'Bumblebee' Review

On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow Volkswagen bug. There's more than meets the eye. 

Bumblebee is the sixth live-action Transformers film, but the first to center around a particular Transformer and not be helmed by the explosion-obsessed "American auteur" Michael Bay (as Patrick Willems referred to him in his two-part video essay detailing Bay's filmography). Previously, each film was titled "Transformers: [insert vague, generic subtitle here]" and played almost exclusively to Bay's sensibilities by incorporating slow-motion, explosions, American iconography, obnoxious product placement, and plenty instances of crude, tasteless humor. While I wouldn't go as far to say Bumblebee excludes all these elements, those which remain are gratefully down-played. Bumblebee makes a conscious effort to differentiate itself from what came before but strangely acknowledges specific canon from Bay's series while also breaking that continuity. Needless to say, it was left unclear whether this was meant to merely be a soft reboot or hard reset on the franchise. I hope to see Paramount and Hasbro scrap Bay's series entirely and rebuild the franchise on this stronger foundation, but I suppose box office receipts will dictate what direction they choose. 

"So what makes this go around so different?" you may ask. Simple, Paramount hired a director who actually cares about the human characters as well as Autobots. Travis Knight, who recently astounded me with his stop-motion directorial debut Kubo and the Two Strings, allows the franchise to take a breather in a smaller-scaled story. Though the fate of Earth is certainly at stake, the action takes a backseat to story and character (antithetical to Bay's five films). Christina Hodson's screenplay and story, which includes uncredited contributions from The Edge of Seventeen writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, are very Spielbergian and reminiscent of other genre films such as The Iron Giant or Spielberg's own E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. I'm not the first to make those comparisons, and I won't be the last! However, I feel that can be forgiven in lieu of Bumblebee being the first Transformers film to shine its heart from its headlights (If that makes no sense, I was trying to find a Transformer equivalent to "wears its heart on its sleeve"). 

Though Knight doesn't radicalize the series' action since most of it's essentially still robots punching each other, the Generation One-inspired redesigns make it much easier to differentiate the characters, and the action is shot and edited in such a way that you can follow what's happening. Additionally, the transformation sequences are much less convoluted and more aesthetically pleasing than Bay's nonsensical machinations. The visual effects were also quite good as Bumblebee and the other Transformers were convincing onscreen CG-characters.

However, it's the titular character that helps shape the franchise into a superior form. In my opinion, Bumblebee was always one of the better elements of Bay's Transformers movies, and I actually liked his relationship with Sam Witwicky, but that was always overshadowed by the spectacle, world-ending scenarios, and lots of lore before the character was eventually relegated to the background. Here, those storytelling devices are stowed in the trunk and carefully unpackaged in a bearable, easy-to-understand manner. Therefore, the central dynamic between Charlie and Bumblebee is given more attention, and the film's all the better for it! Bee's a charming character and source of comic relief, so seeing more screen time dedicated to him was a very refreshing change of pace from what came before. 

In the lead role of Charlie, Hailee Steinfeld continues her streak of excellent performances and really sells Bumblebee's presence through her expressions and interactions with the Autobot. As I've touched on already, the bond between her and Bumblebee is really the film's selling point. Unlike Bay's protagonists, she's not necessarily shoehorned into the action (while she's sometimes around the explosions and bot brawls, she's never unrealistically fighting them like Witwicky and Yeager would). In fact, Bumblebee makes a point to keep her away from it for her own protection. Steinfeld imbues Charlie with a scrappy, go-getter attitude which makes her a very likable lead character. Acting opposite her, Jorge Lendeborg Jr. does a fine job as Memo I suppose. To be honest, I found his character somewhat obnoxious and he felt like a studio-mandated love interest/friend to Charlie so she wouldn't seem like such a loner.

