Transformers review and reflection

I haven't reviewed a movie like Transformers, and I don't suspect I ever will again. Since I began writing movie reviews for my high school's newspaper in 1995, I've never had to take on the task of being objective with a franchise that is so integral to me as a person. Frankly, I don't know that I'm up to it. I expect you, as a reader, to be the judge of whether I've given the movie an honest appraisal.

Transformers brings a sense of wonderment back to the screen that has been missing for a long time. In the last fifteen years, there have been only a few landmark films that have left me with the impression that I'm truly seeing something new. Jurassic Park comes to mind first; despite a sparse handful of movies featuring comuterized special effects before it, the last great Spielberg film immersed viewers to the extent that they completely forgot about the CG wizardry that brought dinosaurs to life. Such should be the goal of special effects-- if the audience forgets that what they are watching is a special effect, then fantasy has become reality.

This is what Transformers accomplishes with grand elegance. For two hours I lived in a world populated by giant robots. There was not a second in the film that broke that illusion for me, not a single shot that proved a weak link or an awkward fault. In light of the sheer ridiculousness of the concept, and the cartooniness with which it is sometimes handled, this is an immense achievement.

The film is entirely visually believable, and that serves to bear the weight of its occasional silliness, and the brunt of weak moments in the script (of which there are several). The actors complete this equation by never appearing to communicate with a green screen or an 'X' painted on the ground, but rather, sharing the screen humbly and convincingly with digital actors ten times their size. Another major factor in the perfection of the simulation is director Michael Bay's old-fashioned commitment to creating effects without the assistance of computers whenever possible. Naturally, the robots with their hundreds of moving parts must be CG, but the explosions, the rubble, the military weaponry and and the vast and varied locales that populate the film are largely real. Unlike the Star Wars prequels, in which actors appeared to float on digital everything, the people and the robots are grounded. They have weight and presence. Despite CG Transformers being the stars, there is more that's "real" on the screen in Bay's film than any other blockbuster you will see this summer.

The world of Transformers, then, is one that has the ability to utterly enrapture a willing audience without a single moment of betrayal. How essential this is to a film that is pure imagination come to life! So much of story is built on the goal of bringing realization to childhood fantasies concocted on living room floors with plastic companions, of reaching into the vivid dreams of those who played with the toys and rebuilding that sense of wonderment on the screen. The aim is met flawlessly.


In its epic scope, Transformers spans dozens of characters and seems like a journey much longer than its 150-minute running time. Beginning with a bang, then building slowly from the mundane life of high schooler Sam Witwicky, it grows to encompass a war that threatens the entire world. Forward momentum is the key in the script, and it rarely slows down. There is a mix of humor and drama that requires a deft touch in a screenwriter's pen, and though there are some missteps, the film undeniably offers something to every audience member's taste.

Transformers updates classic robot characters for the modern world, preserving their familiar personalities while rendering them in such a way as to blend them with a real world environment. As Sam's car, Bumblebee is the most prominent Autobot, and since he is unable to speak, the animators faced the challenge of making him emotive in other ways. They succeed in depicting an emotional and indeed lovable little charmer out of the yellow Camaro despite his lack of even a mouth with which to express himself. Optimus Prime has the same commanding presence that has carried the character through multiple incarnations, thanks largely to the powerful voice of original 80s voice actor Peter Cullen. Rounding out the team are Ironhide, who, though losing his country accent, still comes across as the blunt butt-kicking instrument he is; Ratchet, who has a wise and cool demeanour; and finally, the enthusiastic Jazz, whose Ebonics speak is thankfully given a plausible explanation (he learned English from the Internet).

The Decepticons are given less screen time. Their frontman is Frenzy, the wiry boom box character who, ironically, had the most reviled character design amongst the fans. Surprisingly, he is a hoot to watch as he quivers with energy and lunges like a rabid animal at Sam and any number of humans who make the mistake of judging him by his size. Barricade plays another prominent role and ratchets up the fearful ferocity of the giant robots early in the movie. Megatron and Starscream have a familiar dynamic and exude fearsome fervor for their villainy; the rest of the Decepticons are largely relegated to quick action pieces. I don't feel cheated at their screen time like some fans; the focus rightly remains on the relationship between Sam and the Autobots.

