Movie Info

Transformers (2007)

Their war. Our world.

I don't consider myself a Transformers fanatic but I do know a decent amount about the old Transformers. I used to love the original cartoon series and I bought all the comic books as well. When it was announced that Michael Bay was going to direct a Transformers movie, I thought I was dreaming.

To increase the hype, the trailers showed Optimus Prime and Bay decided to have a new vision for the Transformers. Gone are the simple transformations and in were these complicated, multi-faceted transformations. To ensure that the giant marketing machine was on bored, most of the Autobots took the forms of some brand name cars, thus creating some buzz amongst the true Transformers fans.

Many fans didn't like the new robot forms, but honestly, how else would they have made them? The old cartoon forms are not really that plausible when translated to real life. You could not have the huge Megatron transform into a little gun.

I also had the luxury of seeing clips of the movie before it was released because I had bought the trading cards. So I had a clear picture of what to expect in terms of the robots. When I went to the movie, my expectations were not too high, but I was expecting an entertaining movie.

I think with Steven Spielberg as Executive Producer, Michael Bay was able to direct a really entertaining movie. I left the theatre enjoying what I saw. Sure it wasn't my Transformers and the new toys suck ass, but it's the new generation of Transformers. Nothing stays the same and Star Wars definitely showed us that.

The film begins with a narration by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen, the original Prime) and how the Transformers came to be and why they fight their war. Next we witness the destruction of a SOCCENT military base by the deadly Decepticons Blackout and Scorponok.

We then get introduced Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf). For those who do not follow the Transformers Lore, the Witwicky name was used in the first cartoon series (Spike and Sparkplug Witwicky) and was a great homage to the original series. Sam is a bit of a nutcase and he has a crush on Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). Sam's dad promises to help buy him his first car and it turns out to be Bumblebee. Bumblebee even helps in getting Mikaela to fall for Sam.

The story continues as Sam slowly discovers his car is more than meets the eye and he is drawn into the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. Apparently his family has a connection to the Transformers.

As Sam befriends the Autobots, the US government is hacked by the Decepticons and they scramble to find out what is going on. A group of SOCCENT survivors, lead by Captain Lennox (Josh Duhamel), try to make it back to US soil to report back what they've seen. Eventually all everyone comes together and make a final stand against the Decepticons as they try to obtain the Allspark.

It sounds confusing but the movie played out really well. Bay took his time to flesh out the human characters (the movie is nearly 2 1/2 hours). However, I wish he had spent more time on the Decepticons and Autobots. Starscream and Megatron were a waste in my opinion. We never get to see how evil Megatron is and how conniving Starscream is either.

One of the things I really like about Michael Bay films is his portrayal of the military and police. Bay really emphasized the power of the American military in the movie. He portrayed the military as a well-oiled machine and when the machine fell apart against the Decepticons, it really made it that more realistic and the Decepticons that more powerful. The scene where Starscream takes out the squadron of F-22 Raptors was awesome.

The special effects in the movie were amazing. They had to be if this movie was to have any success. My only complaint was that during many of the fight scenes, there was too much metal and many things were unclear. Then again, watching large robots fight wouldn't be easy to watch in reality and there would be a lot of scraping metal. It's amazing, ten years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of the complex transformations each Transformer had. It boggles my mind how far computer animation has advanced in such a short time.

As for the Ford branded cars? I didn't mind that too much. Sure it was a marketing ploy but at least they were nice looking cars. I particularly like the part where Bumblebee changed into the new Ford Mustang (it was a Mustang right?) - Nope...was a Camaro...oops.

The acting in the movie wouldn't win any Oscars, but it was good enough to be enjoyable. I think the casting was great. The cast were mostly B-listers and unknowns which meant more money on the CGI. Shia LaBeouf did a great job and I bet Megan Fox will be on the minds of young boys (and the older men) for a little while. With supporting actors like Jon Voight, John Turturro and Anthony Anderson, there wasn't any really "bad" acting.

Another thing I really enjoyed about the movie was the comical bits that Michael Bay inserted. From the "lubrication" to "Sam's Happy Time", there were moments in the movie that had my gut hurting. I'm glad to see some comedy mixed into such a violent movie (the movie was essentially one continuous fight).

There are already plans for a sequel and the ending does lay the ground work for a sequel. I hope that many more Transformers appear and that we can see a more Transformer-centric sequel. Let's put some more personality into this CGI robots. If you're a hardcore Transformers fan, I think you'll be entertained. If you're just a movie-goer, I think you'll find the movie quite enjoyable and that was the goal of Michael Bay. Go watch the movie!

Dragoncrypt