Lastly, there's the military and Decepticons. I'll start off by saying the U.S. government was far too trusting and a bit dimwitted, to a cartoonish degree at times. John Cena portrays Jack Burns as the agency's head authoritative figure. While kinda cheesy, Cena sells his physicality as an intimidating antagonist of sorts and most of his humor lands. Meanwhile, Justin Theroux and Angela Bassett voice the two Decepticons hunting Bumblebee. They admittedly amount to little more than one-dimensional bad guys, but they serve their narrative purpose well. 

Since this week is packed with new releases, I'll briefly offer my recommendation as to what you should seek first. Between Aquaman, Bumblebee, and Mary Poppins Returns, I personally preferred Mary Poppins Returns over the others, but enjoyed them all. If you like musicals or are a huge fan of the original 1964 Disney classic, I encourage you to see that sequel. Looking for a blockbuster with heart, watch Bumblebee. Want a superhero movie with loads of visual spectacle, I urge you to see Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse... Didn't expect that, did you? In all seriousness, Aquaman is going to make Warner Bros. waves of money regardless of whether you see it this weekend. With that in mind, I'd encourage you to watch the others first depending on what you're most interested in, as they're all going to cannibalize each other and the weekend box office projections of those films are rather puny in comparison.

Though derivative of many other "human and their otherworldly friend" stories, Bumblebee is quite charming and puts a fresh coat of paint on live-action Transformers. The little yellow fellow truly transformed this franchise for the better!

Film Assessment: B

'Transformers: The Last Knight' Review

Transformers: The Last Knight is set an undisclosed amount of time after Age of Extinction with the Autobot/Decepticon war at an all time high, despite the fact all Transformers are being hunted down by an international government force known as the TRF (Transformers Reaction Force). Optimus Prime has left Earth in search of his creators so eager inventor Cade Yeager, an apprehensive Oxford professor Vivian Wembley, crazed British Lord Sir Edmund Burton, and the enduring Autobots are tasked with exploring the hidden history of Transformers in search of an ancient object to save the world once more. 

The Last Knight is the fifth franchise entry directed by Michael Bay and will supposedly be his final foray but that's doubtful considering he's said that around the release of nearly every Transformers movie. I've now reviewed all live action Transformers flicks and spoke time and time again of Bay's strengths and weaknesses as a big budget director but I'll go ahead and mention it again in case you missed out on any of those. Bay is especially adept at delivering smashing spectacle but often falls short in telling a worthwhile story due to his insistence of prioritizing style over substance. 

Well, that's once again the case as the visual plane of these blockbusters continues to flourish thanks to commendable cinematography and astounding effects while the sound design exploded onto the scene. Bay and his crew rarely fall short in those departments and they didn't slouch in orchestrating elaborate action sequences this time around either. In fact, the action was much more bearable because I was able to better distinguish the Transformers from one another when the robo-rumbles ensued. 

Now if you thought those compliments were reassuring remarks that solidify The Last Knight as a sudden change of direction for the franchise, then you would be sadly mistaken because The Last Knight is exactly what you should expect if you're familiar with Michael Bay as a filmmaker. There's lots of explosions, slo-motion, racial stereotyped robots, cringey comedy, and overt product placement But hey, at least this time he toned down the over sexualized depiction of women a tad as there's no gratuitous shots nearly on the level of those found in Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen, or Dark of the Moon.

The Last Knight's screenplay was penned by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Ken Nolan who all had a hand in story development alongside Akiva Goldsman. I can confidently say that I feel this script may be the worst of the franchise as sparse moments are shoestrung into a "plot" in hopes of setting up a sequel and Bumblebee spinoff. In hindsight, almost nothing is actually accomplished in regards to character growth or story progression throughout the entire film. There's even a scene where Megatron negotiates with lawyers for the release of some of his Deception cronies that plays out similarly to the character introductions in Suicide Squad. You'd think the leader of the Decepticons would be a bit more brash and take matters into his own hands but Bay shows us otherwise.

