Optimus Potter And The Order Of The Autobots

*Since I saw both Transformers and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on the same day, I figured I'd give my reviews of them together...I know, it really doesn't make sense...just play along.

The Good: Transformers is the quintessential summer blockbuster, in a good way. It's fun, it's fast, it's loud, it's car chases, it's robot destruction...it's great! The filmmakers succeeded in taking the source material of a 1980's children's cartoon based on plastic toys and turning it into an exhilarating action movie. Not to mention the visual effects were pretty exceptional, something you still can't take for granted. Speaking of exceptional visuals, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix had a few amazing spectacles of its own (note to Hollywood: dueling wizard scenes are movie gold; see Lord of the Rings). In terms of the overall movie production, Phoenix delivers where Goblet of Fire failed miserably (most likely thanks to new director, David Yates), namely by more effectively blending the "we're awkward teens" moments with scenes of greater, darker consequence. And finally, there cannot be enough praise given regarding the magical portrayal (pun intended) of the Dolores Umbridge character, played by an amazingly talented Imelda Staunton.

The Bad: The acting and dialogue (and to a lesser degree, the storyline) in Transformers was so over-the-top it was borderline campy (Jon Voight as U.S. Defense Secretary was oh so very painful). Then again, most summer action movies tend to suffer from this "problem" (problem being in quotation marks because many would argue that it's refreshing not to have to think too deeply with a popcorn flick). And, while I no longer think Shia LaBeouf is the worse young actor ever, he's still far from the golden child he's portrayed to be in the media (he'll have another shot to prove me wrong in next year's Indiana Jones IV). On the Order of the Phoenix front, I can't help but feel like some aspects of the Potter movie series are a tad formulaic (Harry miserable at home during summer...Harry has new major problem...Harry feels marginalized...someone plotting against Harry...Harry's friends stand by him...the twist: someone's bad/good...Harry meets Voldemort in last 10 minutes of movie...they fight...Voldemort escapes until later...major character ends up dead...The End). HOWEVER, to be fair, criticisms like these are more appropriately directed at J.K. Rowlings (who, by the way, added the 'K' as an initial to her name to sound more sophisticated...it doesn't stand for anything!) and not at the movie adaptations of her stories.

The Verdict: Tranformers is all about the fun, simple, visceral movie experience meant to be released during the sweltering July heat. And, even if I can't stop thinking about how it's all going to end, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is one of the better, darker entries of the Potter movie series.

The Grade:
Transformers, B
Harry Potter, B+