Transformers: Mind Numbing Action Movie of the Year!
I saw Transformers on Tuesday with Alex and so far it’s the best action movie of the year.
One of the problems with “action” movies nowadays is the lack of action. Directors either want to make art and receive critical acclaim or hit as many demographics as possible to ensure profitability. Last summer Superman was too busy stalking Lois in to kick any butt. Spider-Man spent way too much time forgiving his enemies as opposed to kicking their butts. The Fantastic Four were so busy squabbling the bad guy had save the day and kick the other bad guy’s butt. And let’s just say that the cast members of 300 spent too much time admiring their butts.
In comparison, one could argue that there was too much action in Transformers. To analogize, I’m imagining the following conversation between two hardcore heavy metal fans coming out of a metal concert:
“Dude, that band rocked too hard. Going to 11 is cool, but 12 is just too high.”
“Yeah dude, they should have rocked a little less hard, taken it down a notch, my ears hurt.”
That’s how I felt after leaving the theater. And I’m not talking about the volume of the movie, although it is quite loud, I’m talking about the action. It was beyond gratuitous. It made my teeth hurt. And my son complained that his feet hurt. While my problem was most likely from clenching my teeth, I have no idea what harm the movie caused my son’s lower appendages. But the harm was palpable.
In those rare breaks in the action it also managed to be quite funny. One of Michael Bay’s problems is that he plays his movies straight, no matter how ridiculous they are. You can’t have a movie about giant intergalactic warrior robots that transform into GM vehicles without some humor. Bay recognizes this and lets us know he considers the source material as funny as we do.
I also wanted to add a bit about how amazing the CGI effects were, but Ben Kuchera over at Ars Technica has already summed it up perfectly:
The bar has been raised for special effects here: the Autobots and Decepticons feel heavy and absolutely real in every frame they’re in. There are long, lingering shots of the models in full light, and I couldn’t find a CGI character that pulled me out of the movie or made me think I was seeing something that wasn’t actually there.
So, if you are into mindless, no… how about mind-numbing action movies, you will not be disappointed with Transformers.
