Transformers (2007) -vs- Independence Day (1996)

Review by Beau DeMayo 

The Smackdown.  Whenever aliens invade our planet, the vaunted resources of humanity's technological aggression pale in comparison to their greatest "weapon":  luck. Sure, the heroes of those films will preach about courage, history, and the innate goodness of humanity... but in the end, humans are just really lucky when it comes to aliens. The invaded humans of Michael Bay's "Transformers" are not only lucky but, like Oprah audiences, score nifty GMC cars in the process. Sad for Will Smith, the humans in "Independence Day" (or "ID4") just got a whole lot of combustible monuments, shot-down jets, and a drunk redneck tail-spinning in F/A-18 Hornet. But when it comes to balls-to-the-wall alien invasions, which movie's humans do a better job of not relying just on luck and special FX to make a good film?

"Gotta hook up with that incredibly hot truck. Check out that trim job!"

The Challenger.  More than meets the eye...in a Michael Bay film?  "Transformers" was pitched to Michael Bay as a film about a boy getting his first car. Really, it's about a boy caught between two groups of alien robots whose intergalactic war has crashed landed on Earth. Fearful of the evil Megatron and his Decepticons, the monologue-fueled Optimus Prime and his Autobots enlist Shia LaBeouf's aid in finding the Allspark, a techno-mystical cube with the power to animate any mechanical form while also possessing the plot-convenient ability to destroy the very creatures it creates should screenwriters Robert Oci and Alex Kurtzman write themselves into a climax corner. By the end of the movie, I think I got that Megatron wanted this cube so that he could create a new mechanical army to take over Earth... but that was after two brain-busting hours of claustrophobic action, syrupy slow-mo shots, self-aware jokes, and bombastic explosions. On that subject...

"And the 2008 Presidential Election results are in...."

The Defending Champion.  I remember seeing "Independence Day" when I was 13, standing outside in the sweltering heat of Florida to glimpse aliens trashing all of humanity's pride in about five minutes. Really, "ID4" is the quintessential blockbuster movie. The film follows a group of eclectic humans hailing from radically different backgrounds as they unite through determination and chance to fight an aggressive alien invasion that cripples Earth within minutes. Packed with as much patriotism as the National Anthem, "ID4" serves up an apocalyptic extravaganza that shows, in the end, the United States of America will apparently always save the world.

The Scorecard.  Someone needs to tell Michael Bay that the Nineties are over. "Transformers" is an interesting movie in that it almost plays like "Team America:  Transformers Edition." "Team America" overused the cookie-cutter characterizations, overwrought scores, and contrived action moments of the Nineties and created a parody of many cliche action films -- most of which Bay himself directed. "Transformers" seems to be Bay's response to "Team America" and its a very firm middle-finger. "Transformers" never turns away from slo-moing the action to show two characters, silhouetted by misty light, gazing upon each other or the battlefield as the music swells to speaker-rattling volumes. Apparently, the humans in "Transformers" are not only extraordinarily lucky on the battlefield, but also know how to pose during a disaster -- an important weapon. Not only that, but Bay shows no shame in homaging many of his  other films -- "Armageddon," "The Rock." It makes you roll your eyes.

Ironically, the Transformers themselves possess more personality than the humans, each human being functioning as a plot point. Sam, the hero teenager of the film, is well-acted by Shia LaBeouf -- however, it's not that much to act with in the first place.  He cracks jokes, looks shocked, and ogles over a girl who is so unbelievably out of his league (not to mention a girl shoehorned into the illogical role of a bombshell mechanic beauty with a juvie record). It's all so...convenient. This is not so much the case In "ID4," where the characters at least seem more like people with real interests in the matter at hand and who are going through tragedy. "ID4" has a sense of loss to it, as the President of the United States angsts over his dying wife who's carried to safety by the stripper girlfriend of the heroic Air Force pilot. Everyone has an internal issue -- whether it be fear, passivity, laziness, or arrogance --  and by confronting the alien invasion each overcomes the issue. For whatever reasons, this works and resonates emotionally with the audience in a somehow real, if perfunctory, way.

