Truthfully, the first Transformers movie wasn’t too bad. And I’m surprised to say that I can say that same about the second. It had everything you could want from a sequel, call-backs to the first movie, the return of minor characters and the perfect amount of relational angst to make me not want to hurl my shoes at Megan Fox because they’re the heaviest thing I have on my person.
I’m a sucker for good characters and the character development was solid. Sam and Michaela struggled with saying the “L” word and it was bearably believable. His parents even as minor characters had arcs in struggling to let go and allow their only son become a man. For me though, it’s always about Bumble Bee. He has no arc whatsoever, but I would watch an entire movie about him alone. He was the faithful and puppy-like warrior that protected Sam at all costs. Even and especially from the girl that was trying to seduce him at a frat party. Cheater-McCheater-pants…umm skirt, got sprayed down with anti-freeze to a soundtrack of “She’s a Super Freak”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and the Jaws theme. I giggled heartily.
The place where I thought the movie was weakest was the comedic relief. They introduced two new Auto-bots. Twins. They served no other purpose to the plot than weak “comic” relief. They had horrifyingly degrading accents to black people, and all they did was bicker and hit each other. I thought of Tuck and Roll from “a bug’s life” anytime they were on the screen. Also, Sam’s roommate in college was also pretty worthless. He swaggered around the college campus with bravado, but when things got scary, he screamed, panicked, prayed and cried like a baby. Nothing special, nothing terrifically unexpected for the side-kick. I understand that there wasn’t a specific comedic character in the first movie, so a move like this is logical. I just think the comedy could have been laid on with a lighter touch.
The other thing that could have been done with a bit more subtlety was the animation of the alien robots themselves. I have the same qualm with the first movie. Looking at the original toys, there are a lot of straight lines and they almost look like they’re wearing plate armor. In the movie they literally look like they have been formed out of thousands of pieces of scrap metal. When the Auto-bots are in their car/truck/vehicle state, they are shiny and sleek, but when they transform, all semblance of sleek disappears. The battle scenes are visually confusing because of this. When there’s a battle going on, I like to know who I’m rooting for, but the Auto-bots and the Decepticons are almost indiscernible because they all look like giant trash heaps. There was some good use of slow-mo which helped at a few pivotal points. But I shouldn't have to see a scene in slow-mo to see what’s going on.
I’m a sucker for good characters and the character development was solid. Sam and Michaela struggled with saying the “L” word and it was bearably believable. His parents even as minor characters had arcs in struggling to let go and allow their only son become a man. For me though, it’s always about Bumble Bee. He has no arc whatsoever, but I would watch an entire movie about him alone. He was the faithful and puppy-like warrior that protected Sam at all costs. Even and especially from the girl that was trying to seduce him at a frat party. Cheater-McCheater-pants…umm skirt, got sprayed down with anti-freeze to a soundtrack of “She’s a Super Freak”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart” and the Jaws theme. I giggled heartily.
The place where I thought the movie was weakest was the comedic relief. They introduced two new Auto-bots. Twins. They served no other purpose to the plot than weak “comic” relief. They had horrifyingly degrading accents to black people, and all they did was bicker and hit each other. I thought of Tuck and Roll from “a bug’s life” anytime they were on the screen. Also, Sam’s roommate in college was also pretty worthless. He swaggered around the college campus with bravado, but when things got scary, he screamed, panicked, prayed and cried like a baby. Nothing special, nothing terrifically unexpected for the side-kick. I understand that there wasn’t a specific comedic character in the first movie, so a move like this is logical. I just think the comedy could have been laid on with a lighter touch.
The other thing that could have been done with a bit more subtlety was the animation of the alien robots themselves. I have the same qualm with the first movie. Looking at the original toys, there are a lot of straight lines and they almost look like they’re wearing plate armor. In the movie they literally look like they have been formed out of thousands of pieces of scrap metal. When the Auto-bots are in their car/truck/vehicle state, they are shiny and sleek, but when they transform, all semblance of sleek disappears. The battle scenes are visually confusing because of this. When there’s a battle going on, I like to know who I’m rooting for, but the Auto-bots and the Decepticons are almost indiscernible because they all look like giant trash heaps. There was some good use of slow-mo which helped at a few pivotal points. But I shouldn't have to see a scene in slow-mo to see what’s going on.
Also, I was slightly distracted by Optomus Prime's voice. I understand it's the same actor as the original cartoon, but it felt so over-the-top. I am fine with using the same actor, I would have just told him to take off about 50 pounds and it would have been perfect.
My favorite part about the movie though was the respect with which they showed the military. Usually in movies, the military is two or three steps behind the main characters. In this movie, as with the first, the military is resourceful, equipped, powerful and right on time. It made me proud to be an American. I like movies that make me proud to be an American.
To top it all off, the plot was interesting. I actually like it more than the first Transformers movie. I would recommend it. Highly.
My favorite part about the movie though was the respect with which they showed the military. Usually in movies, the military is two or three steps behind the main characters. In this movie, as with the first, the military is resourceful, equipped, powerful and right on time. It made me proud to be an American. I like movies that make me proud to be an American.
To top it all off, the plot was interesting. I actually like it more than the first Transformers movie. I would recommend it. Highly.
