07-07-06 Transformers (2007)

Seen: July 3rd, 2007
Format: Theater
Rating: 7

I am no great fan of Michael Bay. In fact, I happen to think that Bad Boys II is one of the worst films I've ever seen. But I did enjoy The Island. I'm not a Transformers fan either. I think I was a bit old to get caught up in that particular craze. But I had friends that wanted to take an afternoon off to catch this, and the trailers were splashy.

I must admit, I had a great time.

One the things that struck me most were the young folks in the theatre and their response to the film. There was a girl one seat over, in her late teens, that was completely invested in the film. That's a cool thing to see.

Basically this is a summer blockbuster. There's enough action, of both the live and CGI varieties to choke a horse here. In fact, there may be a little too much. When you start to wonder how long can this go on? it's probably time for a brief respite to let things settle back.

That's not to say the action isn't cool. It is. Very. There's some very creative stuff going on here. The Transformers are very well designed and rendered. Their transitions are very impressive. They weren't quite differentiated enough for me. Perhaps four of them were readily identifiable to me and seemed to have personality. A true fan, steeped in the mythos, might have the advantage and disagree here.

The one thing I did enjoy about the film was its sense of humor. There's a lot of snappy dialogue here. There's some quirky characters and wry scenarios. Some of it is juvenile, but there's a lot of double entendre that's pretty amusing as well. I continually found myself grinning at these little gags. Since this film is really about a battle for the entire planet, the moments allow the film to not take itself quite so seriously.

This is an action film, so I'm not really going to talk casting and performances. There are hot chicks, studs, geeks, and the obligatory fascist. Who plays them really isn't that important. An exception is Shia Labeouf, who has cropped up in several things I've enjoyed lately. He's one of those actors I don't want to give any credence, but keeps impressing me. The other standout is Jon Voight, whom I haven't seen anything decent in quite a while and isn't very good here either.

This is worth seeing. Don't take it seriously. Sit back, enjoy the eye candy and humor and ignore your inner critic when it attempts to pry open the plot holes. It's summer, have fun.

The Good: Great Summer action flick. Excellent humor

The Bad: How long can the battle last?

The Ugly: Death by Allspark