The trailers will lead you to believe the plot centers on Optimus Prime's turn to the nefarious Nemesis Prime ala The Fate of the Furious but that couldn't be further from the truth. If you've seen the trailers then you've seen nearly every second of Optimus Prime's screen-time and the remaining moments are composed of his conventional monologues. Everything else that happens is centered around human characters you'll either be unfamiliar with or won't care about and there's simply too much going on and it would be futile for me to pick it apart as it would make this review as bloated and unnecessary as The Last Knight itself. 

Even though it may sound like I walked into this film with the intention to berate it afterwards, I was actually holding out hope I would have a good time. Since I actually enjoy the odd numbered installments in this franchise, I was hopeful The Last Knight would carry on that trend despite the fact the marketing material did virtually nothing to excite me. However, that doesn't mean I left the theater without finding some silver linings. So I've challenged myself to break my traditional review format and share five unmentioned ones. 

Silver lining No. 1) Sqweeks is an adorable BB-8 ripoff. In all seriousness, this little robot was quite endearing in spite of his scarce screen time so that in-of-itself is admirable.

Silver lining No. 2) The Transformer Knights were able to combine into a three headed dragon Transformer. If you can't agree that that's pretty awesome then there's something wrong with you. 

Silver lining No. 3) I liked the inclusion of Josh Duhamel and a few other familiar faces to tie things back into the core Transformers trilogy and I felt Duhamel and the other returning cast members met the requirements of the script adequately. 

Silver lining No. 4) Laura Haddock, who you may recognize as Peter Quill's mother in both Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, proved to not just be another pretty face for Bay to exploit, but wound up being the best female lead showcased in a Transformers movie yet. Haddock is of course relegated to the confines of a scrappy script, but she imbues enough personality into Vivian Wembley to standout among the ensemble.

Silver lining No. 5) It is nearly impossible to describe the insane shenanigans Sir Anthony Hopkins partakes in as Sir Edmund Burton, but it's apparent he's having the time of his life descending into madness. It was especially amusing to watch a classically trained actor take on such a strange role with as much commitment as Hopkins.

Otherwise, any actors I failed to mention are pretty much acceptable within the parameters of the material. Mark Wahlberg's Cade Yeager is just as grading as he was the last time you heard him tell you he's an inventor, Jerrod Carmichael probably delivers the few funny lines of dialogue as Jimmy, and the various voice actors Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Erik Aadahl, John Goodman, Ken Watanabe, Jim Carter, Steve Buscemi, Omar Sy, and Reno Wilson all perform admirably in bringing the appropriate personalities to their respective revving robots.

Deserving of her own segment however is Isabela Moner, who offers an okay performance considering she was just playing a feisty girl determined to join the fight. What's interesting however is that if you remove her character from the movie it doesn't change a single thing and you will begin to realize you would have much rather seen her incorporated into the plot somehow or left out altogether. This is actually the case with many characters who come and go from the screen like flies.

Transformers: The Last Knight is obviously flawed but is certainly not the worst Transformers movie, actually falling in the middle of the pack when you consider how terrible Revenge of the Fallen and Age of Extinction were. In all honesty, I'm especially thankful that The Last Knight has the shortest running time in the franchise since the first and that the filmmakers were gracious enough to position their "post credits scene" at the opening of the credits. I'm crossing my fingers Paramount hires someone else to helm the inevitable Transformers 6 and that Travis Knight can shepherd the Bumblebee spinoff into less turbulent waters. 

