I managed to get out and see the new Transformers movie last night. First impression – quite a ride!

Most of the reviews I’ve scanned complain about the same things: a weak plot, shallow characters, the movie as a whole being an excuse for crazy special effects and explosions. Ah, whatever. That’s my thought. First of all, if you’re looking to a movie about extraterrestrial robots who can transform into random vehicles and electronics for some sort of inspired plot line…well…seriously. I pointed out to my dad (who went to see it and enjoyed it as well), that to truly dive into the extraterrestrial robot theme and make it believable would require so much back story and scientific development as to render it unaccessible to most of the public (and make a huge book out of it). I’m sure it can (and maybe will) be done. But not in two hours on the big screen.

My thoughts? The plot in general is solid. You have the Fallen, a quite obsessed antagonist, and then Witwicky (or whatever his last name is) as a primary protagonist, with his band of robots and humans who strive to defeat the fallen. In my mind most plots fall apart where (usually) the very powerful antagonist, for some unstated reason, limits the use of his power or overlooks a very simple method of victory, and this is usually done to ensure the victory of the protagonist. I really didn’t get that feel.

The real teller for me in a movie is this: “Did it take you away?” It did for me. There was annoying kid behind me in the theatre who wouldn’t stop making rather inane comments throughout the previews (it would have been slightly tolerable if they had actually been funny or insightful…not so much…). I wondered how it would go through the movie. Interestingly enough, the comments ceased about halfway through the movie when things started to get kinda intense. The movie had eventually swept him away as well!

I enjoyed the robot fighting scenes – some of which, if they had included real men, would have earned the movie an R-rating for graphic violence.

Drawbacks? Mainly about a dozen subplots or plotlines which are left unexplored. Of course, to explore them adequately would probably have taken a half-dozen movies… There were also a bunch of sexually themed jokes, some more crass than others. And I was a little peeved when I heard  Optimus Prime curse…I had just thought of him as above that…

In the end, you just have to ask yourself if you can enjoyably suspend your disbelief about alien robots who can transform. If you can enjoyably believe that for a couple of hours, then you will will probably enjoy Michael Bay’s robotic extravaganza