"Transformers": Absurdity Triumphant
(Because studios get hinky about movies being reviewed too soon, this is not a review. More like notes from a viewing of what could well be the summer's biggest movie. To the notes, then:)
One of the smartest things about "Transformers" is that it knows that the basic idea is pretty ridiculous …
Brilliant robots that change into ordinary machines and then back again? As is well known, that's a toy, not a story. So "Transformers" — which I saw at a screening tonight, with an extremely enthusiastic crowd — has taken pains to do two things very well. It made sure that its big-screen toys were very good (especially when fighting each other), and it never took itself too seriously.
In fact, it goes for laughs on a level with "Men in Black," a movie that the makers of "Transformers" have paid attention to — as well as to the likes of "Independence Day," director Michael Bay's own "Armageddon," "Christine" and even a little bit of "King Kong."
And it moves so briskly that I was surprised to see it clocked in at about 2:20; it did not flag along the way as "Spider-Man 3" and the latest "Pirates of the Caribbean" did. When in doubt, it either offered a quick laugh or sent its creations a-transforming.
At least, that's my initial impression. I'll be polishing it up some when I write my review tomorrow (for Monday's Beacon Journal). And I'll be getting into some other matters, too. Still, where I was ready to be impressed with the movie's action, I laughed — happily — a lot more than I expected.
