Film Review #005 - Transcendence (2014)



Transcendence (2014) directed by Wally Pfister is a movie about a scientist who becomes part of an AI system and tries to become powerful. It is first-time that Wally Pfister directs his movie but all along before he has been collaborating with Chris Nolan since Momento (2000) came out, also worked on movies like The Batman Trilogy and Inception (2010) as a cinematographer. The movie has a talented cast with actors like Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, and Cillian Murphy.

The story combines a romance between two humans where one of them becomes encapsulated in the computer system and becomes an AI, making the story even more complex and dramatic. The way AI is shown is relevant and makes you think about maybe the next 50 years of the future impact of AI, which can be scary. Although this movie is thought-provoking, the story per se is very slow-paced and oftentimes can be boring to watch.

It does have the cool vibe of "Inception" with a soundtrack that reminds me of the Batman Trilogy, making your ears feel the ear-candy. The music in the movie goes back and forth between loud music that stands out and quiet music that plays in the background while the characters talk. 

The special effects are good and enhance the movie's futuristic theme but it was not over the top. The cinematography is good with beautiful landscapes, but the camera quality feels old-fashioned, like it's from the early 2010s.


Rating: 6/10

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