With “Transcendence,”cinematographer-turned-director Wally Pfister attempted to create a world in which technology could overcome any environmental or human obstacles. But the film wasn’t able to overcome even its own shortcomings.

In the most recent Johnny Depp-centered dud, Depp portrays Dr. Will Caster, who is on the verge of a large breakthrough in artificial intelligence technology. At a presentation of his findings, held by Caster’s colleague and wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), Caster is poisoned by a radical anti-tech group that has simultaneously attacked artificial intelligence labs all over the country.

Racing against the clock, Evelyn and the Casters’ good friend and research partner Max Waters (Paul Bettany) attempt to upload Will’s consciousness to his artificial intelligence system. Though it works, Will’s consciousness requests more power, leaving Max and Evelyn with the difficult choice between letting Will die and putting the technological world as they know it in jeopardy.

One flaw of the film was the pacing at the beginning. Plot-changing events happened before there was much introduction of the characters. Though putting someone’s self-awareness and innermost thoughts in artificial intelligence is a fascinating concept, “Transcendence”failed to explain much about how Max and Evelyn made it happen.

This is exemplified when over a period of four weeks — the amount of time Will is given to live after being poisoned — Max and Evelyn work on translating Will’s memories and personality into a computer. Here, the sequence didn’t show much more than the pair of scientists plugging cables into all sorts of machines, not paying much attention to Will at all. It’s understood that the film is science fiction, but it could have made more of an attempt to convince its audience of the possibility.

Furthermore, though Rebecca Hall was adequate as a woman desperate to hold onto her husband, her performance was unclear in how she felt about the incredible technological advances that the supercomputer-Will was making.

When the conflict of “Transcendence”eventually evolved into a question of eugenics — which made the storyline entirely too complex — Evelyn flipped between following the technology, which was suddenly able to repair near fatal injuries in a matter of seconds, and the desire to restore humanity to the way it was.

Hall’s continual back and forth seemed to mirror Pfister’s own confusion about the film’s message and themes. Though “Transcendence’s” makeshift ending tried to make it seem like more of a love story, much of the two-hour film wrestled between the benefits and hazards of sentient, omniscient and powerful technology.

Opposite Hall was Depp, who, when in physical form, played his typical eccentric and brooding character well. However, he wasn’t given much room for exploration, considering he was behind a computer screen for much of the film. He might have been billed as the film’s star, but he got sidelined for much of the movie.

Max, who found himself at odds with Evelyn for much of the film, was played believably by veteran sidekick Paul Bettany. Max, who apparently had his own theories of the perils of artificial intelligence, clearly cared about Evelyn personally, but held strong convictions that what she was doing had crossed a line.

Another problem with “Transcendence” was its cinematography. Though Pfister is known for his excellent work on films such as “Inception” and “TheDarkKnightRises,” he wasn’t able to recreate the magic of those thrillers. Here, contrast and composition were not creatively used — for example, the choice to make a rundown western town the site for the massive technology center Evelyn ultimately creates with the virtual Will’s help.

Pfister decided to place moments of key dialogue in the stereotypical run-of-the-mill diner, and bathed the data center in white light and walls. These cliches hampered the intensity of the film.

“Transcendence” wanted to make a statement about the possibilities of technology, but it never had the power to do so.

Published on April 23, 2014 at 1:00 am