I arrived at work early on Monday and took a seat in the break room; someone had turned on ESPN and was watching one of the morning shows. There was the usual updates on MLB and NFL, a smattering of collegiate sports, some scores from the WNBA, nothing out of the ordinary. But once the room had cleared, I grabbed the remote and decided to find something else to watch. No offense to ESPN, but if I’m going to watch sports coverage, I’d rather watch Bally Sports Wisconsin.
I looked through the offerings; Game Show Network didn’t look appealing for once–I like People Puzzler but the host irritates me–and BBC America didn’t have anything worthwhile, so I went to the movie channels. HBO was showing the 2007 Transformers movie, so I immediately switched over.
In 2007, Prime, our friend DA, and I were able to catch a special preview of the movie while we were attending BotCon. We had the option during pre-registration to pay for a special sneak preview of the first Transformers film on Saturday night as part of the BotCon festivities. All three of us had purchased tickets, but Prime and I were in a different theatre than DA! He managed to trade his ticket with another attendee who was in a similar situation: he was in a different auditorium than his friends. One even exchange later, the three of us could sit together and enjoy the experience.
It was an experience. I’m always going to have fond memories of that night, of grabbing a soda from the concession stand just to get a Transformers themed cup, of the crowd cheering at key moments, of asking DA just what the hell Fig was saying because a good portion of it was Spanish and DA laughed out loud upon hearing it, of falling in love with Bumblebee yet again, of gasping when Optimus Prime spoke and hearing his voice, of the energy of the crowd, of every little thing.
It’s been fifteen years. Fifteen years. It barely feels like three. Where does the time go.
This is one of those films that makes me happy every time I watch, that helps me forget about the world for a while, that provides an escape from this dystopian hellscape that we reside in now.
It’s a break from current events.
This year is the fifteenth anniversary of Transformers. Here’s hoping for fifteen more and beyond.
Iacon East 