Transformers (2007)

Being a massive Transformer-fan since childhood, the announcement that they were going to make a live action version was possibly the biggest cinematic news ever at that point in time. I was truly excited. The teaser was awesome, showing footage of the Mars Beagle mission and a vague outline of a Transformer. So of course, I went to see it in the cinemas as soon as it arrived and despite noticing a few issues, I loved it. 

It's been several years and I can now look at it for what it is: a film that gets a lot of things right, but also a lot of things wrong. But more right than wrong for me, at least.

The outline is simple: there used to be a life giving force called the Cube/Allspark that has vanished from the planet Cybertron. Both Autobots and Decepticons are searching for it, and it turns out it is on Earth. More so, thanks to some luck, the young Sam Witwicky has the coordinates to the Allspark imprinted on a pair of glasses that belonged to his great-grandfather. Now it's just a question of who gets there first and it all culminates in a big battle in a city. 

The film follows two main characters and here's where things sometimes get weird. On the one hand you have a group of soldiers led by Josh Duhamel and on the other hand you have Shia Laboeuf who discovers his newly bought car is actually Bumblebee, the yellow Autobot. This feels a little disjointed, as I'm sure the film would have been more focused had Michael Bay just chosen one of these two to build a story around. Sure, they meet up in the end, but it makes you less invested in either one of them. They even throw in a third group of characters after a while, but in all fairness: you will not care one iota about them. The acting can be incredibly uneven at times. There are scenes where Laboeuf for example is pretty good (the more action oriented ones and where he has to show some dramatic poise), yet on the other hand there's the silly humour that feels incredibly out of place and oftentimes enormously childish. That's one of those Michael Bay-things: he just can't resist slipping in some stupid jokes and infantile humour, but it always feels forced and is seldom funny. To me, that is. 

Some actors are horrendous. I normally enjoy John Turturro, but here, it feels like they told him to go nuts and nobody had the decency to reign him in a little. He is played for laughs, but he just isn't funny. In fact, he gets on my nerves. Megan Fox isn't that great either, but considering this was her first film, I'm willing to chalk it up to inexperience. Again, the fact that Bay just puts beautiful women in his films to ogle them doesn't help her, either. She could have done with some more guidance. Anthony Anderson as a hacker is also played for comic relief, but he is equally annoying. He was left to improvise a lot of his dialogue, but the problem is that he just isn't funny. 

But there is also a lot of good to find in this film, believe it or not. The robots look great. Sure, they don't even resemble their classic cartoon counterparts, that is true, but they work. Their design feel alien yet Transormers-y enough and most of their voice work is decent. I love that they did use Peter Cullen for Optimus Prime, as I couldn't imagine anyone else doing it. It's a shame they didn't ask Frank Welker for Megatron (even though they did hire him for later sequels), but you can hardly argue with Hugo Weaving, now can you? 

The action can be a little frenetic and hard to follow at times, especialy the scenes in the city, but Bay is wonderful at car chases and he proves it with the showdown between Bumblebee and Barricade (the police vehicle). It's an exhilarating chase and showcases Bay's penchant for high octane action. Same goes for the highway battle between Optimus and Bonecrusher. The fact that Bay also prefers to do as much as possible in camera (so for real), also works in his favour, as the scenes of destruction carry a lot more weight. The robots are also often photographed at low angles, so they feel big and menacing. This is something they started to do less and less in the latter sequels and it makes them feel insignificant, but here, you can still get the point that they are big and menacing. 

You see, this film has a lot of great scenes that work perfectly. The opening attack on the military base? Awesome. The arrival of the Autobots? Touching and epic. The battle in the city? A little chaotic, but fun nevertheless. The problem is that for every scene or part that works, there is one that feels forced, unfunny or plain redundant. I know that soldiers might not be the most relatable for most people, but they are the most engaging characters with the best storyline, whereas the 'boy meets car and girl'-schtick just doesn't do it for me. 

This might all seem as though I loathe this film. I don't. In fact, rewatching it, I still think it's a fun film and for its time a very decent live action Transformers-vehicle. It probably also is the best of the Bayformers by a mile. Not that I don't find enjoyment in some later entries in the series, but this is the most focused by far. 

Heck, we would have to wait until 'Bumblebee' to get a live action film that feels most connected to the original cartoon. But this one is still a fun watch. Just don't expect a perfect film, because it does have its flaws. But maybe appreciate the stuff that works instead of just downplaying it all.