2023-06-23 09:14:30
When Michael Bay premiered in 2007 the first installment of Transformers, the movie industry was different. Yes, there were superheroes, but we are talking about the Spider-man of Sam Raimilos X-Men, Superman Returns (Both of Bryan Singer) or the Batman Begins of Nolan. Fast & Furious it had only reached its third installment. The blockbuster sagas of the moment were Harry Potter y Pirates of the Caribbean. There were no multiverses and no sagas were planned five years from now. Michael BayFor his part, he was the director of epic action films such as the first two installments of two rebel cops, The rock o Armageddon. Yes, the foundations of the current Hollywood blockbuster were being written, but it was not yet possible to foresee what the next 15 years would bring.
BAYHEM
under the hand of Michael Baythe franchise Transfomers They have been a clear example of the filmmaker’s personality: noisy, frenetic, Peterpanesque, improbable, elephantine and saturating. We do not deny the capacity for visual spectacle that is the hallmark of the house, but the search for the stimulus per second of Bay It also made the films very confusing with respect to what was happening on the screen or even what audience they were aimed at (jumping from very childish and juvenile elements to others that were outright sexually charged).
To this was added an effect of wear and reluctance from the filmmaker to each new installment, especially evident in the last two in his charge as director. With the farewell of Bay (although I keep the position of producer), the franchise had to renew or die. And suddenly it came Bumblebee, which lowered all those excesses and preferred a simpler, closer, slower story and with more human characters. The model was the youth cinema of the 80s and the film, in its modesty and simplicity, knew how to mark the new path.
A NEW MODEL
For the new installment, already the seventh, those responsible for the franchise have taken note of the changes in the industry and have decided to update their pattern to the model Marvel. What’s more, if we changed the protagonist robots of this story to The Avengers and the villain, Unicron, to Thanos, surely we wouldn’t notice much of the difference.
At the address, Steven Caple Jr. is far from being Michael Bay, in the good and in the bad. It is true that, at the narrative level, transformers. The Awakening of the Beasts it is much more affordable, without so much editing of one hundred shots per second, which allows not only to follow the action better, but also to bring the characters closer to the viewer; however, it is also true that Caple He is a commissioned producer, without his own personality and without the sense of visual spectacle of Bay. Here we are more in front of a studio film, designed to open the doors to a new shared universe, this time Hasbro.
LOOKING FOR THE TONE
At the level of action scenes, we returned to the epic and not so much to the camera format that was Bumblebee, but from this one did learn to give greater weight to the characters and the familiar character of the plot. At the script level, we are dealing with a simplistic and predictable script, but which, in its conservative tone, prefers to strengthen the viewer’s empathy with the characters through something as universal as the feeling of family. We see this between the group of Autobots, the addition of the Maximals, and the new human characters. The conflict, also very chewed, is the stubbornness of each group to fight for their own, without working as a team, which gives Unicron and his Terrorcons an advantage. In the end, this simplicity is functional, and the film is an impersonal entertainment, but friendly and playful.
SAVING THE FRANCHISE
The film has a significant investment in visual effects, as expected. The recreation of the Robots is great, especially when it comes to the pack’s new favorites, the Maximals and their leader, Optimus Primal. The battle sequences are no longer a meaningless amalgamation of shapes and colors, but we can finally appreciate which character hits who, and the action is not overwhelming or confusing.
Of course, the director and producers know where the viewer’s favorites are, and a moment of special brilliance is dedicated to those characters that best connect with the viewer. Although, within the Autobots, Mirage is the one who has the greatest role here, she reserves moments of special brilliance for everyone’s favorite, Bumbleebee. In addition, to warm up expectations, the tape saves an ‘Avengers Initiative’ moment that the toymaker’s followers will surely like Hasbro.
ASSEMBLY THE TOY
In a start to the summer season that is proving to be powerful in terms of box office performance as well as the good acceptance by fans and viewers of the titles that have hit the billboards in the weeks prior, transformers. The Awakening of the Beasts It’s not going to be the movie of the season, but it does seem to us to be decent entertainment, which (without much use) ranks, in our opinion, among the three best films in the film franchise since its birth in 2007.
#Review #TRANSFORMERS #AWAKENING #BEASTS #transmarvelized