I wasn’t going to see Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday because a) I’ve gotten old and “late” to me is midnight these days and 2) it was in the middle of a work week and “I’m tired because I went to a midnight movie” isn’t a great excuse, especially since my boss is my dad.
But my 12-year-old nephew apparently listens to everything I say (who knew) and three months ago when I said, “hey, we should to see Transformers at midnight,” — thinking, of course, it would open on a Friday like most movies — he took it as a definitive engagement. So when he called me at 4 p.m. Tuesday and was so excited and had already talked to his mom and gotten permission and money for snacks and whatever else, I couldn’t disappoint him.
So I picked up him, his twin sister, and her friend, we ate dinner, got snacks (and energy drinks and coffee), and got to the theater at 11. Five theaters were devoted to ROTF and they were all sold out. It was crazy how many people came out at midnight in the middle of the week.
I liked the movie. I liked it a lot. And I don’t get over-the-top bashings by the likes of Roger Ebert. I mean, it’s a movie about alien robots who transform themselves into cars and are trying to alternately conquer and save the world. Was he really expecting anything approaching, like, Slumdog Millionaire caliber?
I liked the original better, the writers definitely could’ve streamlined the backstory (which was pretty convoluted in parts), those “twin” cars’ personalities really grated on the nerves after a while, and the editing could’ve been tightened up to make the movie about a half-hour shorter, but overall, it was highly entertaining and fun.
The majority of moviegoers must agree, because it’s pulling in an awful lot of money.