While the robots are painstaking realized both in both their visual splendor and characterization, the linchpin of the proceedings is Sam, portrayed to perfection by Shia LeBeouf. Along with the effects, this highly talented actor is equally important in making the film work as successfully as it does. I can't speak highly enough of his performance in Transformers except to say that he even overshadows the titular robots, to my own surprise and delight. Showing a great range of ability, LaBeouf performs humorous, dramatic, and action-packed scenes with equal talent, making the necessarily smooth transitions between those motifs flawlessly.

LaBeouf is called upon to play a type of everyteen, the slightly nerdy yet cool outcast that most Transformers fans will likely identify with from their own pasts. He is working hard to do well in school while awkwardly struggling to climb the social ladder in pursuit of a dream girl who is as distant as she is alluring. Bay himself said that Transformers is ultimately a simple story about a boy and his first car, and he's right. Sam is the soul of this movie.

His lusty classmate, Mikaela, is the object of his affections. Meghan Fox has the body for the role, looking as though she stepped out of a 14-year-old's wet dream every time the camera lingers in slow motion over her figure. Fox's acting abilities have been called into question in much of the film's coverage, but I feel she does fine in the role, which admittedly is limited to a lot of awed gawking, running, and come-hither stares. Mikaela is not entirely one-dimensional, as she's given a bit of background story and some tomboyish charm as a car know-it-all. Ultimately, though, she is an object of desire for Sam, which strikes me as merely an accurate depiction of the teenage mindset rather than anything sexist.

The majority of the supporting characters serve to diversify the picture's mood and broaden the scope of the adventure. Frontlining the military angle is Josh Duhamel as a soldier ambushed in Qatar by the Decepticons; his ragtag group of survivors fends off numerous attacks before reporting back to Jon Voight's Secretary of Defense. Voight is given little of substance to do, being relegated to macho feather-flouting and the obligatory "Dear God" exclamations of surprise. John Turturro plays an agent of "Sector Seven" in one of the unnecessary sub-plots that spring up midway through the film. Omitting his character would have made for a tighter narrative, but he does have some of the welcome comical moments later in the film when the tone becomes more serious.

Special mention must be made of Sam's hilarious parents, the funniest element of the film. They steal nearly every scene they're in as the goofy but good-hearted overseers of Sam's muddling adolescence. It's nice to see parents depicted not as enemies of the teens, and in a happy marriage to boot. Make sure you stay during the credits for a few more snippets of comedy from these two.

Elsewhere on the civilian side, an entirely superflous batch of computer hacker characters are the film's largest flaw. Rachael Taylor and Anthony Anderson play two mismatched teenagers who ludicrously find themselves helping the government wade through technobabble to figure out what the Decepticons are up to. They could have easily been cut to streamline the narrative. Not only do these characters have no bearing on the larger outcomes of the story, but much of their humor falls flat and they are inexplicably swept from the narrative in the final moments, with no resolution to speak of.

In fact, the final moments of the film seem entirely rushed. Contrary to many reviewers' complaints of an overlong final act, I would have liked to have seen a more graceful resolution after the final action scene (which, by the way, comprises about forty minutes of intense screen time). Despite this slight stumble, the sentiment of the moment comes through clearly, as Peter Cullen's commanding Optimus Prime vocals remind us of everything we love about the Autobots-- their nobility, their comradery, and their respect for humanity.

From the first rumblings of a live-action Transformers film after the success of Spider-Man and X-Men, I've followed the project religiously with cautious optimism. Many long-time fans of Transformers have been outraged at perceived betrayals of tradition, in everything from the elaborate and complex robot designs to the reinvention of their favorite characters; however, any student of film understands the necessary changes in the transition between media and I remained steadfast in my belief that the picture had the potential to be great.

I'm elated to say that my enthusiasm was not unwarranted. Transformers is a magnificent action spectacle and indeed a milestone in special effects. It's a heartfelt nod to the generation that came to know and love the characters of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron and the rest, brimming with homage and respect for the material. Children and adults can connect and reconnect to the emotional core of bravery and heroism beating inside the metal chests of the alien robots that have captured the imaginations of nearly three generations. It's the roller-coaster of the summer.