An improbable but compelling science fiction fantasy thriller

Rating: 9/10 (18 July 2007)

"Armageddon" director Michael Bay blends live-action human heroics seamlessly with top-notch, computer-generated images of huge extraterrestrial robots battling for supremacy of the Earth in his new movie "Transformers" (*** out of ****), an improbable but compelling science fiction fantasy thriller about good versus evil robots. Essentially, this spectacular, often amusing, and sometimes inventive, $150-million dollar hokum amounts to a glossy cinematic commercial for toy giant Hasbro. Like the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Transformers" materialized first in the early 1980s as a line of toys. Later, the profitable Hasbro figurines graduated to the small screen in an animated television series. Since then, fifteen "Transformers" TV series have been appeared in the U.S., Canada, and Japan. In 1986, these shape-shifting robots showed up in their own animated theatrical length feature appropriately entitled "Transformers: The Movie." Finally, these wrestling space alien robots have reached the big screen in a larger-than-life, two-and-a-half-hour plus summer extravaganza with "I, Robot" star Shia LaBeouf. "Mission Impossible 3" scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, along with director Bay, have given the mythological origins of "Transformers" a makeover of sorts. Of course, anytime Hollywood buys a franchise, either toy or otherwise, the studios inevitably make alterations. Meanwhile, seasoned sci-fi movie fans will spot the obvious homages to Steven Spielberg movies, like "E.T." and those of Spielberg collaborator Joe Dante.
"Transformers" erupts with action and rarely bogs down during its mammoth 144 minute running time. A sinister U.S. military helicopter makes an unauthorized landing at an Army base in the Middle East. When the occupants fail to identify themselves, U.S. soldiers unleash a withering barrage of gunfire. Suddenly, the helicopter rears up, transforms itself into a towering two-legged alien monster and rampages through the base. While this gigantic robots is eradicating every soul in sight in "Independence Day" style, a smaller robot pops out and hacks into the base's Pentagon computers. A group of soldiers, among them Capt. Lennox (Josh Duhamel of "Turistas") and Sgt. Epps (Tyrese Gibson of "2 Fast 2 Furious"), survive this slaughter and eventually contact Secretary of War Joe Keller (Jon Voight of "Anaconda") who orchestrates an across-the-board defense. Keller assembles the best hackers in the world to crack the alien's code. The opening scene and subsequent scenes that alternate between the Army and the hackers resemble something out of serious Ridley Scott movie like the R-rated "Black Hawk Down." Clearly, as big, dumb, and ear shattering as "Transformers" is, Bay has spared nothing to make it look like the jaw-dropping event of the summer.
No sooner has "Transformers" delivered its white-knuckled, off-the-Richter-scale opening action gambit than Bay shifts from a serious style Ridley Scott saga into a warm-hearted but sardonic Joe Dante movie. Dante directed "Gremlins," "Gremlins 2," "Explorers," and "Small Soldiers." Dante's sci-fi comedies rely on a near teen or teenaged hero who has problems impressing the opposite sex. Enter Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf of "Disturbia"), a nerdy eleven grader who gets no respect. He is keyed up about the prospect of getting his first set of wheels. This rite of passage occurs on Bobby Bolivia's used car lot where Bobby (Bernie Mac of "Ocean's Thirteen") sells Sam's father Ron (Kevin Dunn of "Small Soldiers") a battered yellow Camaro for $5-thousand dollars. Bobby is a heck of a car dealer when you consider that the Camaro drove itself onto his lot. Anyway, the Camaro becomes a babe magnet for Sam, and high school bombshell Mikaela Banes (Tennessee-native Meagan Fox) starts hanging out with our hero. Meanwhile, Sam learns that his Camaro possesses a mind of its own. One night his Chervolet cranks itself up and careens off without warning. Sam straddles his bicycle and pedals after his car in furious pursuit. When he catches up with his Camaro, he discovers that it evidently had abducted itself instead being stolen as Sam had feared. Not surprisingly, Sam freaks out when his Camaro turns into a giant robot and speaks to him.
Basically, in "Transformers," two types of robots have come to Planet Earth to search for a mysterious cube. The good robots are the Autobots, and they include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet. Sam's Camaro transforms itself into Bumblebee. Meanwhile, the evil robots are the Decepticons, and they consist of Megatron, Starscream, Blackout, Brawl, Barricade, Frenzy, Bonecrusher, and Scorponok. The Autobots and the Decepticons both know about Sam's scientific ancestor who met Megatron initially before the villainous robot encountered some difficulty of its own. Suffice to say that Sam has something very important that both robot armies need. The Autobots are willing to cooperate with humans, but Decepticons want to destroy them. Predictably, the Autobots team up with mankind to fight the Decepticons. Los Angeles becomes the arena for a giant smack down wrestling match between these awesome space aliens.
Anybody that has seen either the "Transformers" TV series or owned the Hasbro figurines may complain about the liberties that Bay and his writers have taken with the franchise. For example, the scene at Hoover Dam and the history behind the dam played no part in the original "Transformers." Happily, Peter Cullen, who provided the voice for Optimus Prime in the TV series, reprises his role, while "The Matrix's" Hugo Weaving voices Megatron. Aside from a couple of loony, over-the-top performances by Jon Voight as the Defense Secretary and John Turturro as a crazy government agent, everybody else plays it fairly straightforward. George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic special effects company has furnished some of the best CGI graphics ever seen on the big-screen. Just watching the "Transformers" do their thing is worth the price of admission. Mind you, it's kid's stuff, but it doesn't look like kid's stuff. Altogether, this testosterone-fueled fantasy is ideal summer entertainment for those who want to relive their "Transformers" memories or for sci-fi fans that want to see computer-generated animation ascend to the next level.