CinemaDave - Too much to meet the eye, the problem of "Transformers"

"Transformers" has grossed over two hundred million
dollars and has become the film to beat for the July
box office crown. Unlike May's box office champions
"Spider-Man 3," "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of
the Caribbean at World's End," "Transformers" is
beginning of a new cinema franchise. Born from a
cartoon television show from the 1980s, the film
features an emerging box office superstar Shia
LeBeouf, who will portray the son of Indiana Jones
next summer. "Transformers" is a triumph of
marketing family movies with 1980s nostalgia.

The landscape is vast for "Transformers," an alien
race made of robotic metal. The geography covers
Washington D.C., the middle east and California. The
bad robots (the Decepticons) view mankind as insects
and think nothing of stomping on them. The good robots
(the Autobots) protect humanity and frequently help
humans with the details of life, like getting dates.
Eventually the secretary of defense (Jon Voight) and
Shia LeBeouf work with the Autobots and prevent the
world from being destroyed.

"Transformers" suffers from Michael Bay directed
frenetic action sequences that are hard to follow. The
final showdown is confusing because one can not
distinguish the differences between the bad and the
good robots. Yet, as the credits rolled, the producers
thanked the John Wayne Cancer Research Foundation. One
can hear the Duke' voice being used by a mute Autobot
who needed a heroic voice.

This little detail reveals
other thoughtful details scattered about
"Transformers." One bad guy robot mimics a police
car. Instead of having the words "To Serve and
Protect," the writing says "To Enslave and Destroy."
"Transformers" has much more going for it than not.
"Transformers" is Summer Time Saturday Matinée
Movie fun.