At first glance, it's hard to imagine Transcendence being anything but a great film. It has a great cast, an intriguing plot, and it's produced by Christopher Nolan and directed by his long-time cinematographer Wally Pfister. Unfortunately, this is one of the most disappointing and underwhelming viewing experiences I've had all year.
The main problem with Transcendence is that any interesting elements that our introduced in the film are quickly abandoned by a weak script that offers us absolutely nothing that we haven't seen before in Sci-fi films. The film gets off to a decent start setting up the plot and keeping us intrigued to see where it goes. Once the first act is over, it quickly starts to go downhill. As previously mentioned, there are several interesting ideas that our introduced throughout the film that the film never builds upon and quickly abandons them. This makes it a very frustrating viewing experience as it makes it appear hopeful that the film is finally picking up, only to once again be letdown. A lot of the flaws with the film come from it's weak script. In addition to never building on any interesting ideas it introduces, the characters are too one dimensional to connect with them on any emotional level and the story offers nothing we haven't seen before in other Sci-fi films of this type. Johnny Depp who normally is great in even his weakest films, appears to be sleep walking through the entire film appearing to be bored. Rebecca Hall did a decent job playing Depp's wife, but nothing spectacular. The only actor who really shines is Paul Bettany who delivers a great performance despite the weak material that he is given to work with. Morgan Freeman is completely wasted and given absolutely nothing to do. His character could have been completely cut out of the film and it wouldn't have altered anything in the story. Wally Pfister is also in part to blame for the films flaws. This is his directorial debut and it's very blatant and obvious that he struggled to put everything together considering the films lack of energy and dullness. A project of this caliber should not have been put in the hands of a first time director. There is also an anti-technology stance the film takes, yet only suggest and never actually shows the damage that Depp's character is doing in his new form which I found to be very annoying.
Now while Transcendence is far from a good movie, I can't quite call it terrible. I never really found myself bored during the film and was for the majority involved with the story throughout since it's told at a very straightforward pace. Pfister also shows that while his directional skills might be weak, his cinematography is nevertheless great and the visuals are impressive.
Overall, Transcendence isn't quite terrible, but it's convoluted and weak script plus direction make it a frustrating viewing experience that offers almost nothing. Despite the film being released in April, 2014 may have already found it's title for the most disappointing film of the year.
The main problem with Transcendence is that any interesting elements that our introduced in the film are quickly abandoned by a weak script that offers us absolutely nothing that we haven't seen before in Sci-fi films. The film gets off to a decent start setting up the plot and keeping us intrigued to see where it goes. Once the first act is over, it quickly starts to go downhill. As previously mentioned, there are several interesting ideas that our introduced throughout the film that the film never builds upon and quickly abandons them. This makes it a very frustrating viewing experience as it makes it appear hopeful that the film is finally picking up, only to once again be letdown. A lot of the flaws with the film come from it's weak script. In addition to never building on any interesting ideas it introduces, the characters are too one dimensional to connect with them on any emotional level and the story offers nothing we haven't seen before in other Sci-fi films of this type. Johnny Depp who normally is great in even his weakest films, appears to be sleep walking through the entire film appearing to be bored. Rebecca Hall did a decent job playing Depp's wife, but nothing spectacular. The only actor who really shines is Paul Bettany who delivers a great performance despite the weak material that he is given to work with. Morgan Freeman is completely wasted and given absolutely nothing to do. His character could have been completely cut out of the film and it wouldn't have altered anything in the story. Wally Pfister is also in part to blame for the films flaws. This is his directorial debut and it's very blatant and obvious that he struggled to put everything together considering the films lack of energy and dullness. A project of this caliber should not have been put in the hands of a first time director. There is also an anti-technology stance the film takes, yet only suggest and never actually shows the damage that Depp's character is doing in his new form which I found to be very annoying.
Now while Transcendence is far from a good movie, I can't quite call it terrible. I never really found myself bored during the film and was for the majority involved with the story throughout since it's told at a very straightforward pace. Pfister also shows that while his directional skills might be weak, his cinematography is nevertheless great and the visuals are impressive.
Overall, Transcendence isn't quite terrible, but it's convoluted and weak script plus direction make it a frustrating viewing experience that offers almost nothing. Despite the film being released in April, 2014 may have already found it's title for the most disappointing film of the year.
Tell Your Friends