Film Assessment: D

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Transformers: Age of Extinction'

Sorry for a late review but this week I'm rolling out the last of my Transformers reviews with a Throwback Thursday Review over Transformers: Age of Extinction and new Transformers: The Last Knight review in the coming days. Other reviews you can expect this week week include a Throwback Thursday Review over Despicable Me 2 and both Baby Driver and Despicable Me 3. The first few weeks of July will incorporate Throwback Thursday Reviews of The Amazing Spider-Man, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Inception, Recollection Reflection Reviews of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and reviews of new releases Spider-Man: Homecoming, War for the Planet of the Apes, Dunkirk, and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

'Transformers: Age of Extinction' Review

Transformers: Age of Extinction takes place five years after Dark of the Moon's Battle of Chicago. The US government has turned against the Autobots, hunting them alongside intergalactic bounty hunter bot Lockdown. Ambitious inventor and overprotective father Cade Yeagar discovers a trashed truck inside an abandoned cinema and brings it home in hopes of repairing the vehicle or scrapping it for parts, only to learn the truck is actually Autobot leader Optimus Prime. Yeagar is then tasked to help Prime reunite the remaining Autobots to protect mankind once more.

Age of Extinction is the fourth film in the franchise to be helmed by Michael Bay yet it feels more or less the same as his previous entries, only this time the Bay-isms have worn thin. The visual noise is dialed up to the max volume with no worthwhile story to tell underneath it. While I don't watch the Transformers movies with the expectation of seeing the greatest blockbuster of all time, I think it's sufficient to expect to an adequate story with reasonably entertaining action pulling things together. This is where Age of Extinction whimpers out because everything about Age of Extinction is overcrowded and unnecessary.

Bay allows similar problems to plague this project as incomprehensible action sequences come by the viewer one after the other, sprinkled in the midst of a human storyline you won't be invested in. Watching the Transformers fight one another is cool enough on its own so you don't need to obscure the action with egregious editing and frenetic shaky cam or even draw it out with superfluous slow-motion. For that matter, the Transformers need to be the shining stars of their own franchise. I understand that the effects are expensive but these things are practically guaranteed to be a hit oversees so you may as well pump a little more financial fuel into this gas tank. 

Are the effects incredible? Of course, the superb deafening sound design and vibrant visual effects are practically the only redeeming elements of the franchise at this point but none of that really matters if you can't draw audience interest into the onscreen insanity. While I understand the financial motive to extend the Transformers franchise with Age of Extinction, there really isn't a new story to be told with these characters. The end result is that Ehren Kruger's script is a repackaged version of the last three movies (Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen, and Dark of the Moon).

I could go on and on about the story semantics but the film really fails engaging me as a viewer. I consider myself a fairly avid Transformers fan so it shouldn't be that difficult to maintain interest when you have remarkably realized robots fighting one another but this installment nearly bored me to sleep both times I've seen it (when I first caught it on Netflix a year and a half ago and my second viewing for the purposes of this review). Instead, Bay decided that it'd be more worth the audiences' time and money to see Yeagar chastise his underage daughter over her awkward, inappropriate relationship with a twenty year old racer. 

Meanwhile, the performances don't offer much to elevate the entertainment. Mark Wahlberg phones it in as Cade Yeagar, providing little personality beyond his thinly sketched characterization of being an overprotective father and the writer's insistence to constantly remind you he's an inventor. Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor play Tessa Yeagar and Shane Dyson with their bland romance serving as an obnoxious plot thread. Neither actor really shines as a charismatic force to brighten things or draw attention to the monotonous action. 

Elsewhere, T.J. Miller, Stanley Tucci, and Bingbing Li playfully factor into the proceedings in varying capacities. Miller's a funny surfer bro, Tucci screams quite a bit as a tech company executive, and Li fights off some henchman with proficiency. They don't do nearly enough to save the movie but provide momentary blips of something off-kilter. 

Peter Cullen, John Goodman, Ken Watanabe, Robert Foxworth, John DiMaggio, and Reno Wilson all provide sufficient voice work as Optimus Prime, Hound, Drift, Ratchet, Crosshairs, and Brains but none of these actors are really challenging themselves in any way, shape, or form considering they mostly deliver expositional dialogue. For the most part they're voicing caricatures with little personality beyond basic stereotypes. 

