Film: Transformers
Tagline
Their war. Our world.
Plot
Many years ago on the distant planet of Cybertron, there was a raging war between to noble Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the wicked Decepticons, commanded by the dreaded Megatron. The two sides were fighting for possession of the Allspark, a mystical talisman that would grant unlimited power to whoever possessed it. The Autobots managed to somehow smuggle the Allspark off the planet, but Megatron was not far behind them, ready to find it again. Around 1850 he finally tracked it to the planet of Earth, but his uncontrollable desire for power caused him to be reckless, and with one wrong move he was sent right into the Arctic Ocean, where the freezing cold water and ice forced him into a paralyzed state. His body was later found by Captain Archibald Witwicky, and before going into a comatose state Megatron used the last of his energy to engrave a map, showing the location of the Allspark, into the Captain's glasses, and send a transmission message to Cybertron. He is then carted away by the Captain's ship, and put into a secret government storage area for the next century.
In present day, Sam Witwicky (played by Shia LaBeouf), grandson of Archibald Witwicky, buys his first car. To his shock, he discovers it to be Bumblebee, an Autobot in disguise who was sent by Optimus Prime to protect Sam, as he has possession the Captain's glasses, and more importantly, the map carved on them. But Bumblebee is not the only Transformer to have arrived on Earth - in the desert of Qatar, two of the Decepticons attack a U.S. military base, causing the Pentagon to send their special Sector Seven agents to capture all "specimens of this alien race," and Sam and his ‘sorta girlfriend’ Mikaela (played by Megan Fox) find themselves in the middle of the grand battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons, with the fate of the world dependent on their bravery.
Acting
Overall, I was very impressed with the acting, though most of the main characters were technically just voices. However, Shia LaBeouf, who has always been a personal favorite of mine, came through with a strong performance, as did Megan Fox and the rest of the cast.
Verdict: Prior to seeing this movie, I had no extensive knowledge of the Transformers world, and so I can’t really say much for the authenticity of the characters. However, I can say that while the battle scenes in the movie are quite impressive, it does take a while to get there. The movie had a slow start, with quite a bit of unnecessary scenes, but in the end it was completely worth it. While I don’t think it’s as epic as it was made it out to be, I do think it’s a fun movie to watch.