The toy that changed a generation is now a movie that owes its success to a simple tried and true formula for summer box office gold. Transformers the movie is set to break not only box office records but action figure sales records as well. As of this writing, tracking companies report that 90% of audiences are rating Transformers “Excellent” to “Very Good.” The weekend is not even here, and in a few days, the film has racked up over $84 million. In fact, the only segment of the audience that is the least enthusiastic, according to industry tracking has been, not surprisingly, females 25 and over. But was there any ever doubt that this film was always more of a “guys” movie?


After this summer, kids will be naming their pets "Optimus Prime."

The action director film geeks love to hate, Michael Bay, had a helping hand in crafting the universal storyline from the master of the summer movie epic, Steven Spielberg. Perhaps that’s why the heart and soul of Transformer’s story is rooted in delivering very basic elements that are known to add up to a hit movie. Yet this formula must be so carefully mixed, that even the slightest deviation will lead to disaster.

The formula goes something like this:
Relatable Character with a Simple Goal + Cute Sidekick/Pet
+ Action x Comedy ÷ Universal Themes
x Heroes ÷ Villains
+ The “X” Factor =
Successful Summer Movie

Let me break it down for you.

Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is the face audience's can identify with.

Relatable Character with a Simple Goal
Shia LeBouf has been called the new “Tom Hanks” but that’s probably a little too soon. Really, he’s just a likable kid. His character’s goal, to get his first car and possibly “talk” to a girl, is incredibly relatable to males of any age. And the way that Shia plays every scene is with that wide-eyed sense of wonder. He’s the character audiences look to when they want to know how to react. His performance grounds the film in a reality that makes the fantastic events believe-able. Sure, sounds simple, and its easy to type that sentence, but not so easy to pull off in a major effects film, see countless examples of duds from previous summers.

Cute Sidekick/Pet
Sam Witwicky has a pet. It’s a cute Chihuahua and it’s name is Mojo. And when it’s bad, he calls him “Bad Mojo.” Mojo has a broken leg. And we feel sorry for it as Sam must administer the tiny dog pain pills. And Mojo pees on a Transformer’s foot. And it’s cute, cute, so cute! In fact, it borders on cute overload but the dog which appears just enough to avoid being annoying.


It's not violence, it's "action."

Action
The film contains 15 action set-pieces, each with their own simply defined goal – get away from the killer alien robot, try not to get killed by the alien robot, run away from the car that might be a killer robot, run away and try to kill the killer robot that is killing everything. In addition, robots fighting just look cool. The only complaint here may be that the action is so fast and furious as to sometimes seem confusing. But it’s robots beating the crap out of each other!


Anthony Anderson on the right, provides plenty of humor, an essential summer movie element.

Comedy
Shia LeBouf’s character Sam Witwicky provides plenty of laughs as a geeky virgin, but Anthony Anderson is the true comedic standout in every scene he’s in. Michael Bay deserves credit for allowing these actors to improvise much of the comedy loosening up the tension normally accompanied by impending doom. Not to mention Bernie Mack’s hilarious scene as a sleazy used car salesman that would be fun to watch in any movie.

Heroes ÷ Villains
There are an abundance of loveable and love-to-hate characters in Transformers, in fact, enough for several sequels, which I’m sure are already in the planning and/or toy design phase. Bumble Bee (that yellow Camaro) is especially filling in as E.T. Optimus Prime’s regal and bad ass manner makes you miss him when he’s not around.

Universal Themes
This is something we call can relate to. And when I say “all” what I mean specifically is the intended demographic for this movie hovering around the 14-15 year-old male or the segment of the population of men who stand firmly in the 14-15 year-old male mindset which, let’s be honest, is a significant part of the male population.


Mikaela (Megan Fox) is the girl in the movie most guys (and girls) would like to...

So, what universal themes are contained in Transformers?
I want a car.
I want my parents to leave me alone.
I want a hot girlfriend.
I want an adventure.
I want my own robot from space to protect me from bullies.
I think we can all relate to these things.


The key element to the success of Transformers is seeing something we've never seen before.

The “X” Factor (Something We’ve Never Seen)
Without the “X” Factor, all the previously mentioned elements mean nothing. This most important part of the formula is usually represented by something new and fresh. It’s something never before seen on a movie screen, but backed up by all the previously mentioned familiar elements.

So, to future summer blockbusters, show us something we’ve seen a million times but show it to us in a way we’ve never seen.

Gore gone.

Chris_Gore no longer collects action figures. He ran out of room.