Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007)

Transformers

Action/sci-fi

Runtime: 144 min

stars 2.5/4

The Transformers franchise was an eighties cult phenomenon, and a big part of my childhood. it was a great cartoon series and a line of action figures that were, looking back, some of my favourite toys as a kid. I have a good decade between now and the last time i ever even touched a transformer though i have seen the original ‘86 film on TV since then (man that takes me back) and the time has given me some perspective on the series though i have to admit I’m still gonna be a little biased in favour my childhood memories.

The Basic plot of the film is not much different then that of the original series, that being a war has raged for a really long time on a planet known as cybertron between the Autobots and the Decepticons. This time round, as Optimus Prime explains voiced by Peter Cullen of the original show, the war has ravaged the Transformers planet to the extent that it is incapable of supporting life anymore (weird place for an environmental message I thought) and the only thing that can possibly save cybertron is a powerful cube called the AllSpark (reminiscent of the Energon cubes of the show) unfortunately the decepticon head honcho Megatron is also seeking the AllSpark for it’s power to boost his diminished rooster of Decepti-Creeps (didn’t get that reference? search youtube for IronHide) Megatron has been looking the AllSpark for a while but gets trapped in the Arctic and freezes where, in the eighteen hundreds he is happened upon by an American explorer who also happens to the ancestor of our (human) protagonist Sam “Spike Witwicky (though i can’t remember anybody ever calling him Spike to the nod the G1 fans kinda falls flat) who has a map that Megatron burned into the glasses (and retina) of his great-great granpappy.

the map of course leads to the AllSpark, which the newly arrived Decepticons are looking for.

The second plot line involves a group of Special Forces soldiers in Qatar who are on their way back home and can’t wait to get reacquainted with their various foodstuffs, Women, Children and the like when they are attacked by the decepticon scorpinock. and this is where we can forget all about the plot, Who needs it? not this movie apparently seeing how it kicks it into high gear fairly early into the film and doesn’t stop until the lights go back on. this film is as action packed as they come and certainly the movie Micheal Bay was born to direct.

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