"Transformers"
My partner usually pics the movies we watch any given weekend, so I was really surprised when he announced that he wanted to see "Transformers". It wasn't on MY "must see" list.
As a Sci-Fi geek I wanted to like this movie, I really did, but I just could NOT get on board with it. As a cartoon, I can see why this works: Robots that change into cars, planes, etc.; it's all very gee-whiz, neat-o keen. Add explosions and battlebots going at each other like Rock-m-Sock-m Robots on crack and elementary school boy will go for it like sharks for scrum. However, transfer it into the "real world" and it doesn't quite work, because unlike the cartoon world, you have to blindly obey the laws of physics. One of those rules is the Law of Conservation of Matter/Mass: Matter can not be created or distroyed, but it can be converted to energy. In short, you can't just add or subtract stuff from an object just because its convenient; in this case, you can't turn a compact car into a 15-foot tall battle bot, and still have it strong enough to take a punch.
Not to give too much away, but at one point, this mystical cube condenses itself, in some kind of spacerobtic origami, from 30 cubic feet down to about 2 cubic feet, and yet a teenager is able to tuck it under his arm and sprint with it through city streets, as if it were a basketball. HUH??? With that much matter crammed into that small a space, a crane would have difficulty lifting it; concrete would crack under its weight.
I can't really blame the actors, nor can I blame the special effects guys, because it LOOKS fabulous; I can even forgive some of the cheezy lines and characterizations. I just didn't buy the central premise of the title characters.
As a Sci-Fi geek I wanted to like this movie, I really did, but I just could NOT get on board with it. As a cartoon, I can see why this works: Robots that change into cars, planes, etc.; it's all very gee-whiz, neat-o keen. Add explosions and battlebots going at each other like Rock-m-Sock-m Robots on crack and elementary school boy will go for it like sharks for scrum. However, transfer it into the "real world" and it doesn't quite work, because unlike the cartoon world, you have to blindly obey the laws of physics. One of those rules is the Law of Conservation of Matter/Mass: Matter can not be created or distroyed, but it can be converted to energy. In short, you can't just add or subtract stuff from an object just because its convenient; in this case, you can't turn a compact car into a 15-foot tall battle bot, and still have it strong enough to take a punch.
Not to give too much away, but at one point, this mystical cube condenses itself, in some kind of spacerobtic origami, from 30 cubic feet down to about 2 cubic feet, and yet a teenager is able to tuck it under his arm and sprint with it through city streets, as if it were a basketball. HUH??? With that much matter crammed into that small a space, a crane would have difficulty lifting it; concrete would crack under its weight.
I can't really blame the actors, nor can I blame the special effects guys, because it LOOKS fabulous; I can even forgive some of the cheezy lines and characterizations. I just didn't buy the central premise of the title characters.