The One that Started it All
I grew up playing with Transformers and watching the Beast Wars animated series as well as some of the G1 cartoons. So when this movie was announced back in 2007, a fond High School memory becomes solidified.
The Plot
When Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) gets a "piece of crap Camaro" as his first car, he unwillingly becomes embroiled in a secret galactic war between alien robots that can transform into vehicles. One of them being the very car that he purchased in hopes of impressing his crush, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). With an alien war on the verge to begin, Sam and Mikaela are thrown into a battle where the fate of the world may hang int the balance.
Analysis
You may notice from that plot synopsis that I came up with for this movie that I do not mention Optimus Prime or Megatron. Well to put it simply, they were supporting roles and the main attraction of the movie. When writing the plot synopsis for Jurassic Park I wouldn't put the T-Rex in a starring role even though he is in the movie a lot. He is the main attraction. Just as the Transformers in this movie called Transformers are the main attraction. And that's something I want to point out.
Having studied filmmaking and having a degree in it you learn a thing or two about why some movies are made the way they are. While this is the most loved of Michael Bay's Transformers franchise it still gets flack for being "not about the Transformers." Let's put it this way.
A lot of people were happy with the announcement of a live action Transformers movie only to be disappointed by the lack of Transformers as the main characters. However let me talk about my favorite scene from the sequel, Revenge of the Fallen. It is the scene where Megatron is talking to The Fallen in the Nemesis spaceship. That scene was entirely animated and photorealistic. Like many I thought why can't the whole movie be about the drama of the robots rather than the humans? You know, like the cartoons? But then that is when it hits me. If they do make a live action movie just centered on the robots then does it really still count as a live action movie? Because lets face it all the robots are animated, with the exception of Bumblebee in this film, who has once scene as a life-size practical effect animatronic. So in a sense, wouldn't it just be a photo realistic animated movie instead of a live action movie? Sure one can argue that they can have the settings be live action, but wouldn't it be more easier just to CGI everything at that point?
Where I'm getting at here is that creating photorealistic creatures and settings is hard and it costs money. I usually get mad at people who call it lazy CGI without knowing how difficult and time consuming it is to make high class CGI for big studio movies. Plus the live action elements are there so that CGI doesn't have to dominate the whole movie and most of the money funneled into making that CGI look realistic is to enhance what little scenes require them.
That's just my take on why I understand there has to be a human story from a production stand point. Of course the other one is that most people are not Transformers fans and don't care about the robots so there has to be some human element for those audiences to watch.
Review
This is the best of the original trilogy in my opinion and I will lay out why. The story is pretty much a teenage version of E.T. If E.T. is about a boy becoming friends with a lost alien, then this film is about a teenage boy becoming friends with an alien robot. And because this film is for teenage boys who want everything to be violent with explosions and hot girls or in this case just one hot girl, it needs to have all that. So yes, this is pretty much a teenage boy's dream come true. And having watched this when I was still in High School, it definitely did resonated with me. While I may not have the same taste in movies as I did then that I do now, I still find the same enjoyment I did when I was that age.
Shia LaBeouf does an excellent job as Sam Witwicky, who is a character that exists in the cartoon but not many people seem to remember that. While the character of Sam was a supporting character in the cartoon, here he is front and center as the audiences eyes into this intergalactic war. He is everything the stereotypical loser teenage boy would be in a movie and that works for his character. His comedic timing is excellent and really helps him be likable for the audience.
Megan Fox was someone I've known about before her big screen debut due to my mother watching the Kelly Ripa show Hope and Grace where she plays Ripa's niece. She does well in comedy, and since then seems to have discovered that genre is probably where she belongs. But let's get back to her performance in this film. It was just enough to convince the audience she is worth remembering. Though that is not due to her acting but more about the way director Michael Bay chose to shoot her. She's gorgeous and the camera and lighting reminds us of that fact the whole time she's on screen. The problem is she does come off as a bit shallow even though she's suppose to have this interesting development of becoming less shallow as the story goes on. Sorry, but even with that development for her character, her acting still makes her look like a shallow girl.
