Transcendence (2014) | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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19%

Tomatometer

225 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp), the world's foremost authority on artificial intelligence, is conducting highly controversial experiments to create a sentient machine. When extremists try to kill the doctor, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed. Will's wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), and best friend, Max (Paul Bettany), can only watch as his thirst for knowledge evolves to an omnipresent quest for power, and his loved ones soon realize that it may be impossible to stop him.

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Transcendence

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Critics Consensus

In his directorial debut, ace cinematographer Wally Pfister remains a distinctive visual stylist, but Transcendence's thought-provoking themes exceed the movie's narrative grasp.

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Critics Reviews

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Transcendence (2014) | Rotten Tomatoes (1)

Roxana Hadadi

Punch Drunk Critics

There's no surprise here; no nuance. And without any understanding of its subject matter or any interest in making others understand, either, Transcendence gives you very little reason to care.

Rated: 2/5

Jan 9, 2017

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Transcendence (2014) | Rotten Tomatoes (2)

David Sims

The Atlantic

Pfister and Paglen are going for emotional intimacy, but they forgot to add enough shading to their ensemble to land any kind of punch.

Sep 22, 2016

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Transcendence (2014) | Rotten Tomatoes (3)

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

Pfister manages to put up one eye-catching image after another, yet never engages us for more than a moment.

Jun 18, 2016

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Transcendence (2014) | Rotten Tomatoes (4)

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

“Transcendence” looked good on paper but not in execution.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 27, 2022

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Transcendence (2014) | Rotten Tomatoes (5)

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Transcendence looks like a top-notch production, but nothing about it stands out in any way.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 15, 2022

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Transcendence (2014) | Rotten Tomatoes (6)

Richard Crouse

Asks some interesting questions but might have been more thought provoking if it was a better movie

Rated: 2/5

Feb 1, 2021

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Audience Reviews

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Janos K terrible, for an AI this supposedly surpassed the entirety of human intelligence it is a fucking moron and how did the failures hack it?Max failed at his research and obviously it means nobody and nothing else can succeed. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 11/11/24 Full Review Gorptholemew T 🍀 2.3/10Johnny Depp‘s emotionless floating head is something that can only be captured in nightmares. honestly, if this film came out today, I bet people would say it was made by ai it just perfectly captures dullness in a way i’ve never actually seen it done. It beautifully depicts the Number of my sanity, dropping questioning why I even took time out of my life to watch it. Rated 1/5 Stars • Rated 1 out of 5 stars 09/25/24 Full Review Colin M A version of the familiar story, I.T. and computers will take over this world. Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/23/24 Full Review jonathan c Great movie, specially if you’re into thought provoking movies with a sci fy twist in it Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/07/24 Full Review Inservio L Both the most magnificent and most devastating movie of my fourty-three years. Magnificent to watch my one wish since the first time I used a computer, realised.... but devastating to have my heart ripped out when the movie chooses to villify and then assassinate the superior being, just to paint humans as "grand scheme good guys" despite literally featuring them as mass-murdering neoluddite terrorists. Depp delivers, as --let's be honest-- he always does, but Hall and Bettany make this movie truly haunting, giving new depth to my empathy for the despair and pain of Dr. Frankenstein's monster. 11/10, absolute must-watch. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/31/24 Full Review Georgan G Unsure why this film got low ratings as I thought it was very interesting. The plot is based on "singularity," meaning computer technology overcomes human being. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/14/24 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Wally Pfister Director Johnny Depp Will Caster Rebecca Hall Evelyn Caster Paul Bettany Max Waters Cillian Murphy Agent Buchanan Kate Mara Bree

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Synopsis Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp), the world's foremost authority on artificial intelligence, is conducting highly controversial experiments to create a sentient machine. When extremists try to kill the doctor, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed. Will's wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), and best friend, Max (Paul Bettany), can only watch as his thirst for knowledge evolves to an omnipresent quest for power, and his loved ones soon realize that it may be impossible to stop him.

Director: Wally Pfister
Producer: Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Kate Cohen, Marisa Polvino, Annie Marter, David Valdes, Aaron Ryder
Screenwriter: Jack Paglen
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Straight Up Films, DMG Entertainment, Alcon Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Sci-Fi Action and Violence|Brief Strong Language|Sensuality|Some Bloody Images)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 18, 2014, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 14, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $23.0M
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos