Transformers

Here’s a sample of dialogue from ‘Transformers’.

“Bumblebee was a good soldier. We will not let him have died in vain! Now we will fight! To! Avenge! Bumblebee!”

Let me get this straight: for this stupid mess of a movie and the stupid toys of which it is based: I hate the source material on which it is based. That is the huge obstacle, the bridge, that you have to overcome to enjoy Transformers, and whilst I had no I idea I possibly had it in me, I jumped that bridge and made it. Despite almost being knocked back over.

So yes, it is a stupid mess of a movie, but a deliriously entertaining, shamelessly corny, stupid mess of a movie. It takes pride in the one-dimensional characters, the corny dialogue and clichés. But, while not being anywhere near greatness, it does quite well with the casting decisions…Especially that of Shia LaBeouf. He demonstrated his appeal in Holes and Surf’s Up, but the recent smash hit Disturbia showed his potential as an actor, a leading man. Here, he’s charismatic, charming, and can cook up a punch here and there too. He’s the best thing about the film, aside from the robots themselves.

There’s no real plot. There’s two races: Autobots (good guys) and Decepticons (bad guys). Their energy source is the Cube, which along with the leader of the Decepticons have been under military security for 60-odd years. Now, the Autobots and the Decepticons have awoken, and will duke it out on Earth in grand fashion…And the key to the Autobots’ victory lies in teenagers Sam Witwicky and Mikaela, whose destiny was intertwined with the Transformers nearly a century before.

Newcomer Megan Fox is generally easy on the eyes, and surprisingly good in the film as the teenage galpal. Along with Jon Voight as a military commander, John Turturro as a cocky general, Anthony Anderson as a computer hacker, and Tyrese Gibson & Josh Duhamel as two brave soldiers, it’s a pretty cool live-action cast.

And yet, the Transformers are so cool you almost forget about the corny dialogue, the huge explosions and…dare I say it…Megan Fox. Michael Bay has done The Rock, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbor. The Rock was the only one that was any good, but not the only one that was entertaining. But despite The Rock being more mature and violent, Transformers is Bay’s best film. Why? Because the film is a dream come true for Transformers-die hard fanboys and casual moviegoers alike: A big-budget action flick with awesome movie stars: human and otherwise. B+