Transformers

[addicted2dvd]

First thing this morning I watched the new Transformers movie. My sister-in-law bought a copy... and let me borrow it to watch. I have to say... it was much more then I was expecting! I enjoyed every minute of that movie... so now there is another movie on my wish list. Unfortunately it will remain there till the price drops as I want the 2 disc version... which is at about $25 right now. My sis-in-law got the single disc version... which has no extras at all.

[RossRoy]

Yes, it exceeded all my expectations. I grew up watching Transformers on TV, and I was part of those that were upset about the changes to the characters.... Until I saw the first trailer that had an actual transformation. Right then and there, I was sold to these new versions.

And to the people that keep complaining about the unbelievable story and lack of character developments... What do you expect? It's a movie based on a frickin' toy! And there was more than enough Robot Action to make up for the story, or lack thereof!

And the fact that a lot of the effects were actual practical, in camera effects, (the bus splitting, for example) really helps sell the movie. They even built a full scale Bumblebee!!

I think this paragraph from Todd Gilchrist's review of the movie at IGN sums it up nicely:
"Whether you love him or hate him -- and I'm somewhere in the middle -- Michael Bay was born to make movies like Transformers. There are parts of almost all his films that achieve near brilliance, and others that are rendered useless in their awkward failure. Spectacle, after all, is his specialty, not subtlety, so enjoying the sum of the parts sometimes requires dispassionate detachment or at least blind belief. But whether you think Bay makes the smartest dumb movies or the dumbest smart ones, Transformers is one of the most fun and engaging summer blockbusters in recent memory -- as long as you don't think about it too hard."

[DJ Doena]

I did go in there with practically no expectations except to have fun. And fun I did have. The best thing for the movie was that it didn't take itself seriously. And on that level it worked really great.

The animations where great although a bit too fast, especially at the end.

I really loved the part where the yellow car played all the right songs at the right moment.

[addicted2dvd]

I think that is why I enjoyed it so much.... I also went into it with very low expectations. I was concerned at first when I saw this movie clocked in at about 2 and a half hours.... but this movie is so packed with robotic action and fun it just flies by... before you know it you are at the end of the movie. This one is nothing more then fun... no-brainer robotic action. And some of the situations they get into was hilarious...

Spoiler (hover to show)

I was laughing so hard on the scenes where the autobots were sneaking around the boy's home while he looked for the old glasses. I thought I was going to die laughing when the little dog pissed on one of them. and then again when the autobot did the same thing to that government agent.

This movie is just plain fun!

[Jon]

Finally watched it and...

LOVEITLOVEITLOVEITLOVEITLOVEITLOVEITLOVEITLOVEIT! 

It's the best fun I've had in absolutely ages. I was pleasantly surprised at how downright funny it was. Pete's spoiler aside, they also have several laugh out loud characters. I loved the banter between John's Turturro and Voight.

But most of all I loved this movie because it reconnected me directly with my childhood. Nine years old, bashing toys together and a touch later on, discovering the comics which against all odds gave the characters heart.

I think that's the secret of the film and why it works so well. Whenever they had robot on robot action, Bay obviously choreographed it as if he was nine years old with Optimus in one hand, Megatron in the other, making silly voices and explosion noises, saying cheesy lines while enthusiastically bashing them together. Or just whirling a car round and round his living room carpet making vroom-vroom sounds! Simple, but it works, because that's what kids do and they believed in it, wholeheartedly. No need to be clever, just bash 'em together!

And it doesn't hurt to add other base attractions that your average nine year old hasn't paid much attention to. Big guns, and a girl with a really nice arse!

Dare I say it? Yes, I dare. BRING ON THE ZOIDS!!!