I just saw this movie and I have to say that I can’t imagine a world without Internet. I’m trying to imagine what I did before Internet was born and all I could think of was playing with cooking sets, PlayDoh, watching Captain Planet and other cartoons, and creating war games with my nephew.

Anyway, Transcendence started with the world without the Internet, when keyboards were used as a door-stopper. Then, it told us how it got to that world. A scientist named Will Caster (Johnny Depp) and his wife, Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) were working on an artificial intelligence when they were targeted by an anti-technology group called Rift. Will Caster and other technology scientists were targeted. Will was shot but survived. Eventually, he fell sick and found that his wounds were infected by some radiation virus that will shut down his body system. His wife, grappled by the fact that she’s losing him, decided to create a similar AI that they invented together called PINN, but with her husband’s mind, with the help of their friend, Max (Paul Bettany). Creeped out? Me too!

Did they succeed? Yes. But to know what happened next, you have to watch it. This blog is spoiler-free. Or as spoiler-free as I could make it to be.

Throughout the movie, I wanted to shake the wifey, slap her and tell her to get a grip of herself. She was on the brink of going absolutely mad! And I knew whatever she was doing was absolutely the wrong thing to do. You can’t bring back the dead. If Harry Potter, a magical world, can’t bring back the dead, nor does our world filled with muggles! So, yes, that’s what I spent doing the entire time in the theatre, restraining myself from throwing my nachos onto the screen.

This movie tells you a lot of things that other AI-related movies tell you – never ever get an AI to overtake your life. Basically, never ever get a technology to take over your life. Unlike human beings with emotions, we need to see that AI or technology is just an it. It should help you make your life easier but it should not be taken too far that it inconveniences or makes you uncomfortable.

Also, I’ve always thought of Johnny Depp as the actor who takes on eccentric roles but this is something different from him. It’s actually quite refreshing to see him as a normal human being rather than a pirate or Mad Hatter or Willie Wonka or Edward Scissorhands.

I give this movie a 3 out of 5. It’s not exactly a must-see but if you are interested and you have nothing else to see this week, then this would be a better option.

The trailer…