The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: TRANSFORMERS

It's always good to know someone on the inside. I do, and as a result I was fortunate enough to see a special advanced screening of Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS nearly two weeks before it's official release (that'd be today: 7-3-7).

As a childhood fan of the original cartoon series, as well as the 1986 animated feature, I was extremely excited to see if a live action version could be pulled off. And while there is plenty things for a Transformer loyalist (like myself) to object to, overall the movie is completely bad-ass and thoroughly enjoyable.

So please allow me to break it down (M.C. Hammer style, as always):

THE GOOD:
1). The special effects are mind blowingly good. Better than Pirates 3, and anything else that has come out in recent memory. The CGI robots are as close to photo realistic as possible.

2). The action is over the top and out of control. Which is a good thing. Bay shoots most of the action in close ups, rather than pulling out, to convey the enormity of the battles.

3). Peter Cullen. Yes, he does sound a bit weathered, but come on! His voice IS Optimus Prime.

THE BAD:
1). Typical Michael Bay pit falls. The plot is too thin. The cinematography is too orange. The women are too hot. The acting is too goofy. The comic bits fall too flat.

2). Easy moments missed to pay homage to the original cartoon characters. Ironhide, for example: I'm fine with the fact that his is now a pick-up truck, but why, oh why couldn't he be a RED pick-up truck (with a southern drawl - even better!). And where the hell is Megatron's arm cannon!?!

3). Not enough "character" development for the Decepticons. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee get plenty of screen time, but I always use to love the rancorous interplay between Megatron and Starscream. Maybe they're saving it for the sequel.


THE UGLY:
1). I should go back and clarify one of my earlier gripes about the women in this film being too hot. There is nothing wrong with hot women. I love hot women. But Michael Bay actually cast this girl as a Pentagon computer code cracker:



Come on!

GRADE: 3 Buckets!