Frank Welker, Mark Ryan, and Kelsey Grammer fill the antagonistic camp as gruesome Galvatron, the unyielding Lockdown, and wicked government agent Harold Attinger. They make the most of the material provided but are restrained by a paper thin script. 

Transformers: Age of Extinction is indicative of everything currently destroying Hollywood, it's essentially a visual effects reel devoid of any sense of purpose other than to make money. Bay or Kruger must know this is true to some extent because there's even a line in the movie about sequels and remakes being prevalent among Hollywood these days. In summary, Age of Extinction is easily the worst Transformers movie I've seen to date simply because it's maddening to even attempt making it through the two hour forty five minute runtime without losing focus. After watching this movie, I knew one simple fact. My mind had been transformed (and not for the better). 

Film Assessment: D-

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'

Today I'm continuing my series of Transformers reviews leading up to this year's Transformers: The Last Knight with my thoughts on Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I'll take a break till June before I cover Transformers: Age of Extinction. Next week I'll review Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, followed by Spider-Man 3 and Despicable Me the next two Thursdays. Reviews you can find in the meantime include a Triple-R of Guardians of the Galaxy and new reviews of The Circle, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. Other reviews that may crop up are The Boss Baby, The Zookeeper's Wife, Going in Style, and Free Fire.

'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

In Transformers: Dark of the Moon the war between Autobots and Deceptions rages on! The opening prologue of Dark of the Moon reveals there was more than met the eye to the '60s space race. International government agencies hid the truth that an Autobot ship was found on the dark side of the moon housing Sentinel Prime and a device with the potential to save Cybertron. Cut to present day, and the Deceptions are scheming in the shadows to retrieve this artifact and revive Cybertron with the Autobots hot in pursuit. Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky has completed college and is having difficulties not only finding a job but adjusting to a complacent lifestyle. On the bright side, he has a new unrealistically attractive girlfriend to sub out for Megan Fox's departure! Anyways, Witwicky once again finds himself drawn towards the conflict in typical Transformers fashion that culminates to an all-out bot brawl in Chicago. 

Michael Bay's back in the director's chair and thankfully his trademarks are tempered this time about. Yes, there's still blatant over-sexualized shots of attractive women and explosions galore but the eye-rolling crude humor and Bay-isms come in smaller doses and are much more restrained in comparison to Transformers and Revenge of the Fallen. Bay's more than game to capture epic action sequences featuring slo-mo to boot! In collaboration with his technical crew, Bay successfully ups the ante on delivering remarkable robo-rumbles. So hats off to cinematographer Amir Mokiri and the vfx and sound departments! I also found it to be a breath of fresh air that Dark of the Moon wasn't so reliant on a rocking soundtrack and that Steve Jablonsky composed an epic auditory atmosphere to surround the raging robots amidst their fervent fight. 

Dark of the Moon also extended its arms to allow Ehren Kruger to step up and headline the script solo this time around. Kruger managed to make the human drama more engaging this time around by fleshing out Sam's character and granting him a fulfilling character arc that built upon his journey thus far (do remember this is a Transformers movie though, so it's not that radical). 

In previous Transformers outings I never quite cared about the human characters the way I should, but Dark of the Moon course-corrects that issue by zeroing in on the characters you've invested in and restricting screen time for those you'd rather not see. Dark of the Moon could have scraped by with a tighter running time by condensing certain sequences and removing extraneous material but the two and half hour runtime isn't dreadful to sit through. 

As for the performances, Shia LaBeouf goes out on a high note since he seems more committed and serious this time around (largely due to the shift in the way the character was written). Rosie Huntington-Whiteley does a fine job for a model by being more than just a pretty face, most of the criticisms towards her acting is probably a result of Bay's direction and not so much her performance. Huntington-Whiteley fills the Megan Fox void well and I'd even go as far to say she was better in comparison. I've got to say that the chemistry between LeBouf and Huntington-Whiteley felt far more convincing for some reason, even if the relationship seemed just as unrealistic. 

