As Dr. Will Caster works toward his goal of creating an omniscient, sentient machine, a radical anti-technology organization fights to prevent him from establishing a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain.
An A-list cast and talented filmmaker are wasted on a B-Movie script with pretentions of prescience.
All the warnings about the perils of technology nobody had time to raise in the first half of the movie seem to crowd out the second, of which the empty desert setting seems to cry out for a few more perils, and a few less warnings.
Transcendence is a sci-fi movie that should be daft fun but is, disappointedly, plodding and dull.
Transcendence finally plays out like Tron or The Lawnmower Man: a CGI fest, with its excitement modules pulled.
Pfister should be applauded for making a non-franchise property with ideas and aspirations but Transcendence is nowhere near as grand as its title. Gleaming visuals aside, it’s a disappointment.
This is like a heavy-handed and humourless version of Spike Jonze's postmodern comedy Her, mulched in with the old sci-fi novel Donovan's Brain.
A giant third-act bellyflop isn't quite enough to spoil it totally.
In fact, it's a far more schlocky sci-fi film than its self-serious tone would suggest. But don't be put off by excessively negative reviews. It's also stylish and entertaining, and treads a fairly well-judged path between paranoia and technological utopianism.
For the moment, anyone with a fondness for broad canvas, ideas-heavy sci-fi should ignore the negative scuttle and give Transcendence the benefit of the doubt. It may not be perfect, but it's a sincerely ambitious first feature from a film-maker who has both the technical skill and artistic vision to aim for the stars.
What a disappointment.
Transcendence
General release. Check local listings for show times.