Horror movies have never been about plot so I won’t bore you with details other than to say that this is theoretically re-telling the first four Friday the 13th films.  There are some obvious differences from the originals.  For example, the original film takes place during the opening credits of this version and Jason witnesses his mother’s death.  From there we follow Clay as he’s attempting to locate his sister Whitney who’s been “missing” for 6 weeks after a camping trip to Crystal Lake.

If you ask me there’s no need for this to be a reboot – it could have just as easily been a sequel and I would have been happy.  Other than the fact that Michael Bay produced this one there’s not a single big name in the cast or crew.  That’s actually a good thing though as I hate seeing a horror movie with someone I know in it.  Aside from the loose plot similarities and the fact that Jason wears a hockey mask this really isn’t a Friday the 13th movie.  Part of what made Jason so scary is that he was methodical and plodding.  He really did stalk his prey and just waited for them to trip and fall.  In this incarnation he’s anything but plodding… he’s quick, fast and ready for action.

He’s also (apparently) a great archer which leads to a great kill.  Speaking of kills, there are some great ones here.  The bow and arrow head shot from out of nowhere, a teen being cooked in a sleeping bag (post-coitus of course) and a very inventive screwdriver to the throat really speak to the “slasher” genre.  I saw the “Killer Cut” so I’m not sure what was in the theater version but there are a few in there that are really brutal.  If I wasn’t constantly comparing this to the originals I would have been very entertained.

If you’re a fan of horror flicks you should definitely check this one out.  If you’re a Friday the 13th purist (cause there are so many of us out there) you may be a bit let down.  For my money the original is one of the best horror flicks out there (with Halloween being a close second) and I just don’t believe that it needed to be retold.  That said, I’m REALLY interested to see what the next movie brings us… it will be the 13th installment.  Time will tell!

The Transformers

More of the same goodness that we got in the first movie.  Optimus Prime kicks MAJOR ass in this flick.  At one point he roars “I’ll take you all on” and I literally got goose bumps.  That was of course until he went and got himself “killed”.  Silly Optimus.  Megatron is back from the depths of the ocean in this one and he’s still a bad ass.  Making their first appearances in live action are Soundwave and Ravage.  If you remember them from the cartoons Soundwave was the little tape player and Ravage was one of the cassette tapes that went in him.  For obvious reasons they don’t take on these forms in a movie set in present day (as they’d have to be antiques in order for it to make any sense).  Soundwave is used very well and Ravage is AWESOME in his action sequences.

The title of the movie takes its name from another new Decepticon: The Fallen.  Think of him as the main bad guy.  In fact, he’s the guy that made Megatron bad to begin with.  Without going into too much of his back story he was one of the original 13 Transformers also known as the “Dynasty Of The Primes”.

Two other new bots of note are Jetfire and Devastator.  Jetfire is a geriatric Decepticon turned Autobot who has been in hiding at the Smithsonian in Washington for decades.  Devastator is a Decepticon who is formed out of multiple bots to form one super bot capable of “eating” anything in its path.  Both of these characters had cartoon versions and seeing them on the big screen was super cool.

Finally I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention “Alice” played by Isabel Lucas.  She’s originally introduced as a dorm mate of Sam at college who has the hots for him.  It turns out she’s actually a Decepticon posing as a human.  This is one of the big problems I had with the flick.  I have not problems suspending disbelief but this was a bit much for me.  For what it’s worth… Isabel Lucas is smokin.

The Humans

More of the same here.  If you enjoyed Shia LaBeouf (Sam Witwicky) and Megan Fox (Mikaela Barns) in the first film you’ll enjoy them here.  Shia talks like he’s on speed the entire movie and Megan wears outfits that should probably be banned.  If possible Megan Fox is hotter in this flick than she was in the last.  Wow.  Back again are Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson playing U.S. special forces and John Tuturro as former agent of Sector 7.

Sam’s mom and dad are once again played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White.  These characters are given an over the top treatment in this flick culminating with mom mistakenly eating pot brownies while visiting Sam at college.  While kind of humorous, it’s this type of stuff that could have been left out.

Ramón Rodríguez plays Sam’s roommate Leo Spitz who runs an Internet site all about conspiracy theories.  Of course he’s got a ton of information about the events of the first film which Sam denies.  His character is included more from a slap stick humor perspective as opposed to a true plot-driver.

