Transcendence is currently being toted as a movie which confirms to the world that Johnny Depp is no longer a guarantee of box office success, incapable of drawing people into theatres 'less he's wearing a silly hat and extensive layers of makeup. It's a pity that this movie turned out to be quite so awful, though, given that it looked fairly promising at first. Directed by Wally Pfister, best known for his work as a cinematographer on Christopher Nolan's films, it stars Depp as an A.I. genius whose consciousness is uploaded into a computer after he's killed. There are many reasons why Transcendence fails as a cinematic experience, but mostly it comes down to the hokey script, which never makes sense of the ideas it tries to communicate and ends up feeling like the kind of "outside" lecture you'd fall asleep to whilst attending University. That aside, the movie is directed with little innovation (it feels flat and lifeless), whilst Depp seems to have given up entirely and settles for "acting" in what appears to be a living coma. It's boring, it's illogical, and everybody involved should feel ashamed of themselves.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
