---
title: "Transcendence: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/transcendence/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/transcendence"
critics_score: 41
critics_reviews: 25
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Transcendence (2014): what the critics said

Critics' score 41 from 25 reviews: 2 positive, 8 mixed, 15 negative.

Most critics reject this one, and fifteen of the 25 reviews are outright negative. Where there is agreement, it is on two points. The ideas are ambitious: most reviews credit the film with asking serious questions about machine intelligence and what survives of a person uploaded into one. And Rebecca Hall is the thing that works, praised across the spread for grounding the story in loss; several reviews name her as its only human presence. The cinematography draws steady, if faint, approval too.

The reservations cluster on the script. Critics call the romance lifeless, the plot muddled, the exposition clunky, and Johnny Depp’s performance distant and listless. Several find the philosophical musings and the commercial action working against each other. The spread is wide, from 15 to 75. The Los Angeles Times is the clear dissenter, finding the film provocative and its refusal to simplify a virtue; IndieWire is the only other review that leans positive.

## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 April 2014. 

Turan finds the film ambitious and provocative, with its nuanced treatment of artificial intelligence outweighing its shortcomings. He particularly praises its refusal to simplify the difficult questions raised by Will’s transformation.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2014-apr-17-la-et-mn-transcendence-review20140418-story.html)

## IndieWire — Eric Kohn

Rating B-. 15 April 2014. 

Kohn finds the film intellectually provocative and potentially prescient, but uneven and less engaging than its ideas. He especially praises Rebecca Hall’s credible pathos and the film’s lasting relevance in its exploration of technology and reality.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-is-the-heady-johnny-depp-tech-thriller-transcendence-ahead-of-its-time-27735/)

## RogerEbert.com — Matt Zoller Seitz

Rating 2.5/4. 16 April 2014. 

The review finds the film disappointing despite its ambitious ideas. Its treatment of artificial intelligence is singled out as a weakness.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/transcendence-2014)

## Radio Times — Terry Staunton

Rating 3/5. 

Staunton gives the film three stars, indicating a mixed verdict. He singles out its complicated techno-fable premise as a defining feature.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ubzvmq/transcendence/)

## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd

Rating C-. 17 April 2014. 

Dowd finds the film humorless, outdated, and dramatically lifeless. He especially criticizes its unconvincing central romance and lack of humanity.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/johnny-depp-gets-digitized-in-the-silly-sci-fi-polemic-1798180163)

## Screen Daily — Tim Grierson

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 16 April 2014. 

The review suggests the film’s grand themes lack resonance. It finds greater emotional impact in the more modest exploration of intimate relationships.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/transcendence/5070659.article)

## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf

Rating 2/5. 16 April 2014. 

The review finds the thriller dull and questions why Johnny Depp took the role. It singles out the story’s lack of wackiness as a major disappointment.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/transcendence)

## Total Film — Jamie Graham

Rating 2/5. 24 April 2014. 

Graham finds the film a disappointment despite its ideas and gleaming visuals. He singles out its surface-level musings and monotonous, underwhelming action as major weaknesses.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/transcendence-review/)

## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson

Rating 1.5/4. 17 April 2014. 

Henderson finds the film regressive and less recognizably human than its ambitions suggest. He faults its detours into sci-fi cliché, especially beside the more effective questions explored in Her.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/transcendence/)

## Sight and Sound — Michael Atkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 26 April 2014. 

Atkinson finds the film timid and dramatically clumsy, despite its timely engagement with unsettling questions about technology. He praises its willingness to challenge the presumed goodness of virtual life, while faulting its plot holes and lifeless scenes of characters explaining computer screens.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/review-transcendence)

## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2014. 

McCarthy finds the film intellectually ambitious but dramatically muddled, with its ideas and commercial action working against each other. He praises Rebecca Hall’s alert, unpredictable performance while faulting the story for losing its emotional connection.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/transcendence-film-review-695534/)

## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 18 April 2014. 

Ebiri finds the film an unsuccessful blend of science-fiction ideas and action, though it has some genuine pathos. He praises Rebecca Hall’s portrayal of loss, while criticizing the contrived dystopia and Johnny Depp’s emotionally distant performance.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2014/04/movie-review-transcendence.html)

## The Guardian — Tom Shone

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 

Shone finds the thriller insubstantial and too familiar. He singles out how little life remains in Johnny Depp’s digitized character.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/series/first-look-review+transcendence)

## Empire — William Thomas

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2013. 

Thomas finds the film a banal, disappointing techno-thriller that squanders its cast and filmmaker. He praises the effective camerawork but says it serves a weak, uncreative script.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/transcendence-review/)

## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 25 April 2014. 

O'Sullivan finds the film derivative and poorly scripted, with an unconvincing emotional core. She singles out its elegant cinematography as the main compensating quality.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/transcendence-film-review-alisters-johnny-depp-and-morgan-freeman-are-sunk-by-a-dlist-script-9285612.html)

## The New Yorker

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 

The critic finds the film shapeless and dramatically inexperienced. They single out its cheesy look, with only a few shots escaping that criticism.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/transcendence-2)

## Variety — Scott Foundas

Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2014. 

Foundas finds the film dramatically undernourished, humorless, and emotionally empty. He particularly criticizes the bland characters and Johnny Depp’s listless performance, which fails to convey the scientist’s passion or curiosity.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/film-review-transcendence-1201156786/)

## The Playlist

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 16 April 2014. 

The page is blocked by anti-crawler protection, so the critic’s verdict and specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. The URL identifies it as a review of the 2014 film Transcendence.

[Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-transcendence-starring-johnny-depp-rebecca-hall-kate-mara-morgan-freeman-20140416/)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating C-. 17 April 2014. 

The critic finds the film stale, emotionally hollow, and burdened by familiar philosophical questions. He singles out its beautiful cinematography as a strength, but says it cannot overcome the sterile storytelling.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/transcendence-review/)

## Den of Geek — David Crow

Rating 2.5/5. 17 April 2014. 

Crow finds the film ambitious but muddled, with its big ideas undermined by a lifeless romance and an unclear plot. He praises Rebecca Hall for providing the film’s only human touch.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/transcendence-review/)

## Digital Spy — Emma Dibdin

Rating 2. 23 April 2014. 

Dibdin judges the film a ponderous, clunky disappointment that feels out of step with modern technology. She praises Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany’s emotionally grounded performances, while noting that Pfister’s crisp visuals cannot overcome the script’s shortcomings.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a565973/transcendence-review-johnny-depp-stars-in-clunky-sci-fi-fable/)

## Paste — Brent Simon

Rating 3.9. 18 April 2014. 

Simon finds the film over-plotted, shallow, and emotionally inert, ultimately mistaking incident for dramatic connection. He praises its visual polish and occasional striking imagery, but says these cannot compensate for the weak script and thin characters.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/transcendence)

## /Film — Angie Han

Rating 2.0 out of 10.0. 17 April 2014. 

Han finds the film dull, illogical, and dramatically underdeveloped. She singles out Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany for bringing some warmth and chemistry to their stiff characters.

[Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/531357/transcendence-review/)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 16 April 2014. 

The critic finds the film’s promising ideas undermined by a nonsensical plot and an unsatisfying resolution. Rebecca Hall’s committed performance is singled out as its strongest element.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/transcendence-review-johnny-depp-ghost-machine-bug-riddled-techno-thriller/)

## Consequence — Dominick Suzanne-Mayer

Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 21 April 2014. 

The critic finds the film a dull, illogical failure that squanders its ideas and cast. They single out its engaging CGI and action sequences as rare bright spots, while criticizing Johnny Depp’s performance and the overexplained, emotionally thin story.

[Read the review](https://consequence.net/2014/04/film-review-transcendence/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/transcendence.md