Transformers (2007)

Taking the story of a popular toy line and turning what was formerly just a cartoon series into a live-action movie is a bold proposition. For as long as I can remember, there was always interest in bringing the Transformers to the big screen, but the logistics of doing so often caused much trepidation on the part of the studios and filmmakers. This always led to the abandonment of the project. Always, that is, until Michael Bay came along.

Michael Bay’s résumé is quite bi-polar. He has had several smashing financial successes (Armageddon, The Rock) and at least one box office bomb (The Island). Even when he’s had financial success, the quality of his movies have been suspect (both Armageddon and Pearl Harbor were both panned by critics and nominated for Worst Picture at their respective Razzie Awards). So while making money off of a live-action Transformers film was a foregone conclusion, many of us wondered if it would be any good.

The answer is a resounding YES! Transformers brings all the explosive, noisy fun you were hoping for and wraps it up with a bow of fantastic special effects. And then there’s more! I was very surprised and impressed by how seriously the story was treated without going overboard into melodrama. You really do get a sense that the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Shia LaBeouf leaves no doubts about it- he has matured into a real actor and has broken away from the kiddie stuff that got him into the business. He more than convincingly portrays a less-than-popular high school student trying to make sense of the life and death struggle between two warring races of alien robots, the Autobots and the Decepticons.

Most of the writing is very sharp and surprisingly dramatic. LaBeouf’s character (Sam Witwicky) buys a car that turns out to be an Autobot (the good guys). At first it just seems like the car is full of quirks, but when the Decepticons (the bad guys) attack him, the information starts to roll out. Witwicky’s grandfather discovered the Decpticon leader, Megatron, frozen in the ice of the Arctic Circle. Not all the systems were shut down though, as Megatron etched the coordinates to a powerful energy source onto the man’s glasses.

The glasses are now in the hands of Sam and posting them on eBay almost literally brings the battle to his front door. The energy source they both seek is the All-Spark. It is so powerful that it can be wielded for creative or destructive purposes. The Autobots are for the former; the Decipticons, the latter.

There are plenty of battle scenes, as the Decepticons clash with both humans and Autobots, causing much drama, suspense and destruction. Most of these action sequences involve the Transformers shifting from the vehicular forms into full-fledged robots, which is almost always seamless and breathtaking. For much of the film, these transforming sequences do not look fake. The Transformers really look like they exist side by side with their human counterparts.

I really only have a few quibbles with this otherwise solid film. First, the acting and writing goes over the top when the Sector 7 folks show up. John Turturro is way out of line and I honestly thought he was a Decipticon hologram. Frankly, I wish he would have been.

Also, while the transforming sequences were spectacular to look at, I took issue with the size and weight that these Transformers possess when they are in the robot forms. They are very tall and appear to weigh a lot, as running and slamming into things creates a lot of damage to the ground and buildings. Maybe they could have done a bit more comparable physics research but this is mostly excusable.

The All-Spark is almost a MacGuffin in that it motivates the Transformers to do what they do and is the central item that the conflict occurs over. But, it appears very late in the film and is gone so quickly that it almost feels anticlimactic. Then again, this is the toy/cartoon resolution that I should have been expecting, so it too is excusable.

My final quibble is with the music. Much of the orchestral music is beautiful and dramatic and works very well to compliment the action. But sometimes during battle sequences, the filmmakers ditch the dramatic score and throw in modern rock tunes. To be fair, this decision helps keep the film mindful of its core audience (kids, teens and kids at heart), but it did pull me out of it just a tad.

All in all, this was a very impressive film. So many things could have been overdone or underdone, but just about everything was hit just right. The story was treated seriously enough for adults to enjoy but kept fun enough to keep the younger crowd on the edge of their seats. Awesome effects, dizzying camera work and sharp acting make Transformers something to remember.

This isn’t just a popcorn pleaser. If you’ve still got a kid somewhere inside you, check this one out.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

The Fast and the Furious (1955)

You may be asking yourself, “Didn’t he already write a review for this movie?” The answer to that question is yes. And no. I wrote a review for the 2001 street racing film of the same name. This film titled The Fast and the Furious is the original. The recent movie just bought the rights to use the name and is totally unrelated to this relatively decent thriller.