The Backlash

This film was pretty much universally destroyed by critics.  Based on that I went into it with pretty low expectation but as I said in a previous post I was still really excited to see it.  After seeing it I really don’t know what all the uproar is about.  The problems that I had with the first one are still present here:

1. It’s difficult to tell who’s who when the robots are fighting one another.
2. The human dialog is WAY too fast and tries to be too witty.
3. Most of the time the Autobots / Decepticons aren’t really introduced

Again, these are things that I had problems with in the first one.  Michael Bay is known for being an ACTION director.  If you’re expecting Hamlet you’re going to be disappointed… but shame on your for expecting Hamlet.

I do have a couple of issues with the film outside of what I’ve outlined above.

1. The Fallen – he’s supposed to be some supreme bad ass and Prime kicks his ass relatively quickly.  I know this is a minor thing but I thought I’d point it out.
2. The whole “human into robot” thing described above.  I know it’s a movie and I’m supposed to give some leeway but this was a bit much for me.
3. Sam going “into the Matrix”.  While it was COMPLETELY AWESOME to see the Matrix Of Leadership on film it was kind of crazy for a human to die, go into the Matrix and gain knowledge from it (A la Optimus in the Red Dust episodes from the cartoons).

Recommendation

All of those bad points aside you really should see this flick.  If you enjoyed the first film I don’t see how you can’t enjoy this one… it’s more of the same stuff PLUS you get quite a few new characters.  The bottom line is this – as long as Michael Bay is making movie about big robots that talk and transform I’m going to be in line to see them.  As of this writing, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen has grossed $339 Million.  That to me sounds like an equation for more Transformers movies in the future.  Get out there and see it!

For those that don’t know, The Transformers are robots that morph (transform) into vehicles and other objects to blend in to their surroundings.  The property first came to us in the mid 80′s as a cartoon and has since spawned three (as of last night) theatrical releases, comic books, toys and and episodic television show.  I’m a child of the 80′s.  I lived for the Transformers.  It was my favorite show to rush home from school to watch.  I had the toys, I went to the movies, I pretended to be my favorite characters.  That’s why I’m going to this movie… cause I have great memories of this franchise and Michael Bay knows it.

The first movie had its flaws for sure.  I couldn’t tell what was going on when robots were fighting other robots.  The human dialog was kind of sappy.  I wasn’t a big fan of the hand held camera views.  But you know what?  I loved it!  I loved the fact that these robots from my childhood were being brought to life on the screen.  I loved the fact that Megan Fox is in there (just cause I think she’s completely beautiful).  I loved the fact that it didn’t try to be anything but what it was – a balls to the wall action movie.  Many of the reviews of Revenge Of The Fallen that I’m reading are bitching about those same things.  If I could get past them in the first film I’m sure I’ll be able to get past them in the second.

Transformers isn’t the only 80′s franchise that’s going to get my money this summer.  G.I. Joe is getting a big screen treatment of its own later this summer.  I’ve been excited about seeing a live action G.I. Joe flick for years and ever since the first trailer showed up during the Super Bowl this year I’ve been counting down the days.

Unfortunately the early reviews of G.I. Joe – The Rise Of Cobra have not been good.  Reports of the worst test screening in the history of the studio, fired directors, rewritten scripts, etc. have been circulating for a while now.  All I can tell you is this: the trailer was awesome and I’ll be there when this one hits the theaters.  G.I. Joe (like The Transformers) defined who I was when I was growing up in the mid 80′s.  I remember going to the theater to see the original G.I. Joe movie and wondering what the hell Cobra-La was.

These movies get made for one reason: Money.  The movie houses KNOW that there are folks out there like me that will flock to the flicks no matter what kind of garbage is put to screen.  Throw in a couple of toy lines to hook the younger kids and you’ve got yourself a billion dollar property.

This geek simply can’t wait.  Autobots… roll out!  Yo JOE!!!

1990 – Dances With Wolves

I have to say that this was a pretty damn good movie.  This is Kevin Costner at his best.  The story is incredible and the scenery is even better.  Other than the fact that it’s over 3 hours long (and because of that a bit slow) I don’t have much bad to say about it.  That said, there are a couple of flicks in 1990 that are in fact “better than the best”.

Better Than The “Best” In 1990:

• Goodfellas – With the exception of the Godfather movies, this is THE mafia movie.  Absolutely shocking that it didn’t win the Oscar.
• The Hunt For Red October – based on a Tom Clancy novel this Russian submarine spy thriller is top notch.

