Review of Transcendence (2014) by Phobe Kate C — 03 Aug 2014

A top-notch cast cannot save this sci-fi tale about bettering humanity and saving the earth from human destruction from being too grandiose and heady. For the story to have succeeded, I believe the movie would have needed at least another hour of runtime because the story doesn't work in this time frame and everything falls in upon itself too quickly once the actions of the film's protagonists finally come into play.

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is a head researcher in the field of artificial intelligence but his studies have drawn the ire of a group of radicals that would rather wipe him off of the face of the earth than to allow him to further his research.

When tragedy strikes, Caster's fellow friends and scientists decide to try to upload him into a makeshift computer program to "save his life" but they begin to have doubts when they fear his quest might be one for omnipresent power and know-how instead of simply bettering the planet.

Rebecca Hall (The Prestige), Morgan Freeman (Deep Impact), Paul Bettany (Master & Commander), Cillian Murphy (Inception) and Kate Mara (127 Hours) all co-star as either friends or adversaries to Will Caster and his eventual creation.

The film is too lofty to achieve what it wishes and transcendence never happens within the audience. The film is poorly put together and most likely too confusing for most. This one can be skipped.