Transformers

'Transformers + explosions = good'

Steven Spielberg bought the rights to Transformers not too long ago for filming purposes through his Dreamworks company. Of course, he gets the first look and I remember desperately hoping that he would return to his old form and take on a more family/kid oriented film has he had before with E.T. and the like and make a Transformers film that brought back the magica awe of the films. Instead when I found out he had passed but had wanted Michael Bay to direct it as a live-action film, unlike everyone else, I was only dismayed that Spielberg had passed on it, not that Bay had accepted to do it. Many people cried out hack and whined about Bay whom they perceived as an action film guy who was big on spectacle and small on plot. While this may be somewhat true generally, I have always loved the performances given by his actors and whether you appreciate it or not, he does have one of the best cinematic eyes right now in Hollywood. So what, he likes to use crane shots and fun angled track shots, the point is that no matter how he incorporates his signature old shots into a new film, it always feel revitalizing and fresh unlike the shot in the last two Matrix films when time slows down. So yes, I knew that when the film was going to be made that it would probably have a bit too commercial of a touch and that some sort of human element crap would be a part of it. I also knew though that it WOULD have giant robots beating the crap out each other in the best cinematic way possible and that the story would really just be a vehicle for that. I felt even better for the film after hearing that they had decided on casting Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime even though he had already been the voice for years in the television series. It showed that thatnkfully, no matter how berating and annoying the vocal internet community was being, that Bay and Spielberg were willing to listen to them and swap ideas. Well, after several eh trailers I saw the film opening night with some friends, and it doesn't disappoint.

Bay delivers his usual verve and cinematic prowess with extremely smart setups. Granted a couple of shots could have had a little bit more planning put in, but almost all of them are incredibly impressive given that I don't think Bay has had a ton of work with CG and considering its a live action Transformers, its obvious there has to be lots of CG. Once again Bay brings "it" with his trademark shots and intense and sweeping action. As much as I found Bay to be smug in his appearance of On the Lot and laughed at every suggestion had to do with work on your camera skills, I have to say that he probably doesn't ever need to work on that again. He's great cinematically. The film is fast, furious, and damn fun. I have to say that the best thing I can say about the film is that I didn't mind the use of the human element as much. This might be partially due to the script but I also attribute a lot of it to Bay and the two main actors Shia Lebouf and Megan Fox, who definately just became the pinup dream model of the year. Okay, yes in real life she's a bit too scary skinny for my taste, but man she looks good in this film. Oh, and Castle, sorry buddy but Shia really helps to hold this film together. Bay might be a bit arrogant and as usual his sfilms are light on stories, but he knows how to do buddy films better than anybody since the Beverly Hills Cop days. Oh, and Bay I loved the addition of the sign in the teacher's room, that took a lot of thought and comedic thinking and it worked perfectly.

Storywise, it's a very easy basic premise. I am not sure how close to the Transformers mythology it is but it sounds like the kind of thing I would expect from a bunch of toys that spawned a cartoon series and an anime movie and then years later an actual movie. I'm also very impressed and happy with the choice of Bay and the writing team to let certain Transformers die. That's right, I hope you aren't too attached to certain characters from the cartoon because they might easily bite the bullet sucker. However, despite the good handling of the human element by the actors and director, there is just some stuff that is dialogue that blows and I doubt anyone could have made work. That whole thing about getting into the car, it was ridiculous and needed something more. Sure its sweet, but...wait, hold on, just gotta wipe some of this Easy Cheeze out from under my eyelids. Ahh thats better. The story is relatively simple and although I appreciated the fun stuff with the Marines and Sector 7 people, I found it kind of hokey that the same people from the Middle East are the ones that have to be around til the end. Honestly, they could have been destroyed and I would have been A-okay with that as it would have pointed out how powerful the Decepticons were. Oh yea, and writers, I realize it is in the tradition of the good bot Optimus Prime to be essentially Captain America as a giant transforming robot, but for the love of Cybertron! could you please give him less preachy dialogue and stilted manners. Fanboys pipe down, this is for your own good! Ah whatever, it wasn't too terrible I suppose. The best part of the human element is that it didn't get in the way of what everyone wanted which is giant robots beating the hell out of each other. It was also handled nicely by sticking to Shia's character and keeping everything mostly in the realm of light-hearted comedy. It definately came together for the best summer blockbuster so far.

