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Transcendence the movie - excellent grown-up SF, join the applause here...

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    Transcendence the movie - excellent grown-up SF, join the applause here...

    Okay, we've heard of the horrendous reviews of Transcendence from AmericalLand so it was with some trepidation I went to see for myself on Friday.

    And I was very happy to have done so.

    If you want comicbook spandex go to the screen next door. If you want sulky post-apocalyptic teen angst there's always the Hungry Divergent Games, but if you want an uplifting tale with a more depth and subtlety in all those grey shades of reality rather than the black and white simplicity of a man with a cape, or shield, or tin suit, then this, and perhaps only this, is your alternative since Gravity.

    I recommend everyone watch it before it vanishes when the net is switched off.

    Oh, and as for Johnny Depp's supposed non-Hollywood non-star performance. This is more an ensemble film not a single star vehicle and he holds true to the character he portrays throughout the bulk of the film.

    If you agree with my thoughts and/or want to add your own applause for Transcendence then feel free to do so here.

    If you disagree, go start your own thread.

    Last edited by worldmaker; 27 April 2014, 04:22 AM.
    Occasional writer, fledgling film/TV producer with ambitions to launch a bold new vision for a Stargate TV series,
    once I've raised the seed funding and credibility to attract Warner's attention.
    sigpic

    #2
    Well, this is amazing, I believe I was vindicated this morning when watching BBC film reviewer, Mark Kermode, comment on his surprise at the quality of Transcendence.

    He enjoyed it and has noticed how others are changing their tone on this surprisingly intelligent piece of SciFi.

    Yipee!

    Occasional writer, fledgling film/TV producer with ambitions to launch a bold new vision for a Stargate TV series,
    once I've raised the seed funding and credibility to attract Warner's attention.
    sigpic

    Comment


      #3
      I agree with the general points. Some thought-provoking concepts about process and ethics, and a reasonable plot to keep things moving. Even the nano-technology, since we don't know quite where that will go.

      But:
      a) the consciousness being able to infect all technology - how many Tb did it take to store him in the first place? It would only be a microscopic shell that could be installed everywhere else, to let the other devices remain functional
      b) a single computer virus that gets into everything and stops the world in a single infection... really?!

      Comment


        #4
        Obviously there are going to be nit-pickers for every tiny detail. I could list those myself too, like why didn't He/It create a counter-virus or rewrite his/its own source code and block such a virus, blah-blah and on. If you do have more critiques can you please go join the other threads batting against Transcendence?

        Criticism is not the issue here but celebration of one bold imaginative and grown-up piece of SF that stands head and shoulders above the crowd of teen angst post-apocalyptoids or spandex-wearers-r-us.

        Transcendence breaths a sign of relief across our screens that there is still hope for the future of intelligent SF entertainment on film/TV.

        Occasional writer, fledgling film/TV producer with ambitions to launch a bold new vision for a Stargate TV series,
        once I've raised the seed funding and credibility to attract Warner's attention.
        sigpic

        Comment


          #5
          So, your position is, Agree or bugger off??
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            #6
            No, my position is if you have criticism then go and start your own thread rather than trying to hi-jack one that was started to applaud something I feel a lot of us have been yearning for.

            In the last few months we've seen two great SF movies, Gravity and now Transcendence and they and more ought to be encouraged.

            We all know the temptation in fora of this nature to sneer and troll your way to attention. Please take your attitudes elsewhere and leave those of us who enjoy these films to our feelings.
            Occasional writer, fledgling film/TV producer with ambitions to launch a bold new vision for a Stargate TV series,
            once I've raised the seed funding and credibility to attract Warner's attention.
            sigpic

            Comment


              #7
              Don't get me wrong, apart from the last ten minutes I enjoyed the movie. But it's a stretch to call it "intelligent" when it fails to think through such a basic premise (i.e. the science fact).

              Comment


                #8
                I don't look too much at the technical detail in any movie, but for its attempts to discuss and explore, love of science, using science to try and improve the world, attempting to explore the ambiguities when two opposing sides clash, one totally opposed to scientific advancement and one seeking to use it for potentially dangerous purposes (the military-industrial complex) and then find themselves on the same side, while one woman struggles with her own love, passion for science and her lover surrounded by grey areas of good v. bad application of science and power.

                That's a meaty dish rarely served up nowadays.

                The technical spectacle is good for pulling some audience in and giving a visual sense of wonder but nothing else.

                For the science "fact" it is stretched a little, but note that the story isn't a "save the world in seven days" (yes, Iron Man I'm talking about you). There a strong sense of time passing, building a vast research centre and server farm taking years suggests, just possibly, that some of this might, if you stretch your imagination, come about.

                This is the wonder of science and what it holds for our future. Unless all the luddites try to smash it at birth with the result that we see at both ends of the film.

                Occasional writer, fledgling film/TV producer with ambitions to launch a bold new vision for a Stargate TV series,
                once I've raised the seed funding and credibility to attract Warner's attention.
                sigpic

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                  #9
                  I love this movie............ It is very underrated. I can't understand why critics hated it beyond the fact they get paid to do that.

                  Only gripe is the ending and how everyone only realized it was actually Will when it was too late.

                  Only real gripe is the lack of justice...... Kate Mara's character basically gets away with murder as she ordered the hit at the start of the movie.. So they basically say "here you go a free pass. Run along.."

                  I think I'd have sided with Will.....
                  Go home aliens, go home!!!!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I enjoyed this movie. Apart from the ending. This film sadly seem to hint of heavy handed studio interference behind the scenes and I suspect more than a few additions to the script were impose on them as there were some parts of the script I felt didn't connect with the rest.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by knowles2 View Post
                      I enjoyed this movie. Apart from the ending. This film sadly seem to hint of heavy handed studio interference behind the scenes and I suspect more than a few additions to the script were impose on them as there were some parts of the script I felt didn't connect with the rest.
                      You get that feeling too..........

                      I wonder which parts the studio insisted be changed? It does feel somewhat disjointed in parts.
                      Go home aliens, go home!!!!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by knowles2 View Post
                        I enjoyed this movie. Apart from the ending...
                        What was wrong with the ending? Did I miss something, the idea it was the two of them, together, forever, in their own shielded garden? Beautiful, magical and nice set up for the potential of a sequel.
                        Occasional writer, fledgling film/TV producer with ambitions to launch a bold new vision for a Stargate TV series,
                        once I've raised the seed funding and credibility to attract Warner's attention.
                        sigpic

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by worldmaker View Post
                          What was wrong with the ending? Did I miss something, the idea it was the two of them, together, forever, in their own shielded garden? Beautiful, magical and nice set up for the potential of a sequel.


                          I really agree with this.......

                          But at the same time like the other poster said it felt somewhat in part that the Studio meddled and wanted to have their say on some aspects of how the movie went... I can't pull out specifics but it just felt that way, in that the story seemed a bit disjointed at times..
                          Go home aliens, go home!!!!

                          Comment


                            #14
                            If you're paying millions for something, it doesn't seem unreasonable if you really object that you be allowed to fiddle a little.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Quizziard View Post
                              If you're paying millions for something, it doesn't seem unreasonable if you really object that you be allowed to fiddle a little.
                              Only a little?
                              Go home aliens, go home!!!!

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