Honorable Mentions From 1990:

• The Exorcist III – I absolutely LOVED this flick.  It’s a little bit horror and a little bit occult.  After the disaster that was Exorcist II this was sorely needed.  It ties back into the original perfectly.

1991 – The Silence Of The Lambs

I have absolutely no beef at all with this winning best picture.  Not only did it win for Best Picture, but Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, Jodie Foster won Best Actress for playing agent Clarice Starling, Jonathan Demme won for Best Director and Ted Tally won for Best Writing.  With that kind of hardware it’s difficult to say that any other film was even worthy to be judged in 1991.

Honorable Mentions From 1991:

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day – really put Arnold back on the map when it comes to action movies.  The original was good… this was better.

1992 – Unforgiven

This was an incredible movie plain and simple.  It was 3 other Oscars including Best Director (Clint Eastwood), Best Supporting Actor (Gene Hackman) and Best Film Editing (Joel Cox).  Even if you don’t like westerns you NEED to see this film.  Eastwood is at his best in years and Hackman plays a near perfect villain.

Honorable Mentions From 1992:

• A Few Good Men – I’m big into lyrics when it comes to music and I’m big into speeches when it comes to movies.  Jack Nicholson’s “You can’t handle the truth” speech is incredible – and the story isn’t half bad either.
• Scent Of A Woman – See above and insert Al Pachino’s “Out of order, I’ll show you out of order”
• Reservoir Dogs – the film that put Quentin Tarantino on the map: enough said.
• Basic Instinct – if the only thing you know about this is that Sharon Stone shows her beaver then you’re selling this movie WAY short.  This is an incredible thriller with some of the best dialogue and suspense in years.  A must see.

1993 – Schindler’s List

Schindler’s List was a great movie no doubt about it.  I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a movie that shows the brutality of The Holocaust quite so well.  I can understand why it won the Oscar this year but for my money there was some better movies out there.  For me I just hate coming out of the movies feeling so down (IE,  2004′s Passion Of The Christ).

Better Than “The Best” In 1993:

• In The Line Of Fire – Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich & Rene Russo star in a film about an assassination attempt on the President.

Honorable Mentions From 1993:

• Jurassic Park – if nothing else you need to see this to experience Speilburg’s version of dinosaurs.  WOW.
• Rudy – THE feel good story of all time.
• Tombstone – if you’re looking for a good western with good action, great dialogue and a good story, this is the flick for you.

1994 – Forrest Gump

Another very good movie that would probably win the “Chewie Oscar” in most years.  This decade-spanning story does some incredible things with old news footage splicing Tom Hanks into historic events.  That said, there are a couple of movies that were a step above.

Better Than “The Best” In 1994:

• Pulp Fiction – WOW.  The movie that brought John Travolta & Bruce Willis back into the public eye.  It was nominated for all the major Oscars and should have won more than it did.
• The Shawshank Redemption – based on a short story by Stephen King the tagline for this movie says it all – “Fear can hold you prisoner.  Hope can set you free.“

Honorable Mentions From 1994:

• The Crow – based on a comic book by the same name, this tale of revenge was Brandon Lee’s final performance when he was killed on the set.  It spawned several sequels but none come close to the original.
• The Professional – also known as Léon this movie stars Jean Reno as a professional killer and Gary Oldman as a psychotic police New York cop.  It also features the film debut of Natalie Portman.
• Clerks – the film that started it all for filmmaker Kevin Smith.  A day in the life of two convenience store clerks has never been so entertaining.

1995 – Braveheart

This is one of my top 5 movies of all time.  This movie written by Randall Wallace and directed by Mel Gibson tells the story of 13th century Scotsman William Wallace.   Wallace leads an uprising against Edward the Longshanks who’s trying to take over Scotland for himself.  The scenery is beautiful, the story is incredible, the acting is suburb and the action is second to none.  If you haven’t yet you owe it to yourself to see this film.

Honorable Mentions From 1995:

• Casino – it’s a mob movie, it’s a Vegas movie.  It stars Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci & James Woods.  It’s awesome… go see it.
• Se7en – one of the most brutal and intense thrillers you’ll ever see.  You won’t want to watch it again but you’ll be glad you saw it.
• The Usual Suspects – Who is Keyser Soze?  Watch this and find out.  “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.“

1996 – The English Patient

Quite simply not my cup of tea.  I watched about half of it before I gave up on it.  It won all kinds of Oscars and other awards so it MUST be good (yeah right) but like I said, just not for me.