John Ireland stars as Frank Webster, a man who recently broke out of jail while serving time for a murder he didn’t commit. At a small-town gas station and road stop, Webster takes a young woman (Connie) and her sports car hostage. With the police in pursuit, they enter the car in a border-crossing rally race that will allow him to get away to Mexico.

Along the way sparks fly between Webster and Connie. She continually tries to escape towards the beginning and does her best to irritate him. By the end of the film they share a mutual romantic interest in each other. They dodge the police, some of Connie’s suspicious friends at the rally race, and other cars during his frantic race for freedom.

While The Fast and the Furious was made as a B-movie, it does have a few merits to speak of. The filming of the race sequences is done quite well and involves some very good stunt driving. The action is tense and keeps you on the edge of your seat as well.

Otherwise, the script is weak (as can be expected from a B-movie) and the acting is a little over-the-top sometimes, but it all adds up to a pleasant 70 minutes in front of the TV screen. The filmmakers weren’t trying to win any Oscars here and they pull off just about all they set out to do.

There is no comparison between The Fast and the Furious and the 2001 film of the same name. This film is by far better, but still nothing too special. Some moviegoers will recognize many of the films elements from the 1994 film The Chase, which is strikingly similar, but not a true remake since The Fast and the Furious was released on the B-market and never made any serious Hollywood rotation.

All in all, a decent little adventure film.

RATING: 3.25 out of 5

Meet the Parents (2000)

Who would have ever thought Robert De Niro could leave you in stitches and gasping for air? Well, we know he can do that physically, especially given his filmography, but Meet the Parents shows a side of De Niro that very few could have expected to see. The man knows comedy and is one of the driving forces behind the success of this film.

Ben Stiller plays Gaylord “Greg” Focker, a semi-socially awkward male nurse. Teri Polo, a relative unknown at the time, plays Greg’s girlfriend Pam Byrnes. Greg has plans to propose to Pam in a very unique way but Pam gets a phone call from her sister who just got engaged. While listening to Pam’s side of the conversation, Greg overhears Pam say that it was a good thing her sister’s fiancé asked their father for permission first. Greg takes note and abandons his proposal plans until after their upcoming weekend at the Byrnes’ household.

Ironically, this will be the first time Greg has ever met Pam’s parents, so first impressions are a must. Naturally, everything goes wrong. After losing his luggage (and the ring) due to airline incompetence, Greg endures a series of awkward encounters with Pam’s family, her sister’s future in-laws, her ex-boyfriend and even the family cat.

Greg bumbles and fumbles his way through the weekend trying to impress Pam’s stern father. While he is said to be a florist, Jack Byrnes is really a retired CIA operative and deadly serious about everything he does. De Niro’s dead-on approach makes the character perfectly balanced between being kind of creepy and hilariously over the top. Stiller’s trademark goofiness shines through as well, especially in the scenes where his goofiness is forced to be restrained, heightening the awkwardness. Whether it was a decision made by the actors or the director, it was a wise choice.

The humor in Meet the Parents is mostly harmless. While some risqué subjects and gags are carried out, they are done with an innocence about them that modern gross-out comedies can’t quite grasp. Instead of being outright offensive, Meet the Parents loosens viewers up with a string of good jokes and gags and then slips in something otherwise shocking. Instead of going for all-out knee-jerkers, the film aims for hearty chuckles with a dash of uproarious laughter if the audience is willing.

The concept of Meet the Parents adds weight to the humor. Meeting a significant other’s parents for the first time is almost always a nervous time. The film compounds the pressure by having Greg asking permission to marry Pam, another nerve-wracking situation. All this pressure is something many people can relate to, which is an asset to any film and especially to comedies.

With a great majority of audiences knowing what it’s like to meet important new people, a connection is made between the characters and the viewers. We end up embracing these strangers on screen and welcome them into our hearts and minds as friends. We end up cheering for them and with them and we also groan and sympathize when things go awry yet again. In the end, we all get the absurd triumph we’re expecting, but it doesn’t seem obvious to us. It’s a hard fought victory for our team and we leave the theater or living room we watch the film in with a smile on our faces.

While Meet the Parents is not a tour de force of funny, it provides for plenty of laughs and makes for a darn good time at the movies. It is definitely worth seeing.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5