Friday, May 16, 2014

Transcendence

Transcendence is kind of a flop.

But it is fun to think about what happens in the film.

It explores the possibilities of uploading one's consciousness online and then existing cyberexistentially.

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) and his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) are conducting the research.

An underground organization fears their pursuits and launches a strike with the goal of obliterating them.

They hit Mr. Caster with a poisonous bullet which will kill him if he can't find a way to put said research into action.

Which he does, uploading himself, becoming a socially conscious superbeing thereafter.

His might, strength, reach and power then alarm law enforcement agencies previously dedicated to preserving his life.

Identity becomes an issue: is this superbeing Will Caster or a different person altogether?

Law enforcement reps begin to work with the still determined underground organization to break through the impregnable infrastructure Caster has created.

He's found a way to use nanotechnology to both regenerate physical material almost immediately after its bombardment/disintegration and save the lives of terminally ill individuals. 

Whose minds he then enters and whose bodies he can then control, turning them into his loyal zombie soldiers.

Loyal zombie soldiers are his undoing; he never should have interfered with his patient's abilities to think and act freely.

He does though, and doesn't bother to share his plans to use his power to solve manifold environmental issues, an objective brought about by his love for Evelyn, who feels guilty for having worked with the resistance after discovering this fact, and its unfortunate benevolent despotism.

Transcendence suggests that unlimited secretive superpower may unite institutional and rebellious forces since they will likely both be frightened by its omnipresence, and will therefore, try to stop it.

There are a lot of great ideas in the film, and some great lines, but this one's a definite rental, that can be paused from time to time to acquire additional snacks.

No comments: