This new movie Transcendence is bugging me. Apparently Johnny Depp’s mind gets recorded into a computer, allowing him a sort of immortality. It’s the sort of concept that is very interesting, and I’d love to experience a story that takes a deep and open-minded examination of the issue. Unfortunately, this movie looks more like an expensive remake of the last act of The Lawnmower Man.
So I have no interest in seeing this movie, in spite of being a science fiction fan, and having an interest in artificial intelligence and the issues surrounding it. But what's stranger is that I really don't want to see this movie, since it clearly side-steps the more intriguing aspects of the premise so as to reach a preconceived, audience-pleasing conclusion.
It occurred to me that this movie isn't really science fiction - it's actually the opposite. Science fiction has a genuine sense of experimentation, investigating concepts to reach conclusions we wouldn't reach with our gut reactions. It has to have a sense of danger, that we may challenge our assumptions. But with many mainstream sci-fi movies, there is no danger - you'll just be told what you want to hear, and then go away more ignorant than you came in.
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