Transformers

Transformers (2007)

Image From IMDB

Giant robots from my childhood smashing together on the big screen under the direction of the awesome Michael Bay in a big budget action flick… Yes fucking please! I absolutely loved the first Transformers movie when I saw it in the cinema, and haven’t lost any of my excitement nearly twenty years later.

It’s a big movie, but not a messy one. Transformers takes it time setting everything up, which some might not want, but I always appreciate. It’s nearly an hour before Optimus turns up, but it’s worth the wait. The special effects are outrageously good, and so visually clean. While some of the latter movies in the franchise give me a headache, this one doesn’t. Everything looks amazing. Effects really have gone down hill the last twenty years in Hollywood because no modern movie looks better than this.

The movie is jammed full of action, has loads of memorable characters, and some great humour ranging from a dog pissing on a Tranformers, to the Transformers doing the same to a bunch of military guys. It’s childish, but these were toys for kids.

I loved the whole sequence aboard Air Force One, and Shia chasing his ‘stolen’ car. The scene outside his parents house had the whole cinema in stitches back in the day, and hasn’t lost any of its fun. And obviously, the big robot bash at the end of the movie still feels spectacular. Maybe not as big as the next instalment, but better crafted.

Everyone plays their part well with Shia LaBeouf giving a memorable performance alongside the feisty Megan Fox. Josh Duhamel was great throughout, and John Turturro brought the comedy. The Transformers all look and sound great, which I think was an important part of why so many people loved the movie.

Bay’s direction was pretty flawless in my eyes. The camerawork was great, the pace spot on, and when the action hit, it was big. He was definitely the right man for the job.

It’s a big dumb action movie with robots fighting, but it’s the best version of this sort of movie. All the pieces came together in my eyes to make something memorable, and it existed before the time of every Blockbuster movie looking and sounding like an MCU film. This has Bay’s fingerprints all over it, and it’s the better for it. A massive fun film, and one I'll always go back to.