Transcendence

The film feels like Nolan lite. Which is a shame given the talent attached.

Pfister, best known as Christopher Nolan's director of photography, may be drawn to a similar kind of thinking-man's blockbuster, but 'Transcendence', unlike Inception or The Dark Knight Rises, remains simplistic and predictable. The film looks good, but it's never as smart as it should be.

This is cinematographer Wally Pfister's maiden directorial venture which by modern criteria is a stylish off-beat humourless film with an atmosphere of a noir film.

I can't remember the last time I was so befuddled after watching a film, as I was after watching Transcendence. Sure the core idea of the film is a grand one, the story gives an impression that it has some higher purpose or a point to make but part of it gets diluted. It makes some extremely interesting points but the execution doesn't translate them all that well, hence the bafflement, which is unfortunate because the premise had the potential to make it to the big league.

The film is essentially a far-fetched, sometimes muddled, cautionary tale about mankind being taken over by the machines that they themselves have created, albeit with the best of intentions.

The film, essentially, has no body. It does, however, have a soul. And souls, we've come to believe, live forever. I suspect, then, that it is the sort of film that, in time, will find an audience. The audience of today though, I'm sure, is likely to reject the film.