Transcendence

"I need you to wait here."
"What? Where are you going?"
"Everywhere."

Dr. Will Caster (Depp) is a scientist focused on creating a sentient computer.  His controversial research has made him famous and a target.  At a prestigious fundraising event, he is shot.  The shooter is part of a radical group call RIFT (Revolutionary Independence From Technology).  Simultaneously they attacked other A.I. labs across the country.  Will and his wife, Evelyn (Hall), are contacted by the government to continue his research, with the technology rescued from his colleagues.

However, Will is dying from his wounds.  Evelyn refuses to let him go, and begs his best friend Dr. Max Waters (Bettany) to help transport Will's brain into his computer so that his mind will live when his bodies fails.  They are successful, but Max is worried about the long term effects.  Their actions catch the attention of RIFT, led by Bree (Mara), and Evelyn hides her actions from the rest of the world.  Can Evelyn and Will find happiness?


I had high hopes for this film.  This is Wally Pfister's directorial debut.  He has worked closely with Christopher Nolan on several of Nolan's critical hits, as the cinematographer.  Nolan served as a producer for the film.  The cast is well-known and the premise is intriguing....

However, the film was a critical flop.  Most reviewers hated the script, characters, ending, etc.  I agree that it could be better, but it was still an interesting film.  Would I watch it again... probably not.  But it was ok for what it was.  It is unsettling and leaves you with questions... but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Final word: there is so much potential here, but it never gets there.  Decent directorial debut and I look forward to Wally Pfister's future projects.

Transcendence (2014) 119 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality
Director: Wally Pfister
Starring: Johnny Depp as Dr. Will Caster
Rebeccca Hall as Evelyn Caster
Paul Bettany as Max Waters
Cillian Murphy as Agent Buchanan
Kate Mara as Bree
Cole Hauser as Colonel Stevens
Morgan Freeman as Joseph Tagger
Clifton Collins Jr. as Martin