Better Than “The Best” In 1996:

• Scream – an absolutely brilliant concept by director Wes Craven.  Definitely in the horror genre but it provides a brand new way of looking at it.  A very “smart” movie to be sure with a great story, superb acting and enough kills and gore to keep a true horror fan happy.

Honorable Mentions From 1996:

• Jerry Maguire – a fun love story with a sports backdrop.  Cuba Gooding Jr. is awesome, Renee Zelweger is great and Tom Cruise is actually watchable.
• The Rock – an outstanding action movie where an aging Sean Connery is at his best.  Nicolas Cage in one of his better roles and Ed Harris as a very convincing U.S. General who’s gone over the edge.  A Michael Bay flick through and through.

1997 – Titanic

First off… Before I went into the theater I knew how this one was going to end   All jokes aside this was THE teenie-bopper movie of the 90′s.  The fact that it grossed over a BILLION dollars proves that.  If Leonardo DiCaprio wasn’t in this film then we wouldn’t have had 12 and 13 year old girls seeing it over and over again.  If you like sappy, predictable love stories then this one is for you.

Better Than “The Best” In 1997:

• L.A. Confidential – absolutely incredible mystery/thriller with a great story and tons of action.  An outstanding cast including Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger (Oscar for Best Supporting Actress) & Danny DeVito.
• Boogie Nights – a retrospective look at the 70′s porn industry starring Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore & Burt Reynolds.  Even without the porn backdrop this is GREAT movie.  Paul Thomas Anderson tells a multi-year story in very convincing manner.

Honorable Mentions From 1997:

• Good Will Hunting – the movie that really put Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on the map.

1998 – Shakespeare In Love

This picture won SEVEN Oscars in 1998 including Best Picture, Best Actress (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Best Supporting Actress (Judy Dench).  Storyline wise it was pretty good.  A little slow at times and if it weren’t for the magnificent Saving Private Ryan I’d have no problem with this Oscar nod.

Better Than “The Best” In 1998:

• Saving Private Ryan – quite simply the most accurate & brutal portrayal of World War II that has ever been put to film.  An incredible cast led by Tom Hanks put forth a movie that should be required viewing for every American.

Honorable Mentions From 1998:

• The Truman Show – a movie with an incredible concept that was really before it’s time… the ultimate in reality TV.  Starring Jim Carrey as Truman and Ed Harris in one of my favorite of his performances.
• Rounders – the Matt Damon movie that is responsible for the poker boom.

1999 – American Beauty

Another Oscar nod that I’ve got no problem with.  Kevin Spacey, Annette Benning and the incredible Mena Suvari (yummy!) round out a cast that is perfectly cast.  A special nod to Wes Bentley for his portrayal of Ricky Fitts.  At once a down to earth and creepy character that you won’t soon forget.

Honorable Mentions From 1999:

• The Sixth Sense – the movie that put director M. Night Shyamalan on the map.  The twist in this one shaped movie storytelling for years to come.
• Fight Club – Edward Norton & Brad Pitt take an introspective look at life.
• The Blair Witch Project – An indy smash that was filmed as a documentary.  Incredibly visionary.
• The Matrix – special effects that we’re still seeing today started with this movie.  A story that will really make you think about your “reality” and some of the best action sequences ever put on film.
• Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace – honorable mention only for the hype that it produced.  The first Star Wars movie in decades gave fans more of the legendary saga.

FINAL THOUGHTS: All in all, there were 10 Best Pictures in the 90′s.  I agreed with 4 out of 10 for a “got it right” 40% for the Academy.  Not too bad.

2000 – Gladiator

Not sure that I can disagree with this one.  If you haven’t seen Gladiator yet you need to drop what you’re doing and get out there and RENT IT.  Russell Crowe plays the main character and Joaquin Phoenix plays the “bad guy” in this Ridley Scott flick.  Action galore, an amazing story and unbelievable scenery and direction.

Memorable Quotes:

• “At my signal, unleash hell.”
• “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”

Honorable Mentions From The Year 2000:

• Memento – I didn’t get how brilliant this movie was until I saw it a second time… incredible.
• Cast Away – SUPER slow, but a great flick.  Tom Hanks at his best.
• X-Men – I’m a comic book geek… always have been.  This was an incredible adaptation of the X-Men.

2001 – A Beautiful Mind

Not a bad flick by any stretch and proof positive that Russell Crowe pretty much dominated the box office in the early 2000′s.  Ed Harris plays a great roll in this one and Jennifer Connelly is at her best.  That said, there are definitely a couple that are MUCH better in my humble opinion.

