I'm almost done with my thesis. So almost-done, in fact, that I watched the Transformers movie yesterday. I think there may be spoilers in the following post, although there's really nothing new about the storyline.
Wow. I was kind of expecting it to suck. I really was. But while there were loose threads galore and some of the acting was a bit overdone, I thought (but then how else are you supposed react to giant robots from outer space?), it really was ol' Optimus and the gang. Sure he wasn't a MAC truck like in the cartoons (all the cars are General Motors models) and had an unnecessarily bright paint job, but the voice was him and it gave me goosebumps just like it used to back when I was five years old.
I love this movie. Not because it's a particularly great story since we've heard it all before, but because, in a way, it was like going to see your favorite band play. You're not going there to get to know their music but because you already know it and them and now you want to see them up close, doing what they do. I'll admit I teared up a bit when the Autobots appeared and when Bumble Bee first transformed and when Jazz died and when Ironhide wanted to kill that stupid chihuahua and when Bumble Bee kept fighting and when they did the whole motorcade sequence on the way to the big battle - every couple of minutes, in short. The humans were ok too, although you really shouldn't put John Turturro in a scene with nobodies because he steals it completely. You know the other actors are there, and that you're supposed to be on their side, but he's such a presence that it's hard to remember all that. The man could do a movie entirely by himself and I'll bet nobody would notice that there weren't any other actors there with him.
I'll probably go back to see it a few times since I want to see them again ('them' being the Autobots, although I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Starscream as well. I seem to remember him helping out the 'bots at some point so he's a borderline baddie.). The action sequences are really well done and I love that the noise they made when they transformed in the cartoon is still there, even if it's been updated a bit. Yep, this was totally a rollercoaster ride down memory lane, but with more ups than downs, really.
Wow. I was kind of expecting it to suck. I really was. But while there were loose threads galore and some of the acting was a bit overdone, I thought (but then how else are you supposed react to giant robots from outer space?), it really was ol' Optimus and the gang. Sure he wasn't a MAC truck like in the cartoons (all the cars are General Motors models) and had an unnecessarily bright paint job, but the voice was him and it gave me goosebumps just like it used to back when I was five years old.
I love this movie. Not because it's a particularly great story since we've heard it all before, but because, in a way, it was like going to see your favorite band play. You're not going there to get to know their music but because you already know it and them and now you want to see them up close, doing what they do. I'll admit I teared up a bit when the Autobots appeared and when Bumble Bee first transformed and when Jazz died and when Ironhide wanted to kill that stupid chihuahua and when Bumble Bee kept fighting and when they did the whole motorcade sequence on the way to the big battle - every couple of minutes, in short. The humans were ok too, although you really shouldn't put John Turturro in a scene with nobodies because he steals it completely. You know the other actors are there, and that you're supposed to be on their side, but he's such a presence that it's hard to remember all that. The man could do a movie entirely by himself and I'll bet nobody would notice that there weren't any other actors there with him.
I'll probably go back to see it a few times since I want to see them again ('them' being the Autobots, although I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Starscream as well. I seem to remember him helping out the 'bots at some point so he's a borderline baddie.). The action sequences are really well done and I love that the noise they made when they transformed in the cartoon is still there, even if it's been updated a bit. Yep, this was totally a rollercoaster ride down memory lane, but with more ups than downs, really.