Elsewhere, Patrick Dempsey chews the scenery as the reverse Witwicky, a human allied with the Deceptions, making him an interesting opposing force for Sam to go up against. Familiar faces include Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as their respective soldiers with Kevin Dunn and Julie White back for one last stint as Sam's obnoxious parents (relegated to cameo appearances this time). 

Peter Cullen, Robert Foxworth, Jess Harnell, Hugo Weaving, and Charlie Adler are all back voicing Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Ironhide, Megatron, and Starscream respectively while Leonard Nimoy entered the fray as Sentinel Prime. Once again, the voice acting's great but that element of the franchise has never been lacking so it's no surprise that it works again. Frances McDormand, John Turturro, Alan Tudyk, John Malkovich, and Ken Jeong each get silly supporting bits and each have a memorable moment or two that will leave you laughing but are relegated to the comic schtick. 

A strong case can be made that Dark of the Moon spotlights the best action sequences and story beats of the franchise as it's the only Transformers film aside from the first to truly entertain me. Dark of the Moon strikes a fine balance of delivering a sufficient story vessel to justify the grand spectacle and dictating that its action is driven by the needs of the story and its characters. That's not to say that Dark of the Moon was revolutionary for blockbusters, it doesn't even come close, but it does stand as a significant improvement to the franchise in my eyes that only gets scrapped back to square one in the subsequent entry. Dark of the Moon has its fair share of problems but succeeded in the vain of being the popcorn entertainment it set out to be, so I can't help but validate that!

Film Assessment: C+

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'

This week I'm continuing my series of Transformers reviews, once again well in advance of the correlating film due to the number of installments in the franchise and sequels that will be released this year. Next week I'm taking a break from Transformers reviews till April and in the following four weeks I will be reviewing The Matrix trilogy and John Wick to coincide with John Wick: Chapter 2 since it will see a reunion between Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. Reviews of new (or wider) releases you expect over the course of January include Patriots Day, Live By Night, Split, The Founder, A Dog's Purpose, and Gold.

'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Review

Nominated For: Best Sound Mixing.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen picks up two years after Transformers as humans and Autobots are now working together to track down and destroy the remaining Decepticons while the Deceptions seek to find the remaining shards of the Allspark and resurrect Megatron. Meanwhile Sam Witwicky is off to college and gets wrapped up in the Transformers war again after encountering an Allspark fragment that causes him to randomly see cryptic symbols.

Michael Bay returns to direct, upping the ante of the action and daring to deeply explore Transformers lore. Revenge of the Fallen is almost universally regarded to be worse than its predecessor. However I do think a case can be made that for every dumb moment or failed attempt at levity, there's a cool action sequence between Transformers or compelling concept to balance it out. Yes, there are plenty of Bay-esque elements (explosions, portraying women as two-dimensional sex objects, and dumb crude humor) throughout Revenge of the Fallen, but the film as a whole is not quite as bad as everyone remembers.

Arguably, I'd say that the cinematography, visual effects, and spectacle are improvements over the first. Some of the cooler action moments include a feline Decepticon's infiltration of a covert base, a sequence in which Optimus Prime wields two sword arms to take on a host of Deceptions in an epic last stand, and the battle bot bonanza at the end. Other than that, there's not much to take away from Revenge of the Fallen.

The script written by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman gets too caught up with trying to explain Transformers lore that it doesn't even really attempt to deepen the already lackluster characters or tell a worthwhile story. It's telling when a screenplay is able to make the robots the most likable and lifelike characters in a film. Occasionally, the film is almost self-referential to a point where characters voice the audience's opinion such as when Agent Simmons tazes Sam's obnoxious tag-along room mate or Bumblebee throws the two Autobot twins out of the frame. It's a relief but a reminder that these characters are more an annoyance than an asset to the story being told (they literally add nothing except maybe a pitiful attempt at comedic relief).

