Transcendence opened and you’d hardly know it given the estimated $11.2 million opening weekend total. Critics slammed it, resulting in a 20% at RottenTomatoes and opening night audiences awarded it a “C+” CinemaScore. At least, however, those people went to see it.
For all the bitching and moaning I see online over the number of reboots, sequels and remakes in cinemas it’s a little disappointing to see an original sci-fi idea so easily dismissed (and I’m sure some of you just stopped reading to rushing to the comments to tell me how unoriginal it is, though I’ll argue with you until I’m blue in the face). I thought these were the films the audience wanted, but based on the box office receipts it seems the general population is more than satisfied with more Marvel movies, animated sequels, young adult adaptations and religious pics.
In fact, look at the success of films such as Noah, God’s Not Dead and Heaven is for Real. When the religious demographic says they want films made for them and those films are made, they go see them in droves. Ever since Transcendence was announced it seemed to be a film online movie blog readers were salivating for and yet… an $11.2 million opening weekend?
I’ve seen several comments on this site and others, people saying how disappointing the movie it is without having seen it and others saying how much they had been anticipating it but the reviews caused them to stay home.
I liked Transcendence much more than most reviewers. I liked the cacophony of ideas at play and the things it says about the continued advancement of technology. The question of what qualifies as human consciousness, what humanity would do if God walked among them, whether humanity would sacrifice themselves if confronted with the idea they were part of a larger whole? What I got most out of it was the idea it’s not humanity vs. technology as much as it’s ultimately humanity against itself, though there are a variety of interpretations and exciting questions you could ask while watching this movie if you’re willing to get over yourself first.
Or, of course, you could be like Peter Rubin at Wired and write one of the most embarrassing “reviews” I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading. Different strokes.
So you want to take jabs at the cinematography, Johnny Depp or say how Wally Pfister is no Christopher Nolan? Perfect, if you’re doing that, at least you saw the movie. Otherwise, a turnout such as this all but guarantees fewer studios will take a chance on films like this in the future, not as if many of them are being made already.
As an audience member you speak with your wallet, not with your online comments, tweets or Facebook likes. If you want to see something that isn’t a sequel, reboot or remake there is only one kind of comment Hollywood studios understand and it comes in the form of little bits of paper with dead presidents on it.
I’m not saying Transcendence is some kind of masterpiece, but it is thought provoking. You may think it’s a terrible movie, but I would like to hope even someone that sees it as a terrible movie could look at the ideas within it and see it has some kind of intellectual worth.
Additionally, with the headline I’m not suggesting more Marvel movies is a bad thing, I’m just saying if we stop supporting studio features that aren’t superhero movies, animated sequels and whatever the next young adult novel that gets released may be, then that’s all we’re going to be stuck with. Maybe some of you think that’s just fine, but I would like to hope some of you want more.
