On Easter Sunday afternoon, I took some youth to see Transcendence. (And I promise – no spoilers in my
comments.) The IMAX movie theater
was sparsely attended. And the box
office numbers from the weekend indicate people were not seeing Transcendence
across the nation. Its run has not
started well – and that in spite of the rarity of my seeing a movie on its
first weekend!
I find that sad. Transcendence
is a thoughtful movie that raises questions about both the apparent good and
not as apparent dangers of man playing God via technology. Both the tower of
Babel and the saying “the ends do not justify the ends” came to mind while
watching.
And it goes to pains not to take sides. Oh, it seems to take sides for a time, but later makes clear
things are not so simple. It
becomes intentionally ambiguous about who are the good guys and the bad
guys. Indeed afterwards, one of
the more reflective youth interpreted the movie and the good and evil of the
actors differently that I did and pointed out ethical issues I had missed.
The ambiguity may frustrate some.
And the movie has gotten mixed reviews at best. But I think the decision not to take
sides is wise and makes the point that questions about man playing God via
technology are important, must be addressed, and at the same time are not at
all easily answered.
Too many movies are tendentious.
Transcendence is not, and that is particularly good given the
subject. I think this movie
deserves a better hearing that it is getting.
My only complaint is the very end seems a too obvious opening for a
sequel. But given the weak box
office, a sequel seems unlikely.
No comments:
Post a Comment