Cinematic escapism that still holds up

Rating: 7/10 (18 September 2017)

The level of anticipation I had as a kid for Michael Bay's first live action Transformers movie is yet to be rivaled. Ever since the first trailer dropped, the first poster, the first images, all that went through my little head was a feeling of wondrous excitement "it just looks sooo real". By the time the film came out, you bet whatever you want that I went to see it immediately. Coming out of it, I thought I'd just experienced the best film ever made, no joking. Oh, the times.
Over time, the way we regard and evaluate summer blockbusters has evolved. We started to get more critical, and with the subsequent boom of the online community, it was easier for us to manifest our likes and dislikes with each film through various debates and exchanges with other film buffs. Critics' opinions also became more popular. All of these changes were for the best, as suddenly we started to get higher quality pictures that delighted, wowed, and enchanted moviegoers in far more ways than just cinematic escapism.
Transformers was a product of a far simpler time. By the time it came out, audiences only cared about the action, the spectacle, the visual splendor of it all. People never experienced such levels of high octane action and explosive set pieces before, and Michael Bay sure had a hit in his hands. The visual effects were revolutionary for the time (and still hold up after a decade), the soundtrack by Linkin Park was, and still is, iconic, and even though the story itself was convoluted, the acting ranging from alright to downright cheesy, and the product placement being everything-but-subtle, it was all forgiven because of the undeniable and irresistible sense of fun the movie had to offer. Seeing fan favorite characters like Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Megatron, Starscream, among others, engage in battle while buildings are being destroyed, and the ground cracking wide open with explosions, was a novelty, and a dream come true for fans of the original animated series.
Michael Bay has a very skilled eye when it comes to visuals, and this movie is a prime example of that. Every time a Transformer appears on screen, it feels grandiose, cinematography is breathtaking and feels involving, soundtrack, as already stated, is iconic and even the musical score was outstanding. However, when judging in terms of storytelling, editing, and narrative flow, the film shows its true fallacies. The amount of subplots is unnecessarily big. We have Sam dealing with college, him trying to impress Mickeyla, the Autobot vs Decepticon war, the Cube, the government conspiracies, the hackers.. there's a lot to cover, and thus the film comes off as sloppy.
Shia LaBeouf is fine, Megan Fox may not be a "good" actress, but she's far better here than she is in most recent productions she starred in (TMNT). John Turturro is hit or miss as the comic relief character, and the least said about Sam's parents the better. The real standouts are the voice acting talents, most notably Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime. His voice is now a trademark of the character, that's how good he is.
"Transformers" is a good example of pure cinematic escapism done properly. The film may not be perfect, with some average acting, product-placement galore, and over complicated narrative threads, but it is all compensated by the film's sense of wonder. The movie knows its dumb, and isn't ashamed in celebrating how dumb it is. The result? An entertainingly dumb summer blockbuster that knows how to have fun. If the film is able to embrace its cheesiness and deliver some glorious spectacle along the way, why should I be ashamed to admit I love the film (flaws and all)?