2007, USA
Adventure, Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi, War
Forget the armaments of human wars. When alien robots attack Earth, it’s best to let them hash it out in true Transformer style -- Autobots versus Decepticons.
Transformers were some of the best toys for Generation X kids and one of the best marketing ideas. Who wouldn’t want two (sometimes three) toys in one, some of which fit together to make even larger robots? And with a half-hour ad each day via the cartoon to remind kids which character to buy next, how could Hasbro lose?
Now that Gen-Xers have their own children, what better time to reintroduce the series (and toy line) to kids and parents who never fully grew up? Director Michael Bay, king of mindless blockbuster candy, is thinking with his wallet.
The first half of Bay’s dramaction flick focuses on the human factor. An attack on U.S. forces in Qatar (clarified as being in the Middle East for those who were unsure) brings the robot presence to light, along with the mechanized aliens’ desire to tap into the military database. The countdown begins to discover what they’re after before the bots destroy everything to find it.
Meanwhile, in the good ol’ U.S. of A., teenage geek Sam Witwicky (up and coming Shia LaBeouf) seeks out his first car. Fate aligns him with Autobot Bumblebee, souped-up from the cartoon’s VW bug (which sits woefully in the same car lot) to a Camero. And for those who haven’t figured it out, there’s the “Bee-yotch” air freshener on the mirror as a hint.
With Bay’s movies come lowered expectations for drama and higher expectations for explosions. Theatrical slow-mo chases, tough guy one liners and cheesy comedy break up fantastic scenes of warring robots. The movie focuses far more on the human effect, and robotic dialogue is reserved for quick jokes or sage advice.
Despite being a movie of death and destruction, it is easier to enjoy when carnage results in scrap metal. However, a dramatic scene with Bumblebee that seems to allude to King Kong’s struggle against man is sweetly traumatic for Sam.
Bay infuses his opinion of the present U.S. administration into the film as an unseen president requests Ding Dongs rather than briefs and mocking Bush cards sit in the background. Robots discuss man’s unevolved preference for war as U.S. intelligence seeks out the source for the initial attack from the list of usual suspects in the Axis of Evil.
But none of this matters next to the impressive special effects of these particularly complex robots. In a film era when incredible effects are commonplace, ILM does not disappoint as digital robots tear apart each other and live action humankind. Unlike the cartoon that illustrated the characters as they would appear in the toy store, the latest incarnation could only be replicated in Sharper Image’s most select catalog.
Yet somehow they will find a way to create models for the kids before the 2009 sequel.