Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 26

“More than meets the eye” has been the iconic catchphrase of the Transformers franchise for over two decades, and while less pragmatic than “robots in disguise,” it has managed to persevere and thrive to this very day. It has become the Rosebud for children of the 80’s, at once nostalgic and melancholy; “They just don’t make shows like that anymore,” we say as we silently try to recreate the sound of a car transforming into a 40-foot robot.

While one could begin an article based on those words, a true fan would be remiss to exclude the less-popular but still important sentence uttered by Optimus Prime:

“One shall stand, and one shall fall.”

Those words, spoken by Optimus Prime in 1986’s Transformers and echoed by Optimus Prime in 2007 sum it all up, but for the sake those less familiar with the series, this article will be devoted to showcasing both the success and failure of the film, as both an action movie and a Transformers movie.

First, the (human) cast does a fantastic job. The characters interact with each other with the chemistry of people witnessing a robot apocalypse (It turns out that’s a lot of chemistry). Shia LeBouf proves he has significant acting chops and actually manages to be as compelling as the Transformers themselves, though his struggles are slightly less important, globally.

Second, the action. This is the most amazing part of the movie, and what everyone pays to see. The battle scenes feel real, totally immersive, and meticulously detailed. Even non-combat portions look beautiful. There is only one scene that seems slightly choppy and tough to follow, but it is mercifully short.

Third, the directing is brilliant. The audience is right where it should be nearly all the time, and any questions raised in a previous scene are quickly answered in the next. While it does become choppy at times it is obvious that Spielberg and Bay were fans of the series, as most of the Transformers are depicted in the same way as they were in the show.

So much for the movie part. The Transformer part, arguably the most important part of a Transformer film, lacked in the places where it should have shone. Simply put,

there were far too many unnecessary side characters and plots. To the casual watcher this makes for slightly erratic storytelling, and to the fan it makes for less giant robot time. A full third of the cast could have been cut with no ill effects. Instead, we get twenty minutes of a wholly unnecessary interaction between two characters who are inconsequential to the story, while one of the major Transformers has three lines in the whole movie.

So there it is: one shall stand, and one shall fall. The audience is given a solid action movie featuring Transformers, as opposed to an awesome Transformers movie featuring Shia LeBouf and friends. We have a cast of young stars on a meteoric rise, and a cast of CGI characters who function as the stepping stones to that success…in their own movie.

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 64

Transformers, the new Spielberg movie, bring us to a moment where the earth is the battle field for 2 groups of robots, world-less, in the search for the initial Spark, so they have a new home.

A mix between a high-school movie (every adolescent dream is a good-looking girlfriend and a cool car), a sf animated movie from our childhood and an American war movie, you can see almost everything in this new film: yellow cars that transforms in giant funny robots, music players that becomes evil little robots, ready to steel all US secrets, fights between ferocious robots and touching scenes between 1 boy and his girlfriend.

Although not the best movie Spielberg was ever involved with, Transformers is a nice, filled with humor movie, perfect for a relaxing Saturday evening, when you got nothing else to do.

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 38

Transformers was possibly the coolest movie I have ever seen. It had action, romance, humor and thrills. The CGI was out of this world, the transformations were spectacular (props to ILM for that one), and the explosions, the oh so many explosions blew me away. The acting was really good, especially on Shia Labeouf’s part (it’s hard to act like a non-existent robot is attacking you. The direction by Micheal Bay was perfect, he was obviously born to make this movie, he is the action king *bows down* “I’m not worthy!”. Not only did it stand as a great sci-fi movie and action movie, it paid homage to the original cartoon which every child of the eighties enjoyed. Everyone in the theater cheered when Optimus Prime came on the screen as the blue-and-red-flamed semi-truck. I recommend this movie to any one who likes fast-paced action, quirky comedy and giant shape-shifting fighting robots. And, who doesn’t?

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 42

I am a child of the 80’s yet somehow, I do not remember the television show The Transformers very well. Of course I remember that it existed and there were toys and I had an idea on the general theme of the Transformers, however no actual memories existed for having watched it. I guess that could be because I was a little girl, with a far bigger interest in all things girly, like Care Bears and Rainbow Bright. Transforming trucks hardly appealed to me back then. So for this reason, I had fairly low expectations for the Transformers film. Whereas my partner could not have been more excited.

So I organised my three nephews to come and the 5 of us went to see the film. Among the distraction of telling the boys to stop drinking so much softdrink or they would need to pee, I found myself suddenly completely enthralled with the film I expected little from.

The Transformers provided an action packed adventure right from the opening scene. There were no moments when I wished it would just hurry up and end and I found myself thoroughly entertained. The special effects were of a high standard and did not appear at all disappointing and lame like I may have expected. The characters were entertaining, from humans to autobots.

This is the type of film that I saw very little to complain about. Unfortunately I have seen many negative reviews for the film, but from everyone I know who has seen the film, they all report the same positivity that I left with. What was especially unexpected was the humour in the film. It was suprisingly funny at times and even a little adult, with a conversation about masterbating and all. This was something that I am sure went right over my 6 year old nephews head, but was a source of great amusement for his 12 year old brother. All this much to my own horror.

If you are looking for an entertaining action film, that is good for all ages, with great special effects, good solid acting, a fairly well-known cast and a sprinkle of humour, The Transformers is a must see. I now have it set in my mind that when I am rich and famous, I want my very own Bumblebee, or a Lamborgini that is equally flash at least! So give this film a go. I doubt you will be disappointed.