Transcendence Review: 10 Reasons It Sucks

Or, why Johnny Depp becoming an iPad isn't as much fun as it sounds.

By Edward Owen /

Transcendence seems to have a lot going for it on paper €“ directed by a Christopher Nolan-backed Wally Pfister, it wrestles with philosophical quandaries like human nature, self-aware AI, the relentless march of technology and the philosophy of the mind. It's acted out by an all-star cast featuring Johnny Depp, the perennially underrated Rebecca Hall, Cillian Murphy, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara and Morgan goddamn Freeman. The Jack Paglen-written script had featured on the Hollywood Black List, cementing its place as one of the hottest un-produced properties in Tinseltown, then Warner Bros. swooped in and threw $100 million at it. It's as close to a sure thing as any film's going to get, right? Sadly, no. So what went wrong? Well, Transcendence isn't the film you want it to be. In fact, it's nowhere close €“ what we wanted was a cerebral epic, and what we've been left with is a hodgepodge of barely-fleshed philosophical ideas being badly debated by characters you don't really care about, all presided over by a lacklustre Johnny Depp and a director with an eye for visual flair, but unable to translate the human drama and philosophical head-scratching on-screen. Believe us €“ we didn't want this. Nobody did. But sadly, Transcendence has to stack up as one of 2014's biggest disappointments €“ it simply fumbles more balls than a blind Octopus, wastes everything it had going for it and plunges deep into mediocrity. Read on to find out how, but clearly, after this point, SPOILERS apply.