If you didn't think it was possible, the performances in Revenge of the Fallen are even worse than those found in the original. Shia LaBeouf is a total klutz, spazzing around with what I guess is his imitation of a seizure and failing to make a confident lead the audience or surrounding characters can put faith in. It almost seems that Megan Fox is around purely to run around the desert in a tight low-cut shirt and look attractive on motor vehicles because she has little else to offer in terms of acting ability.

Other returning cast members include John Turturro's rash Agent Simmons, Kevin Dunn and Julie White playing Sam's idiotic parents, and Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as military personnel. Peter Cullen, Mark Ryan, Robert Foxworth, Jess Harnell, Hugo Weaving, and Charlie Adler all are terrific voicing their respective Transformers, bringing the appropriate demeanor to each one, while Tom Kenny's voicing of the twins Mudflap and Skids verges on the edge of being a racial stereotype. Ramon Rodriguez joins the bots as the single most annoying tag-along character but thankfully his character didn't stick around for the next installment.

Overall, the narrative presents challenges for the characters but none of them stick and there's no consequence for characters and no lasting impression on the viewers mind. The visuals don't exactly make up for the flat story, but do come to the blockbuster's aid rather than hindering it, making some parts of it watchable. In conclusion, Revenge of the Fallen is everything you expect from a Bay production, but dialed up to an eleven.

Film Assessment: D

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Transformers'

Sorry for the delayed review but this week I'm beginning another series of reviews with my thoughts on Transformers, once again well in advance of the correlating film due to the number of installments in the franchise and sequels that will be released this year. Next week I'll be doing my Throwback Thursday Review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and I will then take a break from Transformers reviews till April. The following four weeks I will be reviewing The Matrix trilogy and John Wick to coincide with John Wick: Chapter 2 since it will see a reunion between Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. Reviews of new (or wider) releases you expect over the course of January include Hidden Figures, Patriots Day, Live By Night, Split, The Founder, A Dog's Purpose, and Gold.

'Transformers' Review

Nominated For: Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing. 

In Transformers two races of alien robots, the Autobots and Decepticons, bring their war to planet Earth and everyman Sam Witwicky is drawn into the conflict. I'm not going to dress it up, Transformers is mindless popcorn entertainment and the fact Michael Bay is at the helm doesn't help much. Bay has a distinct style, it involves big loud CG and lots of explosions, and his tropes are cranked up here. With that being said, it's actually fitting for a movie where metamorphosing robots fight each other in grand action sequences.  

Bay's in his wheelhouse and alongside the visual and sound effects departments does a superb job translating the Transformers to the big screen, handling the action quite well. On the flip side of things, the script from Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and John Rogers features scarcely developed characters with basic motivations and the story is generic, but that doesn't make it bad, just mediocre. The performances are passable for this action blockbuster ranging from pure exposition delivery to regular people running amidst the robot rumble.

Shia LaBeouf makes Sam an awkward protagonist, Megan Fox feels like a dunce in some moments as her mouth is open a little too long and then Mikaela often gets over-sexualized, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are around as the military personnel with Rachael Taylor and Anthony Anderson playing the techie comic relief and Jon Voight, Michael O'Neill, and John Turturro playing the governmental agency representatives.

I also feel the voice actors who voiced the Transformers deserve some appreciation for great robotic caricatures including the likes of Peter Cullen, Mark Ryan, Darius McCrary, Robert Foxworth, Jess Harnell, Hugo Weaving, and Charlie Adler.

Transformers is the perfect encapsulation of a big, dumb popcorn movie, the insane action and grand spectacle can't be denied as visually interesting and make for a fun ride but the flat storytelling can't be ignored either. In summary, Transformers encapsulates everything notable from Bay's filmography; explosions, slo-motion, explosions, blatant eye-rolling product placement, and did I mention the explosions?

Film Assessment: C