Transformers Review : A-
While it's still fresh in my mind:
I really really wanted to give this movie an A+. Because I've been a Transformers fan all my life, I don't believe I can give a fair review to those that are not Transformers fans. I had to watch a little more objectively, as I had to screen this movie for my brother's son, who is around 9 or 10. I also find it very hard to give any movie over 2 hours any A; I swallow hard when I give this an A-.
The movie and story itself were great. The first half of the movie is quite humorous, with adolescent humor and callbacks [to the classic cartoon and Michael Bay movies] and puns, and the movie is quite liberal with the explosions and action. There are only a few things that keep it from making the grade. First, there's the Michael Bay humor, while it's funny, there are some places where it interrupts the pace of the action (during one action scene in particular). Anthony Anderson's character, is also a pointless character, only thrown into the movie to (a) add more humor, and (b) accomplish a miniscule task; it's as though the producers asked "How can we get this person in this situation?" and someone replied, "Anthony Anderson." Fortunately for us, his screen appearance is limited. Unfortunately for us, it's still a screen appearance. (Don't get me wrong: I like Anthony Anderson, but he just doesn't fit in here.) I also would have cast a stronger character for the Sector 7 lead, instead of John Turturro. The rest of the cast itself was great, acting against visuals [read: robots] that seemed real, even when a few characters seemed "cliché" (see note on Bernie Mac below).
The action was immersive, but at a few times hard to follow. Shaky cameras at close-up angles are intended to give you the feeling and perspective of actually being "there," but unless you already know what you're looking at, it's hard to follow for about 10-15 minutes of the film. Considering that about half of the movie is action, this is a good percentage of the action, but a small percentage of the film. Now, some people may comment on the perspective, and inadequate proportions between man and machine. My only response to that is that (a) they're transforming sentient beings from outer space in a movie, and (b) if Lord of the Rings can get away with it, so can Transformers.
As a Transformer fan, I loved this movie. I would buy it when it comes out on DVD. My wife, a Transformer-opposer, enjoyed the film as much as I did. The digital sound of the action in the movie almost made her wet her pants, and I actually felt the impact of some, well, impacts.
I mentioned before that I screened this for my brother's son. If I were to rate this, I'd rate it PG-15. I wouldn't take a 14-year-old to see this. There's adolescent humor [regarding masturbation], lots of S-bombs, and a "mother-" that's just the "mother" part. There's also Bernie Mac, the fast-talking used car salesman (who also runs a petting zoo next to his house; more proof that Michael Bay is insane). When Bernie Mac waves at his grandma, she flips him the bird.
All in all, it's a good film to see if you're into lots of explosions, puns, and know what Transformers are. So, basically, if you're a male in the range of 25-35 years of age, or a wife of one.
I really really wanted to give this movie an A+. Because I've been a Transformers fan all my life, I don't believe I can give a fair review to those that are not Transformers fans. I had to watch a little more objectively, as I had to screen this movie for my brother's son, who is around 9 or 10. I also find it very hard to give any movie over 2 hours any A; I swallow hard when I give this an A-.
The movie and story itself were great. The first half of the movie is quite humorous, with adolescent humor and callbacks [to the classic cartoon and Michael Bay movies] and puns, and the movie is quite liberal with the explosions and action. There are only a few things that keep it from making the grade. First, there's the Michael Bay humor, while it's funny, there are some places where it interrupts the pace of the action (during one action scene in particular). Anthony Anderson's character, is also a pointless character, only thrown into the movie to (a) add more humor, and (b) accomplish a miniscule task; it's as though the producers asked "How can we get this person in this situation?" and someone replied, "Anthony Anderson." Fortunately for us, his screen appearance is limited. Unfortunately for us, it's still a screen appearance. (Don't get me wrong: I like Anthony Anderson, but he just doesn't fit in here.) I also would have cast a stronger character for the Sector 7 lead, instead of John Turturro. The rest of the cast itself was great, acting against visuals [read: robots] that seemed real, even when a few characters seemed "cliché" (see note on Bernie Mac below).
The action was immersive, but at a few times hard to follow. Shaky cameras at close-up angles are intended to give you the feeling and perspective of actually being "there," but unless you already know what you're looking at, it's hard to follow for about 10-15 minutes of the film. Considering that about half of the movie is action, this is a good percentage of the action, but a small percentage of the film. Now, some people may comment on the perspective, and inadequate proportions between man and machine. My only response to that is that (a) they're transforming sentient beings from outer space in a movie, and (b) if Lord of the Rings can get away with it, so can Transformers.
As a Transformer fan, I loved this movie. I would buy it when it comes out on DVD. My wife, a Transformer-opposer, enjoyed the film as much as I did. The digital sound of the action in the movie almost made her wet her pants, and I actually felt the impact of some, well, impacts.
I mentioned before that I screened this for my brother's son. If I were to rate this, I'd rate it PG-15. I wouldn't take a 14-year-old to see this. There's adolescent humor [regarding masturbation], lots of S-bombs, and a "mother-" that's just the "mother" part. There's also Bernie Mac, the fast-talking used car salesman (who also runs a petting zoo next to his house; more proof that Michael Bay is insane). When Bernie Mac waves at his grandma, she flips him the bird.
All in all, it's a good film to see if you're into lots of explosions, puns, and know what Transformers are. So, basically, if you're a male in the range of 25-35 years of age, or a wife of one.