Transcendence
With modern technology speeding towards “the singularity,” the turning point where humans become obsolete as computers meet and exceed our intellect, Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) and his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) are in pursuit of the same dream, but instead refer to the phenomenon as the mildly friendlier term “transcendence.” But, despite the most noble intentions, a reasonable fear from an underground organization known as R.I.F.T. has elevated to action, the move towards transcendence must be stopped and Dr. Caster must be killed. Conveniently, before his untimely demise a major breakthrough allows Dr. Caster to preserve his intellect via computer, transcendence is reached, now the battle for humans vs. Dr. Caster’s software is on. It’ll take former colleagues Max and Joseph (Paul Bettany and Morgan Freeman)to stop development, but it may already be too late. 
Oh, I get it, a man creates his own god, instead of a God (Zeus) creates a man (Castor), there’s a blatant little twist on Greek mythology going on here….Caster is Castor, I see what you did there. Meanwhile, what starts as classic interesting sci-fi and philosophy quickly becomes muddled textbook procedure and action with limited creativity or innovation– so much for transcending greatness. A stoic, flat, and uninspired performance from Depp comes across as a bit bland from what we’ve come to expect, mind you, the rest of the cast seem to fit nicely, just can’t win ’em all. But, as it would happen, Director Wally Pfister, no slouch when it comes to cinematography, consistently composes interesting shots making for good art. Scoring is also well thought out as Mychael Danna’s music achieves its intended and appropriate result. So, bittersweet it is, what could have been doesn’t entirely materialize, but you could do worse. Matinee worthy, maybe more, Transcendence is rated PG-13.