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Transformers live action movie
I am really excited about the new Transformers live action movie which is set to open on the 2nd of July and is expected to be a summer blockbuster with robots shooting and transforming. Since this is not a new concept, most of the greatest Transformers fans come from the 90s when TVs aired the animated Transformers TV series. I barely remember those days, that’s why I don’t know much about the robot characters and the whole story behind the animated movie. For me it’s more about the technological challenge and this genius concept of transformation that is unprecedented in live action movies.
The Transformers is directed by Michael Bay who has previously worked on “The Island”. Now, I know that this movie wasn’t very successful and that it was Bay’s first flop, but gosh! — it is my favorite movie ever! And I don’t think that, if there’s no island in “The Island”, that could be a problem. The tragedy of humanity shown in this movie made a huge impact on me. I was moved by seeing that you are able to escape something that might seem as reality by being simply curious. The futurism, the action, music, the story and etc. — it was all simply amazing.
What I thought after seeing “The Island” was that something big was going to happen next. Though “The Island” sold not many tickets and the public thought that Bay would back off, I think I was right. Transformers is big! It has the same screenwriters — Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci — the same DreamWorks studio and the same compositor — Steve Jablonsky. The team was there, they just needed another chance.
Action redefined
I am sure that what we will see in this movie has never been done before. It creates a totally new excitement and opens space for new imagination. Well, for example, how about robots transforming at 80 mph!? We are used to see explosions, car crashes and etc. in the center of any action movie, but Transformers keeps all these things in the background of The Robot-Action. Here’s a quote from director Michael Bay which accompanies my thoughts:
When you see Optimus Transform in this movie for the first time and don’t get a chill up your spine — then fuck off — because nothing in cinema will excite you!!! And trust me you won’t care about the flames
And it’s so realistic. The robots transform as they were really doing that. It all looks really very believable. It is worth to note that they wouldn’t have done that a few years ago because of the great technology involved in making this movie. I think it’s really great what the capabilities are to bring such exciting concept into live action movie.
Impressions
My first impression - I was outraged by the action, it was alien! Over the first couple of hours after the session I wasn’t exactly sure what had happened… There were some folks saying that there has been too much chaos at the end of the movie or that Transformers lacked wide angle shots. It’s probably true, I’d like to agree, but what they actually ignore is the complexity of the action, concept itself. I realized how damn complicated it was to put this genius concept into live action, understandable movie and how the nature of this concept can simply be alien to many of us. There were things, to my mind, that contributed in making it clear and things that failed to represent the robots.
I must say that the story did not represent robots properly. I saw no drama, no tragedy, no good moral, except the “no sacrifice - no victory” thing. I mean, these are robots and we are humans. Robots-humans it can be an exciting story. Michael tried to adjust the robots to the human eye, to real live situations and I think he succeeded but the story, from my perspective, was far-fetched. And why are they so mad about the US military? Is it because Bay has Pentagon’s phone number or is it because Americans are so “proud” of it and they feel gaga over classified US government material that they never even get to know? Is there a coolness factor in this that I don’t understand?
My idea for the Transformers sequel: make one of the new robots return as the last Space Shuttle which is planned to be retired in 2009. Just imagine, it captures the Shuttle right before the atmosphere reentry, then flies all the way to the Kennedy Space Center in a usual, well-known manner and according to all normal ground procedures. And here it comes as everyone is watching, commenting and greeting the last successful Shuttle flight in the history. Then right at the main gear touch down, it transforms into a two-feet alien robot! Then you can do whatever you want - contact others through NASA channels, for example. Wouldn’t that be a cool and realistic landing?! I know, I know - it’s just a thought…
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