slick advertising for the armed services aimed at young boys

Rating: 5/10 (9 July 2007)

This is a very well produced action movie with good acting, outstanding CGI and special effects and an ear numbing soundtrack. There are several wonderful jokes slipped in, my favorite being the clip during the credits when Sam's mom expresses her confidence in the government's dependability to warn us, "to duck and cover." The movie is careful to avoid any language which could be considered offensive, not even a "damn." The only sex is a scene that reminded me a lot of many car commercials aimed at the NASCAR crowd. We get to see a little "bathroom humor" when the dog pees on a robot and a robot pees on an unpleasant government official. Perfect fit for 12-16 year old boy target audience. After those positives, the reader might wonder at my low rating. The movie gets all five points I give it for what I've written above. It should get a negative five for everything else about it. Transformers is no longer an extended advertisement for the Hasboro toys of the same name. This version is a slick commercial for the military packaged precisely for the young teen boys who will watch it. Scenes in the movie are exact copies of ads for the Army, Marines, Reserves and National Guard. All the army guys are cool, quick, smart, heroic and supported by honest, hard-working, highly-trained and courageous backups. They pack LOTS of firepower and even when an entire base is wiped out by a single Discepticon there is NO BLOOD, NO WOUNDED, NOBODY SCREAMING IN PAIN. This is the worst kind of violence there is. The movie glorifies blasting away at things and NEVER shows the results. Further, the soldiers are good buddies, talk to their wives and kids on the internet and seem to be having a great time even when they are getting their a___es shot off. Reviewers often comment on the product placement that takes place in movies. The military had better have paid these producers a significant fee for this two-hour-long advertisement for how great it is to be an "army man." If you can avoid taking your boy to this movie, do so. If not, take a minute to interject a little reality therapy. The US invasion of Iraq is costing our country a huge price in young men and women. It is immoral and unethical to sell such misguided policy with a slick movie based on little kid's toys.