The Argument: Transcendence, the directorial debut from famed cinematographer Wally Pfister came with high expectations. Having given The Dark Knight and Inception an amazing visual style, we were all excited to see what he'd do with the typically Nolan set up of a man working in artificial intelligence getting shot and having his consciousness uploaded to a computer. Sadly the outcome wasn't too great. The film looked as pretty as expected, but seemed muddled in every other area; ever the DoP. Despite the critical thrashing, there have been some vocal defenders out there, chief among them Mark Kermode. A long-time fan of Pfister, he's made a case for the film multiple times on his Kermode Uncut video blog, most recently presenting five ways you should need to watch the film to properly enjoy it; don't focus on Johnny Depp, listen to the soundtrack and don't listen to the hate are the key arguments. Why It Doesn't Work: Fair play to Mark for not only enjoying the film, but vocally defending himself in the face of the rest of the dislike. The issue here is that if how a film should be watched needs to be explained there's a real question as to whether it's any good. He raises some good points (the soundtrack is good) that show Transcendence isn't as god-damn awful as everyone suggests, but they don't work to actually make it good.
