Transcendence

2014

USA

Directed by: Wally Pfister
Written by: Jack Paglen
Cast: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman, Paul Bettany
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA): Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality

What it's all about:

Johnny Depp plays Dr. Will Caster, the world's foremost authority on artificial intelligence. Dr. Caster is the leader of a team conducting highly controversial experiments, with the ultimate goal of creating a "sentient" machine -- a computer with a mind of its own. When extremists try to kill the doctor, they inadvertently give him just the chance he needed to turn his theories into reality. When Will is given just one month to live, his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) comes up with a plan to upload his consciousness into the advanced computer the team has developed. Will's best friend Max (Paul Bettany) questions the wisdom of this action and is eventually persuaded to join the terrorists responsible for Will's death.

Once Will achieves virtual life in the computer, Evelyn helps him to build a sort of technological eden in a remote desert town called Brightwood where he sets about remaking the world according to his own personal designs. Eventually Will's crazed thirst for knowledge and power cause all his loved ones to admit he must be stopped, but they also realize it may already be too late.

My thoughts:

Most of the critics trashed this film, so I wasn't expecting much. But I like Johnny Depp and I try to see every movie Morgan Freeman makes, so I gave it a try. Glad I did -- it's definitely watchable. Not great, but pretty good sci-fi with a thought-provoking theme, enough action to keep it from dragging, and no enormous alien slime worms blasting their way out of anyone's midsection. A lot of it doesn't really stand up to deep thought, but hey -- it's a movie.

My IMDb Rating: 6 stars out of a possible 10