Transcendence: What To Watch After You Experience The Singularity

Johnny Depp's disembodied digital self would approve.

By Brent McKnight | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

TranscendenceWally Pfister’s directorial debut Transcendence finally opened in theaters over the weekend. The film has a few interesting moments and concepts, but overall is something of a letdown, failing to deliver on a great deal of potential. Flat, dull, and stiff, only touching on the inherent issues in the most superficial way, the film borrows heavily from generations of movies that have come before. Damn near every scene makes you remark to yourself that it reminds you of this or that scene from one movie or another, so we put together a list of titles to watch once you’ve sat through the singularity.

WARNING: If you’re reading this, we assume that you’ve actually watched the movie, and as a result, spoilers are about to start flying willy-nilly.

If, for some reason, you haven’t seen the movie, here’s a crash course. Transcendence is the story of Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp). On the verge of making a huge leap forward in artificial intelligence, a radical anti-technology group gives him radiation poisoning. As his body deteriorates, his research partners—his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and BFF Max (Paul Bettany)—rashly attempt to upload his consciousness into a supercomputer. The results are not good, and Will’s mind, now free from his mortal body, grows exponentially, taking over, pushing technology ever forward, playing with nanobots, and generally getting up to no good.


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