Autobots, Roll Out!
Childhood Nostalgia Transforms to Box Office Gold
In my review of Live Free or Die Hard, I said that it reminded me of the thrill I felt when seeing Independence Day back in 1996. I was wrong. Seeing Transformers gave me an even bigger thrill. For all its overblown action sequences, silly humor, and underwhelming human performances, the sheer magnitude of Transformers made me feel young again. This film is a gift to all those Generation Xers who grew up but still love their toys.
Written by: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman and John Rogers
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Anthony Anderson, Jon Voight, John Turturro
Rated
(for
intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor and language)Running time: 144 min.
FilmGuru's Rating : 9 out of 10.
For those who missed out on the 1980s cartoon, don't worry. The film begins with a history lesson about the aliens and their lost homeworld of Cybertron. After a millennia of war, they have come to Earth searching for an energy source called the "Allspark," the source of all life on their planet.
The story quickly shifts to the Middle East where a military base is attacked by a MH-53 JM Pave Low™ III/IV Helicopter that transforms into a giant robot called Blackout. Captain Lennox (Josh Duhamel) leads the survivors in a desperate race across the desert, unaware that another robot -- a mechanical scorpion -- is following them beneath the sands.
Meanwhile, in America, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is an average teen trying hard to scrape together enough cash to buy his first car. With a little luck, he manages to acquire a used 1976 Chevy Camaro. Little does he know what's under the hood. Luckily for him, the girl of his dreams, Mikaela (Megan Fox), is a bit of a car buff and doesn't shy from life in the fast lane. Eventually, the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (voiced by the original Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen) make themselves known to Sam because he has something they believe will lead them to the Allspark.
The result is a giant race to find the Allspark. As Decepticons and Autobots battle it out on Earth, Sam and Mikaela find themselves caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between alien robots and secret government agencies.
In the past, I haven't been a big fan of Michael Bay. His films have typically been overblown action pieces, and his direction is less about art than about his overinflated ego. I hated his take on Pearl Harbor, and his work on Armageddon, The Island, and The Rock struck me as uninspired. That said, he managed to helm Transformers without inflicting serious damage.
The story has some weak points, from inappropriate dialogue to unfunny "comedic" moments. The film also seems intent on forcing young actors and actresses into the film in roles that are hardly believable, including as code breakers for the United States Department of Defense. The worst scenes in the film all have to do with the human cast, although there's one prolonged "hide and seek" scene with the Autobots at Sam's house that went from amusing to stupid in short order.
The action, however, is flawless. Between the car chase sequences and the battle scenes, there is more eye-candy on the screen than any fanboy deserves. I haven't been this awe-struck by the sheer amount of action on the screen since the last Star Wars film.
In a way, that's what Transformers brought to theaters. In a time when blockbusters have varied from comic books, to pirates, to animated ogres, Transformers has brought back the wonder of science fiction that has been missing. There are plenty of horror stories, fantasies of boy wizards, and animated comedies, but when was the last really fun science fiction movie?
I know a lot of people are going to trash this movie. I don't care. I enjoyed every minute. Seeing the Autobots and Decepticons come to life through computer animation is more stunning than I could have anticipated. Hearing Optimus Prime speak (as only Cullen can give voice to him) was a thrill. On a fanboy scale it gets a solid 10, but for the masses I'll scale it back to a 9.
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