Johnny Depp dials back the weird and taps surprising restraint to play a 21st century Max Headroom of sorts in the new sci-fi thriller Transcendence.

The Hollywood A-lister stars in this cyber tale about a brilliant scientist who wants to bring artificial intelligence, in the form of a conscious computer, to life.

After creating the distinctive looks of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight series and Inception, Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister steps into the director's chair for the first time with Transcendence, but this probably isn't the high-tech film audiences are expecting, says CBC's Eli Glasner.

In the attached video, Glasner shares his review of Transcendence.