Transcendence: Cool premise, lame story

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I'll admit that I went into Transcendence a bit biased...all reviews I had read about it were negative. ("Why go and see it?" you ask. "Well, it only cost me five dollars," I respond sheepishly.) However, after a shaky start, Transcendence started to get interesting, and I started to enjoy it, and then...the film blew it.

Starring Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, and a very familiar-looking girl (who IMDb tells me is Rebecca Hall), Transcendence takes place in the not-too-distant future, following the life and death of Will Caster, who has devoted his life to studying artificial intelligence. In fact, he created a gigantic AI machine named PINN...and then is assassinated by an anti-technology terrorist group. Before he dies, Will, with the help of his wife Evelyn, upload his consciousness into PINN's software. Evelyn refuses to listen to her friends' concerns as Computer Will starts evolving, growing stronger, smarter, and way more powerful. Will she be able to shut it--him--down before it's too late?

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The idea of Transcendence is pretty intriguing, but the execution fell flat. The beginning is slow-paced, chock full of admittedly necessary, but unexciting expository information. Once Computer Will starts taking over, things get more interesting, but just as you're starting to get into the world of the film, and just as you're starting to root for the right people, the film takes the weirdest twists and turns, bringing all sorts of things you never previously knew about Will into play. The ending was far from satisfying, and actually ended up just being incredibly confusing. The ending proves the first half of the movie to be pointless setup, as nothing gets paid off. It will leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

One good thing about Transcendence is it's not afraid to ask tricky questions. How far is too far, in the world of technology? Is AI the way to go? Is it okay to play God, curing sick people, creating the next generation of humanity, or is that something that should be left alone? What are the consequences to playing God? What is knowledge, anyways? What can you do with unlimited knowledge? Just how big is the Internet? It's appropriate that the film does not attempt to answer all of these questions, but instead attempts to give hints, possible outcomes, and leaves them open. Despite all of the interesting moral issues that the film touches on, Transcendence chose the wrong question to answer, which makes you question who you should have been rooting for in the first place.

The premise of Transcendence is on the right track, but the storytelling isn't. Watch it to get a glimpse at some cool science stuff (which I'm honestly not sure if it's real....yet), hear Johnny Depp practically narrate the whole movie, and wonder about the power of technology. Don't watch it if you want to be entertained. You'll spend seventy-five percent of the time trying to keep up with the wild goose chase Transcendence turns out to be.