Transformers
Susan Granger’s review of “Transformers” (DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures)
For sci-fi excitement and escapist, fast-paced action, you can’t beat “Transformers.”
According to Cybertron mythology, two races of alien robots – the ‘good’ Autobots’ and the ‘evil’ Decepticons – have been fighting for centuries. When their battle comes to Earth, the only person who can save humanity is suburban teenager Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), who’s psyche’d when his dad buys him his first car. It’s a beat-up 1976 yellow Chevy Camaro, which turns out to be Bumblebee, an Autobot in disguise, who helps Sam steer an adventurous classmate, Mikaela (Megan Fox), into the passenger seat.
It seems that Sam has unwittingly posted on e-Bay his Arctic explorer grandfather’s eyeglasses on which is scratched the code to finding the Autobots’ life source, a cube called the “Allspark,” coveted by the predatory Decepticons, which have already attacked U.S. troops (Josh Dihamel, Tyrese Gibson, Amaury Nolasco, Zack Ward) in Qatar.
Meanwhile, a dishy Aussie computer analyst (Rachael Taylor) and her hacker guru (Anthony Anderson) try to convince a disbelieving Secretary of Defense (Jon Voight) of the peril – and there’s this strange government agent (John Turturro) lurks around.
In the plot conceived by John Rogers, written by Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by adrenaline-pumping Michael Bay (“Armageddon”), the humans’ and robots’ stories intertwine: “There’s more to them than meets the eye.”
As Hasbro’s iconic toys come to CGI life, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, Starscream, Barricade, Bonecrusher and Frenzy shape-shift into aggressive, ultra-slick, combative cars. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Transformers” is a spectacularly loud, fun-filled, wicked cool 10. It’s awesome!
Trivia Note: Orson Welles’ (“Citizen Kane”) final film was the bizarre, rarely-seen 1986 animated “Transformers: The Movie,” in which he voiced Unicron, an evil shape-shifting planet moon.