I was cleaning out my office and I found a copy of The Transformers, unopened; happy birthday/Chanukah to me! When it was time to take a break from cleaning, and I am doing a bang up job at that [4 bags of garbage and a whole “mess” of shredding and a lot of stuff for the next yard sale] I decided to have some chow and watch the Transformers. I am so glad that I did!
Everything about this movie is just perfect. When I was a kid, I watched The Transformers cartoon, it was great, always having fond memories of it and definitely something I could talk to other “kids” about when I got older, ok, other geeks… When I heard that they were making a live action movie I was stoked, I had a really good feeling about it, it was going to be good. I am pretty accurate when it comes to predictions about movies and I will admit that i have been wrong a few times, but not this time.
I LOVE THIS MOVIE! As evident by the fact that I saw it in the theater three times and then it was one of the movies I got to see in the Bahamas for free, I can’t remember if it was once or twice. There was an opportunity this summer at Screen on the Green, a great event in our wonderful Piedmont Park. The Screen on the Green Series might be something you have in your own city, they have a giant movie screen in the park and people come with picnics and friends and families and there is usually some form of entertainment from a radio station and at sundown, they start the movie, and one of the movies this summer, The Transformers. So, I digress as I always do…
Back to our regularly scheduled programming…
I sat in the theater excited for the movie to begin and I was not disappointed in the least. I have to say that Shai LeBouf, despite his bonehead antics off the screen, has become a good action star. I enjoyed his character, the reluctant hero who steps up to the plate and saves the day, hell, saves the planet! Megan Fox was great [pre HUGE pouting lips that totally distracted me during the next movie] as the sexy, smart chick who can fix a car, every guys dream, right? Cedric the Entertainer was a strange addition to the mix, but he was only in it for a few minutes, if it was longer, i don’t think it would have been good.
Then… came Bumblebee, driving onto the lot, the beat up yellow Camaro with black racing stripes, auto-bot emblem in the steering wheel, and so it begins. The car chooses the driver, not the other way around. As much as I love beetles and we both know how much I do, I would have taken that Camaro in less than a heartbeat, strictly because it was Bumblebee! And then when they were in the tunnel and Megan Fox makes a comment about him transforming back into a p.o.s. Camaro, hurt his feelings and he comes back as a brand new 2007 Camaro, ooooooh, I would take one of those in a skinny minute!
What did it for me? Optimus Prime! OMG! He came down to earth and transformed and that was it for me! The coolest part, the Autobots [Peter Cullen is Optimus Prime] were voiced by the original actors, the Decepticons were mixed, original and new, Hugo Weaving was Megatron, was I in heaven? Absolutely! All the characters were perfect!
Some of my favorite moments? One was for my computer geek buds, when the little deceptibot was on Air Force One and they pulled the plug, he banged his head on the computer screen when it crashed. Then, when Josh Dummel’s character was making a call to the Pentagon and the operator was Indian call center operator. Sam Whitwickey’s parents were a riot, perfect in their roles and John Turturo, in a role that he was made for! What a goob!
A lot of action movies, especially ones that use computer generated [CG] effects, can seem hoaky and they seem to take forever, this one had none of that. Even when Josh Dummel’s character jumped on a crotch rocket and then slid on his back under one of the Decepticons to destroy it. Everything had a realist feel, never losing a moment of action, kept me riveted and, I will admit freely, choked up on occasion. When they had Bumblebee tied down, it was so sad, he was hurt and struggling, I wanted to jump through the screen, untie him and make everything better!
Could the soundtrack have been more perfect? Nope, don’t think so. It really is true that sound makes a movie, try to watch a movie without a soundtrack in the background,you feel oddly out of place. Am I gushing on this film, you’re darn tootin’ and it’s my blog, so there!
As I sit here watching this movie, i am riveted to my seat and I am loving it all over again, and I am sure I will watch it over and over and over again and never lose that sense of wonder and excitement, much as I get when I watch the Bad News Bears winning, I still get tense watching Luke Skywalker take off his computer to use the force to get that shot into the Death Star, Dorothy and friends are being chased into the tower of the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle, before she throws water on her and melts her [PLEASE tell me I’m not giving something away here!].
All in all, I was ‘transformed’ by this movie. Not sure what I was transformed to but it sounded good. I give this movie five headlights [get the auto reference?].