Running Length: 1:59
Cast: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Kate Mara, Cole Hauser
Director: Wally Pfister
When I first saw the trailer to TRANSCENDENCE, I was intrigued; sentience intelligence, top-notch cast and produced by Christopher Nolan. It sets up the premise of an intelligent-cinematic-character driven movie but it turned out to be an unsatisfying experience. To be fair, the screenplay explores big thought provoking ideas but it remained a potential as it suffers from poor execution. Instead of focusing on one thing, it tries to cover many grounds in the artificial intelligence folder (Spike Jonze's Her, which asks some of the same questions was more focused and eloquently told). Although Johnny Depp's muted performance here is a pleasant change after a recent series of over-the-top roles, I just felt he wasn't totally invested in his character as an AI genius. And there's no chemistry between Johnny Depp and Rebecca Hall where their characters' romantic tragedy is absolutely critical to making the narrative come alive. It just didn't move me at all. But from a technical standpoint, I must say the decision to tell a story about digital intelligence using film (it was shot on film vs digital) is an interesting choice. It looks great with lush and rich images. The soundtrack is also above average.
Rating: 5.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment