One of the most successful film franchises based on a toy returns to the big screen in another blockbuster.
I need to tell you a bit about my frame of mind before seeing this film so you know my reaction to it. I do not like director Michael Bay. He is probably my least favourite directors of all time. He made a couple of excellent action films at the start of his career with 'Bad Boys' and 'The Rock' (I'm not completely happy with 'The Rock' but I'm willing to forgive its one major flaw). Then after that he went steadily down hill. His bombastic approach has ruined lots of potentially great films. He also has no self control and makes his film run far too long so that they can be incredibly boring as well. Many critics complain that Hollywood films are only made for 13 year old boys. Bay is the perfect example of a director who caters to this market. While I thought that the first 'Transformers' film was fun it was not the greatest. The less said about the second film the better. Now onto the third. Again Bay has taken an interesting premise and blown it all out of proportion both literally and figuratively. I was really bored by this film. The story had the potential to be good but Bay's editing while quick within a scene is not quick as far as pacing of the story so events drag out and become dull. Huge robots taking over the world should be thrilling and exciting but Bay has made it ordinary. While the only good point I can make about him as a director is that he can make an action scene look good he has failed here. Especially with the fights between the Transformers. They were just the same old fight scenes we have seen many times before in the previous film. It did not look like Bay had tried to make the fights interesting. Perhaps there is only a limited number of ways you can film two robots fighting. I also felt that many of the supporting characters from previous films were wedged in unnecessarily. I now people like to see familiar characters but it would have been better if they had a good reason for being there.
Ever since Stephen Spielberg started mentoring the career of Shia LaBeouf I feel it has gotten worse. In the first 'Transformers' film he had a sweet nerdy quality that made him a more likable hero. But now in the third film he has gotten really annoying, arrogant and unpleasant. Not the type of hero that you can root for. His chemistry with his new female co-star is non existent as well. The only reason I can see them going out is because of a plot point and that she is very good looking. But in a Michael Bay film all the girl needs to be is good looking. John Turturro is one of the familiar cast members I liked seeing in this film. He has a great side-kick in Alan Tudyk as well. Patrick Dempsey makes a good bad guy even if his character motivations are a little weird. John Malkovich's character is very strange and he gives an equally strange performance. The one delight in the film though was Frances McDormand. She is such a skilled actress that she can elevate even the most lackluster material.
I have some deep seeded prejudices against this film that mean I did not enjoy it. I went in with incredibly low expectations and they were not elevated. I still do not like Michael Bay as a director and he has not proven himself any better with this film.
No comments:
Post a Comment