Transformers

October 16, 2007

Rated: PG-13 Runtime: 144 min Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Transformers brings the 80’s cartoon to the big screen. And who better than to make this a really really big movie than Michael Bay directing with Steven Spielberg producing. We sometimes roll our eyes when he hear Michael Bay and “summer blockbuster” used together after disappointing efforts like Pearl Harbor. But this may very well be the movie Michael Bay was born to direct.

Transformers Having never seen the cartoon, I have no idea how faithful the movie is to the story line. But the basic deal is there’s at least two races of robots from a planet called Cybertron. The Decepticons led by Megatron have warred with the Autobots led by Optimus Prime to the point that they’ve destroyed their own world. There’s this item called the Allspark that is the source of their creation. It is lost and turns up on Earth. Megatron comes to get it but crash lands. The movie is set 100 years later when both races have come to Earth to seek the object. And the future of our planet hangs in the balance.

Still with me? If not, here’s all you really need to know. The Decepticons are the bad guys, they take the shapes of military vehicles like tanks, helicopters and jet fighters. The Autobots are the good guys, they take the shapes of cars. That’s all you need. Kick your brain out of gear and just sit back and watch things blow up!

Transformers is almost non-stop eye candy. Lots of hot cars, and the robots look really cool. Their movements are smooth and realistic. And there’s more than a little humor in watching them hide and interact with things in their environment. Hint: dont let your dog hike his leg on one of them, they dont like that, at all. The story line is kinda thin, as are the characters other than the robots, but do we really care? Nah! We loved it. This is like porn for an action movie lover. We should’ve brought wet wipes.

So what was not to like? We can pick a few nits. We would’ve loved to have seen more of the babes, but what else is new? The movie is 144 minutes long, they may have overdone some of the final fight sequences. They’re almost overkill. Now too much action is kinda like too much money or too much sex. However, there were points during the fights where it seemed almost random. The battles could’ve used some choreography, some psychology, a little drama and strategy.

Overall, Transformers kicks major heiney. This is 5 stars. This is the type of movie we’ll go see again on the big screen and is a must have for the DVD collection. This should look gorgeous on HD. Go see it, if you dont like it, you need to turn in your testicles and stick to Meryl Streep movies.

Posted by Billy Bob | Filed Under 5 Stars, Action, Bernie Mac, DVD, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, PG-13, SciFi, Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson