Take one of my favorite directors, Michael Bay (The Rock, Armageddon & Bad Boys) and add one of my favorite toys growing up, Transformers, and you can't go wrong, right?Transformers tells the story of alien robots who can take the form of everyday machines (cars, trucks, home electronics, etc.) and their visit to earth in search of the allspark, the greatest power source in the universe, something they need for their race to continue to survive. Throw in half a dozen humans whose lives intersect with the mission of the robots, and you've got yourselves a fairly interesting storyline.
What I liked: Transformers has quite possibly the best action scenes ever put on film. The fights between these huge robots is breathtaking. As they focus on each other and their battle, buildings crumbling and cars being smashed and flipped is just an after thought. I dug the transformation process the robot aliens underwent as they switched from machine to robot and back again. The sheer number of moving parts as they transformed was amazing. The lead actor, Shia Labeouf (I Robot, Disturbia), did an incredible job, just about carrying the movie single handedly. He plays the high school hero who befriends the good Autobots and helps them in their efforts to find the allspark. Another noteable performance was that of Josh Dumamel (NBC's Las Vegas) as the captain who first witnesses the arrival of the evil decepticons.
What I didn't like: For all of the incredible action, and intriguing characters and storyline, I was hoping for a better overall film. The complete package felt like a car commercial/cartoon show to me. For a Michael Bay movie, I was expecting more, as I've seen him pull off large ensemble films in the past with more passion then was on display here. I didn't like how difficult it was to connect with the robots. They tried hard to give them personalities, but I just never felt they were characters worth rooting for.
Overall: I would certainly recommend this movie for the CGI accomplishment and action sequences alone. The action is absolutely incredible, as is the performance given by Shia LaBeouf. The plot is compelling enough that you won't ever be bored, and the pace of the film moves at a rate that will keep you ingaged. It's great summer fun, as long as you're not looking for the perfect complete package.
PG-13 / 2 hours 24 minutes / Dreamworks / Released: July 3rd, 2007
2 comments:
It sounds like a typical summer movie. It will make a ton of money and lead to a couple more sequels, none of them great. I've been intrigued by the special effects I've seen in the trailers, but I'll probably wait for DVD rental.
Have you seen Pirates III? I have not, but would be curious to read your review.
We did catch Pirates III and really liked it. There's a ton going on in the film, and it's a bit more strange than II, but if you enjoyed I and II, it's more of the same fun in III with the characters you've come to know and like. For big actions movies like III, I always think the big screen is fun, but it's just a couple weeks away from being out of first run theaters. Better be quick! :)
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