Car Movies

Two races of intergalactical robots – the Autobots and the Decepticons – have been waging a century-long war on planet Cybertron for power of the AllSpark, a cube that keeps the surviving race alive. The former is led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the latter is led by Megatron (Hugo Weaving), who has been long since frozen inside the Hoover Dam in Las Vegas on Earth. Incidentally, the AllSpark is also frozen there too.

Connections to the AllSpark lead to nebbish high school student Sam Whitwicky (Shia LaBeouf), who plans on selling his grandfather’s old glasses on eBay so he could afford enough cash to buy a new car and impress long-time crush Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox). But when he realizes what potential the glasses are, he unwillingly becomes a factor in the fight between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Of course, he’s not alone; he receives help from army sergeants William Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Epps (Tyrese Gibson), Department of Defense assistant Maggie Madsen (Rachael Taylor), computer hacker Glen Whitman (Anthony Anderson), and Secretary of Defense John Keller (Jon Voight).

Having a legendary franchise like “Transformers” (comic books, TV shows, toys, and the like) transformed (no pun intended) into a summer blockbuster could’ve been one of the worst ideas ever. Especially when the man behind the lens in none other than Michael Bay, he of critical revulsion from message board geeks and “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.

Of course, Bay didn’t do bad in the past (I still hold “The Rock” as a great example of Bay delivering a megaton punch of visceral tension with jokes thrown in). It was once “Armageddon” came rolling in that he was looking to do more than just giving crowds a rip-roaring time, though I don’t think a crap love story should be putting a damper on what could’ve been able competition against “Independence Day”. But when Bay threw out his attempts to be fun, and have another ridiculously corny love story be the backdrop of a historic event, he brought upon the world the poison that was “Pearl Harbor”. Then, his anger towards critics thus brought “Bad Boys II”, which replaced the fun and charm of the first one with reckless endangerment for an unbearable 147 minutes. Of course, Bay did pick up footing with the underrated and misunderstood sci-fi action “The Island”, which ALMOST brought back memories of when he wasn’t lashing out at critics.

Now it’s 2007. With “Transformers”, Bay comes in with some secret weapons. One of them is Steven Spielberg, basically one of the legendary directors of our time. It being a sci-fi film, like most of his films (E.T., War of the Worlds), helped increase anticipation for the film’s release. Then there’s Shia LaBeouf, the former “Even Stevens” co-star who recently blew up after the success of the “Rear Window” update “Disturbia”. Throw those ingredients in with a bunch of other stars, Spielberg’s Industrial Lights & Magic for the special effects, and an estimated budget of $147 million, and you’ve got this summer’s largest crowd-pleaser ever.

With “Transformers”, almost every robot of the famed franchise are thrown into the mix. Bay has the iconic Optimus Prime and Megatron, while throwing in minor figures like Barricade, Bonecrusher, Bumblebee, Frenzy, Ironhide, Jazz, Ratchet, and Starscream into the wrestling ring. Much has been made to the movie-based versions of these robots. But thanks to IL&M, every one of them is wonderfully rendered with amazing attention to detail. Bay even gets a pat on the back for rangling in Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime in all Transformers cartoons, to reprise his role. Now that’s pleasing the fanbase!

Where the team of Bay/Spielberg succeed is not taking the film too seriously, a la the cartoon. Much like “Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl”, there’s a jocular tone to all the madness going on. Some of it does get a little heavy-handed (I could’ve dealt without a “lubriaction” gag, character actor Kevin Dunn hiding inside a tiny bathtub, or Sam getting cornered by Barricade – that scene plays for both laughs and suspense, and it comes off a little awkward), but thanks to a film free of bleakness that would normally weight the film down (see “TMNT”), there’s a high energy to the film that makes up for any flaws. Probably one of the bigger compliments to the nature of the film is character actor John Turturro; he’s a ball of joy as the scenery-chewing FBI agent who gets his comeuppance from one of the Autobots (hint: Superman boxers are on display).

Of course, Bay puts a lid briefly on the jokes and delivers a whopping 40-minute-long, action-packed finale. Bay, being the mad director that he is, cuts away like crazy (a habit from “Bad Boys II”), though he’s a bit more restrained in letting viewers be immersed in the battle (once Smashing Pumpkins’ “Doomsday Clock” begins playing, you’d better hang on to your theater seats). And Bay’s staple of the marines are in also full force here, and he gives Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson, awesome actors who may go big after the film comes and goes, plenty of time to play with guns. While Duhamel takes too much of Gibson’s shine (the R&B singer/actor doesn’t make much of an impression), both actors having a ball, and that’s fine with me.

This is Shia LaBeouf’s third movie in a row where a clunky performance is definitely out of the question. Sure, his smart-aleck persona is put in full force, though he’s not too quick to lose our sympathy even in the humorous scenes when his character Sam fails in wooing Mikaela, who’s surprsingly well played by Megan Fox (who could go wrong with an actress who appeared on the Kelly Ripa sitcom “Hope and Faith” posed for FHM/Maxim magazine, and plays X-box?). And there’s great supporting performances from side actors like Rachael Taylor (despite being ridiculously attractive, she’s actually believable as a government understudy), Anthony Anderson (who’s a 100% hoot here), and Jon Voight (co-star of Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor once again plays a president, though here, he stands out more).

Not everyone is going to like this film (especially the Razzies association, probably understandable after Bay’s recent bombs). But there are kids like me who want to have a giddy pre-teen jump out and relive our memorable past. “Transformers” is pretty much that movie.