Back in the 90s, moviegoers usually look forward to the summer blockbusters, and are generally blown away by those breath-taking visuals/intense actions/intricate plots (think Face/Off, The Rock, and, dare I say, Armageddon. Things have drastically changed since 2000. Sure we had Pirates, Mission Impossible, and the usual dosage of CGI summer flicks from Pixar and DreamWork or other comics/anime adaptations. As good as these movies are, they lack the final kick that wows you when the credits begin rolling, and keeps you talking/thinking about it days after you leave the theater. Michael Bay, despite his horrendous records after the 1998 Armageddon, finally brought back the wow factor in summer blockbusters with the Transformers
I used to watch the Transformers after-school cartoons religiously back in the days. But I have not revisited the series ever since, so all I remember is the red-truck Optima Prime, and the gun-shifter Megatron (ok, maybe I also remember a bit of Soundwave and Bumblebee… but that’s about it). That said, I cannot say for sure how “truthfully” the film adapts from the original series. But they do manage to put most of the characters I care about (read: remember) in the plot, so all is good for me.
To be frank, I did not have a high expectation for the Transformers - the main reasons being the track record of recent Bay directions, and the recent disappointing cartoon/comics-to-movie adaptations (anyone mentioned TNMT?). Perhaps that helped me enjoyed the movie that much more. I loved almost every aspect of the movie! Loved the script - rarely have I seen an action-adventure flick that balances humor and action so well that I didn’t feel any drag during the 2-and-half-hour movie. Yes, some parts could be edited out to help increase the pace a bit, but you hardly notice it when you’re in the theater. Shia LaBeouf definitely delivered his part superbly - his performance helped make some of the age-old jokes funny again! No complaints on his acting. I’m quite impressed with his career transition in his post-Disney era.
The CGI! Damn do those Transformers look amazing!! During most parts I almost forgot those are computer generated images, and felt they had actual robots on the set performing all those actions! I think Bay did a very good job at “teasing” the audience just long enough before we see the first “full transformation” for the first time. And boy did the audience cheer when they were treated with that! He also managed to put in just enough actions sequences, and plot them out far enough in-between so those segments don’t feel stale after the first 20 minutes… like oh-so-many other Hollywood actions flicks do nowadays. Complaints on CGI? Well…. yeah… a minor one - shouldn’t Megatron transform into a gun? Well fine… a gun is kind of weak as the Decepticon leader… so I’ll let that one slide. Oh, and I’m not a big fan of their rendition of Soundwave…. c’mon!!! Bring back the cassette!! Or make him shoot CD/DVD out of his chest! I don’t care!!! I don’t want a watered-down Soundwave…. =(
Music… umm… I was too distracted with the movie itself to notice the music… but at certain moments I do remember the music kept me pumped for the actions… and that one dramatic moment when *** ***** ********* (censored for potential spoiler)… I was moved. But I did not cry. Honest! I haven’t felt like crying for Transformer since Optima Prime died (*gasp*) in the Transformers ANIMATED movie (that’s back in the 80s… so relax, I’m not spoiling anything for you! This movie has nothing to do with the animated version).
All in all, this is definitely a summer blockbuster worth seeing! Heck, I wouldn’t mind seeing it again!! And yes, this will be on my DVD-to-buy list!! I cannot wait for the sequel to come out… hopefully in the next year or two~ (my personal guess: this installment reflects the “Transformers, more than meet the eyes” lyrics. Based on Optima Prime’s certain statement in the movie, I suspect the second movie will emphasize more on the “Transformer, robots in disguise” portion… just you wait!)
LB posted the following on July 12, 2007 at 9:56 am.
no cassette??? no CASSETTE???? NO CASSETTE???
REALLY?
okay…. i’m not gonna go watch this now. : ( that cassette tape was my favorite thing in the animated transformer!! (the only one thing I remember now, actually…)
Terry posted the following on July 14, 2007 at 11:14 am.
Michael Bay is baccccccccccccccck! Just saw it today in the theater and boy was I impressed! Two of my gfs loved it as well! We cried, laughed, got jolted out of our seats and were very much entertained throughout the 2.5 hours movie.
I have to say that I never really watched Transformer when I was little so I didn’t know these characters but it was still fun to watch. The script was very well written, blending lots of comedy in, which helped. Oh I cried when xxxxxxxxx was xxxxxxxx by people from Section 7 and the look on Sam’s face just made it worse…:(
What is all the Soundwave thing about?
Typical Bay film. Loved the reference in the beginning to Armageddon. And the use of flares and all the car chasing scenes (flashbacks of The Rock). Apparently Transformers 2 is in the works! yayyyyyy!!
This movie is a big hit here (although one part was edited out ery badly, like the scene wasn’t even done and it was cut to the next one, so I’m going to have to get the DVD and see what I missed out on) …I’ve never seen a line so long in the movie theather here. The theater was packed and everybody enjoyed it alot I think. But sometimes there were only the three of us laughing because they didn’t understand the jokes….hahaha.