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Transformers review
Take a spider, a pirate and a giant robot with the ability to change into a car; put them in a ring and let them fight it out. The easy money would be on the robot and Transformers is definitely leading in the blockbuster stakes so far.
The background to the movie is provided by a voiceover detailing the history of Cybertron, a planet inhabited by sentient robots. It is a dead planet, the civil war between the good Autobots and the evil Decepticons, led by Megtron, has left it uninhabitable. Now they are coming to earth seeking the Allspark which crashed here centuries ago.
The heart, and human section, of the movie really begins with the introduction of Sam Witwicky; a typical geeky American teenager. Sam’s first car, a beat up yellow camaro, has few unexpected additions. Like the ability to turn into a giant yellow but-kicking robot. He has been sent to protect Sam from the Decepticons as he has something which will lead them to the Allspark. Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobot are not far behind.
A plot worthy of its eighties cartoon origins and it is ludicrous at best. However; it keeps the movie moving until we can get to the next punch-up which is all it needs to do.
Solid performances are given by Leboef as well as …a soldier and Jon Voight as US Secretary of Defence but the CGI animation is the star of the film. The robots have real presence, interacting seamlessly with the world around them. Transformers is an effects driven movie and it pushes them to new heights.
There are only two real problems with Transformers. At 144 minutes the running time is a little too long; although you are kept enthralled for most of the movie the last twenty minutes start to drag. Secondly; the fight scenes may be a triumph of CGI action but the frenetic pace makes it difficult to figure out which articulated limb belongs to which robot. The soundtrack at times has such a deep, and overriding, bass line it starts to become uncomfortable after a while.
Steven Spielburg was on board as a producer for the film and his touch can be seen in every moment not devoted to giant robots beating the $%#@ out of each other. The relationship between Sam and Bumblebee has definite overtones of ET. Sam is in fact the typical Spielburgian; finding courage through the extraordinary situation he finds himself in and managing to spout off one-liners.
More than meets the eye? Frankly no; but then again who cares? Put your brain out of gear and enjoy the ride.
