don't believe the hate!

Rating: 9/10 (3 July 2011)

there is one simple reason in my opinion for all the hate generated over an over-the-top action film about KID'S TOYS...(cheez, I mean).....which I will get to soon. But it's NOT, repeat, NOT any of the following, although they are contributing factors. It's not Michael Bay hate, although there is an element of jealousy in the professional movie world, which I say is not the cause, because this is the case with almost every successful action picture. There's always a feeling that the character-driven drama is somehow more worthy or more artistic. It's not Megan Fox fans, if there are any still, dissing the picture out of loyalty, nor do those purist fan-boys account for the raw bile being spewed, very wrongly, about this near perfect summer movie. No, and I will not go on with what it's not. I read a review here from someone from the UK who states he's not an American, which I think summarizes it. It's posted here on this site, so if I misquote, you can check me. The reviewer didn't think much of the scene where Abraham Lincoln's statue is destroyed. But this is an example of where the movie succeeds and makes me, and I think the audience it is aimed at, a fan. I didn't consider myself a Michael Bay fan, thought Armageddon was one of the silliest and worst movies ever made. Hard as it may be to believe this 3rd installment of the Tranformers franchise has made me rethink that opinion. I don't go to blockbusters, as a general rule. I didn't see ET for many years, just as a resistance to all the hype. Conversely, especially now, when important critics line up in a mob to stone a movie and/or its maker, I go to learn why. I'm not a Transformers fan, the TV show was one of the most shameless cartoon marketing ploys, but my kids liked it and it wasn't like some other drivel, it seemed to have some basis in right versus wrong, and few if any unsavory elements, so I basically put up with it, without thinking of it much. I didn't like or hate the first movie, the second seemed worse and I basically agreed with the criticism, too loud, too dark (not in theme, hard to see), confusing battle scenes, story holes really so big the story wasn't even on Saturday cartoon level. When I saw so many saying the same things, I prepared myself for the worst.
To repeat the title of this review for emphasis, Don't Believe the LIE! Michael Bay and his crew obviously listened to any valid criticism leveled against 'Fallen', most of the battle scenes take place in daylight, many are slowed down and simply glorious in the detail and realism of the CGI effects. (Some effects not related to robots are ridiculously poor, more later.) At least in the theater I saw it in, noise levels were the best I've seen in years. I have pretty sensitive ears, and hate going to a movie where the sound is like a rock concert. The story is just complicated enough to engage interest, without adding extraneous detail or annoying subplots. Remember, especially all of those reviewers here, who seem to want Star Trek style consistency and detail from a movie based on a Saturday morning cartoon, designed to sell pre-teens toys. C'mon, people! So why the hate? I am sorry to say, it's painfully obvious. The movie has the audacity to be....GASP....Pro-American! (shudder) Yes, a summer movie, made in the USA, by Americans, released near the national birthday anniversary of July 4th, shows a pro US bias! How dare they! and it had Bill Oreilly, instead of Chris Matthews, John Malkovich instead of Sean Penn, flags wave, echoes of September 11th in the destruction of Chicago. And the really unforgivable sin, it finally puts the Communist slogan, used to great effect in other sci-fi films, in the mouth of a villain. I hate to bring politics to this, but the conclusion is inescapable. I saw the film with a very eclectic crowd, trying to escape crushing heat, in a nearly-closed mall on the Saturday of the holiday weekend. Everyone stood up and applauded even cheered at the end. How long has it been since that has happened? My 14 year old son saw it on opening day, in a different city, different demographics, and said the same thing happened. Now, about those poor effects. There are scenes showing 'dead presidents' related to the moon conspiracy subplot, which are shamefully poorly done. JFK looks like a figure from Disney's presidential robot exhibit, they show Nixon on a TV screen with the real kinescope of an appearance during the moonshot, and an actor in the same frame, the actor doesn't look as much like Nixon as Anthony Hopkins did. The movie admittedly is too long, I think because of trying to please others by adding material to make the story less disjointed than part 2, but it isn't insufferably so. I got a little restless just before the climactic battle, but some judicious cuts of the parent's roles and the set-up scenes with 'McDreamy' to show him in a good light before the surprise would have solved this minor problem. Go, with family if possible, this weekend if possible, and be inspired, as silly and puerile as it seems, but some goofy toy robots, some forgettable jokes, and some kick-ass, drop-dead gorgeous, and heartbeat-racing action, with a definite and unapologetic American pride.