TRANSFORMERS
Along with Thundercats, M.A.S.K. and He-Man, Transformers was one of my favourite cartoons when I was a wee lad. The toys were bloody fantastic and at some point I even got into the Transformers comics :P It was inevitable that a movie would be made of it at SOME point, as soon as the special effects were up to the task.
My initial excitement over the film version was quashed when I heard of Michael “The Devil” Bays involvement in it. So even before seeing the film, it already had a big black mark against it. His films are typically loud, brash, soulless affairs, heavy on the action and with characters playing second fiddle to some mind-bendingly complex chase scene. Even though this adage stays pretty much true for Transformers, his usual behaviour is somewhat tempered (possibly by the small involvement of a man named “Spielberg”).
The main draw of the movie is of course the Transformers themselves, and in this respect, it doesn’t disappoint. The effects are incredible and you fully believe the robots exist in the real world. Even though die-hard fans cried fowl when the designs of the robots were altered, the liberties taken for the movie had to be allowed. The designers put a huge amount of effort into making sure that the transformation from vehicle to robot looked physically possible and the result is pleasingly convincing. Probably the most impressive and awe-inspiring scene was the first appearance of the Decepticons (in the form of a helicopter), when they invade the army base at the beginning of the movie.
Besides the robots, the films smoking gun (in my humble opinion) was Shia Labeouf. He’s got a natural comic gift and his sense of timing and delivery was spot on. He also had a great down to earth manner that made his character very easy to empathise with. And his parents were an absolute howl!
The rest of the cast were pretty bland and one dimensional, especially the soldiers (I’m sorry, but giving one of them a baby back home doesn’t make us automatically care about his well being or give the character himself any more emotional depth!).
Of course none of that really matters, cause it’s a Bay movie and action comes first :P
It should also be said that getting Peter Cullen back to do the voice of Optimus Prime was a stroke of genius and really accentuated the sense nostalgia. The Transformers themselves got very little time to develop as characters, but again, I’m guessing that’s what the sequels will be for. From what little evidence was present in THIS movie, it seemed like most, if not all were kept true to their original incarnations, which fans should be thankful for.
The plot was more or less irrelevant (some nonsense about a device called “The All-Spark”), but people didn’t flock to Transformers for its dense plot or complex characters. People wanted action and Bay delivered it in spades. The action scenes were technically impressive and raced along at a hyper-kinetic pace, which is typical of Bay. The only problem was that at times it was quite difficult to fully appreciate the intricacies of each scene, mainly because there was SO much was going on. Sometimes it was hard to tell which robots were fighting each other. But big, bold and brash is exactly what the Transformers are all about. The destruction and devastation caused by the battling giant robots really did bring back memories of the cartoon and comic.
As with all Bay films, there is huge militaristic presence and SO much flag waving going on, that your likely to be seeing stars and stripes long after you leave the cinema. What I found quite surprising about a movie aimed mostly at kids (and kids who grew up in the 80s like myself!) was how insanely violent is was. While two robots kicking the crap out of each other is generally acceptable, no matter what the rating is, in this movie actual people get killed, some in shockingly disturbing ways. I honestly cant believe they away with the given rating.
One slightly disappointing aspect of the movie (despite the numerous action scenes) was how small the scale of the whole thing felt. Far too often, it seemed as though the entire proceedings were taking place in some small isolated part of America, and that the world at large was never really in danger. Perhaps the larger scale threats will occur in the inevitable sequels :P
I also was very let down by the music in the film. I'd even go so far as to say I hated it! As with nearly ALL of Bays films, he chose a composer from the same stable of artists as he always does (Media Ventures). And just like the majority of action scores from this score house, they all sound the same. At times I felt like I was listening to music taken straight from “The Rock”.
The most welcome surprise of the movie was just how funny it was in parts! Summer blockbusters tend to have a very limp and forced sense of humour, but this movie proves to be a pleasing exception and I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion! :D
I cant say I enjoyed the film all that much, but that’s probably cause my expectations were too high. A decent popcorn flick, but I think I’ve my left my love for the Transformers back in the 80s.
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