I actually don’t even know what to say about this: Steven Spielberg executive producing a live-action version of Transformers to be directed by Michael Bay? (Thanks Thigh Master!) This is going to be a huge movie with an already-scheduled July 4, 2007 release date. And I’m sure Bay will make it look great. But can you imagine a director with worse storytelling ability taking on a project with an already simple, thin basic plotline? I mean, maybe they’ll get some amazingly inventive, kick-ass script for Bay to ruin all by himself, but I doubt it.
I find it curious that a great filmmaker like Spielberg is working repeatedly with Bay. He doesn’t have a credit on The Island, but it is a DreamWorks production. A friend of mine suggested that maybe The Island could be Bay’s first actually good movie, as opposed to the continuous stream of crap he’s produced. (OK, that’s not fair … every other year he gives us something to watch which resembles a string of music videos with a lot of explosions. No, I was right the first time — crap.) That with stronger story-oriented producers — as opposed to Mr. Bruckheimer — he might actually give us a good movie.
From the trailers, The Island certainly looks like it has the potential to be a great film. A clever sci-fi idea with modern thematic relevance; a story in the Philip K. Dick mold that when done right — Blade Runner primarily, Total Recall and Minority Report, almost — can become among the best films of the genre. I’ll withhold judgment until I actually get to see the movie, but if I trust the Variety review (Sub req’d), it seems my expectations will be verified. And it’s not like at this point Bay really deserves the benefit of any doubt. But hey, we’ll see.
Meanwhile, all of you who were huge Transformers fans back in the day have two years to get all hot and bothered over what I’m sure will be a pretty kick-ass looking giant robot, and maybe with that much anticipation, having your spriits crushed come Independence Day 2007 won’t seem so bad.
Out of Focus 
The preview actually sounded too similar to Blade Runner for my tastes. There was one scene where I wondered if Ridley Scott (or David Peoples) should accuse Michael Bay of plagiarism. That being said, I’m a sucker for those kinds of films, and I will almost certainly try to see it at some point….
LikeLike