In the early 1980s, a line of toys became very popular from Hasbro – they were called Transformers. The toys also spawned their own animated series. The toys were famous for the catchphrase that they were more than meets the eye. This catchphrase sprinkled judiciously throughout the script of live action Transformers movie is very apropos. What is arguably the hottest popcorn movie of the summer has arrived and it features a character that is beloved by adults and will likely become loved by children as well: Optimus Prime.
Who is Optimus Prime?
According to the film, there was a planet called Cybertron. The world lived in peace until a devious group called the Decepticons, led by the evil Megatron, began waging war with the Autobots, led by the wise Optimus Prime. The war was being lost and the Autobots snuck the All Spark (a mystical cube that began life on their world) away and hid it. Megatron went in search of it. Both the All Spark and Megatron arrived on Earth in the 1800s, but Megatron crashed into the Arctic (and since cold shuts them down) he remained trapped and frozen).
I won’t go into more details because the film does an excellent job of explaining all of this without boring you. I sat in a crowded theater over the 4th of July with at least a hundred other families and watched fathers, sons, mothers and daughters all bonding as they viewed the film.
Humor & Action
Transformers blends humor and action. The blending of special effects into the live action were extremely well done and I have to admit, the first time you see one of the vehicles transform – it gave me chills. In the cartoon series, I was very fond of the character of Bumblebee (he was a yellow VW bug that could transform). In the movie, he is an older style yellow Camaro that befriends Shia LeBeouf’s character Sam Witwickey in one of the funniest moments in the film at a used car lot with a great cameo appearance by Bernie Mac.
Also well used in this film is the U.S. Military. They are portrayed in a brilliant light with the focus being on a Special Ops team in Qatar led by Josh Duhamel’s character. The men share a great bond and they work very well together. They make a stand against a Decepticon that destroyed their base. They have video footage and intel. They make a harsh trek across the desert to get to a phone line so they can deliver this crucial information to the government.
When they are pursued by one of the Decepticons, they work together and use their lasers to paint the target so that air support can take it out. It’s really a great moment because it honors those that serve in our military and does not make them bunglers or outclassed by these alien robots – in fact, they adapt and they use the tools that are available to them and they constantly and consistently gather information and prove that they can hurt the Decepticons.
A Long Film
This movie clocks in at over 2 hours and 20 minutes. There are about 10 to 15 minutes of previews in front of it – so be prepared to spend nearly 3 hours sitting in the theater. Luckily, the action keeps coming and you don’t sense the passage of time. Transformers is rated PG-13 and it is rated this for the complex level of violence in the film when the Decepticons attack and the humans and Autobots have to defend. There is a very intense scene where a Decepticon disguised as a police car (with a logo of To Punish and Destroy on its bumper) goes after young Sam and that’s pretty terrifying.
This film is not intended for very young children, but you need to use your own judgment on whether your child can handle it. This movie is far more sophisticated than the cartoon and you do see much in the way of injury and destruction and the wreaking of havoc – there are also perilous situations for beloved characters throughout the film, but in the end, it is the Autobots and the humans who are successful.
My six year old daughter and eight year old nephew viewed the film. They both wanted to go and we were prepared to extract my daughter if the action got too intense, but the humor and the reminder that everything would be all right is all she needed. Both kids gave the film two thumbs up and both firmly thought that a real car that could transform is pretty much only cool in a movie.
So use your own judgment and potentially check it out before you take children under the age of 8 to 10 to see it.
Transformers is in theaters now, it is rated PG-13 for violence and imminent danger sequences. This film is in no way a kids only film and is more aimed at the audience that grew up watching the Transformers 20 years ago. It is accessible to children, but sensitive children will not enjoy the danger. I rather suspect that we will be seeing a sequel to this film in the next year or two.
Heather Long also blogs on fitness, marriage and Disney