Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in Chicago, plus articles, trailers and more

Transformers (2007)

Director: Michael Bay

Critics' rating

Average user rating

2 reviews

Synopsis

Based on the hugely popular cartoon and toy range from the 1980s, Transformers revolves around a war between two sets of robots for supremacy on Earth. Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots, who have travelled to Earth to protect mankind from Megatron and his evil army of Decepticons. Meanwhile, young human Sam Witwicky buys his first car, which just happens to be Autobot Bumblebee, and soon finds himself embroiled in the battle to save the planet.

Movie review

From Time Out Chicago

Criticizing Michael Bay movies for being big and dumb is like complaining that the ocean is wet; it comes with the territory. But there’s dumb and then there’s dumb. Transformers stomps along from action sequence to action sequence as lumberingly as the titular robots themselves, destroying everything in its path.

As a booming voiceover explains (this is the sort of movie in which basic premises get overexplained under the assumption that the audience has the collective IQ of a wombat), good autobots and bad decepticons are both seeking the Allspark, a cube that gives life to anything. The key to its whereabouts rests with smart-ass teen Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf), who has nothing on his mind except buying a car and bagging a hot babe (Fox). Enter robots good and bad, disguised as cars, trucks, helicopters and even a CD boombox.

Meanwhile, soldiers (Duhamel and Gibson among them) in Qatar have tangled with decepticons trying to hack into our defense systems. They have to get vital intel about how to fight these robots back to the Pentagon.

Many brave ones and zeroes give their lives so that CGI shots of blurry masses of rapidly moving metal can clutter the screen. Of course, it’s asking too much to insist that a movie about robots disguised as cars be plausible, but Transformers can’t even play by its own rules. The robots are sometimes geniuses and sometimes act like gigantic toddlers. The human characters are even less well developed. And Lord Almighty, is this movie long. We kept wishing those robots could figure out how to transform into a better movie.

Author: Hank Sartin 2007-07-02 16:46:35

Time Out Chicago Issue 122: June 28-July 4

Bookmark

User reviews of this film

Will Rothery said...

Posted on Oct 06 2008 06:34 Frankly I think your comment was disgusting. The idea of Transformers is a superhero-cliché. The quips made by Optimus appeal to a younger audience, whereas the actings does for older people.
It was a well put together film, because you sir are a flaming idiot. Go drink some bleach or set fire to your house while inside it; or drive your car into a wall at high speeds. Minus seating belt.
Cunt.

Report as inappropriate
Speckles said...

Posted on Jul 30 2007 18:30 Simply, I hate it. I think it's dumber then Terminator 3, which was vomit. People are giving LaBoeuf a lot of crap, I honestly think he was excellent. Half way through he was drowned out by the robots but I was very impressed with the character up until then. The first half seemed to set things up that I liked. The car chase between the cop car and bumblebee indicated good things to come... but they didn't! After the sector, whatsisname guy turned up the film plunged like nobodies business. And Prime's exposition would not stop! "We're WE any different?" I was secretly saying "Stop talking, stop talking - please stop talking!" I felt plain embarrassed. So yeah, bad. Autobots, don't roll out the sequel!

Report as inappropriate