Transformers didn't make me feel like a kid again. Quite the opposite, actually.
Written: May 14 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Choice of robots, special effects, LeBouf's "everyman"
Cons: Almost everyone else.
The Bottom Line: Robots in disguise, lots of explosions...and not much else.
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| JediKermit's Full Review: Transformers |
I didn't see "Transformers" in theatres. I kept on trying to, but in between summer being an awfully busy time of year, several trips, and it being too "adult" for my young boys and too "boy movie" for my wife, we didn't end up making it. We first rented it several months ago, and somewhere in the final act...I fell asleep. I didn't want to admit that to anyone, and I didn't want to write a review until I made it through with my eyes open. With that in mind, I rewatched it last weekend. And even though I actually liked much it more the second time around, it still made me feel old. Ancient, even.
The Transformers Movie is basically an update of the 1984 cartoon, with some key changes. Shia LeBouf plays Sam Witwicky, an "everyman" who is the first human to make friendly contact with giant robots that "transform" into vehicles. His first car ends up really being Bumblebee, an Autobot scout in disguise. Bumblebee leads Sam to the other Autobots, including their leader, Optimus Prime. They're in pursuit of the "Allspark," an artifact from their homeworld that is a source of unimaginable power. The goal of the Autobots is to keep the Allspark out of the hands of the evil Decepticons, led by their leader, Megatron, who's being held in stasis in a top secret government facility. When Megatron escapes, it becomes a battle to the finish in the streets of Los Angeles, and Sam and his friend Mikaela are in the middle of it.
The special effects give this movie most of its appeal. Seeing the fifty-foot tall robots stomping through the countryside, taking on the Army and each other, is a lot of fun. In an effort to make the robots more realistic, they also made their designs more complicated than the 80's cartoon design. In doing that, I felt like some of the personality of those characters was taken away from them, and it also made some of the robots indistinguishable from the others. Most of the robots are classic characters, included in the movie because they were fan favorites from the cartoon series. That includes Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, but also the medic Ratchet, armory-bot Ironhide, and warrior Jazz. The bad guys' team includes Megatron and his disloyal lieutenant Starscream, but also a giant mechanical scorpion and a military helicopter.
The cast of warring robots gets too complicated in the final act, when it got to the point that the noise, movement and explosions all got in the way of the relatively simple story. Director Michael Bay is known for his explodiness, and while there's a lot of spectacle, I do think it hurts some of the story.
While Shia's Sam and even Megan Fox's Mikaela are winning characters, everyone else is too cartoony--even more so than the giant robots. Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Anthony Anderson, Jon Voigt and John Turturro, all of whom I've liked in other roles, are completely hammy here. Peter Cullen, who's the voice of Optimus Prime (and was in the 1984 cartoon as well) is able to convey more emotion, power and wisdom in his characterization of the Autobot leader than any of the human actors on screen.
The script could have been better, and the movie, at 144 minutes, should have been shorter. While I'm looking forward to a "Transformers 2," it's mostly because I want to see what other cartoon Transformers favorites they turn into big screen versions. I hope the script is a bit better, and they cull some of the human characters from the next installment. I still geek out seeing Optimus Prime in action--but I want the next movie to be better.
ROBOT HEROES
Optimus Prime and Ravage
Mirage and Starscream
Rodimus and Insecticon
Grimlock and Shockwave
Ultra Magnus and Megatron
Bumblebee and Soundwave
Jazz and Thundercracker
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Action Movie
Worst Part of this Film: Duration
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JediKermit
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Member: Quinn
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
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Books, Movies, and Toys. Is there more to life?
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