Independence Day with robots

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For me and many of my close friends, Transformers
was much more than just another science fiction movie project.  We belong to a generation that grew up sitting
on the sofa since early hours in the morning, in front of the TV set, devouring
one animation series after another, totally flabbergasted by the huge amount of
new and exciting shows coming from America and Japan. And Transformers was
for most of us, the cherry on top of the cake. It was a happy time with no much
worries; our glass of milk in one hand, the biscuits in the other, and the eyes
was totally hypnotized in front of the screen, watching the battles of Autobots
and Deserticons.

For many of you, the story is well known.
Two robotic clans with amazing skills and powers, coming from a destroyed
planet, that find the Earth their second home. One of them is evil and wants to
destroy human beings: The Decepticons. The others are friendly with
humans: The Autobots. Both clans have charismatic leaders whose names
are an evocation of power: Optimus Prime, the red and blue truck, leader
of the Autobots that fights against Megatron, the sneaky and nasty boss of the
Deserticons.

Many were the fans of the original animation
series that was released in 1984 and the success was so huge that countless
series, comics and adaptations were made in following years. The product got
followers in Japan,
America
and Europe, becoming a worldwide phenomenon. I
have read many blogs where every Transformer´s character is deeply
analyzed to the last chapter and verse, and even some freaks fans had an
enormous pleasure in theorizing about twisted love relations between human
characters and robots.

And here we are in 2007, where finally the project
is taken by Hollywood
and put under the hands of Michael
Bay (director among
others of The Island or Pearl Harbor).
Well, I was a bit afraid before watching the final product about what kind of
angle would be used for the adaptation. I suppose, as many other fans, you
always try to preserve the original spirit as much as possible. After watching
it, I think that the title of this article speaks by itself. Michael Bay
has created a film that is totally directed to hail the American way of life,
and the power and sophistication of their weapons and arsenal. This is really a
pity, because the original idea could have been developed into a really much
more wonderful result.

The robots, that should be basically the “main course” of
the film, are poorly depicted. You can hardly make any difference about who is
who, or what are the special features that every robot has. And the extremely
fast rhythm of the action and battles does not help at all to solve the
problem. Michael Bay continues stamping the “video clip
tempo” in his action movies, and the spectator continues praying for an
explanation to understand what is happening on the screen.

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About the human
characters, Shia LaBeouf
looks like a clown all along the film, and it is difficult to concentrate on Megan
Fox’s acting skills, since every shot where she appears is treated as if
taken from a Playboy sketch. The girl is really hot… and not much more to add.
I don’t know what is about with such a huge polemic about Iranian videogames promoting
actions against western countries, when products so unnecessarily pro-America
like this slap on our face month after month. I have nothing against USA. I am a
citizen of the world and I think that it should be easier if people just would
appreciate what is good from every culture. But I hate to feel betrayed as a
fan. I hate when such a nice original idea as Transformer was is just
turned into a political propaganda movie. I have no other option that just jumping
back in time and use my memory to remember again the good moments sitting on my
sofa with my glass of milk in one hand, and the Transformer's catchy
intro music announcing that another great episode was just going to be
broadcasted! 

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