In defense of the Razzie-nominated ‘Transformers’ movie
Very early tomorrow morning, the Oscar nominates for 2015 will be announced. Obviously, they’ll be a big to-do and we’ll complain about the snubs, and cheer for the surprises in each category. With all of this hullabaloo over the Academy Awards, you might forget the other award show that’s quickly approaching as well — The Razzies.
While the Oscars celebrate the best, The Razzies celebrate the worst. This year’s Razzie nominations include all of the movies we either hated, or hate-watched, and features such gems like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Adam Sandler’s Blended. But, you know, there’s one that made the list that I just need to stand up for.
I enjoyed Transformers: Age of Extinction, A LOT. There, I said it.
Let’s start with the cast. It had Mark Wahlberg playing the action hero, and yes, he does in fact say the line, “I think we just found a Transformer” after he has discovered that he has a Transformer in his possession. Is it supposed to be a serious line? Probably. But he delivers it with such excitement that it comes off as comical, and a line I’ve quoted endlessly to just about everyone since summer.
Also, don’t forget rounding out the cast is also Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, and one of my favorite funny guys of the moment, Silicon Valley’s T.J. Miller.
And, OK, sure, maybe the plot doesn’t actually make a whole lot of sense. But we can clearly tell the good guys from the bad guys, so at least we know who to root for. Plus, there are Dinobots, which are exactly what they sound like — instead of cars, these robots transform into dinosaurs. Hold up, how is that NOT awesome?
Transformers is nothing more than an entertaining movie, all 165 minutes of it. (It’s long.) But that’s pretty impressive. Almost three hours of visually captivating, digitally optimized, sonically intense action. Transformers isn’t trying to elevate the cinematic art form or explore the depths of human emotions. But it does promise robotic dinosaurs and it delivers, big time.
I get that there were so many great movies this year, it must have been hard to find enough Razzie nominees. But I’m still holding my ground: Transformers doesn’t deserve to be on that list. Anyway, even if it wins the Razzie, I’ll still probably buy it on DVD.
