Transformers: First impressions

I had the chance to catch an early screening of Transformers yesterday. Here is my first impressions.

- Think of it as a theme ride in Disneyland.
- Very funny at times.
- Shia LaBeouf does a great job.
- Messy story at times and to much dialog to explain plot lines.
- VERY impressive special effects.
- A tad long but not TOO long.

Of the 2007 summer effects movies Die Hard is still number one but this one sneaks in on a second place above films like the disappointing Spider-man 3.

This is mediocre news! |=

I saw it last night and must say that after seeing the animated movie in the theaters 21 years ago and thinking wouldn't it be cool if they made a live action Transformers movie? 21 years was worth the wait. My friend, his son and I went last night at a special sneak peak. From beginning to end, it was one thrill after another. The theater resounded with cheers and claps the first being the brawl between Bumblebee and Barricade to when Optimus Prime appeared. This is one I will be seeing again!

Autobots, transform and roll out!

Don't get your hopes up just yet. RT has counted up to 92 reviews so far and is at 60%, in a grade level scale, this ranks as a D. Even their "Cream of the Crop" critics tally up to 69%, which is no better than a D+. I'm sure there will be more reviews to come in through July 3rd & 4th, and in my experience, the percentage rating is bound to drop. If you ask me, it just sounds like another mediocre summer film that can wait for DVD.

Its at times like these that I am very thankful that I am not encumbered by things like plot, story, mixing, editing etc etc.

I am a proud fast food movie enjoy-er. Heck Armageddon and The Fifth Element are still two of my favorite movies hahaa. Can go to a movie and simply enjoy a lot of cheesy action, special effects and a great soundtrack without letting a few plot messes ruin the experience for me.

I pity the refined viewer hahaa. I look forward to seeing it.

Cheers,

Richard

If you want to see a cool flick, go see Ratatouille. It's the only movie I can fully recommend.
Evan Almighty was fun as well, but I can't recommend it to everyone.

It's a summer movie. It explodes. It entertains. It looks DAMN good.

Does it make total sense 100% of the time? Not really. Does it really matter? Nope. We're not going to see Transformers in order to get a life lesson we're in it for the fun. Good enough for me.

Full review coming soon. :)

My wife and I really liked this movie. Definitely moreso I b/c it's in my movie tastes more but I thought it was great. Easily took the lead over SM3 which I was sorely disappointed with.

Toooo Looooong...

Y'know, there's a time where you just have to say enough is enough. I think that today's filmmaker's have no idea how to make a lean movie. I don't mean a short movie, I mean one that doesn't have all the unnecessary fluff that movies like this have.

The entire subplot about the NSA codebreakers should have been completely scrapped along with the Anthony Anderson stuff. It just padded the running time and skewed focus. Starting out in Iraq was completely unnecessary. The Sector 7 stuff was way too hammy and slow.

There was a great, lean movie machine underneath all of this, but Bay took it too far. There was a good 30 minutes of footage that should have been left on the floor. This movie should have been about the kid and the Transformers with government interference hinking things up. Instead, we get a crazily convoluted story that branches out in so many directions it couldn't possibly pull them all back together well.

And it didn't.
Not a horrible movie, but certainly not a great one. Worth checking out on DVD.

I have only one last hope for the summer, and it's from one of the leanest directors currently on the scene. Echoing Eddie's sentiments: Bourne, baby.

sean (...c'mon jason, don't fail me now!...)

[Post edited by skspence on Jul 5, 2007]

Sean,

I think they technically started out in Qatar, which is most definitely not Iraq. :)