It's the much awaited (or maybe not) review! :D (actually written for our english mini-publication)

“Transformers”

A Review


Before I entered the cinema, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about watching a movie about giant robots. I mean, how juvenile could it get? I was hopeful about one thing though: the director Michael Bay. He’s the man behind such hits as “Armageddon” and “Pearl Harbor”, and I had a feeling that this movie might turn out to be one as well.

The movie began with an introduction that included a deep disembodied voice talking about something I didn’t understand. That was forgotten, though, when the actual storyline began.

It all begins when we meet Sam Witwicky, your typical everyday all-American teenager. He dreams of getting a proper car that won’t embarrass him in front of his dream girl, who happens to be a popular jock’s girlfriend. Things turn around for him though, when he ends up with a yellow Camaro (after a few fortunate yet strange circumstances) which turns out to be none other than Bumblebee, a member of the Autobots. The Autobots are a group of giant alien robots who have come to protect the Earth from the Decepticons, who plan to wipe out the entire human race with the Allspark, an ancient artifact which gives life to machines. Thankfully, Sam succeeds in gaining the trust of his crush Mikaela, and the two eventually work together to bring peace to the world for the entire duration of the film.

If things weren’t complicated enough, Sam turns out to be the grandchild of Archibald Witwicky, a famous 19th century explorer who first discovered the Decepticon leader Megatron embedded in the ice. Accidentally, Sam’s grandfather activated Megatron’s navigational system and ended up with a map leading to the Allspark imprinted on his glasses, the same pair of glasses that Sam is auctioning off on eBay. The Decepticons learn of the glasses, and start hunting for Sam, who, fortunately, has his trusty Camaro-turned-giant robot to protect him.

Finally, the movie ends with a massive ultimate good-vs-evil battle, in which the viewer may tend to have a hard time telling the robots apart, but the scene still offers a perfect punch of an end to a properly entertaining movie.

At first, the movie feels slow-paced, what with its smalltown setting and seemingly normal occurences, but things go haywire pretty quickly, and the audience feels satisfyingly (and not at all suddenly, since the plot doesn’t go too quick) thrown into a mass of hardcore battles and situations. Added to that are a lot of cheeky lighthearted humor, which really do gain laughs, and the superb special effects that add to its realism. In fact, about half the time I was watching the movie, I had my mouth open, evidently awed by the flawless detail that made me feel like it was actually happening.

The script impresses not because of its amazing capability of telling a story, but because of its simplicity. Its story of bravery and courage to fight for what he cares for is generic, but it works this time because of one thing: the title character Sam. Shia LaBeouf, the young everykid actor who plays him, has an endearing screen presence that makes him the loser-hero type of guy who everybody loves.

The movie succeeds in telling its story, despite certain moments where it confuses more than amuses, but all in all, with its mass appeal, grandiose visual and audio effects, and admittedly cute storyline, “Transformers” is sure to become a hit among the young and old alike.