Transformers - 2007

Directed by: Michael Bay
Cast: Shia Lebeouf, Megan Fox, Jon Voight, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachel Taylor, Anthony Anderson,

First things first, The Transformers were a marketing ploy designed to make a lot of money of toy sales. The television series and subsequent tie-ins were all ways of marketing the toy, an unashamedly crass method to make money. And yet, somehow, despite all of that, even now, when much older and mature and we can see through all the gimmickry and realise that its nothing more than a jumped up toy ad, we can’t help but be nostalgic for those cars/planes/trucks which miraculously transformed into anthropomorphised robots. And so it’s with this mentality that one should approach Michael Bay’s big budget reimagining of the greatest marketing tool a film industry ever had. Putting aside serious thought provoking narrative, remember this is a Michael Bay film, sitting down the watch Transformers somehow manages to conjure up all the childish glee felt when you first fell in love with the Robots in disguise.

The first stroke of genius is to create rounded characters and have them played by actors who can, like, act. Shia LeBeouf, Hollywood’s new golden boy, is fantastically natural and engaging as the films teenage hero, whose first car turns out to have some surprises for him. The decision to ground the film with a brilliant streak of comedy, both from the humans, and the Robots; one particular scene where the robots try to avoid detection by Lebeouf’s parents whilst simultaneously trying not to destroy the garden is a stand out scene, which you never would have imagined would have been dreamt up. The weighty supporting cast including Jon Voight and John Turturro lend a note of acting greatness to the proceedings, but never play the film straight enough to not realise that the real stars are. Josh Duhamel is at his most watchable as the marine captain who is one of the first to encounter the dreaded Decepticons. This subplot fills the military quota for the film, but does so by firstly commenting slightly on the American military machine but also highlighting the unknown dangers facing soldiers in modern combat. Then there’s Megan Fox who plays Mikaela and brings a level of quality not usually found in this type of role. Overall in fact, one of the most commendable aspects of this film is the strength in acting which shepherds you through all the overblown robot showdowns.

And so onto the robots. CGI seems to have reached a pinnacle in recent years where the change from live action to CGI has become completely seamless and audiences can no longer spot the difference. The realism found in this film stands as prove of this argument. It might be hard to imagine realism in a film about giant robots who can transform into vehicles but like Jurassic Park 14 years ago, these images will forever be etched onto your mind and the sheer brilliance of them all will be overwhelming. In fact Transformers is probably the best film of the summer. Certainly in terms of expectation. Michael Bay is known for his love of blowing shit up, but with Transformers, not only has he turned in the best film of his career, but has also managed to eclipse such heavyweights as Spider-Man 3, Ocean’s Eleven, Harry Potter, and Ocean’s Eleven. Even John McClane could compete with these guys. When they finally show up on screen and we move toward the climatic battle sequence everything is pure cinematic genius. Tom Gunning wrote of the early days of cinema that it was a “cinema of attractions” and Transformers has brought that claim full circle. This is a film of attractions, with Optimus Prime. Bumblebee and Megatron being the attraction. Transformers is spectacle for the sake of spectacle. Fun for fun’s sake and it always has been. And it’s the exact reason why snobs of populist cinema with scoff at this films big explosions and nonsensical narrative. If there is one potential flaw is that in some of the one of one showdowns between the Autobots and the decepticon’s it becomes unclear who is who, so frantic, up close and personal the fights become. Also Optimus Prime lacks some of his iconic weight. But this is just nitpicking.

Ultimately, once you put aside your critical eye and enjoy this film for the attractions it offers there is very little one can complain about, action set pieces which far outweigh the wildest dreams of any fan boy, characterisation, an actual plot and hilariously staged comic scenes make Transformers this summers real sizzler.