Transformers - Not Just Electrical Thingumies
Written: Aug 15 '07 (Updated Aug 16 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fantastic special effects, some good action and humour...
Cons: ... some plot flaws, terrible dialogue, typical Michael Bay overlong action sequence...
The Bottom Line: Entertaining yes, but more than meets the eye? I think not.
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| captaind's Full Review: Transformers |
I was quite looking forward to this film despite only vaguely remembers the original Transformers cartoon and not being a great fan of Michael Bay. Just so you know where I’m coming from…
The plot, of course, revolves around big robots coming to earth, trying to get an ancient relic, with the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil Decepticons not too upset about causing death and destruction to humans who might get in their way, while the noble Autobots oppose them and respect human life. It all starts with a cheesy introductory voiceover by Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots (and voiced by Peter Cullen, veteran cartoon voice actor and the voice of Prime in Transormers: The Movie back in 1986), and mainly gets cheesier as it goes on. Anyone who’s seen a Michael Bay film before will know what to expect - lots of big explosions and… er… more big explosions. I had thought this might be one of his most enjoyable films to date because, let’s face it, no-one was actually going to expect much more than a straight action movie here. As it happens the film’s okay, pretty entertaining, but I couldn’t say much more than that.
The first problem is that the two main human protagonists, Sam (Shia LaBeouf) and Mikalea (Megan Fox) are not characters that are particularly easy to care about. They do earn a little sympathy as the film goes on though. Neither character is very interesting though again as the film goes on they develop a little, and the performances seem to become more assured later in the film too. Much is made of Megan Fox’s looks (at least by people I’ve talked to), and she certainly is a pretty girl - though not perhaps quite worth the hype that’s been built up around her. There’s also a gung-ho here who, despite his opening tender communication with his wife when he expects to come home from war duty, turns out to be just too gung-ho to take seriously. That’s enough of the human characters for now…
Perhaps a little too much focus is put on the humans, considering the Transformers should be the real stars of the show. Apart from Optimus Prime, few of the Transformers give anything other than cameo appearances, and much of the dialogue is truly terrible (just like a children’s TV cartoon!). None the Autobots or Decepticons seemed to have much personality because they didn’t have enough screen time to display it. How the story of Megatron, EEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeevi leader of the Decepticons , is developed is quite interesting in a way but means that he rarely appears in the film; I thought having him (do robots have genders?!?) in it more would have been better. Maybe that’s just me, of course… Anyway, the one thing that must be said about the Transformers themselves is that they looked superb - the special effects in this movie really are impressive, possibly among the best ever seen. With a certain Mr Spielberg working as an Executive Producer, you might expect the SFX to be classy - but your expectations will almost certainly be exceeded, whatever they are.
For me, the best moments were Sam’s interactions with his parents (played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White) - they were always a joy to watch, and when Sam is trying to hide both new girlfriend and newly-befriended giant robots from them, they’re hilarious. I would have liked to see more of them in this film - but it wasn’t to be…
Otherwise, it’s pretty much what you would expect from Michael Bay - some good action sequences, a bit of humour thrown in here and there, a few fairly gaping plot holes, and an action sequence towards the end that’s soooooooooo looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong that you’ll be yawning rather than riveted - well I was anyway. If your idea of a great movie is big robots and bigger explosions, you’ll love it. Otherwise it’s entertaining enough but nothing exceptional. Recommended mainly for pre-teens (and possibly young teens), and those who get nostalgic about the old Transformer cartoons and toys.
If you want to remind yourself just how cheesy the original cartoons were (I had to as I didn’t remember them very well), try the following links:
Episode 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ16d-qpBEE
Episode 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlCBSa92ANo
If you want, many other episodes can be easily found from there!!
Related Links
Michael Bay films - The Island, Pearl Harbour
See also:
Top Ten Animated Movies
Top Ten Children's Movies
Recommended:
Yes
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