Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 16
November 6, 2009 by Optimus Prime
Filed under The Decepticons
“Transformers” heavy on action, light on story
Longtime fans of the “Transformers” toy and cartoon series were outraged when it was announced that Michael Bay would direct the live action adaptation. Those fans had no need to worry. After seeing his vision of “Transformers,” it is obvious that no one but Bay could have made this movie work.
The cartoon series always had the simplest of plots, so animators could cut to the big fight scenes and allow kids to hurry out and make their parents buy the toys. It’s only fitting that a faithful adaptation of a cartoon would feature a thin plot heavy on action and adrenaline-pumping excitement but light on actual plot. “Transformers” fit the description of a Michael Bay film perfectly before it was even made.
Bay has a talent for crafting visually vibrant action sequences, almost always at the expense of character development (see “The Rock” for a best-case example and “Pearl Harbor” for a worst-case example). With this film, Bay gets to show off his skills at getting gigantic computer-generated robots to smash into each other. Every trick in his book-overdone explosions, heavily reliance on slow motion, quick edits-is on display here. Again, the plot in his film is a meager formality; for Bay, he earns his money on the action sequences, and with “Transformers,” he earned himself a big payday.
The plot focuses on the civil war between two races of living robots from the planet Cybertron. The beings from the planet get into a huge fight over control of a cube called the “Allspark,” which is composed of pure energy. The destructive Decepticons, led by the evil Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving) want to use it for nefarious purposes, while the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) want its power for good.
The war causes Cybertron to be destroyed and the allspark to be thrown across the universe. The transformers track the cube to Earth. The Decepticons arrive first and attack U.S. troops stationed in Qatar in order to infiltrate military software and discover the cube’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile, a nerdy teenager named Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) discovers that the beat-up old Camaro he just bought seems to be coming to life. It is actually the Autobot Bumblebee (voiced by Mark Ryan). Bumblebee is on a mission to locate Sam, whose grandfather first encountered the cube in 1895. Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and the Autobots must now find the cube and destroy it before the
Transformers Is A Movie That Will Become A Classic
February 2, 2009 by Optimus Prime
Filed under Transformers Movies
For those unaware of the animated series, here is a brief description. On the planet Cybertron, there is a war for the source of life (the Allspark) of its robotic inhabitants. These robots, consisting of both the righteous and kind Autobots, and the malicious and cruel Decepticons, fight to either preserve peace or to conquer the universe.
They’re war spans the universe until they finally land on our planet and take the forms of cars (Autobots) or airplanes (Decepticons). As the war progresses, the Autobots are befriended by the human Sam Spike Witwicky as they try to find the Allspark. The Autobots are led by the wise Optimus Prime while the Decepticons are led by the villainous Megatron.
Now, the plot of the film, like any book, comic book, or TV adaptation, has it’s own fair share of deviances from the source material, but this is one of those rare instances where that would be considered a good thing.
In this version, Sam Witwicky’s encounters with the Autobots and Decepticons are not by mere chance. He is being sought by both sides because he has a pair of glasses that belong to his ancestor, an explorer, that also reveal the location of the Allspark. Siding with the Autobots and the United States Military, Sam sets out to find the Allspark before the Decepticons get it and claim victory.
This film boasts a cast of fresh faces with Shia LaBeouf as Sam, Megan Fox, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, John Voigt, and featuring Hugo Weaving as Megatron, and original voice actor Peter Cullen reprising his role as Optimus Prime. The acting is fluently delivered and fairly realistic given the story.
One problem the movie does have is that it is a difficult concept to make an audience believe in, but if one can simply get over the fact that it isn’t exactly Shakespeare, then it should be a surprisingly good time. It should also be pointed out that the special effects in this film are absolutely breath-taking. So, if you’d like a movie that has amazing visuals, good acting, and a story deeper than most action movies, then Transformers is definitely for you.