Wow I'm just back from a trip to Ohio where I got to see my family and friends. It was a total blast and I had the excellent opportunity to attend Origins Game Expo 2007 (even if only for a few hours). During the convention I got to meet and greet my pals from Texas 12toMidnight. Also at the expo I got to meet actor Richard Hatch (who played Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica and is in the new series as well) and Shane Hensley who heads up Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Both of them signed autographs for me the fanboy (Richard was kind and signed "Keep the Faith" while Shane wrote "With Big Sloppy Savage Hugs and Kisses"... thanks Shane now I'll never be able to hock this on eBay!?! ;)
While in Ohio we had a boys night out and all the men folk took the little guys to see Transformers the movie. I have to say that this film was absolutely incredible and easily the best summer blockbuster film of the year (oh yes WAY better than Spiderman, Shrek, or Pirates). Michael Bay did an outstanding job with this film and I sat through 2 hours with my jaw unhinged at some of the best visual effects to date.
Being a kid of the 80's I grew up with Transformers, G.I. Joe, Micronauts, etc. so I was excited about the chance to see a modern take on an eighties cartoon classic.
The film was (of course) action packed and very funny. I imagine huge fans of the classic Transformers will be a bit disappointed that some of the main characters where reimagined with different bits and pieces (Bumblebee is a yellow camero rather than a VW Bug in the cartoon series). For me though the updates looked and fit great.
The shape changing robots look absolutely amazing and move convincingly. It's easy to fall into the fantasy of the film and believe that these huge giant metal Transformers are really there moving through the sets and interacting with the human actors. In fact if you are a giant robot fan this movie will really showcase to you what Hollywood could do these days to bring those kinds of movies from cartoon to CGI (Battletech the movie sprung immediately to my mind while watching a Decepticon stomp around a military base shooting and pounding everything in sight)
There is a lot going on in the movie... maybe too much really as several different groups of humans converge together with the transformers by the end of the film. So much happens that it feels like the machines and humans don't really interact as they should. With the exception of Shia LeBeouf's character and his girlfriend the Autobots don't really communicate with the people they are on Earth to help and protect. Of course one could argue that the robots had much more pressing concerns as you see in the plot of the film (they WERE on a mission and very focused on it)
One great thing about the movie is that it doesn't paint the military as a bumbling dumb government tool. The opening scenes of the film show very sharp and by the numbers soldiers who mobilize to deal with the threat posed by the Decepticons (sorry bad guys, but just because you look like a friendly doesn't mean we will automatically treat you as such). You might detect a bit of pro-war undertones in the film, but nothing they club you over the head with and they level the field by taking a shot or two at the fearless leader of our country which is fine by me ;)
The film is mostly acceptable for kids. There is a lot of violence and explosions, but nothing my little one hasn't seen already on TV and in movies. By the end of the film several characters do fall in battle, but most are of the... non-human variety. There is no gratuitous blood, but a heck of a lot of gunfire and fast paced combat. I think kids 6 and under might be a little scared, but anyone older should find the film interesting and exciting.
This is truly a film worth catching on the big screen if you get a chance. From me it gets two big metal thumbs up!
