Transcendence is a science fiction movie that released in the United States on April 18, 2014. It is written by Jack Paglen and is the first directorial assignment of Wally Pfister. The movie trailer intrigues the mind by looking phenomenal, exciting and interesting. The movie is about two important computer scientists (Will and Evelyn Caster) who work in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Will Caster, the primary computer scientist character, created a sentient machine that puts together the collective intelligence of all things known by human emotions. His research, however, has earned the ire of anti-technology radicals who aim to thwart his project.

Plot Review

The husband and wife team (played by Johnny Depp and Rebecca Hall) become the target of R.I.F.T., a anti-technological terrorist group, during a fund raising/TED Talk event that they attended with their friend Max (Bettany) in order to get support for their research. The terrorist group tries to stop their project by shooting Will with a bullet containing polonium that would lead to his slow death. To save his life, his wife Evelyn uploads Will's brain to a computer with the help of his best friend Max.

R.I.F.T, led by Kate Mara's character Bree, tracks down Will and shuts down his power source but his wife saves him by connecting him to the internet. Using his newfound intellect, Will creates a large fortune and uses it to create a large facility where he can complete the Transcendence project. He then aids the FBI in capturing factions of the terrorist group. Later his friends become convinced the consciousness is not truly their friend's but seeks to destroy all organic things in favor of technologically-based life. The FBI, R.I.F.T., and Will's friends conspire to upload a virus that will destroy Will. In the main battle Will's human cell-nanotechnology army defends him but eventually Bree takes Max hostage and threatens to kill him if Will does not upload the virus and destroy himself. Will does so, destroying himself and all technology on the planet.

As a whole, the movie tries to discuss the complicated subject of technology. The film identifies those who resist the current technological progress as marginalized and stigmatized. At the same time, it makes the motives and worth of the technological humanity seem unclear. The film could have looked nicer with a larger budget but it ultimately expresses what it is trying to say.