I am a very big movie watcher, I
spend most if not all of my spare time watching movies and TV. And I must say
that the absolute worst movie I have ever seen was Transcendence. I live my
life not really watching movies or TV with an expectation; expectations make it
harder to enjoy a movie if you set really high standards for it. I expect all
movies I spend money or more importantly my time on to at least be enjoyable,
not great or even good, just enjoyable.
So when my “Friends” and I went to
see the film Transcendence we took a vote on what to go see, I wanted to see a comedy
the boyfriends of my companions wanted transcendence and being the sheep they
were they agree. The movie forces the audience to sit through as the main
character “places” his being into a computer and from there tries to take over
the world using false science and lose morals. As well the environmental Nazis are
supposed to be the “Good guys” despite blowing up buildings and ruining people’s
lives. There were no likable characters and every second wasted in that theater
hurt my very soul. I stayed only to see if one minor character, played by and
actor I liked in another movie, lived. This is the one and only movie that I
can say “I hate it with every fiber of my being”.
I left that theater with the
feeling of being betrayed and have not sense then forgiven what was my “friends”
and left filled with anger and misery instead of happy enjoyment.
What a scathing review, I was going to see that movie just because Johnny Depp was in it, but I have definitely reconsidered. :P I think a myth that could've easily been pointed out is that often times, movies use flawed science as a main plot pusher, and it often times it's so grossly inaccurate the movie takes on an almost comical tone. For example, have you seen Lucy? One really has to suspend their knowledge of physical sciences in order to sit through that movie.
ReplyDeleteTranscendence sounds like a remake of the 1980's movie 'Lawnmower Man'. I did not like that movie either because the science behind it was flawed as well.
ReplyDeleteThis movie reminded me a lot of Frankenstein, Johnny Depp's character, Dr. Will Caster, is dying and he wants to live after his body has died. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Dr. Victor Frankenstein created a sentient creature and then abandoned him. The similarity to Frankenstein is Dr. Carter making a machine/computer with artificial intelligence technology, he wants to be able to transfer his personality and maybe his soul too. When the time comes for the transcendence to occur, Dr. Carter cannot perform the change himself. Furthering the theme of the power of creation, the person uploading Dr. Caster can alter Dr. Caster. When the 'creature' was reassembled, he was not a normal human, he could not understand the world around him and his reaction was an unnatural cruelness. Shelley's novel was a warning for science not to play God. Dr. Caster's character shares Dr. Frankenstein's hubris, he too is charging heedlessly into scientific experiments. Dr. Carter's character is also fatally flawed, his outcome cannot be good. Normally a scientist is portrayed as having a thirst for knowledge. Dr. Caster is consumed with acquiring knowledge, he does not seem to share his findings like normal researchers, this detail shows how Dr. Caster is evil. Knowledge becomes a tool for gaining power, he feels entitled to rule the world. This is another God-like quality that is hubris in man and will lead to Dr. Carter's failure. The destruction is a parallel to the Frankenstein storyline but is on a much grander scale. It is the destruction of the unnatural.
ReplyDelete( I personally did not like the made up science. The idea the story wanted to portray was interesting but the director and screenwriter were lazy or sloppy and ruined a good idea for a movie.)