Scan and Pan
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Transformers
After the war between the good Autobots and the evil Decepticons destroys their home planet, they scatter throughout the universe looking for a powerful device that was lost to them, which is eventually located on a little planet called Earth where geeky high school student Sam (Shia LaBeouf) has just purchased his first car. It's an old yellow Camaro that's actually the Autobot Bumblebee (voice of Mark Ryan) in disguise. Bumblebee helps Sam woo popular school beauty Mikaela (Megan Fox) before Sam finally learns that his car can transform into a giant robot. Soon they're caught up in a battle between Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) and Decepticon leader Megatron (voice of Hugo Weaving) with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
Director Michael Bay (Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon) is known for celebrating spectacle and cinematic eye candy, and those are the traits that serve this film so well. It's a kinetic, edge of your seat experience with big, bold action scenes that thrill you without becoming pointlessly bombastic. If you want to see giant robots fighting and widespread mayhem, Bay delivers both in spades. He also bring a sense of wonder to the story that will appeal to kids and adults alike, and will make the latter feel like wide-eyed kids again.
The screenwriting team of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (The Legend of Zorro, Mission: Impossible III, and the upcoming Star Trek film) are fans of the original cartoon and their affection for the material bleeds through in every scene. Even the changes they've made to the fictional universe feel right in the context of the film. Their screenplay has it all: humor, action, drama, more action, sentimental scenes ala Spielberg, and even a little romance, all wrapped up in a satisfying package. Films like this aren't about deep exploration of character, but when they work it's because they give us likable heroes to cheer for and villains we love to hate, and this is one that works. Even the robots are brought to life as individual characters in their own right. And how can you not like a film where a geek saves the world and gets the beautiful girl?
Cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen (Transporter 2) employs bright lighting with lots of texture and shading to create a high octane look for the film. Production designers Jeff Mann (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and Nigel Phelps (Judge Dredd, Alien: Resurrection) bring the story's fictional universe to life with a combination of mind-blowing science fiction imagery and down to Earth settings. Composer Steve Jablonsky (The Island, television's Desperate Housewives) provides a suitably rousing score.
Industrial Light & Magic revolutionized the field of visual effects in 1977 with Star Wars, and they and the other effects studios involved here may have just done so again. The effects are so seamless that you have to remind yourself that what you're seeing isn't real. The robots may only be CGI effects, but you'll respond to them just like the characters in the film do, as real beings.
LaBeouf has the natural charm and comic timing of a young Tom Hanks, and he puts both traits to good use in making Sam a believable and compelling lead for the film. At its heart, this is a story about a boy and his sentient robot car, and LaBeouf's performance sells us on the reality of that relationship. Fox has the beauty for the role of Mikaela, but her performance also makes her a strong character who's more than just the requisite love interest. LaBeouf and Fox have good on-screen chemistry.
The rest of the cast is just as good, including Jon Voight as the US Secretary of Defense, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as Special Ops soldiers, John Turturro in a hilarious turn as the head of a secret government agency, Rachael Taylor as a signal detection and decoding expert, Anthony Anderson as a master hacker, comedian Bernie Mac as a used car salesman, Kevin Dunn and Julie White as Sam's parents, Amaury Nolasco as a Spanish-speaking soldier, Sophie Bobal as a little girl who mistakes a robot for the tooth fairy, W. Morgan Sheppard in flashbacks as Sam's famous explorer great-grandfather, and
Ravi Patel as an annoying phone operator.
The voice cast is also strong. Standing out in particular are Cullen as he returns to the role he created in the original cartoon, Weaving as a menacing villain, Ryan as a suitable Bumblebee in limited speaking time, and Reno Wilson mining laughs as Frenzy.
Motor vehicles that turn into giant robots? Check. Giant robots fighting and causing mayhem? Check. Cool geek heroes? Check. 144 minutes of non-stop entertainment? Check. There are some people out there who probably won't like this film. I feel sorry for them, because Transformers is one awesome thrill ride from start to finish and is an example of Hollywood summer entertainment at its finest. Longtime fans may just get teary-eyed when they see their favorite robotic characters for the first time.
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
First came the toys and a television cartoon series in the 1980s, and now executive producer Steven Spielberg presents a live action theatrical film that's the best freakin' giant robot movie ever. Quite simply, this may be the most awesome summer movie of 2007 in terms of sheer entertainment value.
