t go anywhere with it; unless you count some lackluster CGI sequences that show what I can assume is computer code floating up into our atmosphere. At this point I didn’t even care enough to analyze the science behind it all, not because I’m particularly gifted in the subject (which I’m not), but because the film didn’t give me anything to care about. I felt nothing, and I don’t think “computerized Will” needs to do a full body scan to figure out how I feel about this one.

1.5 out of 5