I like big-budget summer popcorn movies as much as the next person, but I wasn’t exactly lining up outside the theater to see Transformers when it was released last June. First of all, it was directed by Michael Bay, and I’ve disliked more of his films than I’ve liked. Second, it starred Shia LaBeouf, an actor that completely rubbed me the wrong way in Disturbia. I didn’t want to spend two hours staring up at his mug again. And finally, I didn’t think the writers could come up with a compelling storyline about… Transformers.
However, watching Transformers open with $70 million and go on to rake in $319 million domestically, and reading some good reviews from national critics, I started to relent a little bit. Plus, I noticed that the film has a high rating on IMDB — particularly among women, which was very surprising. So by the time my husband rented the DVD over the weekend, I was ready to see what all the buzz was about. Turns out, I liked this film a lot more than I thought I would!
Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Transformers begins with bit of background information about a war in a distant world called Cybertron. The two main factions in the war were the Autobots and the Decepticons, and they were both fighting for control of something called the All Spark. Apparently, the All Spark is a very powerful contraption that can bring mechanical things to life. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, want to use it to restore Cybertron to its old glory. The Decepticons, headed up by Megatron, would rather use it to become masters of the universe.
After the background info, the action then switches to the present day, where we meet a high school kid named Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf). Sam is portrayed as kind of a dorky outsider who has a crush on popular girl Mikaela (played by Megan Fox). Sam is convinced that once he gets a car of his own, he’ll be able to score girls like Mikaela at will, so he’s busy trying to auction stuff off on eBay to come up with the necessary funds.
When Sam is ready to pick out a vehicle, he and his dad Ron (Kevin Dunn) go to a used car lot. That’s when Sam sees an old yellow and black Camaro that seems perfect for him. He buys it, and immediately notices some strange things about the car — such as the way the radio always seems to blare out songs that perfectly describe his situation.
Meanwhile, we see that Optimus Prime and other Autobots are on the trail of the All Spark, which landed in the South Pole (along with Megatron) over a hundred years ago. By sheer coincidence, Sam’s grandfather discovered Meagtron and the All Spark, and somehow locked their coordinates into his eyeglasses — which are now in Sam’s possession. So Optimus Prime decides that the Autobots must track down Sam.
They do, and lo and behold, the Camaro is also an Autobot (named Bumblebee). Once these Transformers reveal themselves to Sam and explain what’s happening, Sam agrees to help them out.
The rest of the film then deals with the Autobots’ attempts to secure the All Spark despite interference from the U.S. government and the Decepticons. There’s a major battle at the end of the film, and of course the good guys come out on top.
My Reaction: I thought Transformers was a very entertaining film! There was a great deal of humor throughout, and I liked the fact that the film didn’t take itself seriously.
Shia LaBeouf was surprisingly likable as Sam — a critical point since he was in almost every scene. If he had been as annoying as he was in Disturbia, I wouldn’t have been able to watch this movie; fortunately, that wasn’t the case at all. I thought the Sam character was nicely balanced between nerd and sudden hero, and I liked the fact that he didn’t do anything too terribly amazing or unbelievable (though his final sequence with the All Spark certainly did push those limits).
The action was pretty good, as were the graphics — but I wouldn’t expect anything less from a $150 million film. I thought the final battle scene between Megatron and Optimus Prime went on far too long, though, especially since I didn’t particularly care who won.
Overall, Transformers is a surprisingly fun and entertaining popcorn flick that has a nice mix of action and humor. It far exceeded my expectations, so I give it 7 stars out of 10.