Review: Transcendence

Earlier today, I went to see the movie Transcendence, which hit theaters on Friday, April 18. The movie stars Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, and Paul Bettany, among others in a terrific cast list. It was directed by Wally Pfister who was the cinematographer for all the Christopher Nolan directed Batman films. Because of this, I was expecting great things from the film. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The pacing of Transcendence was extremely slow. Sure, they condensed some things and made some leaps in time saying on the screen "Two Years Later" and such, but, of the things that were shown, it seemed to drag on and on. Since the speed of the movie seemed to move like molasses, this reviewer must confess he dozed off at a few points. Whenever a movie makes me doze off, that is never good.

In addition to the lackluster pacing, I felt the special effects would be immensely more due to the subject matter. Watching the previews, they show some good action scenes and special effects. I felt they showed what they did to entice the viewer to come see the movie. Turns out, what I saw in the previews was all I was going to get. They blew their entire load in the trailer leaving nothing else. I was extremely disappointed.

After I've now ragged on about the movie, I will now tell the positives I saw. First and foremost, the idea/subject of the movie was very good. Second, I did like the sets, scenery, and colors used as they really helped define certain moods and themes of scenes. Finally, I really enjoyed the great cast. It was nice to see some big names coming together for the film.

In conclusion, Transcendence was a great idea very poorly executed. The lackluster pacing and special effects seemed to really drag the movie down. However, there were a few bright spots but they weren't bright enough for redemption.

Overall, I would give Transcendence a solid C.