Anyway, first a little bit of a preface. For one thing, I am in no way a huge transformers fan. I know Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream and Bumblebee, but that's really about it. As a kid, I watched Beast Wars more than G-1 , and I never really clicked with the Transformers scene.
Then there's my cousin Jake. He's a bit younger than I am but he is a huge Transformers fan. He collects the toys, he watched every show, and he collects the comics that come out every now and again. He has posters of Ironhide and Jazz, bots that I had never even heard of. He's a hardcore Trans-fan, while I'm just some schmoe who knew that they existed. We decided to see the movie together, not react or anything, and see, at the end, what each person liked and disliked. So this is my review, and I'll stick his opions at the end.
The acting, that's a great place to start things. First let me say that I like Shia Labeouf. I mean, he's a good actor, he's funny, and for some reason he's a guy people love to hate. But he just...blew me away in this movie. The acting is golden. All of the humans, except a few characters are just...nailed perfect. I was really happy with Shia, the main girl, and all the soldiers, who i thought were just spot on with their portrayal. I didn't like the Sector 7 guy; he was pretty...weird. Was he good, was he bad, it's not really revealed during the movie, and I thought that just made things confusing. Plus, I thought some of the character development was a little bit tacked on and felt unnecessary (the girl having a police record, for example). And there were a few character who I thought didn't really serve a purpose, like Anthony Anderson. I realize they need a person to know that the Decepticons were coming, but the fact that they poured 30 minutes into devolving a character who's sole purpose was to provide comedy and a bit of a warning seemed like a bit of a waste.
The Transformers. All of the Autobots were great. I liked the new designs, I liked the way that they spoke, and I just liked them; they were really...good in their design. The Decepticons were a bit underused and underplayed, but the ones that were shown I liked a lot. I was glad to see Starscream, who was done right, I thought Megatron was wonderful, and even little Frenzy wasn't that bad. The rest of them, though, were a bit weak on the characterization side. I couldn't even tell you most of the names of the Decepticons. Also, Ratchet, the Search and Rescue Autobot was pretty weak too. He's the only Autobot I didn't like, which shows you how good the others were handled.
The story was great, and I was really wrapped up in it. it was like Fantastic Four; I knew how long it was, but it seemed to go quicker than it was. That's good; the movie moved very quickly, and the pacing was only broken one or two times. Plus, I was surprised at how many times I laughed out loud. It was honestly funny.
What didn't I like? Well, I won't lie, it was a campy film. A lot of the shots, dialog and jokes were only funny in a "let go of the seriousness of it all" kind of a way. I mean, if you went in there expecting a masterpiece on the scale of Citizen Kane or Gone with the Wind, well, you're going to be sorely disappointed. But if you go there with some friends ready to see GIANT ROBOTS BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF EACH-OTHER, prepared to be in love.
So my final verdict? I won't lie, it could have been better, but...for what it was, I really liked it. Will i go see it again? I doubt it...will I get it on DVD? Probably....do I recommend it? Yes, if you can enjoy a film that's about fighting giant transforming robots. My score? an 8/10. It's worth seeing it for the CGI effects alone.
Oh, and Jake, my cousin? He hated it. Claimed it ruined his childhood and it was terible compared to G1 carttons. And that's the people who hate this movie; G1 freaks and Bay-haters.
I liked it.
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