Better Than “The Best” In 2001:

• Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring – the first of a trilogy and a sci-fi/fantasy movie which NEVER win best picture (until Return Of The King that is).  Amazing beginning to this trilogy.  Probably the best ever adaptation of a novel.
• Shrek – Also in the “will never win” category as an animated movie.  That said, Shrek is the movie that is still the standard when it comes to animation.  It was also one of the first movies to be watchable to an adult audience thanks to quite a few inside jokes purely for the older crew.
• Moulin Rouge! - finally, a reason for straight guys to watch a musical.

2002 – Chicago

Are we kidding here?  A musical with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger & Richard Gere dancing around… and THIS is the best we’ve got for 2002?  Give me a break…

Better Than “The Best” In 2002:

• Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers – my least favorite of the Rings trilogy and if you hadn’t read the books you wouldn’t know what the hell was going on, but it beats the crap out of dancing Richard Gere.
• Spider-Man – an incredible vision of the webslinger.  I don’t care what people say, Tobey Maguire was perfect for this roll and I thought he did an incredible job.
• Star Wars Episode II – Attack Of The Clones – I always have been and always will be a Star Wars geek at heart.  The original trilogy (with the exception of Revenge Of The Sith) should probably have never been made, but this was still TONS better than Chicago.
• Red Dragon – the prequel to the incredible Silence Of The Lambs.  Learn about Hannibal Lecter, how he got captured and a great villain played by Ralph Fiennes.
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding – this indy film was a smash for good reason.  If you’re not married you’ll laugh.  If you are married you’ll laugh so hard you’ll cry.

2003 – The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King

As I’m sure you could have guessed from some of my earlier comments, I’ve got no issue with this one.  Peter Jackson deserves this win as “Best Director” and I’m damn happy to say that the Academy got this one right.  I have a feeling that this was given as an overall show of approval to the Rings Trilogy rather than Kings but I’ve got no problem with that.

Memorable Quotes:

• “For Frodo!”
• “There and Back Again: A Hobbit’s Tale by Bilbo Baggins, and The Lord of the Rings by Frodo Baggins. You finished it. ”

Honorable Mentions From The Year 2003:

• X2: X-Men United – the action packed sequel to X-Men.  This is what X fans were waiting for… awesome.
• Kill Bill: Volume 1 – Quentin Tarantino’s revenge story starring Uma Thurman.  If you haven’t seen it, you need to.
  
• Seabiscuit – A story of a man and his horse.  I promise, it’s not as gay as it sounds.
• Finding Nemo – Another movie that adults can watch with their kids all day long.

2004 – Million Dollar Baby

The first of three years in a row where I have NOT SEEN the eventual winner.  I’ve heard great things about it but have yet to see it…

Potentially Better Than “The Best” In 2004:

• Spider-Man 2 – yep, I’m a comic book fan.  I thought the first Spider-Man movie was great… I though this one was better.  More action, better villain, etc.  See this movie.
• Kill Bill: Volume 2 – quite frankly I view this as part of Kill Bill rather than a sequel to the first.  That’s the way Tarantino saw it as well.  This is an outstanding conclusion to this bloody thriller.
• Miracle – it’s a Disney movie about a true story.  It’s a movie about hockey.  Despite all of these things it’s an incredible movie.
• Saw – a horror movie will never win an Oscar for best picture.  That said, this is one of the best I’ve seen in quite a few years.  Full review available here.

2005 – Crash

Another of the “best” that I have yet to see… will have to reserve judgment until after I’ve viewed it.

Potentially Better Than “The Best” In 2005

• Batman Begins – if you’re a fan of the Batman character at all you owe it to yourself to see this movie.  Not only is it the precursor to the unbelievable The Dark Knight but it tells the origin of Batman with a fresh slant on a great hero.
• March Of The Penguins – this sounded like the most boring movie ever… Penguins walk through the cold, lay eggs, and walk back.  Reading this it sounds boring again.  All I can say is it’s not… rent it.
• Star Wars Episode III – Revenge Of The Sith – the movie that I’d been waiting for since I was old enough to watch movies.  Star Wars defined a generation (or two, or three).  This is the last puzzle piece that fanboys across the galaxy were waiting for.
• 40 Year Old Virgin – if you think Michael Scott is funny you need to watch this movie.  If you don’t know who Michael Scott is: A) you’re missing some of the best stuff on TV and B) you probably won’t like this flick.

