Transcendence: the quality or state of being transcendent.
Transcendent: exceeding or surpassing in level of excellence.
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| "We are the Borg. You will be assimilated!" |
This dire production fills neither of those provided definitions. In fact, Transcendence is the total opposite: a heady technology based singularity plot weighted down by flat acting, terrible editing, and an abysmal script that only serves the purpose of lowering expectations for this summer's upcoming releases. Hopes were set high for this one, but were dashed by another dismal attempt at trying to use big name actors to amplify a truly horrendous script. None of them ever had a chance with this one.
Transcendence is an uneven mess that only succeeds at creating mass stagnation from a premise that could have been a modern science fiction masterpiece. When you have actors like Depp, Freeman, Bettany and Hall but can't pull a single line of qualified dramatic dialogue, you should know your big budget picture has major structural issues. Expectedly, the whole thing comes crashing down in the third act with boring action sequences and too much needless talk about viruses.
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| "I'm sorry, Johnny. This is two summers in a row...." |
Each actor in Transcendence feels restrained by a premise that the director could either not fully grasp or had no real intentions of ever concluding properly. Major plot points are not resolved while the convoluted conclusion hints at a possible sequel. Please god, no. I've had enough punishment and the summer hasn't even started yet.
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| "So...yeah...could somebody please tell me where my career went...." |
Transcendence is a shining example of how you take a consistent science fiction theme, kill it and then piss on its grave with unexplained plot points, awful cinematography and a barren script that borrows heavily from dozens of other (better) movies. In fact, The Lawnmower Man (as cheesy as it is) could be considered a profound piece of cinematic art compared to the vast desert wasteland of Transcendence.
This is just another time that Hollywood let a freshman hack director soak up a multi-million dollar budget on a movie that totally sucks. I'm weeping right now.
-Chris George