Transformers Movie (2007) Review

A week ago I went to see the Transformers movie and have been agonizing over what to say about it. Like so many other people I have mixed feelings about the whole experience. If I took a step back from it and tried to imagine this as an original movie about an original concept then I would say that it was a solid summer movie. It had enough action and comedy to make it a fun time with just the usual shortcomings of a few slow spots and a couple of chill inducing cheesy lines. There were a some logical inconsistencies (standard scifi pitfalls), but it was not billed as a smart, edgy thriller, but as a rockin’ good time…and that’s exactly what it was.

But looking at the movie as a big screen version of an icon from my childhood gets a little more complicated. It was hard not to compare it to the original movie. The original movie was the culmination of a series that already laid the groundwork for the story. The new movie should therefore be compared to the first few episodes of the series. In that light, I am able to cut it a lot more slack and just take for what it was, one of the coolest scifi/action movies in a long time.

In the interest of being brief, I am going to rattle off, bullet style, my list of pros and cons about the picture:

Pro: Bumblebee. In the cartoon, Bumblebee had a lot of heart and charm but was by no means a badass. This incarnation of the little yellow Autobot is 10x’s cooler and tougher than the original. From his hand cannon to the choice of making him a camaro, the new Bumblebee rocks! One of my favorite moments in the movie was when he was released after being “probed” and he flipped down his blast visor, ready to blow someone up:

Con: Dialogue. While this is obviously over dramatic material, some of the lines (particularly Optimus Prime’s) were way too hokey, distractingly so.

Pro: Transforming. No need to explain this one.

Con: When the Autobots were clinging to the outside of the observatory. There was an audience wide chuckle at this scene.

Pro: Autobots matrix style combat…Ironhide’s blast assisted flip, Awesome!!

Con: Lack of character development among the actual transformers…but this should be remedied in the inevitable sequel.

I will end my picking of nits here. Bottom line it was a fun movie and that’s all that really matters!