Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 55

Robots in disguise!

Move over Pirates of the Carribean 3, Transformers just took the wind outta’ your sails.

Today was meant to be a lazy day. I got up today with no expectations. My room mate was going to take his date out to see Evan Almighty, but when she bailed on him, he instead took me to the theatre where we saw Transformers.

I paid an acceptable $8.50 (Canadian) for the matinee, and arrived at the theatre more than a half-hour early, in anticipation of a packed showing. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the room remained relatively empty, and save for the noisey child in front of us, and the jerk who sat IMMEDIATELY behind us in an otherwise empty room, it was a wonderful experience. Just as I had had no expectations for the day, I bore no expectations for the movie as well.

I’ve always been a fan of Transformers, I watched the cartoons faithfully growing up, I owned several toys, and I still posess (sitting a mere eight feet from me this very minute) a 1989 original plastic Transformers Bumble Bee toy. I’ve been to see such famous children’s-entertainment-turne d-all-audiences-films as Spiderman (all three movies), Daredevil, The Hulk, Fantastic Four, and honestly, all the other Marvel or DC Comics movies, and was constantly disappointed. I hold very high standards for the movies I see about my beloved subjects, and while I had no expectations for this movie, I was ready to hate it if they screwed with the story I loved.

So what did I think? I L-O-V-E-D LOVED it! Okay, it’s true that it’s not the most realistic movie in the world, but who really expects any realism from a movie about three-storey-tall transforming robot aliens who war against each other on Earth? Anyone who goes to this movie just to watch for and criticize the realism, doesn’t deserve to have seen it to begin with.

The acting (including by one of my most hated actors in the industry today, Shia LaBouf) was well-done and charming, and even exceptional in some cases. The female protagonist came into the male protagonist’s life by believable means, the relationship between them grew in a believable way, and the dialogue and interactions between all the characters was natural and interesting (with a few exceptions, which involve the leader of the secret organization called “Sector 7″ and the male protagonist’s parents). The music was invigorating, the cinematography was beautiful, and the plot (while not deep and meaningful) was certainly well-written and executed- and I haven’t even started on the action.

The action scenes in this film were AMAZING, and there’s just no other single word for it. Explosions galore, some of the best CG I’ve seen in any movie EVER, guns, lasers, robots brawling in crowded cities, falling from skyscraper rooftops, and the suspense of losing any of the main characters at any moment kept me on the edge of my seat and my guts in a knot.

The end was even so well written, acted, and directed that I was deeply moved by it, and inspired to write a romantic tragedy that I’m positive is going to be quite a tear-jerker. In short, they simply could not have done a better job with this movie, and even the greatest of naysayers must admit that the “cool factor” was just through the roof.

I would give this movie an overall 9/10 easily. Michael Bay (the director) is going to make a REAL name for himself with this one.

“Autobots, roll out!”