Transcendence (2014)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: In his directorial debut, ace cinematographer Wally Pfister remains a distinctive visual stylist, but Transcendence's thought-provoking themes exceed the movie's narrative grasp.
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Cast
as Dr. Will Caster
as Max Waters
as Evelyn
as Joseph Tagger
as Bree
as Colonel Stevens
as Agent Buchanan
as Joel Edmund
as Bob
as Paul
as Roger
as Heng
as Chiu
as Dr. Thomas Casey
as James Thomas
as Dr. Strauss
as Meth Head #1
as Meth Head #2
as Red Hooded Teenager
as Tech Conference Coordinator
as Groupie
as Rift Hacker
as Reporter
as BDC Greeter
as BDC Servant
as FBI Agent
as FBI Agent
as Solar Field Worker
as Will In Hybrid
as Will In Hybrid
as Special Forces On Roof
as Campus Security
as Medical Lab Tech
as Rift Surgeon
as Rift Surgeon
as Rift Medical Tech
as Rift Medical Tech
as Computer Programmer
as Miserable Student
as Edge Driver
as Biscuit Driver
as Pilot
as Pilot
as Pilot
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Critic Reviews for Transcendence
All Critics (211) | Top Critics (48) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (169) | DVD (2)
Pfister and Paglen are going for emotional intimacy, but they forgot to add enough shading to their ensemble to land any kind of punch.
The movie is rhythmless, shapeless, and, with the exception of a few shots, cheesy-looking.
Remember when paycheck-hungry actors were accused of phoning in a performance? Johnny Depp spins that for millennials in Transcendence by Skpying in his performance.
When it's all over, you will turn on your iPhone and ask Siri to find you a good restaurant for a bite to eat near the theater. And you will have learned nothing.
"Transcendence" is a moronic stew of competing impulses - bad science meets bad sociology meets bad theology ...
One of those "control technology or it will control you" sermons that nonetheless enlists the usual heap of technically advanced special effects.
Audience Reviews for Transcendence
An interesting concept that falls through due to terrible execution. You will sit through this movie feeling and thinking nothing. And, you will likely be walking away from this feeling as though you completely wasted two hours of your life. I know I did.
Super Reviewer
Johnny Depp likes to play off beat characters. In "Transcendence" he plays an A.I. researcher who dies, who then has his mind put into an A.I. program and he ultimately wants to play god. This reminded me a lot of "Lawnmower Man", now I can be off with that because it's been forever since I've seen that. But it has a very similar vibe to it. There are flashes here of brilliance, but overall, the movie never works like it should. Can't quite put my finger on it as to why either. Has a good cast with Depp, Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany, and Rebecca Hall. The story is decent enough, but jump something about the execution of it all had me shrugging my shoulders going "meh". It's not something I'll probably ever feel an urge to revisit, but I can see how some people would enjoy it. Interesting movie, but just didn't work for me.
Super Reviewer
Transcendence is a decent film that could have been so much more. The result that is displayed here is a film that is quite ambitious, but you feel that the film a bit lacking and it should have been better of course. The idea is great, and to be honest, I liked the film, but it did fall short of what it could have been. The film isn't as bad as what everyone says, but I'll admit that the script could have been tighter and more polished before being given a green light. This is an average Sci Fi film that has some good performances and it does work at time. However in other scenes, you are left wanting much more depth to the story and by the time the credits roll, you feel that there is a definite room for improvement. Now, is it a mess, it isn't, Transcendence is a bit underrated to be honest, and for what it is, it's entertaining. However, like I stated before, this film should have been great considering the talent involved in the project and some terrific ideas that unfortunately never seem to come to absolute fruition. I think it's a good effort, and I can understand why it got some flack, but there are far worst films out there that have come out this year such as I, Frankenstein. I would say that the best way to enjoy the film is to keep your expectation really in between, and you might like it, but you're surely going to feel that this film needed something more when the credits end. Transcendence is not great, but it's not bad either. I enjoyed the film, and it had some interesting moments. One must wonder if there would have been more effective thrills if the script would have been rewritten a few times.
Super Reviewer
Transcendence Quotes
| Max Waters: | I spent my life trying to reduce the brain to a series of electrical impulses. I failed. Human emotion... It can contain illogical conflict. Can love someone and yet hate the things that they've done. Machine can't reconcile that. |
| Agent Buchanan: | Your Determined To Stop Any Attempt At What You Call Transcedence. |
| Dr. Will Caster: | We're not going to fight them we're going to transcend them. |
| Evelyn: | We can upload his consciousness. We can save him... |
| Max Waters: | Not like this... Assuming that this works, if we miss anything, a thought, a childhood memory, how would you know whom we're dealing with? |
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