"Imagine.
All the intelligence of everyone ever born in one entity."
The science
fiction genre is one that people always seem to be hungry for and at the same
time hold to a high standard and in return a high level of scrutiny. This is
welcomed however as too many films and screenplays are given freedom from
criticism because they attempt to be ambitious or have grandiose elements to
their themes. Ambition alone is never enough to warrant muddled execution
around it which so often plagues highly anticipated films. Jack Paglen's attempt at
combining ambition with substance in his script Transcendence is relatively
successful. Transcendence’s main story features a man and wife named Will and
Evelyn Caster who happen to be scientists working on pushing the boundaries of
artificial intelligence. They are joined by their colleague and friend Max
Waters who has differing opinions than those of Will and his wife. Although
he has a differing opinion as to the consequences of sentiment computers, Max
continues to encourage his colleagues progression. Not everyone is so happy to
do so as a group of militant fighters known as the RIFT begin to murder
everyone involved with artificial intelligence in order to stop the creation of
a sentient being. During a lecture on his work, Will is critically injured in an attack by
RIFT and in pure desperation Evelyn attempts to upload his genetic material
into a computer despite being warned of the destruction it could cause if the
computer were to become aware of its' own existence.
The strength
of the script is evident in two elements, the first of which is the explanation
of what transcendence is and the consequences of it. Paglan attempts to show us
inside the mind of a machine that has more power and intelligence than anyone
in the history of mankind through visual cues that both educate and confuse
with their complexity. This also eliminates the need for an entire film drowned in expository dialog à la Christopher Nolan where characters are constantly explaining plot elements to each other. The second
strength is the immediate consequences transcendence has on the relationship between
Evelyn and her husband Will. Evelyn's obsession with maintaining a relationship with
her husband despite the warnings around her are portrayed with tenderness that evoke a strong sense of empathy. However,
this is nicely countered with the cold reality of how myopic her refusal to let go of Will makes her and everything she ignores in the process of his resurrection. Yes, this
is another science fiction story portraying the negatives of artificial
intelligence and the horrible consequences once that A.I. begins to turn on
their creators, but Paglan’s script offers more in terms of humanizing the transition than other
forays into the same storyline.
