Dryvetyme Onlyne

Transformers
Starring: Shia Labeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Anthony Anderson, Jon Voight, Jon Turturro, Peter Cullen as the Voice of Optimus Prime, & Hugo Weaving as the Voice of Megatron
Director: Michael Bay
Screenwriters: Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Rating: 8.2

Nostalgia is a rather powerful marketing tool, and it has come to be employed with great aplomb and fiscal efficiency by the marketing geniuses that control what comes across our TV and computer screens each and every day. We are encouraged every day, at ever possible moment to reach into the depths and recesses of our psyches, conscious recollections, and subconscious impressions so that we might spend any and all of our discretionary income trying to relive some great memory from our childhood or adolescence as often as possible. Whether it’s men going to fantasy baseball camps, women getting body parts lifted, nipped, and/or tucked, or both men and women purchasing any and all varieties of diversionary toys, we all seem to spend much of our free time harkening back to the halcyon days of our youths. Granted, no one ever wants to return to a time where we had bad facial acne and experienced the social awkwardness of junior high and high school, but (the marketing gurus tell us) if you buy certain products, you can relive all of the great aspects of your younger years without all of the uncomfortable emotions we associate with our early years.

So, when I heard that an updated Transformers movie would be releasing in Summer 2007, I was instantly transported back to those giddy years filled with G.I. Joes, Legos, and those wonderful machines that were “more than meets the eye.” Yet, upon doing some introductory research into the murky rumors surrounding the film, I quickly became overwhelmed with chagrin and sadness when I learned that Michael Bay would be directing the film. To those of you unfamiliar with that name & perplexed as to why his name would cause such sorrow, let me refresh your memory – Mr. Bay has been the driving force behind such craptastic films such as Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and The Island. Suffice to say that when his name appears next to a highly anticipated film, a large swathe of the American viewing and reviewing public audibly groans. However, when I discovered that Mr. Steven Spielberg would be one of the two executive producers of this film, my spirits quickly lifted – surely, the man behind some of the greatest cinematic epics of all time wouldn’t attach his name to a film that could easily crush one of the most treasured memories of a whole generation of boys (now men). I was torn in two – do I dare hype myself up for a movie that could easily destroy the view I had of some of my favorite television programming (and toys!) from my young? The more I built myself up to see Transformers, the further I would fall when Michael Bay’s heavy-handed production techniques and overly-tight cinematography toppled my tower of nostalgia.

And oh how this movie lived up to every bit of hype that I had created for myself. Whether the it was the giddiness of seeing Optimus Prime’s Peterbilt tractor trailer, my growing awareness that Shia Labeouf is actually turning into an above-average actor, or the fact that the writers realized that their core audience would be 25-to-35-year old men and subsequently didn’t craft a condescending film, I was thoroughly impressed with this film. Is this film an instant classic that will find its place on some film critics’ “Best Of” list in 50 years? No, it’s not, but the film never aspired to be included amongst the elite films of our time. Unlike the other films in Bay’s anthology, which overflowed with unabashed egotism, Transformers realized from the beginning that its purpose was to be a crowd-pleasing summer flick that was based off a popular kids’ show from 20 years ago and such an awareness allowed it to stand on its own. Thus, in spite of some horribly cheesy lines that cropped up on occasion, the movie won me over with the reverence it paid towards the memories of the original fans. Where things could have gone wrong was to simply fill the screen with battle after high-tech battle from the onset of the movie, yet Bay and his screenwriters displayed remarkable patience as they took their time in revealing the identities of the Autobots and Decepticons, allowing for the main human characters to develop the plot and their personalities before their robot compatriots took to the screen. Were there times when the camera work was too close and thereby quite disorienting? Sure, but this was a Michael Bay film, so you knew it was bound to happen at some point in the movie.

Nostalgic reminiscences preserved, I was able to exit the theater with my childhood intact. Even though there had there been a few stylistic adaptations made to the original characters, I was left with a sense of hope and anticipation for what was to come. For you see, if I were to be as harshly critical as possible, I would be left with the same tired comments that plague all summer superhero action movies of this type – bombast, battles, and bloated budgets. Thankfully, the budget was well utilized as the on-screen transformations of the Transformers is astoundingly precise and highly technical, drawing open-mouthed gapes and gasps from the people in attendance. In the end, what Transformers does correctly is that it is simply a well-made movie that caters at every possible opportunity to its core audience – the Gen X adults who watched the show 20 years ago. Transformers is able to bring out the inner geeky dork in all of us and I mean that a very high compliment.