TRANSFORMERS: "Autobots, roll out!"
Written: Jun 30 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Practically everything about it!
Cons: Too minor to mention
The Bottom Line: Watch this film.............NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
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| cripper's Full Review: Transformers |
For as long as I can possibly remember, I have always loved the Transformers. I remember collecting the toys, I remember watching the cartoon series and I remember the movie as well. The only problem is the last time I saw the cartoon was nearly 20 years ago and my memories of what took place in the cartoon series and in the movie disappeared as I grew up (or when I moved from Japan to Hong Kong where Transformers were not really popular). Ever since I moved to Hong Kong, The Transformers were a memory that were planted in the back of my head and I almost completely forgot all about them. When I heard that a film was being made based on the cartoon, I was excited at the prospect of remembering seeing the cartoon series as a kid. However I was somewhat skeptical that the film would meet my expectations. The fact that Michael Bay, whose credits include Armageddon, Bad Boys and The Island, directed this film led me to believe that I would be disappointed by the adaptation of the cartoon series onto the big screen. Nonetheless, I had always wanted to see Transformers based on what I had seen in the trailers and on the basis that I loved the Transformers back in my younger days. After seeing Transformers tonight, I am happy to report that the film exceeded my expectations and eradicated any doubts that I initially had about the film.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Transformers, the Transformers are a superior race of alien robots from the planet Cybertron. They are able to transform from their robotic form into a type of vehicle (i.e. cars, planes, helicopters etc.). In the world of Cybertron, there are two types of robots: the Autobots and the Decepticons. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, are the protagonists whilst the Deceptagons, led by Megatron, are the villains. The Transformers have ended up on earth as they have discovered that the Allspark, a very powerful life-giving device, has landed on earth. This forms the basis of the war between the Decepticons and the Autobots as the Decepticons intend to use the Allspark to destroy life whilst the Autobots try to stop the Decepticons from taking lives. Both the Autobots and the Decepticons, who themselves are both on earth attempting to locate the Allspark, find out that the co-ordinates for the Allspark are on the lenses of a pair of glasses owned by high school student Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and this effectively sets the mood for the rest of the film.
Many who will see this film will comment about the special effects. I say this because I definitely thought all the effects used left me in awe. The visual effects are simply phenomenal. The Transformers themselves are created using computer graphics and seeing them transform for the first time was so exciting! But what amazed me even more was how well the Transformers integrate themselves into the earthly surroundings. I was convinced that the Transformers could very well exist and the visual effects never look tacky at all. The visual effects were particularly brilliant during the battle scenes between the Autobots and the Decepticons. I loved the use of the cameras during these scenes and the slow-motion technique is cleverly used throughout these battles. As for the sound effects, I had to hold my breath when I first heard the Transformers changing from their robotic form to their vehicles because it completely blew me away. Even the sound effects used to create the voices of the Transformers are amazing. I do not think I have ever heard such advanced sound effects in my life. The special effects in any other film (including the Lord of the Rings series and the Star Wars series) are put to shame by the masterful usage and display of special effects employed in this film. This will sound clichéd but you will have to see it (and hear it) to believe it!
The film's script was solid too. There has been quite a bit of criticism about how true the story of the film is to the original cartoon. Like most adaptations, some parts of the film were true to the original cartoon series whilst there were other aspects that were not true to the original series. However this did not really bother me too much as I felt the film's screenwriters, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (and under the influence of screenwriter Tom DeSanto who co-wrote the screenplays for the first two X-Men films), attempted to set the story in the real world as opposed to Cybertron. And to me, this worked. The Autobots act as protectors of not only their own race of robots but also guardians of the human beings on earth. Although it is the Allspark that the Autobots are after, their means for getting the Allspark involves not killing human beings. And for that, we love them. The Decepticons, on the other hand, are evil and their lack of love towards the human beings on earth is evident. The desire for power over all has corrupted the Decepticons and they constantly refer to the human beings as being weak constantly showing their willingness to get rid of humans even before getting their hands on the Allspark. Even though the motives for why the Decepticons want to destroy earth and every other life form that exists are never really fully explained, all the audience really care about is that the Autobots prevent the Decepticons from fulfilling this objective.
Although the main plot surrounds the Autobots and the Decepticons, there are many other subplots that intertwine with the film's main plot. One subplot involves Sergeant Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and his troops stationed in Qatar. After being attacked by one of the Decepticons, the troops, who do not have communication devices, try to find a way to communicate to their compatriots in the United States, whom they believe are dead after the attack, that they are alive. The other subplot surrounds computer operations expert Maggie Madsen (Rachael Taylor). Working for the Secretary of Defense, she is the first to discover that the computers in the Pentagon are being hacked by the Decepticons and she, along with her colleague Glen Whitmann (Anthony Anderson), has to find a way to convince the Secretary of Defense that there is an intelligent lifeforce (i.e. not North Korea or China) that is hacking into their system.
The last part of the subplot involves Sam and his relationship with Mikaela Barnes (Megan Fox), a popular, attractive girl in school. Sam is a bit of a geek and it is clear that he is not the most popular kid in school but one has to love him for his idiosyncracies. His character is also written to be a smooth-talker and a bit of a smart a**. Although this, along with his wit, usually get him out of trouble, this smooth-talking and wittiness does not seem to work when he gets involved with Mikaela which leads to some good comic relief scenes. It is interesting to see how their relationship only really starts to develop in the face of adversity and when it is discovered that the fate of the world lies in Sam's small hands (well, small in comparison to the Transformers).
The performances are well-delivered. Shia LaBeouf is a perfect fit as Sam. He adds a certain charm to his character but manages to keep an air of peculiarity around Sam's personality. It is LaBeouf's performance that carries most of the film. Megan Fox, who is particularly attractive, is not spectacular in the role of Mikaela but she does enough to prevent her from becoming too shallow a character. I particularly liked Anthony Anderson in his role as Glen. Whilst I usually find the voice of Anderson to be truly annoying, it certainly serves his character well. I also liked Kevin Dunn and Julie White in their roles as Sam's parents and also add some comic relief to the film. I thought it was such a great idea to bring Peter Cullen back to do the voice of Optimus Prime. To me, he IS Optimus Prime and I cannot picture anyone else playing Optimus Prime. Hugo Weaving is also good as the voice of Megatron and he sounds particularly intimidating especially when we first hear him speak.
Transformers, as one would expect, is an action-packed adventure. The film, clocking in at nearly 2½ hours, never wavers in pace and moves relatively smoothly and quickly. Director Michael Bay makes good use of both action and humour to ensure that the audience are never bored.
I guess there were two things that did bother me slightly about the film. I was not too keen on the fact that it is pro-American. The people of the U.S. are made to look really, really good. And people of North Korea and China are made to look like an enemy to the U.S. And when the film refers to the people of the world, it only seems to refer to people of the U.S. But I guess the battles have to take place somewhere and that place happened to be the U.S. The other thing that slightly annoyed me was the film's soundtrack. Whilst the fast-paced music suited the mood of the film, I personally was not too keen on the music and again, its a minor complaint.
Transformers is a truly awesome film and in my humble opinion, is the best cartoon-to-film adaptation I have seen for a while. I would definitely see it again in a flash! I highly recommend all to see this one especially those that grew up watching the cartoon series and collected the toys as a child. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed.
Thanks for reading the review.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
cripper
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Member: Chris Ying
Location: Sydney, Australia
Reviews written: 348
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