"ID4" has some thrilling action sequences, better conceived and more ambitious then those in "Transformers." They are still a treat to watch. Bay knows when to start an action scene, yet forgets how to shoot it as most of the robotic action is a flurry of closely-cropped mechanical parts flying about the screen. You really can't tell who won the fight until  -- as always -- the music swells, the camera swoops down and around in slo-mo, and Sam and his bombshell companion stare up in awe at the towering figure of the winner -- then you know.

The other large differences between these two films is the direction of the plot. In "ID4," the aliens want one thing: the extermination of the human race. It is so beautifully simple and matches the genocidal attack at the film's beginning. Also, this attacks shows that they can and pretty much already have started doing it and increases the suspense. Add on that we are invested in the characters and their personal dangers and the alien's plan is backgrounded and its simplicity irrelevant. In "Transformers," Megatron wants to use the Allspark to raise an army of machines from humanity's technology. Quite the invasion, right?  Wait, but Megatron crash landed on Earth over a hundred years ago and instantly froze...so was Megatron going to animate the light bulb, or the rudimentary camera into something fierce?  He's never even seen current Earth technology! This all becomes very obvious considering that the characters in this film are played mainly as jokes and don't distract from these plot holes. But hell, as Optimus Prime monologued: "Humans should be free, freedom's good, everyone should be free, yada, yada, yada..."

So the winner...

The Decision.  It's pretty obvious that the winner has to be your traditional blockbuster with all the right characters and emotions to go along with it. That would be  "Independence Day" and its slug-fest with an alien menace. Although "Transformers" is an awesome concept, its severely flawed execution by Bay makes for a rather underwhelming experience. Riddled with plot holes and flat characters, "Transformers" never gets into gear and moves with that energy and danger "Independence Day" did with such ease. In the end, those neon green lasers of "Independence Day" blast away everything, including sentient robots hellbent on the destruction of mankind through animating 19th century cotton gins.

Comments

[Rodney]

I still stand by my original comments on this film. transformers is merely a fast frenetic two hours of cinematic entertainment. So is ID4. Both films have their fun moments, and while I agree Bay's style of camerawork is similar to Paul Greengrass's, sometimes it works in favour of the action. Mind you, here's hoping we get to see more robots in TF2. ID4 was one of the best examples of chest-beating, flag-waving machismo ever committed to the silver screen, including Randy Quaid's redneck's ability to pilot a major piece of airforce hardware like he's driving a Beetle.
In this instance, though, I disagree with the verdict.

[Jason Lester]

Transformers was no doubt a technical achievement, but I agree with this review. ID4, while not perfect by any means, was much more fully realized and executed than Transformers. The action scenes were shot in such a chaotic way that I had a very significant amount of trouble keeping track of just what was happening. However, in ID4, they were well staged and shot, so that things were clear and interesting. Both films may be overblown, but I too would give the edge to ID4.

[Beau]

I found myself watching "Practical Magic." I don't want to talk about it. I actually laughed and enjoyed it. Sheesh...

But you're right, technically the movie is amazing and I agree with the combination you're talking about there between the films.

And while kids will enjoy it, I fear adults will be wondering why it takes 2 and a half hours to tell a rather superficial story.

[Bryce Zabel]

This film is a technical achievement for sure. Honestly, I think I'm fairly informed about how things are done, but I found my mind spending time trying to imagine what single shots or sequences would involve in terms of manpower and cost to get done, and then wondering if it was truly worth it. This felt like Bay's "Armageddon" meets "ID4" meets "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie" but my 15-year-old and his friends all felt like it was the most awesome thing they have seen this summer. The first half of this film was much more compelling to me than the last half where the Transformers start talking and transforming. I'm glad I saw it but, tonight, I felt like I needed a little more story sustenance and ended up watching "Wonder Boys" on the big screen with my daughter and her friends.