Of course the supporting cast does a decent job. Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are believable as well as funny as the military men who first discover the presence of alien robots. Rachel Taylor and Anthony Anderson offer some good comic relief and exposition speakers as the hackers in the movie. Jon Voight was just perfect casting to play the Secretary of Defense. And then there's John Turturro as Agent Simmons....funny secret agent...cool. In other words everyone does well with what they're suppose to do. But seeing as how I can't remember most of their names it often questions just how important they are to the plot other than exposition? Oh well, they do decent jobs.
Now lets talk about the robots. ILM deserves all the praise they get for pulling off bringing these complex robotic creatures to the big screen. The biggest boost to them is having cartoon voice legend Peter Cullen voicing the live action version of the character that made him legendary: Optimus Prime. It was his casting that got G1 fans excited, and it sure as hell made me excited. Hearing his voice come out of the gigantic robot king will send shivers down the spine of even the most harshest critic of this film. He was definitely the best part of the movie. And then there's Hugo Weaving as Optimus' famed nemesis, Megatron. Being known for playing villains, Weaving does excellent as the gigantic robot tyrant. For what little screen time the villain gets (yes that is disappointing) Weaving makes your remember Megatron.
The action in the movie is fine, though it could benefit by being a little bit more clear as to who is fighting who. This is not too much of a problem as there are only 6 Autobots (good transformers) battling 5 Decepticons (bad transformers) in the movie so it becomes clear later on. The resolution of the required final battle in the third act is lackluster but in the end it is still a good movie.
Final Thoughts
This is definitely a film worth seeing. It is not as great as I thought it was when I saw it in High School, but by no means do I think it is horrible. This is definitely the best film of the original trilogy because it feels like the most complete film. It is also the shortest of the Transformers which is why it works. It is compact and straight forward instead of drawn out. It is understandable that this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if one were to ask what would be a cool fun sci-fi action film to watch but doesn't require too much thinking, I'd gladly point to this film. It's just a good time.
SCORE: 7.5/10 - Just a real good time and a fine toy/car commercial
For a review of the next film, CLICK HERE
The Plot
When Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) gets a "piece of crap Camaro" as his first car, he unwillingly becomes embroiled in a secret galactic war between alien robots that can transform into vehicles. One of them being the very car that he purchased in hopes of impressing his crush, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). With an alien war on the verge to begin, Sam and Mikaela are thrown into a battle where the fate of the world may hang int the balance.
Analysis
You may notice from that plot synopsis that I came up with for this movie that I do not mention Optimus Prime or Megatron. Well to put it simply, they were supporting roles and the main attraction of the movie. When writing the plot synopsis for Jurassic Park I wouldn't put the T-Rex in a starring role even though he is in the movie a lot. He is the main attraction. Just as the Transformers in this movie called Transformers are the main attraction. And that's something I want to point out.
Having studied filmmaking and having a degree in it you learn a thing or two about why some movies are made the way they are. While this is the most loved of Michael Bay's Transformers franchise it still gets flack for being "not about the Transformers." Let's put it this way.
A lot of people were happy with the announcement of a live action Transformers movie only to be disappointed by the lack of Transformers as the main characters. However let me talk about my favorite scene from the sequel, Revenge of the Fallen. It is the scene where Megatron is talking to The Fallen in the Nemesis spaceship. That scene was entirely animated and photorealistic. Like many I thought why can't the whole movie be about the drama of the robots rather than the humans? You know, like the cartoons? But then that is when it hits me. If they do make a live action movie just centered on the robots then does it really still count as a live action movie? Because lets face it all the robots are animated, with the exception of Bumblebee in this film, who has once scene as a life-size practical effect animatronic. So in a sense, wouldn't it just be a photo realistic animated movie instead of a live action movie? Sure one can argue that they can have the settings be live action, but wouldn't it be more easier just to CGI everything at that point?
