TransformersSian's Film Review
I knew I wouldn’t be able to get out of seeing this movie when my excited partner continued to sing the cartoon theme song at the top of his voice for the past month…. needless to say it’s now firmly stuck in my head…. I never watched the Transformers cartoon and was not allowed to have the toys as a kid (apparently being female meant you couldn’t have boys toys), so my anticipation for this film was rather low, and the uninspired, disjointed trailer did nothing to increase it. Yet how misleading this trailer was….
Transformers tells the story of geeky High Schooler Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) who purchases a new car, only to find it is indeed an alien robot. The robot (Bumblebee) is a representative of a friendly clan of Autobots, and has been sent to Earth to protect Sam who unknowingly possesses a map to the much-wanted Allspark, a device that brings ultimate power to whoever possesses it. Evil alien robots (Decepticons) are aware of Sam’s map and set out to claim it from him. A war then wages between the good Autobots and the evil Decepticons, and planet Earth acts as their battle-ground. Director Michael Bay was quoted saying he wanted to make this film ‘fun’ and this is evident from the very beginning. The film, which could easily be seen as silly (I mean come on, little cars turning into massive alien robots?!), succeeds at being almost believable as Bay has no fear of letting the film ‘take the mickey’ out of itself. The jokes come thick and fast with some genuine laughs (pray you don’t have someone behind you with an annoying cackle….) The only trouble with this, is that Bay takes the comedy so far that the audience may find themselves struggling to take the film seriously. Once Transformers hit the half way point I was cringing in my seat, silently begging they would dumb down the comedy and allow the audience to develop an emotional investment in the characters. The relentless jokes prevent the audience from realising the intensity of the characters’ situations and is, at times, distracting.
The special effects are awesome, not once do the robots look obviously CG, with all transformations looking very realistic. The soundtrack is also very good.
The Verdict: This film is so much fun that it doesn’t matter who you take, they’ll enjoy themselves. You don’t need any knowledge or love of the Transformers franchise. You can go along as a complete Transformers virgin and still have a good time. Transformers’ popularity proves that ultimately people watch movies for fun, and are looking for entertainment. Sure the film isn’t exactly poignant, it isn’t political, it isn’t challenging, it doesn’t make you think; but who cares? It’ll make you laugh (even if it does make you laugh a little too much for it’s own good). Score: 3.5 stars
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Bay does well to give each of the robots individual personalities. This not only humanises them, but adds to the laughs (keep an eye on the little Decepticon as he crosses the airport tarmac)