A still from Wally Pfister’s upcoming ‘Transcendence’ featuring Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Hall, and Johnny Depp (on the monitors).
With mere months until it’s set to hit movie theaters, Wally Pfister’s Transcendence graces the internet with not one but two teaser trailers in the same day. While some would hope that the trailers would provide some glimpse into the somewhat hazy plot, the teasers (below) instead focus on the overall themes of Transcendence.
This first trailer (above), narrated by Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp), focuses on the development of computer knowledge towards the Singularity (or “Transcendence”, as Caster calls it), overlaid with neural synapses, binary, and alphanumeric code that slowly assembles into Caster’s gaunt, pasty, and jacked-in head.
The second trailer (above), narrated by Morgan Freeman’s yet unnamed character, deals with the evolution of the human brain, the increased capacity for learning, and what the next step in evolution could be, overlaid with historical footage and computer circuits.
The Transcendence teasers do what they’re supposed to: tease the film. The theme of advancing artificial intelligence is clear in both and helps to hint at the film’s plot: a renowned artificial intelligence researcher (Johnny Depp) is uploaded to the sentient learning and emotionally-capable computer that is his magnum opus as a result of anti-tech (most likely anti-Singularity/artificial intelligence) extremists. It’s certainly a unique take on tech (and the advances in tech) in the modern film era, especially after Singularity-inspired films in recent decades like VideoDrome and The Matrix, and easily looks to be this year’s thought-provoking science-fiction film, provided nothing else impressive comes along.
Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Cillian Murphy, Paul Bettany, and Kate Mara round out the main cast. Transcendence is set to hit theaters on April 18, 2014.
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