A scientist's drive for artificial intelligence, takes on dangerous implications when his consciousness is uploaded into one such program. Short synopsis of Transcendence taken from IMDb.com
What can I say about Transcendence? So many good ideas, but the execution feels a bit stiff. The plot point idea of nanobots getting into the water supply and taking over everyone on the planet was actually really cool, but it was so under-stated that I thought it was almost better than the way the filmmakers went instead. In fact, that idea is getting its own note in my idea file, simply because it was worth thinking on further.
As for the actual film... well Depp, once he was part of the computer, did a fairly decent job of imitating 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL, I think. The spooky "is-he-an-A.I.-or-is-there-any-real-human-soul-in-there" thing. But I didn't buy the Luddite terrorists or their planned attack against the artificial intelligence program, nor the radiation-dipped bullet the supposedly leads Depp's character to eventually die, either.
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| According to the February 10, 2011 edition of Time magazine, we only have until the year 2045 before everyone is jacked in and we all "join the collective." I'd better start brushing up on my Borg-speak now then. / Source: blog.thezeitgeistmovement.com |
The problem is, attacks of this nature are hard to pull off, and yet these Luddites seem to do it without a hitch. When Lincoln was assassinated, there was a major attack planned to hit other high ranking officials in the federal government, and most of those attacks either failed or the participants chickened out. Bloody-minded attacks by terrorists of the anti-tech tree-hugger variety seem far-fetched to me. Maybe one attack, but not all over the place and super-coordinated and highly effective. But then how else would they get Depp and company into a confined space? The plot requires that he be in a place where we can turn him into the first person to join his consciousness with a computer, and rather than just have someone who aspires to it (like probably thousands of nerds, geeks, techies, and those who believe this would be the way for them to be truly immortal), we force the characters' collective hands.
The actual place where Depp is born an A.I. seemed out there too, to be honest. It was too "here's a cool location to shoot" instead of real place for such stuff to go on. We've got a neat looking old building that by all rights would not support the kind of electricity these scientist folks need, or the roof would leak terribly, or we'd have a rodent infestation, or bugs would get in and be everywhere. And besides these qualms, I thought the acting in this section seemed a bit dull. Can't make me happy, eh?
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| The next forty years looks great if you are in the IT field, or even in obstetrics. If you are in oil, gas, uranium, rain forest conservation or fish... not so great. / Source: iawwai.com |
In point of fact, Transcendence seemed to me to have a lot of good ideas going for it, but just didn't deliver. A shame too, as there are so many good things to work with. Perhaps a decade ago, this film would have been considered much better, but in today's world it isn't far-seeing enough to really blow peoples' minds, and at the same time, not credible enough to suspend disbelief in some crucial spots. So there it is. Worth my $1.50 at the Redbox? Nah. Maybe just a buck, if that. Recommended if you think the idea sounds cool and are willing to put up with some awkwardness. But in general, it just doesn't seem to gel, in my opinion.
The parting comment:
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| Source: montagepages.fuselabs.com |
I guess the Good Lord doesn't need a Facebook page either.
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