Movie review - Transformers

We saw Transformers last night on DVD for the second time, third when you count seeing it in the theater on my birthday.

Overall, it's still a heck of an enjoyable movie.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not a Michael Bay hater. Yes, he has his shortcomings as a filmmaker and has some habits which I find annoying (I'll get to those in a bit.) However, I have yet to see a Michael Bay film which I have not come away from saying "I was entertained!" Granted, while I have Bad Boys 2 taped, I haven't gotten around to watching it.

And, it's that statement which is my ultimate criteria for movies: Was I entertained? And, to further clarify, entertained, for me, means did I enjoy the experience by getting caught up in the movie, even if it was a movie I came out of wanting to slit my wrists in utter depression due to the hopelessness that the movie conveyed? Frankly, if a movie has that power, then the answer is yes, I was entertained, even if I will never, ever watch that movie again.

Like him or hate him, and I'm aware that many people hate him, Michael Bay does movies in a very formulaic way and the Tranformers movie was no exception (spoilers follow):

The formula usually involves the following elements:

1. Several very inconoclastic shots, usually of an unnamed character who gives us the proverbial "view from the gallery." Transformers delivered this many times over, the two most obvious being the little girl who watches the Transformer (Jazz?) come out of her swimming pool and the unnamed screaming lady who, in slow motion, watches a Transformer rotate over her as it's firing its cannon. I actually like this technique of Bay's because he does it well. If it's poorly done, you get pulled out of the moment and the sequence is ruined. Bay consistently includes these shots in a such a way that it draws the viewer in further, giving them a view of the big picture from the eyes of someone we have no investment in.

2. Several moments which are designed to play on your emotions. I'm conflicted on these. Bay consitstently uses these shots, and they are usually affecting, but I really hate the blatent manipulation. An example would be at the end of the film when Josh Duramel's character get's dropped off to finally meet his daughter and see the wife he's been missing. The music sets the emotional scene and we are watching this tender moment of both love and happiness. However, with Michael Bay it's almost always over the top. Another example would be when Bumblebee gets injured in the final fight and crawls toward Megan Fox, his eyes appearing to blink with tears. That scene was dragged out for 5-10 seconds longer than need be to deliberately pull on our emotions. If there's one thing that does bother me about a Michael Bay film it's that he does not seem to trust his audience enough to decide if the scene is supposed to make them feel a certain way and he needs to force the issue. Michael, I realize you will never see this, but, have some faith in the general public and don't go overboard. When you do you turn your audience off because they do realize they are being manipulated or you just screw it up royally (I love Armageddon, however, every time that William Fitchner interupts the Ben Affleck/Liv Tyler reunion with his stupid request to shake her hand I want to throw my remote through the TV because he destroyed a perfectly good scene with that.)

3. Grandiose shots designed to put the viewer in a awed state: Once again, I'm torn on these. Bay does do them well, especially with the introduction of the twin shuttles in Armageddon, but, I always feel he goes overboard on them. Once again, it comes back to manipulation. You've set up this amazing shot, use the correct music to trigger emotion, and then hold it for too long. In the Transformers it was the final speech by Optimus that was overdone. Yes, it's a fantastic shot of the Transformers backlit by the setting sun, but I always feel that shot is done backward. He starts with Shia Lebouf and Megan Fox making out on top of Bumblebee (which, BTW is a kind of perverse image Michael. That's a living thing and while it is Shia in the middle of a MMF sandwich instead of Megan, the sexual connotations take auto-erotica to a level I didn't want to goto,) and then moves to the "we stand alone" shot of the remaining Transformers backlit by the setting sun before moving to Optimus. I always thought that shot should have started with Optimus, moved to the Transformers and then when he gets to the "new friends" part of the speech it should have gone to Shia and Megan on the ground under a tree with Bumblebee in the background turned AWAY from them.

4. Action scenes which are so over the top you are not only drawn in, but feel some investature in the moment. Transformers did not disappoint with these. From the Scorpionik (SP?) attack sequence in the desert with the warthogs screaming in, to the highway chase with the skating robots, to the final battle where all heck breaks loose, Transformers delivered these with classic Michael Bay form. Yes, he's very formulaic with his grand action scenes; they always have music to set the mood, there is always a slow motion sequence and stuff blows up in grandiose fashion. So what! They are fun and the main reason I am consistently entertained by his movies. Plain and simple, Michael Bay gets action sequences and does them well.

5. Music that conveys the moment. This is another thing Michael Bay does exceptionally well. He has an idea of what he wants in a scene and chooses the music which sets the mood. Whether its the inclusion of a song or, more often and orchestral soundtrack moment, Bay gets it. The last thing I want, as a viewer, is too feel like I've just come out theater having watched a 2 hour session of MTV videos with plot squeezed in between songs instead of commercials (Daredevil and 300 being two of the worst offenders in the recent past.) He also has a good sense of volume control as well as balance. One of the things I absolutely hate about most movies these days is when you get the over the top volume song which detracts from the next 6 lines of dialog because your ears can't adjust quickly enough to the contrast change. This is especially noticeable when viewing a DVD at home. If there's one thing I don't think several filmmakers get enough credit for (Kevin Smith and Michael Bay both come to mind) is balancing the audio so that you are not missing part of the movie due to auditory level adjustment.

So there's my "Michael Bay forumla for movies," in a nutshell.

As I've mentioned, Transformers fit this across the board. And, once again, it doesn't bother me.
The movie was fun.

I was entertained.