As for the actors, there are the immediate two that come to mind of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Shia does a good job of handling the comedy portions as the freaked out young horny teenager type. It's a very humanizing and fun lovable role. Megan Fox serves as nothing more than eye candy and to have a slight rapport with Shia's character which she is very good at and I see her future as being very similar to that of Lohan's if she ever decides to capitalize on her good looks at a young age. As for the supporting players, the film sports Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as marines and although I could never figure out who was Tyrese, Josh does his best job yet and doesn't manage to become annoying. He makes himself a welcome addition to the large encore cast of the film and fits in well. I believed he could have been marine or a leader in a military unit. Bravo! Then there is Jon Voight as the Secretary of Defense which works. I mean the guy can play any distinguished dignitary you want, but honestly he is best at playing something out of a western or a tobacco-spitting coach in a high school. Although I'm dying to see the film where he plays Pope John Paul II. Then there is Bernie Mac whose one bit part is highly amusing. Also John Turturro as the Sector 7 weirdo which is not believable except at one point but is a welcome light-hearted comedic addition. I especially love the thought of how vicious my Nokia might be. Then there is some side story involving Anthony Anderson and Rachael Taylor, the only believable part of it being that there are people who live like Anderson's character and seem to be complete losers who could easily wipe out your bank accounts and leave you looking like an illegal immigrant if it crossed their minds. Also, Bay, the whole thing with the donuts was what you call in Hollywood, a groaner. The robots all look amazing and they are great to listen to. Megatron is a bit much but so is Optimus. Bumblebee is of course the best robot as more time and detail is invested in him although the whole thing at the end where Bumblebee speaks literally makes no sense and contradicts the plot of the film itself.

Conclusion:
The robots look great and Bay has done an excellent job of acquiring a cast and creating the best Transformers film you coudl ask for. I'm not saying that it doesn't have some lame moments or some contradicting storyline and plot points, but on the whole its a great blockbuster stuck somewhere in between those awesome years of puberty where it is not appropriate for young family oriented groups, but it is the perfect anecdote for families with teenagers. Its fun, fast, and contains all the elements one expects of a great action film, then throw in the huge robots, great destinations, big explosions, and some sort of mythology/story and you have Transformers. I will praise the film for its ability to mix and match the government, although I'm sure it will anger many right-wingers at the obvious and unnecessary potshots at the government. The marines and Voight seem intelligent and smart as does Rachael Taylor. But then you get John Turturro and the immortal line paraphrased to "Hey, why don't you wrangle me up some of those Ding-dongs?" said by what we assume to be the voice of the President. Ahh, well. As for future installments, some people have claimed they were so impressed that they wanted the same team to stay and do a second one. I disagree. I like Bay's take on Transformers but he has made it pretty obvious in interviews and other things that he took the film on as a challenge and is not a fan of the original Transformers since he considers them a bunch of cool toys essentially. He's actually pretty hostile about the whole thing from what I can understand and I think even if he did come back the second film would be much darker and mocking of the franchise. I think the writing team, despite my gripes, had a decent script that coudl have used some dialogue fine-tuning mostly so I hope they return. Spielberg's imprint of commercial appeal is all over this film and I am happy to consider this work as a more grown-up blockbuster film. I'm sure he'd produce again, just find a new and also greatly talented director to take the reigns. I hear that the guy who directed 28 Weeks Later is really good and he might be a great choice for such an action packed, CG movie. He just might have to work a bit on his comedy.

3.7 out of 5

Wannabe