We went to see Transformers last night. We purposely waited a few weeks since it’s opening to avoid the crouds. With all the hype that preceeded the opening, I was a bit surprised that I haven’t heard anything about it since it opened. Last night I found out why.
My first question for anyone who is still planning on seeing this is… is 23 minutes of over-the-top action and eye-candy worth 2 hours of being bored to tears? If the answer is no, then you should skip Transformers.
I think I went to this movie with reasonable expectations. I assumed the story wouldn’t be much to speak of, but it would be an action-packed, visually stunning ride. I would have been correct… if we were running so late that we missed the first 2 hours of the movie.
Let me break down the movie a little to give you an idea of what to expect. In the first hour there are a couple of good scenes, but for the most part nothing all that exciting, or of any relavance happens. At about one hour and fifteen minutes in, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots finally make an appearance. They spend 15 minutes on Autobot introductions, and then another 15 minutes hanging out in the main characters back yard in a scene that is stricktly comic-relief. After that we get a 15 minute scene that sets the stage for the finale. At this point we’re almost 2 hours into the movie, and not much has happened. I’m so bored that I’m ready to leave. Finally, Megatron and the other Decepticons are introduced, and the action begins. The remaining 23 minutes of the movie are pretty cool, visually speaking.
I won’t even bother telling you about the many side-stories that were thrown in for no good reason, like the Chihuahua with a cast on it’s leg, or the mandatory hot, young, female “hacker” that doesn’t actually do anything important.
So, I give transformers 1.5 stars. Keep in mind you get 1 star just for going through the trouble of making a movie.
Hey Paul, nice to see you back to blogging regularly. Enjoy the new design too.
I have to say I totally disagree with you. I would give Transformers a 4.5 or a 5 star perfect rating.
I thought it was so good, that upon seeing it, I went to dinner across the street from the theater and immediately got back in line and saw it again 2 hours after I saw it the first time. Actually, I went on to see it 2 more times after that.
Why would I give it such a high score? First and foremost I would say that unlike any of the other big films to come out this summer, this one didn’t disappoint me at all. Spiderman, Pirates, Shrek, Die Hard 4, were all greatly disappointing. I even fell asleep during Shrek, and that movie is only 85 minutes or something ridiculous.
I thought Transformers was a great, action packed movie, with very good humor to keep the film moving during the nonaction scenes. The action and CG, I believe, are going to help to define the state of filmmaking the way that Jurassic Park did for the 90s and Alien did for the 80s.
That Shia LaBouf kid is going to be a very compelling actor I think. Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime was nothing short of genius on the part of Bay to listen to his fans. And lastly, the hot girl certainly did not hurt.
Was it brain candy? No, not at all, but it was visually stunning and the most fun summer movie escape I have had in a very, very long time.
Also, for completeness sake, I just want to point out that I wasn’t really a transformers fan going in either (They are a few years too old for me. I’m of the Ninja Turtle generation).
At any rate, I’m sorry that you were so bored to tears. I thought it was fantastic, and probably the best movie I’d seen all summer, as far as summer blockbusters go.
I’m torn on this one. I thought it was way too long. Even the action sequence at the end could’ve used a lot of trimming. It looked like they said, “Hey, we’ve still got $20 million left in the CG budget. Let’s add another 10 minutes of bots breaking buildings!” On the other hand, I thought the acting was better then could be expected for a summer explosions movie. And mindless fun and explosions are really what we are paying for, which were delivered in spades. Also, as sad as this may be, I would’ve paid the price of admission to watch Rachel Fox for 2 hours.