Where I'm getting at here is that creating photorealistic creatures and settings is hard and it costs money. I usually get mad at people who call it lazy CGI without knowing how difficult and time consuming it is to make high class CGI for big studio movies. Plus the live action elements are there so that CGI doesn't have to dominate the whole movie and most of the money funneled into making that CGI look realistic is to enhance what little scenes require them.
That's just my take on why I understand there has to be a human story from a production stand point. Of course the other one is that most people are not Transformers fans and don't care about the robots so there has to be some human element for those audiences to watch.
Review
This is the best of the original trilogy in my opinion and I will lay out why. The story is pretty much a teenage version of E.T. If E.T. is about a boy becoming friends with a lost alien, then this film is about a teenage boy becoming friends with an alien robot. And because this film is for teenage boys who want everything to be violent with explosions and hot girls or in this case just one hot girl, it needs to have all that. So yes, this is pretty much a teenage boy's dream come true. And having watched this when I was still in High School, it definitely did resonated with me. While I may not have the same taste in movies as I did then that I do now, I still find the same enjoyment I did when I was that age.
Shia LaBeouf does an excellent job as Sam Witwicky, who is a character that exists in the cartoon but not many people seem to remember that. While the character of Sam was a supporting character in the cartoon, here he is front and center as the audiences eyes into this intergalactic war. He is everything the stereotypical loser teenage boy would be in a movie and that works for his character. His comedic timing is excellent and really helps him be likable for the audience.
Megan Fox was someone I've known about before her big screen debut due to my mother watching the Kelly Ripa show Hope and Grace where she plays Ripa's niece. She does well in comedy, and since then seems to have discovered that genre is probably where she belongs. But let's get back to her performance in this film. It was just enough to convince the audience she is worth remembering. Though that is not due to her acting but more about the way director Michael Bay chose to shoot her. She's gorgeous and the camera and lighting reminds us of that fact the whole time she's on screen. The problem is she does come off as a bit shallow even though she's suppose to have this interesting development of becoming less shallow as the story goes on. Sorry, but even with that development for her character, her acting still makes her look like a shallow girl.
Of course the supporting cast does a decent job. Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are believable as well as funny as the military men who first discover the presence of alien robots. Rachel Taylor and Anthony Anderson offer some good comic relief and exposition speakers as the hackers in the movie. Jon Voight was just perfect casting to play the Secretary of Defense. And then there's John Turturro as Agent Simmons....funny secret agent...cool. In other words everyone does well with what they're suppose to do. But seeing as how I can't remember most of their names it often questions just how important they are to the plot other than exposition? Oh well, they do decent jobs.
Now lets talk about the robots. ILM deserves all the praise they get for pulling off bringing these complex robotic creatures to the big screen. The biggest boost to them is having cartoon voice legend Peter Cullen voicing the live action version of the character that made him legendary: Optimus Prime. It was his casting that got G1 fans excited, and it sure as hell made me excited. Hearing his voice come out of the gigantic robot king will send shivers down the spine of even the most harshest critic of this film. He was definitely the best part of the movie. And then there's Hugo Weaving as Optimus' famed nemesis, Megatron. Being known for playing villains, Weaving does excellent as the gigantic robot tyrant. For what little screen time the villain gets (yes that is disappointing) Weaving makes your remember Megatron.
The action in the movie is fine, though it could benefit by being a little bit more clear as to who is fighting who. This is not too much of a problem as there are only 6 Autobots (good transformers) battling 5 Decepticons (bad transformers) in the movie so it becomes clear later on. The resolution of the required final battle in the third act is lackluster but in the end it is still a good movie.
Final Thoughts
This is definitely a film worth seeing. It is not as great as I thought it was when I saw it in High School, but by no means do I think it is horrible. This is definitely the best film of the original trilogy because it feels like the most complete film. It is also the shortest of the Transformers which is why it works. It is compact and straight forward instead of drawn out. It is understandable that this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if one were to ask what would be a cool fun sci-fi action film to watch but doesn't require too much thinking, I'd gladly point to this film. It's just a good time.
SCORE: 7.5/10 - Just a real good time and a fine toy/car commercial
For a review of the next film, CLICK HERE
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