Transformers (2007)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers (WGA):

Roberto Orci (screenplay) &
Alex Kurtzman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 July 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Their war. Our world.

Plot:

An ancient struggle re-erupts on Earth between two extraterrestrial clans, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a young teenager.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Captain | Alien | Robot | Deception

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 28 nominations

Cast

Shia LaBeouf	...	Sam Witwicky
Megan Fox	...	Mikaela Banes
Josh Duhamel	...	Captain Lennox
Tyrese Gibson	...	USAF Tech Sergeant Epps
Rachael Taylor	...	Maggie Madsen
Anthony Anderson	...	Glen Whitmann
Jon Voight	...	Defense Secretary John Keller
John Turturro	...	Agent Simmons
Michael O'Neill	...	Tom Banacheck
Kevin Dunn	...	Ron Witwicky
Julie White	...	Judy Witwicky
Amaury Nolasco	...	ACWO Jorge "Fig" Figueroa
Zack Ward	...	First Sergeant Donnelly
Luis Echagarruga	...	Ranger Team
Pat Mulderrig	...	Ranger Team (as Patrick Mulderrig)

Also Known As:

Prime Directive (USA) (fake working title)
The Transformers (USA) (working title)
Transformers: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Transformers: The Movie 2 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor, and language.

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-11 | Australia:M | UK:12A | Singapore:PG | Denmark:11 | Sweden:11 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Canada:G (Quebec) | South Africa:10M | Ireland:12A | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIA | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43585) | Germany:12 | Malaysia:U | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | France:U | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Chile:TE | Canada:PG (British Columbia) (re-rating on appeal) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) (original rating) | Taiwan:PG-12 | Brazil:10 | India:UA | Iceland:10 (theatrical rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

To prepare for their roles, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson spent three days in boot camp, and Gibson also spent time with combat controller Ray Bollinger to make his dialog sound natural.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Maggie Madsen leaves the Pentagon and runs south across the intersection of Wisconsin Ave. and "M" St. NW in Washington DC. The Pentagon however is three miles away via various major highways, too far to travel on foot. Had she come from the Pentagon, she'd have taken a different route that precludes her crossing the intersection in that direction, possibly avoiding it entirely (i.e. by taking K St. NW instead).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Optimus Prime: Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Knight Rider: Knight to King's Pawn (#1.12)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Battle Without Honor or Humanity

Best summer flick of 2007.

I watched this film at an advanced screening in New Zealand. I loved Transformers as a child, but was not a die hard fan, so I did not complain over the changes. However, I had decent expectations for this movie as people were saying it's better than expected.

I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. However, it did fall a little flat on what I expected it to be. It's Michael Bay, ladies and gents, don't expect anything more.

Transformers begins with the reason for the alien robots' existence. How the all important AllSpark (essentially the life giver) was lost into the vacuum of space after the robots divided between good and evil. Falling onto Earth, a handful of these entities travelled the galaxy to find this all important device. Great premise, but how about the execution? Visually, the film is astounding. ILM have outdone themselves once again and have created top notch visuals for others to measure up to. The robots look real, feel weighty yet elegant, and with every Bay movie, there are explosions. And what beautiful explosions they are. This is complemented with a hit-and-miss musical score. At times, the score is cinematic brilliance. At other times, you wonder why Linkin Park was included, when sequences with emotional pieces are suddenly juxtaposed with the current Billboard Hot 100.

The acting is competent. I thought that with a cast mostly compromised of underwear models and hip hop artists, I would be disappointed. Shia LaBeouf (Sam Witwicky), Josh Duhamel (Cpt. Lennox), Tyrese Gibson (Sgt. Epps), and even Megan Fox (Mikaela) delivered surprisingly well. Even with Jon Voigt in the cast, you cannot see a distinct line in ability between the seasoned vet and relative new comers. But although the acting was top notch, it was severely hampered by the script.

The script, to put it frankly, does not take itself seriously. At all. Firstly, there was a lack of story. Autobots and Decepticons want the AllSpark. One wants to defend it. The other wants to use it. Battle. Fin. Secondly, I could not remember one scene that did not have some humorous one liner put in to make the audience laugh. Even in the most grave of sequences, did some joker blurt out something (admittedly) funny, making you wonder "Wait.... Earth's in danger, and you're cuing for a crash on the drums?!" Some of the script was clever, and in the parts which were appropriately funny, hit the nail on the head (Shia LaBeouf is a child prodigy in comedy).

Transformers. Everyone wants to know "What about the Transformers?". Well, personally, they were simply awesome. They could have been more 2D than they were and I still would have liked them. Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Jazz, Frenzy, Ratchet... Megatron, Starscream, Bonecrusher, Barricade and Ironhide -- they were masterfully put on film.

However, only two of those actually got a decent amount of character development -- Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. Bumblebee, being the first Transformer Sam sees, and Optimus, of course gets plenty of screen time being the Autobot leader. It's a shame that the Decepticons were only there to be the "bad guys", even Megatron. It would have definitely benefited the movie if all the robots were fleshed out and given some emotional attachment to the crowd. It doesn't, and this does have a few repercussions towards the end of the movie. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable to see them wreak havoc in different countries, and with the inevitable sequel, one can only hope that we get to know more about these "loveable" mechanical beings.

It is definitely the must see summer flick of the year, and whilst not Oscar material, it is one of the best 'popcorn' movies of recent times.

7.5/10

**Upon a second screening, I found the impact of the movie to remain just the same as the first. In certain aspects, that impact heightened. New score 8/10