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Film, God, Jesus, Johnny Depp, New Testament, Old Testament, revelation, The Holy Spirit, Transcendence, Understanding
Standing outside of that theatre, I had no idea what I was about to see. I mean, I did. It was Transcendence. But beyond that, not much. I’m not a huge sci-fi fan, although I did attend Dallas Comic Con once with a friend. I entered two different drawings for advance tickets to two separate films on the exact same night in the exact same theatre at the exact same time. I entered for Heaven is For Real and Transcendence. Truth be told, even though Heaven is For Real appears promising in its’ performance, I really hoped to catch Transcendence. How bright my circumstances were when I won the tickets I did.
I strolled into the theatre with Bret and we found our seats. My good friend, Emily, found us too. And we sat before a magnificent film. I don’t write movie reviews. I did a bit for my college newspaper and more recently attempted #3wordmoviereview’s on my personal Facebook page in order to try a new approach to the movie review. Truth be told, I much prefer positivity without criticism and there are far too many critics out there anyway. I’ll leave the job to the professionals. But this article stands as far more than a criticism or review. It stands as a testament to the power and understanding of film as an art. And here is why.
Our film begins with an epilogue with a character exploring a wilderness of decaying city streets musing over the death of technology and rumors of phone service in Chicago. He comes into a garden or what is left of it.
The next scene takes us to five years earlier with Dr. Will Caster and his wife, Evelyn, in the same garden. Minutes later we’re taken to a lecture given by Dr. Caster in which he discusses his new Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) technology which can replicate more than human thoughts and intelligence. It could replicate emotions. Collectively this technology would be smarter than humanity, in essence. He is asked during a Q&A session if his new technology is allowing him to create his own god. He answers “Isn’t that what humanity has always tried to do?”
My early thoughts were that this film would pose the question of how far has technology taken us? The bad guys (“RIFF,” an anti-technology extremist group) seemed to direct that technology was causing people more harm than good. But the real underlying struggle in the film was completely embedded in the New Testament with a bit of Isaiah as well. Without taking five pages to detail each scene, I list some of the scriptures to know and references to catch from the film.
Please note that spoilers are included from here, through the end of the article. You may either choose to read these and keep them in mind as you watch the film, or choose to finish the article afterwards and be amazed. Your choice. 🙂
- After Dr. Caster dies, he is resurrected through the computer technology. He leads Evelyn to this desert town, where he assures her “It doesn’t look like much,” but it’s the right place. By faith, she is led there and by faith she puts the laboratory into production (John 10:27). By faith she hires a contractor, boldly telling him that there is no amount of money he could quote her that would be too high (Philippians 4:19).
- After building a state-of-the-art facility and positive outlook from the local community, the enemy discovers their whereabouts. The enemy asks “Hath God said?” by tossing out flyers in the middle of the town, asking the residents to question what’s good for them (Genesis 3:1).
- After the enemy attempts to tear some of the solar panels down, injuring the dedicated contractor, Dr. Caster instructs Evelyn to have him laid down on a bed in which the computer (Dr. Caster) heals him and restores his appearance as before. After this occurrence, Evelyn runs into the contractor who Dr. Caster tells her he now resides in (John 14:23). Here is the first time Jesus is used as a swear term. Very crafty, you will find.
- Shortly hereafter, the multitudes begin to come to be healed. They believe and become dedicated followers (Luke 6:19). In the end, they begin to rise up against the enemy without fear (1 John 4:18).
- Morgan Freeman’s character swears using Jesus’ name a second time after seeing Dr. Caster’s face appear to them on the screen (Luke 24). Again, a very crafty reference.
- At least one point, a dove can be seen flying across the screens in the laboratory (Luke 3:22).
- The enemy attempts to take over the lab the first time by shooting the employees except for Evelyn. But these followers only fall to the ground before being regenerated (Isaiah 53:5) (Isaiah 54:17). As many times throughout the film as the enemy attempts to destroy the solar panels and exteriors of the facility, they do not succeed as they, too, regenerate (Galatians 6:7).
- As things regenerate, they multiply and begin to purify the water in springs or the air. In essence, God’s DNA is in everything.
- The enemy gets close enough to Evelyn to again ask “Hath God said?” by suggesting she leave and get away. After kidnapping her, they successfully convince her to help them tear it down (Genesis 3:1).
- Evelyn returns, dumbfounded, to find Dr. Caster back in physical form. He knows of their plans to kill him. He asks why she didn’t believe? He takes her inside and negotiates that he can either heal her or stop the machine.
- At this point the enemy is being held down, supernaturally, and the laboratory (“The world”) is coming apart. They begin questioning their circumstances, as the followers begin doing major supernatural feats (John 14:12).
- The two end up dying together. She has her side torn open (representing the bride of Christ, as Christ’s side was also torn open at the cross). The enemy is lifted as all of the followers are evaporated.
- Our epilogue returns with our friend asking himself “Why did he create the garden? So that they could be together.” The new heaven and the new earth.
I was crying toward the end of the film, as it so clearly reflected God’s undying love and devotion for us. There are several points above that would take whole sermons to understand, so a general understanding of scripture is necessary. But hopefully these that I have listed can help stir thought as you reflect on the film. This was a beautiful film and I recommend you see it.