A few months ago my dad and stepmother (parents) celebrated their 17th anniversary. Normally they engage in some manner of globetrotting to mark the occasion but this year they hung out here in the ATL and I was able to share in the celebration. Among many other things, we saw a couple of movies: Transformers Dark of the Moon and Captain America The First Avenger. I wrote reviews almost immediately afterward but, inexplicably, never posted them so here goes.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - 3 out of 5
I really enjoyed the first Transformers movie but I never got around to seeing the second one. Normally that would keep me from seeing the third installment but, really, how much could it matter? Plus, big time big money franchises like this don't make hundreds of millions of dollars by alienating potentially new viewers unless they are The Matrix or Harry Potter.
Overall the film was decent. I really loved the first 20 minutes or so where the writers did an awesome job of turning the 1969 moon landing into a conspiracy theory of galactic proportions - going as far as to get a cameo from Buzz Aldrin. How freakin' cool is that? Anyhow, as the modern day part of the story gets going the film takes on the 2001: A Space Odyssey-like trait (work with me here) of the human characters having considerably less "personality" than the machines. Shia LeBouf spends most of the film being a whiny loser and his new girlfriend (like his old girlfriend) is clearly only around as eye candy, though they do manage to drag the film out another 30 minutes or so with a subplot attempting to justify her existence.
And I guess that's the thing. Transformers 3 in many ways is an exercise in tedium due to director Micheal Bay's obsession with eye candy. Whether it's hot women, hot cars, hot set designs, or hot CGI effects, when you walk out of this film you will have seen them all in glorious excess. Running time wise, the over-the-top climax where my beloved Chicago serves as ground zero for an apocalyptic machine-on-machine showdown is like a movie unto itself. It's like editing for Micheal Bay only means stitching shots together as the final cut shows little regard for efficiency or rhythm.
Despite the tremendous weight, I still had a good time with the film. The special effects achievements are a sight to behold and the hyper-kinetic editing from the first film is thankfully gone so there is no question where the film's $200 million budget went. It ain't high cinema, but you knew that. It is, however, the type of large scale otherworldy escapism that embodies much of the reason why people go to the movies in the summer.
Captain America: The First Avenger 3 out of 5
Batman. Spiderman. Iron Man. All characters I grew up with as an avid comic book reader. Captain America, not so much. My only real connection to Captain America was as my 4th preferred character in the Marvel vs. Capcom video games of the late 90s. I only say this to relieve you of any worry about this turning into the type of nitpickery I frequently resort to when watching modern movies based on characters from my childhood.
The charm of Captain America is in its cheesy depiction of the propaganda-driven recruitment tactics employed by the US during World War II. The political front of warfare is well presented by the fact that the US Army is able to create a single super soldier capable of extraordinary feats (this would be Steve Rodgers AKA Captain America) and instead of having him fight the enemy, he is immediately put in front of gawking audiences to hawk war bonds. Eventually, Cap brings his show to real troops and the grunts are much more interested in prancing T&A than watching him punch out caricatures of Hitler.
Inevitably fate intervenes and Captain Rogers presses himself into duty for the sake of busting out several hundred POWs held by Nazi forces. Mr. USA naturally succeeds and from this group he puts together a rag tag - and, like the Captain, seemingly anachronistic - supporting cast to help him execute his exploits going forward.
At its best, Captain America is a cautionary tale about the perils of power. Steve Rodgers is selected to become the first super soldier because, as a good-natured yet scrawny guy who was always pushed around, he understood the consequences of power gone awry. This underdog theme is why the Captain America origin story works well as homage to prime American mythology. It worked for me not so much because of nostalgia but the bevy of quality performances - lead and supporting. While not nearly the spectacle of Transformers 3, Captain America: The First Avenger makes up for its lack of glitz with great performances and an engaging style.