Transcendence (2014)

Transcendence: Directed by Wally Pfister. With Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy. A scientist’s drive for artificial intelligence takes on dangerous implications when his own consciousness is uploaded into one such program.

“Highly regarded Cinematographer Wally Pfister makes his directing debut with a fascinating story by Jack Paglen and a splendid cast. What this film did not register with the public is unsure – perhaps because it is less an action film (though there is plenty of that) than a thought provoking one. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA quote by the main character summarizes this challenging and intelligent film well: u0026#39;For 130,000 years, our capacity to reason has remained unchanged. The combined intellect of the neuroscientists, mathematicians and…hackers… in this auditorium pales in comparison to the most basic A.I. Once online, a sentient machine will quickly overcome the limits of biology. And in a short time, its analytic power will become greater than the collective intelligence of every person born in the history of the world. So imagine such an entity with a full range of human emotion. Even self-awareness. Some scientists refer to this as u0026quot;the Singularity.u0026quot; I call it u0026quot;Transcendence.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him. However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed-to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Willu0026#39;s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe cast is top notch and in addition to the three mentioned above, includes Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman, Clifton Collins, Jr., Cole Houser, Chris Garten and many others. But one star of the film that is difficult to honor adequately is the ingenious special effects genius who makes this very strange film work wonderfully. Grady Harp, August 15”