"Look, Mom! Big robots beating the crap out of each other!"

Movie Review
Transformers
Directed by Michael Bay

"More than meets the eye." If you're a Transformer cartoon fan (like I am), you should be familiar with this line. I don't know where it came from, but for sure I hear it in the opening theme song. I've always liked the cartoon series, and was quite into the toys. Due to lack of money and lack of space, I only had a couple of 'em. Really wanted Optimus Prime toy robot back then, but never did manage to get one because it was so hard to find in Indonesia.

Time passed by, and it's been quite awhile since I last heard of Transformers. Then a few months back I heard that they're making a big screen movie out of it. This time, instead of in a cartoon format, it will be set in the real world with the help of CG (you know, computer graphics). Having known Michael Bay's style in "The Island", I was quite curious, and truth be told, really looking forward to watching this movie. With a slight reservation, nonetheless, regarding how Michael Bay will transform (pun intended, duh) the source material so that it's silver-screen-worthy.

So, the day came when I managed to go and see this movie. Aside from being such a loser for watching this movie by myself, I had a great time enjoying it. Michael Bay's specialty is action, and this is where the movie really shines. The action sequences are intense and satisfying. They're strewn all over the movie with little or no pause in between. There was never a dull moment in the movie, thanks to good pacing between the talking and the actions. When it comes to action, Michael Bay really delivers here.

I also liked the many references Michael Bay made from the original source material. They're all over the place such as in the jokes, in the conversations, and also the choice for Optimus Prime's voice casting (Peter Cullen, the voice actor for Optimus Prime in the cartoon series, was the one who also voiced Optimus Prime in this big screen rendition). It shows that Michael Bay treated the source material with respect.

The movie also shines in the CG department. The robots look real, and the interaction between the CG characters and the real characters and environment looks very believable. It's as if they've created life-sized robots for the filming of this movie. Yep, it's that good. Watching this movie made me realize how far CG technology has gone.

Story-wise and acting-wise, these are where the movie does not excel. It's a movie about robots and robots beating the crap out of other robots, so I guess it doesn't really matter. The story is fantastically unrealistic and the pacing isn't as good as the pacing for the action. The acting is also so-so, however Shia LeBeouf's character really gave a certain touch of charm to the movie. Megan Fox also provided quite a pleasing eye-candy, and her character isn't exactly your usual sit-on-her-hunches, waiting-to-be-rescued, lead lady. Without spoiling much, let's just say that her character got her hands dirty as well.

Yes, people, this movie all comes down to about robots beating other robots and whatever gets between the way of doing exactly just that. And in this matter, it does not disappoint at all. Great CGs, and great actions. Plus, it pays quite a lot of homage to its source material. That's more than you could ever hoped for out of a summer action flick, right?

And yes, there are action figures coming our way. "Transformers, more than meets the eye!"

Shall I get Optimus Prime this time? :D