Transformers

When Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) buys his first car, he inadvertently is recruited into an ancient extraterrestrial civil war from a dead planet. His car, a classic Chevy Camaro, is not your typical clunker. In fact, he's been around for a while, and his name is Bumble Bee, an Cyborobotic organism from the planet Cybertron. Along with Mikaela (Megan Fox,) a girl from his class, he agrees to help search for the Allspark, the building block of all life on Cybertron. Along with Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and his team, the Autobots, Sam, a special forces squad, a secret government division and a pair of computer hackers work together with the Secretary of Defense (Jon Voight) to hide the Allspark from Megatron (Hugo Weaving) and his band of Decepticons.

When I first saw the trailer for this one, fifteen months before its release date, I was thrilled to the point of goosebumps because I loved the cartoon as a child. I remember sneaking Transformers, X-Men, Spiderman, GI Joe and Batman on Saturday mornings when my parents were not home and loving the action and the simple idea that simple items like cars and trucks and tanks that change into robots. This film met all of my expectations for what the Transformers looked like, their vehicle choices, the action and the hybrid nature of a human-based story with computer generated characters. The pacing is upbeat, lively and inspiring. The fight between the Scorpion Decepticon and the US Forces is especially memorable with its hybrid special effects (physical and CGI,) music, authenticity and editing. Gives me goosebumps every time, inspiring me to love our military and making me so incredibly patriotic. A beautiful sequence!!

I am amazed with the realism portrayed in the effects of this film. And I am impressed by the art department's work on each of the Cybertronians. Barricade, the police car, is my favorite. He has everything from the 911 Emergency Response decal to the Decepticon police badge symbol, including sinister embellishments such as the motto "To Punish and Enslave" on the body of the police car. And the subtle irony that one of the bad guys is a police car. As I understand from the special features, the animation required a special algorithm the decide where each part of the automobile would be stored and displayed in the body of the robot when in "Transformed" mode. For instance, Barricade's tires become fists and shoulders and Bumble Bee's are elbow joints and shoulders. Also, due to Bumble Bee's muteness, he talks through the car's stereo using a digital radio. And Optimus Prime's cab becomes his chest and pectoral muscles. The results are stunning and add to the realism of the piece, authenticating it, drawing us in engaging us completely.

Not only does the technology draw its audience to engage, but the performances inspire loyalty, friendship, honor, duty and sacrifice. The cast was perfectly picked from newcomer (at the time) Shia LaBeouf to veteran Voight and the brilliant comedic cadence of John Turturro. The chemistry between the audio cast, as with the live actors adds to the smoothness and personality of the piece. The geek in me, of course, is tickled to hear the tones of Peter Cullen, the original performer for Optimus Prime. I enjoy LaBeouf's performance especially, he has the balance of the cute boy with the emotional depth of an up and coming power-actor including some comedy to balance.

A beautiful package; absolutely brilliant!!

*****

Coming Soon: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen