Saw Transformers on Friday. It rocked. In a summer packed with big-budget tentpole flicks, this is the first among them that truly feels like an event.
Director Michael Bay has raised the bar for the summer blockbuster, crafting a mind-blowing visual effects experience rivaled perhaps only by 300. But whereas Zack Snyder's film presented a hyper-stylized, heavily green-screened reality, Bay's version is firmly entrenched in the real world, with the computer animation integrated almost seamlessly into the live-action footage. Nary a single green-screen shot can be found in the film. When a giant robot collides into a freeway overpass or tumbles through the streets of downtown Los Angeles, it looks and feels authentic.
Bay has had his share of critics (myself among them) who questioned several key departures from the original Transformers canon, but when Peter Cullen (who plays Autobot leader Optimus Prime) first speaks during the opening credit sequence, suddenly the fact that they gave Prime lips or turned Bumblebee into a Camaro seem entirely irrelevant.
To Bay's credit, it's obvious throughout the film that he did everything possible to stay true to the original TV series while making the movie as modern and believable (and relatable to non-fanboys) as possible.
The first two thirds of the film maintain a very tongue-in-cheek tone, an approach mandated by the inherently absurd premise. Several times the filmmakers wink at the audience, as if to say, "Yeah, we know this is ridiculous too, but just go with it." The last third of the movie, however, is all big-budget spectacle, with ample robot-on-robot action and tons of stuff blowing up (a Bay trademark).
While the film is not without its glaring flaws (which I'll explore later this week in a more detailed review), it's the first movie I've seen in a long time that can honestly be labeled Spielberg-esque. (And when I say Spielberg-esque, I'm not talking about Amistad.) It's one of those movies that demands to be experienced in a theater; a 15-inch laptop screen will simply not do it justice.
Transformers has the potential to be for adult and young-adult males what Titanic was for teenage girls: an experience warranting multiple repeat viewings. It's by far the most entertaining action film I've seen this summer.