After the war between the good Autobots and the evil Decepticons destroys their home planet, they scatter throughout the universe looking for a powerful device that was lost to them, which is eventually located on a little planet called Earth where geeky high school student Sam (Shia LaBeouf) has just purchased his first car. It's an old yellow Camaro that's actually the Autobot Bumblebee (voice of Mark Ryan) in disguise. Bumblebee helps Sam woo popular school beauty Mikaela (Megan Fox) before Sam finally learns that his car can transform into a giant robot. Soon they're caught up in a battle between Autobot leader Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen) and Decepticon leader Megatron (voice of Hugo Weaving) with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
Director Michael Bay (Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon) is known for celebrating spectacle and cinematic eye candy, and those are the traits that serve this film so well. It's a kinetic, edge of your seat experience with big, bold action scenes that thrill you without becoming pointlessly bombastic. If you want to see giant robots fighting and widespread mayhem, Bay delivers both in spades. He also bring a sense of wonder to the story that will appeal to kids and adults alike, and will make the latter feel like wide-eyed kids again.
The screenwriting team of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (The Legend of Zorro, Mission: Impossible III, and the upcoming Star Trek film) are fans of the original cartoon and their affection for the material bleeds through in every scene. Even the changes they've made to the fictional universe feel right in the context of the film. Their screenplay has it all: humor, action, drama, more action, sentimental scenes ala Spielberg, and even a little romance, all wrapped up in a satisfying package. Films like this aren't about deep exploration of character, but when they work it's because they give us likable heroes to cheer for and villains we love to hate, and this is one that works. Even the robots are brought to life as individual characters in their own right. And how can you not like a film where a geek saves the world and gets the beautiful girl?
Cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen (Transporter 2) employs bright lighting with lots of texture and shading to create a high octane look for the film. Production designers Jeff Mann (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) and Nigel Phelps (Judge Dredd, Alien: Resurrection) bring the story's fictional universe to life with a combination of mind-blowing science fiction imagery and down to Earth settings. Composer Steve Jablonsky (The Island, television's Desperate Housewives) provides a suitably rousing score.
Industrial Light & Magic revolutionized the field of visual effects in 1977 with Star Wars, and they and the other effects studios involved here may have just done so again. The effects are so seamless that you have to remind yourself that what you're seeing isn't real. The robots may only be CGI effects, but you'll respond to them just like the characters in the film do, as real beings.
LaBeouf has the natural charm and comic timing of a young Tom Hanks, and he puts both traits to good use in making Sam a believable and compelling lead for the film. At its heart, this is a story about a boy and his sentient robot car, and LaBeouf's performance sells us on the reality of that relationship. Fox has the beauty for the role of Mikaela, but her performance also makes her a strong character who's more than just the requisite love interest. LaBeouf and Fox have good on-screen chemistry.
The rest of the cast is just as good, including Jon Voight as the US Secretary of Defense, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as Special Ops soldiers, John Turturro in a hilarious turn as the head of a secret government agency, Rachael Taylor as a signal detection and decoding expert, Anthony Anderson as a master hacker, comedian Bernie Mac as a used car salesman, Kevin Dunn and Julie White as Sam's parents, Amaury Nolasco as a Spanish-speaking soldier, Sophie Bobal as a little girl who mistakes a robot for the tooth fairy, W. Morgan Sheppard in flashbacks as Sam's famous explorer great-grandfather, and
Ravi Patel as an annoying phone operator.
The voice cast is also strong. Standing out in particular are Cullen as he returns to the role he created in the original cartoon, Weaving as a menacing villain, Ryan as a suitable Bumblebee in limited speaking time, and Reno Wilson mining laughs as Frenzy.
Motor vehicles that turn into giant robots? Check. Giant robots fighting and causing mayhem? Check. Cool geek heroes? Check. 144 minutes of non-stop entertainment? Check. There are some people out there who probably won't like this film. I feel sorry for them, because Transformers is one awesome thrill ride from start to finish and is an example of Hollywood summer entertainment at its finest. Longtime fans may just get teary-eyed when they see their favorite robotic characters for the first time.
[4.5 out of 5 stars]
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