 | |  |  | | Media: | HD DVD | | Country: | USA | | Studio: | Dreamworks Home Entertainment | | Cert: | PG-13 | | Discs: | 2 |
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Screen captures are for illustration purposes and may not originate from the item reviewed. | | Transformers Review| HD DVD review written by Simon Crust, published 19th October 2007 | Supplied for review by  | At the risk of sounding like my Dad, what is it with kids TV nowadays? To coin a phrase, ‘when I were a lad’, there seemed to be exciting, entertaining and above all good kids programs on TV. Dramas that could educate and entertain, comedies that were actually funny and cartoons that had heroes and villains but played it seriously. Then something happened that turned all those ‘adult programs aimed at kids’ into kids TV. A kind of sappy TV that lost all credibility, edge and entertainment; turning the serious into farce and the comedy into nonsense. I think it was Scrappy Doo. Of course I can’t blame all the woes on Scooby’s ridiculous nephew; a portion must be laid at the hands of multi-channel TV. At the time unheard of in the UK but a staple diet for our American cousins; we just had to suffer the imports. A dumbing down of our home grown talent. Of course all this was about the time I was growing out of toys and kids TV, but looking back now I can see a definite shift in focus. Sorry to say, but in my opinion, one such TV show, based on a toy, was Transformers (1984) and a show that I knew about but rarely saw. I was at an age when I’d seen the toys in the shops and used to pine the time when I was younger and could play. Funny, I still do that in toy shops. The Transformers were robots that had the ability to transform into other objects, in this case vehicles. A huge industry was created on the back of this and many, many different transforming robots were created. Now, some twenty years later, the Transformers phenomenon shows no sign of abating and comes to the big screen as live action. Brought to us by a Michael Bay, king of the over produced schmaltzy cheese fests. So when my kids were demanding to go see this new film, about a subject I felt was probably too kiddie, by a director whose output generally annoys me, to say I was nervous was an understatement. How wrong I was; yes it was over produced, yes there was an element of schmaltz, but it grabbed the kid in me and shook him awake, fed him popcorn and coke and demanding his attention while this incredible film drenched my senses. Tonight’s feature, ladies and gentlemen; Transformers.
In eons past, the Allspark, a cube of energy was lost to the planet Cybertron; ravaged by war, its inhabitants span the universe trying to reclaim it; the Autobots to protect it from evil and the Deceptacons who want to use it for evil. Over one hundred years ago the Allspark found its way to Earth and the two warring factions have come to find it; perky humans notwithstanding. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) a high-school geek preoccupied with raising enough money to buy a car holds the key to the Allsparks location and unwittingly becomes embroiled in the war, while the Army desperately try to uncover the code that is infiltrating their computer systems to conceal the very object being sought after. In the final showdown Earth becomes the second battle ground as good versus evil for freedom against domination with the survival of the planet at stake.
Bay directs with the sure hand of someone used to dealing with huge action set pieces; this is where he and consequently the film really shine. During the first scene as the lost helicopter lands at the military base, we just know something is wrong and when it stands up transforms to Blackout and proceeds to wipe out an entire regiment is a prime example of how to achieve action, excitement and emotional involvement in a pure nonsense idea. The human aspect is given by introducing the surviving soldiers, a small amount of empathy before being completely overthrown in rockets, bullets, explosions and mayhem. It really is edge of the seat stuff. Unfortunately the quieter moments of the film can’t quite live up to this first scene; with no less than four writers each bringing an element and an idea to the table the script does tend to meander a little. It is the films biggest stumbling block, with so much going on some ideas are never explored fully, other are forgotten almost as soon as they appear and yet others leave gaping plot holes. The idiocy of the ‘men in black’ style military Sector 7 trying to hide the invasion, the idiocy of no-one noticing as-tall-as-a-house robots in a busy neighbourhood garden, the utter lunacy of a killer robot mobile phone or the sheer wealth of characters all conspire to dilute what should have been an all out actioner. There are some ham fisted attempts at comedy, some work, others felt like the proverbial wind swept tumble weed. However the script also calls for another Bay staple, good old all American cheese. When he served it up in Armageddon (1998) or Pearl Harbour (2001) for me it was not palatable, but here in Transformers is actually works! Ludicrously patriotic lines spouted with such all American intensity that would normally sound sickly just roll off the tongue; not once did my eyes turn skyward.
There is a vast cast of characters of both new and old talent most manage to acquit themselves quite well even though the script doesn’t call for much depth. Shia LaBeouf as Sam carries most of the film, he plays a sort of ‘Ferris Bueller’ type character, desperate to sell his family heirlooms but with enough chat to talk around a teacher into giving extra credit for a paper (a fantasy in itself). He is likeable enough and takes all pretty much in his stride, rising to the greatness thrust upon him not so much for the glory, but for the girl. The girl in question is Mikaela Banes played by the delicious Megan Fox, who tends to pick the wrong sort of boy but falls for Sam’s inevitable charms. They share a brief but likable chemistry and their hooking up is not unexpected. Other faces don’t fair quite so well, veteran Jon Voight as Defense Secretary John Keller struts around looking to command, but doesn’t quite pull it off, John Turturro as Agent Simmons is just too smug and becomes annoying and Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox simply doesn’t have enough screen time to get going, I loved his character, the resourceful leader willing to take the risk, his final stand with the Autobots may have had a thin layer of cheese, but boy did it taste good. Special mention to Peter Cullen, himself a veteran of voice acting who originally played Optimus Prime for the TV show, he’s still got it and he imbues Prime with the gravitas needed to pull off the "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" line.
Of course no look at Transformers would be complete without mentioning the effects of the film, which are quite honestly breathtaking. So good are the robots you forget that these are actually CGI and this is the first film that I can honestly say that about. They have weight, they have position in the frame and for all intensive purposes they are actually, physically there. When Prime and Megatron crash into each other you can feel the clash of metal against metal, buildings collapse around them, the floor shakes, devastation is rife and not once are you pulled from the disbelief. In short the best computer animation so far. This combined with Bay’s eye for action turn all the above weakness in the script to a far out eye opening extravaganza that has you struggling to remember to breath. And really that is why Transformers stands out for me; the adult in me says look at the script blah, blah, blah, but he’s been silenced by the child through whose eyes I watched with wonder. Best described with the line I used in the opening paragraph, an adult film aimed at kids, there is only a minimum of pandering (‘leaking’ jokes notwithstanding), but you get a little in every Bay film. It is so rare for a modern day film to walk that fine line and when one gets it right it truly is something special. Transformers is something special and I never, ever, thought I could say that about a Bay helmed film. Wonders truly will never cease.
Movie score : 8 | | 1,428 word review written by Simon Crust. |  | To comment on this review, click here and post a reply.
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