Transformers, Money Makers In Disguise

Did everyone decide to all go to the movie theaters yesterday or what? Out of personal experience with the movie-going crowd yesterday, it felt like it was the 4th of July and everyone was flocking to the theaters to see the latest and greatest. What took place was another box office record, this time set by Michael Bay’s Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Taking in a whopping 60.6 million, this robotic behemoth is here to stay for awhile (or until Public Enemies is released).

Didn't it feel like it quite a few times during the movie?

What perplexes me even more is the huge wave of negative feedback from critics and audiences alike for the most part on the action adventure film. Ranging from Rolling Stone’s no-star rating to the huge onslaught of what-the-hell’s about Skids and Mudflap’s racial stereotyped characters, Bay’s film has been getting more of a tongue lashing than Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf).

Now it makes you really sit and wonder where this crowd was for a fair number of other films. The people behind Terminator: Salvation and Watchmen (Warner Bros. basically) would have killed to get these kind of box office numbers right off the bat, but instead ended up with two underperforming films. Then again, you can argue the fact that it is the summer so everyone is a lot more available to make the trip to the movie theater to check out the newest summer blockbuster, which Transformers 2 has definitely cemented itself out to be.

What are your thoughts on it? Did you think that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen deserves the ridiculously high amount of success it’s already achieved within the span of a day? Or do you think that it is completely unworthy and wish that it would blow up as quickly as a random explosion in a Michael Bay film?