Transcendence (2014)

A scientist's drive for artificial intelligence takes on dangerous implications when his own consciousness is uploaded into one such program.

Director:

Wally Pfister

Writer:

Jack Paglen

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Morgan Freeman

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	Will Caster
Rebecca Hall	...	Evelyn Caster
Paul Bettany	...	Max Waters
Cillian Murphy	...	Agent Buchanan
Kate Mara	...	Bree
Cole Hauser	...	Colonel Stevens
Morgan Freeman	...	Joseph Tagger
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Martin
Cory Hardrict	...	Joel Edmund
Falk Hentschel	...	Bob
Josh Stewart	...	Paul
Luce Rains	...	Roger
Fernando Chien	...	Heng
Steven Liu	...	Chiu
Xander Berkeley	...	Dr. Thomas Casey

Storyline

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him. However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed-to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can...but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Will's thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

scientist | artificial intelligence | technology | power outage | mind upload | 

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Taglines:

Dr. Will Caster is dying to keep a secret

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, some bloody images, brief strong language and sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2012 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year.

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Goofs

A Turing-complete A.I. with the capabilities of that depicted within this movie would require storage space of the magnitude of Petabytes, if not Exabytes. When Evelyn hastily uploads the "Will" consciousness to the Internet, the process takes only a matter of a few seconds (and this over a satellite Internet connection.) To actually upload such an amount of data using the best (as of 2016) fiber-optic Internet connection would in fact take years, if not decades.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Max Waters: They say there's power in Boston. Some phone service in Denver. But things are far from what they were. Maybe it was all invevitable. An unavoidable collision between mankind and technology. The Internet was meant to make the world a smaller place. But it actually feels smaller without it. I knew Will and Evelyn Caster better than anyone. I knew their brillance. Their dedication to what they believed in. And to what they loved.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Badly Executed Movies That Had Potential (2016)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday to You
Written by Mildred J. Hill (as Mildred Hill) and Patty S. Hill (as Patty Hill)

User Reviews

This seems like wasted potential

Transcendence, much like most of the latest sci-fi themed films to hit cinemas, is a wasted effort. It exhibits signature Pfister cinematography that we've come to love over the past decade. With Nolan's Batman trilogy and Inception, it was only a matter of time for Wally Pfister to take a stab at directing. Unfortunately, the only thing that seems well done in this film is the cinematography. The story, while seeming fresh and exciting on paper, devolves into a half baked idea with mediocre acting. Johnny Depp does the best he can while only being a mere voice during the latter half of the film. The rest of the cast seems wasted, this is especially true because we know how great Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman and Rebecca Hall can be. Wally Pfister focuses more on capturing really fantastic shots but seems never truly devoted to the actual story. This comes as a major disappointment especially because of the hype that this film has been generating over the last year. When it boils down to it, Transcendence is just another exercise in style over substance, never matriculating to anything more than an average sci-fi thriller that has a criminally underused cast and phenomenal camera-work.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

UK China USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Transcendence

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,886,386, 20 April 2014

Gross USA:

$23,022,309

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$103,039,258

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alcon Entertainment, DMG Entertainment, Straight Up Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1