The Human Side of Things
(WARNING: SPOILERS)
Transcendence had everything in it but the human spirit. Now, that seems pretty contradicting given that it’s centered on the age-old debate about our relationship with technology. It seems astonishing that they would make a movie about the singularity and not include us. I mean, how can you explore a hypothetical situation about man and machine merging together, if you only explore half of the equation?
That’s why I consider this to be largely a failure because while the film was well-crafted, the story focused too much on the technological side of transcendentalism and not enough on the human side. It was like baking The Royal cake, but forgetting to add the sugar.
But I say, “Largely a failure” for a reason because there elements of success. Transcendence was an excellent start for Wally Pfister’s directorial debut because it was a bold move and well-done. Casting and acting were excellent, lighting was on par, and of course, the cinematography was perfect. These are all definite signs that Mr. Pfister knew what he was doing when it came to directing. But like every bad movie, the story drove it straight to hell.
I don’t want to get too negative about it though. Making films about The Singularity is challenging because it’s too abstract and ill-defined to translate well in film…For now. Others down the road will learn from the mistakes of Transcendence and go beyond what they were trying to do…Well, wait. What were they trying to do? I guess they were trying to understand how we would respond to The Singularity but, did they do this or fall short of reaching this goal?
I’m getting ahead of myself. We need to look at the most basic issue first if we want to understand how this failed. That is, we have to look at the love interest. Well, No I shouldn’t say, “Look” because there wasn’t much to see.
The first ten minutes was supposed to establish the characters and general setting but, it was mostly just a series of beautiful shots, killing time between the plot points. What they should have done was utilize those ten minutes better and strengthen that enduring love Will and Evelyn were supposed to have. The characters should have completed each other but, they didn’t.
So we have two nerds in love because they both want to save the World with technology? So what? Common goals establish partnerships, not lovers. You need something deeper to explain why they can’t be apart and this should be common sense for all writers because if you want to maintain that suspension of belief, you have to give a logical reason for everything in the story.
And that my friend, brings us to the crux of the entire issue. There wasn’t any logic behind the movie, so it wasn’t believable. For something like Thor, that’s ok, but for a film trying to depict The Singularity? That’s a shot to the head. The movie could have still worked without the strong love interest but when they made this same mistake for the rest of the movie? Well, I think you know where I’m going with this.
Where was the rest of society as this whole thing unfolded? There was hardly anyone around to bear witness to this extraordinary event. We’re living in the age of viral media so you’re telling me that if something like this happened there would only be a small handful of people rushing to Jonny Depp?
This would be the biggest news in the history of mankind and would blast waves across the globe. Yet, for two years, it’s just a few people who knew about it. The movie had so much potential to add more conflict by bringing in the rest of the World. I mean, what if most people began to accept what Will had to offer? Super human strength? Eternal Life?
There’s no question people would be rushing in the millions. There could have been a lot of room for creating conflict between the media, the government’s response, and the people who would reject it. They could have spent the first 15-20 minutes building up to the moment Jonny Depp plugs in and spent the rest exploring what life would be like 30 or 40 years down the road. That would have made for a much more wholesome and realistic experience.
Ultimately, Transcendence was a good start but more importantly, it was a great lesson for other Transcendental Filmmakers…If you want to do bold projects about The Singularity, make sure you have a good writer who understands the human condition as it is today because to bring any real value into these types of films, you have to be able to accurately express how we would respond to these situations.
The idea was great, the execution was flawless, but the story was way too watered down to make any real impact. I hope we see more films that touch on this fundamental issue that we’ll be facing soon but, I just hope we can depict it more accurately, if not to save ourselves, then to at least provide for better entertainment.
(WARNING: SPOILERS)
Transcendence had everything in it but the human spirit. Now, that seems pretty contradicting given that it’s centered on the age-old debate about our relationship with technology. It seems astonishing that they would make a movie about the singularity and not include us. I mean, how can you explore a hypothetical situation about man and machine merging together, if you only explore half of the equation?
That’s why I consider this to be largely a failure because while the film was well-crafted, the story focused too much on the technological side of transcendentalism and not enough on the human side. It was like baking The Royal cake, but forgetting to add the sugar.
But I say, “Largely a failure” for a reason because there elements of success. Transcendence was an excellent start for Wally Pfister’s directorial debut because it was a bold move and well-done. Casting and acting were excellent, lighting was on par, and of course, the cinematography was perfect. These are all definite signs that Mr. Pfister knew what he was doing when it came to directing. But like every bad movie, the story drove it straight to hell.
I don’t want to get too negative about it though. Making films about The Singularity is challenging because it’s too abstract and ill-defined to translate well in film…For now. Others down the road will learn from the mistakes of Transcendence and go beyond what they were trying to do…Well, wait. What were they trying to do? I guess they were trying to understand how we would respond to The Singularity but, did they do this or fall short of reaching this goal?
I’m getting ahead of myself. We need to look at the most basic issue first if we want to understand how this failed. That is, we have to look at the love interest. Well, No I shouldn’t say, “Look” because there wasn’t much to see.
The first ten minutes was supposed to establish the characters and general setting but, it was mostly just a series of beautiful shots, killing time between the plot points. What they should have done was utilize those ten minutes better and strengthen that enduring love Will and Evelyn were supposed to have. The characters should have completed each other but, they didn’t.
So we have two nerds in love because they both want to save the World with technology? So what? Common goals establish partnerships, not lovers. You need something deeper to explain why they can’t be apart and this should be common sense for all writers because if you want to maintain that suspension of belief, you have to give a logical reason for everything in the story.
And that my friend, brings us to the crux of the entire issue. There wasn’t any logic behind the movie, so it wasn’t believable. For something like Thor, that’s ok, but for a film trying to depict The Singularity? That’s a shot to the head. The movie could have still worked without the strong love interest but when they made this same mistake for the rest of the movie? Well, I think you know where I’m going with this.
Where was the rest of society as this whole thing unfolded? There was hardly anyone around to bear witness to this extraordinary event. We’re living in the age of viral media so you’re telling me that if something like this happened there would only be a small handful of people rushing to Jonny Depp?
This would be the biggest news in the history of mankind and would blast waves across the globe. Yet, for two years, it’s just a few people who knew about it. The movie had so much potential to add more conflict by bringing in the rest of the World. I mean, what if most people began to accept what Will had to offer? Super human strength? Eternal Life?
There’s no question people would be rushing in the millions. There could have been a lot of room for creating conflict between the media, the government’s response, and the people who would reject it. They could have spent the first 15-20 minutes building up to the moment Jonny Depp plugs in and spent the rest exploring what life would be like 30 or 40 years down the road. That would have made for a much more wholesome and realistic experience.
Ultimately, Transcendence was a good start but more importantly, it was a great lesson for other Transcendental Filmmakers…If you want to do bold projects about The Singularity, make sure you have a good writer who understands the human condition as it is today because to bring any real value into these types of films, you have to be able to accurately express how we would respond to these situations.
The idea was great, the execution was flawless, but the story was way too watered down to make any real impact. I hope we see more films that touch on this fundamental issue that we’ll be facing soon but, I just hope we can depict it more accurately, if not to save ourselves, then to at least provide for better entertainment.