2006 – The Departed

The last of the “I didn’t see them yet” list from the 2000′s.  I can only imagine that this was in fact the best flick of 2006.  Based on what I DID see it didn’t have to beat all that much.

Potentially Better Than “The Best” In 2006

• Borat – everyone raved about it, but it was one of those “love it or hate it” pictures.  I had a couple of REALLY good laughs which is why I put it in this category, but I don’t think it was everything it was cracked up to be.
• X-Men: The Last Stand – as I said, I’ve not seen The Departed so I can’t speak definitively as to how good it is.  I’ve seen this one and I can tell you that I HOPE The Departed was better than this.  Full review available here.
• The DaVinci Code – incredible book which actually made the movie that much worse.  If I hadn’t read the book this would have been a very good movie.  The fact that I knew how good the story SHOULD have been takes away from this one.

2007 – No Country For Old Men

This was an incredible movie… unfortunately the ending sucked donkey balls.  You can read my full review here.  I’m a big “movie ending” guy so this was ruined for me by what I consider to be a terrible ending.

Better Than “The Best” In 2007

• Transformers – This is a Michael Bay movie through and through.  If you were a fan of the 80′s cartoon this might not be for you but it’s action from beginning to end, a great homage to the original series and a perfect lead-in to hopefully many sequels.  Full review available here.
• Michael Clayton – George Clooney was awesome in this movie… slow at times but REALLY get going about halfway through.  Well worth the rental if you haven’t seen it.
• Juno – This was a great movie.  The only complaint that I had was the dialoge of Juno.  No chance a girl that age has that attitude going through what she did.
• Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix – this series just keeps getting better.  As the books go so do the movies.  I simply cannot wait to see how the last 2 books translate onto film… should be incredible.

First off… This is NOT a kids movie.  Yeah yeah yeah, I know that it’s based on the kids toys from the early 80’s but this is a serious action movie (or as serious as one can get basing a story on robots from another planet that transform into other objects).

This LOOKS like a Michael Bay movie from the beginning.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with his work, he directed Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon & Pearl Harbor (among others).  Also I’d like to point out that I’m SUPER excited the the sequel to this movie has already been approved and is in production scheduled to be released in 2009.

If you’re looking for the cartoon storyline you’re going to be disappointed.  Gone is the story of the Matrix of Leadership and the Cybertronian Wars.  While they do make reference to Cybertron the reason that they are on Earth to begin with is completely different from the cartoon story lines.  I won’t go into it here, but suffice to say it’s pretty much just a macguffin.

The Transformers

Overall I think they looked great.  There actually aren’t THAT many characters in the movie.  Of course you’ve got Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron & Starscream but you’re missing some of my favorites including Soundwave (who I hear is going to be in the next flick).  The transformation sequences are done REALLY well and you even get to hear the tell-tale “transform” noise a couple of times.

They brought back Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime which is SO FUCKING COOL ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY.  Yes, I’m a geek and a fan boy, but it was so worth it.

The Humans

Shia LaBeouf plays an awesome character though it seems as if he’s talking in fucking warp speed for most of the movie.  I’m guessing that his character is based on “Spike” from the cartoons, but the link is never clearly made.

Megan Fox is fucking SMOKING and gets hotter as the damn movie goes on.  I would LOVE to be the dude that’s in charge of spraying her with water so it appears as if she’s sweating… are you fucking kidding me? HOT

Josh Duhamel was in there to get the teenie bopper girl fans.  His particular story line was pretty overdone if you ask me – hence the reason we’ve got a 2.5 hour plus action movie – I was a big fan of Las Vegas before it went off the air so I was pulling for the character.

Rachael Taylor is in the movie as a super hacker pretty much just to be hot I think… nuff said.

Visuals

As I said before it looked like a Mike Bay flick and overall it looked awesome.  The battle scenes were done really well, and there was nothing “toyish” about the Transformers themselves.  The one BIG BITCH that I had about the movie was some of the camera angles.  The last battle scene is about 30-40 minutes long – and it’s shot with the “shaky camera” (think the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan and you’ve got it).  It was so bad that I actually had to look away at one point, but that MAY have been due to the theater I was in.

OK, I’ve rambled on long enough, but I’d give this flick a STRONG 4/5 stars.  Well worth the $$$, especially if you were a fan of a the cartoon (though definitely not necessary).