Mindless entertainment

Rating: 7/10 (17 October 2007)

I'm always a bit on the defensive when it comes to making movies about things i remember from my childhood. Mostly i guess because my memories are probably not that accurate, and in the case of "Transformers" i was also mostly interested in the toys and not so much the comics. What made me watch this was mostly the fact that a lot of things were actually changed from the "old" Transformers. Especially the look was completely different, and i guess more adapted to live action as opposed to the cartoon-look.
And what did i think? Well, after watching this movie i was happy i did. I have always been a bit of a sucker when it comes to really nice-looking movies, and this is definitely one of those. It's no surprise though since it's Bruckheimer behind the wheel. He might be about as subtle as an earthquake, but he does deliver the goods when it comes to high-octane action. And it doesn't get much more high-octane than huge robots fighting it out in the middle of a city. Also Bruckheimer has started to get his stuff together now. Previously i thought he was probably the worst budget-waster in Hollywood. And i guess in a way it's true, but he still seems to get a lot more out of his money today than a few years ago. The 150 million dollars they sunk into "Tranformers" gave them what is arguably the best special effects i have ever seen in a movie. And as far as blowing money goes, that is a decent deal.
And what about the rest of the movie? Well, i guess that is where you might object. Aside from the effects there isn't much of a movie left. There is a little love story here which is cute in a "80's high-school-movie"-way, but other than that it's mostly just action all the way. And lousy comedy. That was my main complaint with this movie actually, the lousy comedy. There is in particular one scene that shames the whole movie. It's the lowest form of silly comedy with huge robots reduced to clowns. A real mood-breaker to say the least. Also one of the robots has clear Jar-Jar Binks-tendencies with silly noises and moves.
In the end though this movie is all about the robots, huge ones. They fight, they transform and they talk and scream with deep voices. There are a few truly huge scenes here, not least the battle scenes in the desert in the beginning of the movie. I would have liked more time with Starscream and a deeper story, perhaps based more on the comic. But in the end this is a huge blockbuster the way one of those are supposed to be. And as long as you don't think too hard about it, it's mindless entertainment at one of it's best.
7/10.