We went to see “Transformers” last night at the drive in. I’m surprised, this morning, by the people who didn’t like this movie. The ones who didn’t like it absolutely HATED it. Whereas the ones who enjoyed it just loved it. I went in with pretty simple expectations. I was expecting a pretty empty headed but visually exhilarating summer blockbuster. And you know what? That’s what it was. Maybe I would have thought different if I had been in a standard movie theater instead the drive in (and had paid $9 a person instead of $8 for the whole family).
The drive in tends to be less about the movie and more about the experience. And as we went with a bunch of other people it was quite the experience indeed. We had smuggled in drinks and candy to enjoy, the kids ran around and played and the adults chatted and enjoyed the cool(er) night air. So we were all feeling pretty jovial once the movie itself started. And true enough, there are a lot of distractions at the drive in and so I probably didn’t pay as close attention as I would have if we’d been in a regular theater or even here at home.
Yeah, the plot was stupid. I sort of expected it to be stupid though. I mean, this is “Transformers” we’re talking about. It’s a movie based on a cartoon based on a line of toys from the 80’s made by Hasbro. We’re not talking rocket science here. We were all there, for the most part, to see these robots transform and kick ass. And they did plenty of that! A lot of people have complained about some of the “cuter” parts. Me? I thought that part where Optimus Prime accidentally stepped on the Sam’s parents’ fountain (destroying it, of course) and said, “Oops, my bad,” was hysterical. Yeah, there was a LOT of product placement in this movie (my guess is GM sold their collective soul for this movie) but I didn’t really care too much. Sure, it might have been nice to have seen a Toyota or a Dodge transform, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it.
The coolest moments were some of the battle sequences and watching some of the absolutely magnificent transformations. Starscream wins “Most Gasps of Awe” for his mid-air transformations and hijinks (though I had to wonder why they didn’t give him a more high pitched voice like he had in the cartoon). And I was so happy to hear that they gave Optimus Prime the SAME voice he had in the cartoon which really helped the “shut up and go along for the ride” aspect of the flick.
When the movie was over, I was left with a smile on my face. My son looked awestruck and my husband was grinning. That to me is the most important thing. We had a great time. If you’re thinking of going, just don’t expect anything more than an action-fest and you won’t be let down.
