Apart From a Few Minor Hiccups, This is one film of the times

Rating: 10/10 (28 June 2007)

Now, before I rave on about this movie, I will say that I never had watched the cartoon series of Transformers and had little idea of what to expect. I'd heard the hype but was sceptical with the knowledge that Hollywood hype is nothing to write home about. A few examples include Spiderman 3, The 90's Batman movies, Smoking Aces, Hannibal and almost every sequel of the last ten years that has followed up the original title that was a revolutionary for its time (The Matrix anybody?)
Besides the flawless CGI and visual effects, that have superseded anything of my generation and the generation before it, this movie had several assets that made the movie an experience to behold. Bay and Spielberg were very clever on the selection table with a cast, which may be established within the industry (Las Vegas, Disturbia and anything Jon Voight has done) they chose people who have an ability to act and delivery in a unique fashion and an effective way, over the usual Hollywood big names. The dialogue, which I expected to be filled with one liners and cheesy tyrades from key characters was surprisingly fresh and witty and as I found in the cinema I watched it in, received laughter and found relevance. This is explicitly clear in the way the script takes a ridiculous scene or notion (which is bound to happen in a Transformer film) and made fun of itself and took your mind off the situation with its humour.
Also the change of tone within the script brought action, humour and drama, intertwining all these separate genres into a script that captures your imagination and drags you through these separate emotions. The score was fitting, the transformers themselves were portrayed stunningly and in a modern sense, without destroying the character of the different transformers in this transition. In other words, the only problem that I could really find with the movie besides continuations and goofs which are a given, was the voice of Megatron. Don't get me wrong Hugo Weaving was fitting for the role, but I simply felt that they hid his voice under the disguise of the former voice portrayed in the series. I thought a more Matrix style voice (i.e Agent Smith) would subtly create a more evil formation of Megatron but nonetheless the voice was good at worst. The build up to the appearance of all the Transfomers was captivating in itself.
I never thought I'd hear myself rave about such a film, but the fact that I decided to finally post a review about a movie shows the effect this film can have on even the most cynical and sceptical. In other words, give it a go, forget the hype and enjoy the moment, cause trust me...the hype doesn't get lost in the movie and the film leaves itself open for more to come with a story that gives the basics without giving too much away.
CPF