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What’s On This Week This Really Shouldn’t Work On The Big Screen – But It’s Fantastic Fun Movie Of The Week Transformers Sat, Sky Premiere, 8pm.
In theory, a multi-million dollar movie based on a cult Eighties toy series shouldn’t work – track down a copy of He-Man flick Masters of the Universe to see why not. However, against the odds, Michael (Armageddon) Bay and Steven Spielberg worked their magic on one of the most enjoyable movies of 2007.
The plot centres on a group of mechanised aliens, the Autobots, and their archrivals, the murderous Decepticons. After a jaw-dropping opening involving a killer helicopter, we meet student Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf).
He’s trying to sell a few personal possessions online in the hope of gathering enough cash to buy a car. One of the items is a pair of ancient spectacles belonging to a dead relative. But these are no ordinary specs – embedded inside them is the secret to the All Spark, a powerful cuboid whose energy could be used to make the Decepticons invincible.
When the killer droids attempt to take the specs by force, our hero and his wannabe girlfriend Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) are rescued by his endearing run-down car, aka a brave Autobot called Bumblebee.
“I bought a car. Turned out to be an alien robot. Who knew?” sighs Sam.
With the arrival of Optimus Prime and his fellow warriors, this small band of humans and robots clash with the Decepticons in a fight to the death.
There are plenty of peripheral characters, including an over-the-top John Turturro as the eccentric government agent Simmons, and Jon Voight as defence secretary John Keller (lending much-needed gravitas to proceedings).
However, it’s assured direction by Bay that makes this works well. LaBeouf is also on career-best form and a witty script by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, plus a team of skilled animators all combine to make the movie come alive.
That wonderful mix will keep viewers of all ages perched on the edge of their sofas for the duration. Let’s hope that upcoming sequel, Revenge of the Fallen, proves just as magical when it arrives in June.
Source: Daily Record
