Wally Pfister’s upcoming directorial debut, Transcendence, is one of my most-anticipated films of 2014, and for good reason. Pfister, previously the director of photography on almost all of Christopher Nolan’s films, has an eye for detailed and engaging shots, while the film’s intriguing ghost-in-the-machine premise should offer intellectual thrills to match the visual ones.
Today, Entertainment Weekly revealed two exclusive images from Transcendence, which you can check out at the bottom of this article. Both of them include star Johnny Depp, who’s playing Will Caster, a world-renowned expert in artificial intelligence. In the first, Caster appears to be giving a speech on the nature of the human mind. He doesn’t look too comfortable up on stage though, perhaps because of the anti-technology extremists who are threatening his life in the film.
The second image also includes co-stars Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall and Cillian Murphy, who appear pretty tense as they look around a large facility, beneath lots of screens with Caster’s face. Perhaps this scene takes place after Caster uploads his personality to a super-computer following an attack from the aforementioned anti-technology activists.
Both images show off Pfister’s distinctive visual style and penchant for deep shots, so if either of the photos remind you of the Pfister-shot, Nolan-directed mind-bender Inception, you’re not alone.
Again, I’m really looking forward to this sci-fi thriller. Pfister is one of the most talented cinematographers in the business and he’s recruited a truly terrific cast for his first directorial effort.
The official plot synopsis for Transcendence reads:
Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him. However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.
Tell us, are you excited to check out this sci-fi adventure, or is the plot a little too familiar for your liking?
Transcendence hits IMAX and regular theaters on April 18th, 2014.
