This week seems to be a return to form for the movie industry. I say that meaning both good and bad things. It’s good because many of the studios are desperately seeking a hit, especially Universal, but it’s bad because horrible films are starting to pick up most of the hype (Speed Racer). Iron Man killed last weekend at the box office and has a chance of staying the best reviewed film of 2008. I’m expecting Speed Racer to fall flat on its face this weekend and come in a close second to Iron Man. Anyone who didn’t get a chance to see the witty dialog of Robert Downey Jr. has heard by now how great it is and will find their way to the theaters, that also includes me.
I see Speed Racer much like I saw Transformers when it was released last summer. Only this time I don’t find myself attracted to the characters nearly enough to warrant it a viewing, unless that viewing takes place on HBO or twenty years from now on AMC. I was never a fan of the cartoon or it’s comic book counterpart. What the Wachowski brothers attempted to create was an extremely colorful and exciting world (that was my no duh moment). In my opinion, it ended up becoming very overwhelming, cheesy, and puke-inducing. The only reason I could see myself going is for Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, and John Goodman. Unless you held some attachment to this as a kid, I recommend skipping it.
What Happens in Vegas should be called “What Happened to Cameron Diaz?” Her choice in roles lately has been downright awful. If only she could go back and start using her talents in more movies like Being John Malkovich or There’s Something About Mary. Her What Happens in Vegas costar, Ashton Kutcher, should just go back to TV where he can at least do SOME good. I hate to spoil movies but in this case I’ll make an exception, they fall in love at the end. I didn’t even have to look that up.
Two other newcomers this week that won’t be receiving too much attention look ok. The first is a Jiu-Jitsu drama starring Tim Allen and Chjwetel Ejiofor called Redbelt. Perhaps the best part about Redbelt is that we get to see Tim Allen stretch his acting arms since we normally only get to see his dimwitted tool man side. It’s not typically the type of movie I’d recommend seeing based off the trailer alone but it easily looks like it could be a worthy rental when the time comes. The other is the Tracey Fragments featuring Ellen Page. Even though it hasn’t been received well by critics, the trailer managed to get me pretty excited and that’s enough to make me see it at least once. If you’re one of those creepy Ellen Page fanboys then this probably won’t cause a change of heart or anything.
Besides getting a chance to see Iron Man this weekend, I’ll also be checking a former recommendation that I gave out my very first week, Teeth. You can expect a review of both films in the coming days. One last note: I’m in the process of moving back home so posts will be sporadic at best for the next week or so.
For the past few months I’ve been avoiding Transformers, it was only until my post yesterday that I realized I needed to see it pronto. I’ll be honest, I’m pretty critical of Michael Bay and his films. Even though I have an unfavorable bias against his work, I think being a fan of the old Transformers cartoon offsets it more than enough to compensate. As I was watching the movie I felt like I was watching something more along the lines of Star Kid. The two really aren’t so different besides the most obvious factor; the Transformers series is widely known and definitely more interesting. But it’s where the two are alike that makes me anemic.
Before I dive into the film’s problems I should probably ease into the story a bit. The Transformers universe follows two groups, the Autobots (aka the good guys) and the Decepticons (aka the bad guys). These two factions are both fighting for something known as the All Spark — a device that would allow one group to either save the universe or destroy it.
The present day is somewhat more…nontraditional. It begins with a young high school kid named Sam (Shia LaBouf) who’s shopping for his first vehicle. He finally decides on buying a Transformer (who is aptly disguised as 1977 Chevy Camaro) and tries to win over a girl at school who is typically referred to as “stuck up.” Meanwhile, an army base is attacked by the Decepticons to obtain the whereabouts of Megatron, their leader. Another integral part of the story is Sam’s great-great-granddad, Captain Archibald Witwicky. He’s an explorer who first discovers Megatron’s body and mistakenly turns on his inertial navigation system (leaving a mark on his glasses that imprints the All Spark’s location).
Maybe relating Transformers to Star Kid is a bit critical but, for starters, both have an annoying love narrative going on when all you want to do is see some robots pound each other. I questioned Michael Bay’s ability to create an effective action movie after seeing Armageddon (which he shamelessly promotes during the film) but Transformers makes you wonder if he knows how to capture real emotion. In the land of Transformers only two emotions exist, happy and angry. How he’s able to group people into two categories is beyond me. This inability to give his characters a soul severely harms the love story that occurs between Sam and Mikaela (Megan Fox). He introduces all of these conflicts, including a dispute over Mikaela’s GTA fueled father, but fails to properly end any of them.
Another example of Bay wandering around aimlessly is a subplot about a group of hackers that are trying to figure out the Decepticons’ hacking frequency. Bay indulges us at first by introducing several promising characters, including a Secretary of Defense played by Jon Voight. Then quickly changes his mind, deciding none of that is critical to the story anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I was cheering when he gave up on it. Maggie (Rachael Taylor) is a hacker who seems to magically guess exactly what the Transformers are before she’s even seen one. For something so advanced she seems to have a pretty good understanding of how they work already. Then there’s Glen, the worldest smartest hacker, who can make anything anywhere no matter what. I’m perfectly ok with stretching reality in movies but breaking it so inconsiderately is beyond troublesome.
Before seeing Transformers I was told that, if nothing else, I would be able to appreciate it from a technical standpoint. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t impressive at times and even cool looking. But Bay’s directorial touch also mess with the best part of the film. He resorts to using slow motion sequences constantly in order to showcase the best parts of a particular battle. It manages to disrupt the octane level and take it down a notch.
I liked it more than I thought I would, but I still can’t say I really enjoyed myself. There are plenty of other problems I could have touched on, including one of the worst anti-Bush administration themes I’ve seen in a film, a story that feels more like an advertisement for eBay, and horrible dialog. The only upside is that Bay, despite all these slip ups, is improving as a director. That isn’t saying much.
2 comments |
May 6th, 2008
| Category:
Review | Posted by:
Daniel Frohlich
With all the success of Michael Bay’s first Transformers movie last summer it’s no surprise to hear that a sequel is underway. Although, it is mildly surprising to hear Jonah Hill join a line up that already includes future Indiana Jone’s star Shia LaBeouf. This is all beside the point, though. College Humor has actually been pushing out some decent videos lately and Transformers Go Hollywood is just a taste of what they have to offer. It seems that some of the Decepticons and Autobots are beginning to get a little full of themselves after all the success of the first film.
Optimus Prime: What’s up with those Gobots Megatron? They’re fucking stupid! You know what I mean? Couldn’t even hold onto his fucking job. He’s like Bumblebee if he was retarded.
Sorry for not posting any new reviews this weekend. I’ve still been watching but haven’t been in much of a mood for writing since I have finals for the next two days. In my frequent breaks from studying I’ve managed to find a few gems to ease my pain, though. One of them was this Family Guy version of the Matrix trailer. Some parts are seamless and hilarious, others kinda drag on, but as a whole it’s all pretty well done (or maybe more like medium rare). Mad props goes to the creators.
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This week seems to be a return to form for the movie industry. I say that meaning both good and bad things. It’s good because many of the studios are desperately seeking a hit, especially Universal, but it’s bad because horrible films are starting to pick up most of the hype (Speed Racer). Iron Man killed last weekend at the box office and has a chance of staying the best reviewed film of 2008. I’m expecting Speed Racer to fall flat on its face this weekend and come in a close second to Iron Man. Anyone who didn’t get a chance to see the witty dialog of Robert Downey Jr. has heard by now how great it is and will find their way to the theaters, that also includes me.
For the past few months I’ve been avoiding Transformers, it was only until my 
