by Timothy Carter

Created on: May 24, 2007

I cannot wait. The days are dripping by far too slowly, but July 4 is getting closer. Soon I will see the live-action movie version of my favourite fantasy, and I could not be more excited.

Oh, wait, yes I could.

As some will have guessed from my posting name, I am a big fan of the Transformers. I collected the comics and played with the toys as a kid, saw them fade away as a teenager, only to welcome them back as a young adult. I loved the animated movie released in 1986 - in fact, it made me want to be a writer. I wanted to create stories that would be as imaginative and fun as that movie was for me.

Now I'm in my 30's, but still very much a boy at heart. I've been following the progress of the new movie, reading posts on the official site message-boards every day. I know many of the plot points, I've seen all three trailers and TV spots, I saw designs and still images long before they were meant to be released to the public. I've joined on-line discussions, posted my own threads, and even had no less than three dreams of seeing the movie!

I'm serious. Actual dreams of going to a movie theatre and seeing the film. You don't get more fan-obsessed than that. At least, I don't want to meet anyone who is.

And yes, my expectations for this film are probably a little high. I can't help it - this is, like I said, my favourite fantasy. However, I have been let down before, and I am not without my misgivings. This is a Michael Bay film, after all. I've enjoyed Michael Bay's films - The Rock and The Island especially - but he does have a tendency to go over the top. And he seems to love melodrama. When he's trying to be serious, the result is often laughable. However, he does make fun action films, with likable characters. Transformers seems like the perfect vehicle for what he does best. I can count on good fun and big booms, but likely not much depth.

I'm also worried the human characters will do most of the fighting and destroying of the enemy Transformers, the Decepticons. I don't want that! I want the heroic Transformers, the Autobots, to take the Decepticons down. Can't really explain this one, except to say it is a fan thing. I love the Decepticons as much as the Autobots, and want them to be unstoppable conquerors until the Autobots arrive. Having the human military defeat them would seem wrong, somehow.

The movie will be out soon, and I have little doubt I'll enjoy it. If, however, I don't, it won't destroy Transformers for me. It will still be my favourite fantasy, albeit one in search of a better movie. From what I've seen so far, though, it looks really cool.

I can't wait.

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