Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 6
Three years ago, when news broke out that Steven Spielberg was going to produce the live-action film of “Transformers,” it was welcomed with joyous jubilation by fans of the franchise. But when it was announced that director Michael Bay was attached, fans hissed with disdain.
Who can blame them? Michael Bay, who got his start as a music video director and gasp, crafting “Playboy Video Centerfold” direct-to-cable soft-core porn, was known to be an action director who favors explosions over storytelling. Besides “The Rock,” Bay couldn’t tell a good story even if his life depended on it.
“Pearl Harbor” could have been a better film but Bay’s heavy-handed direction ruined it. The best part of “Armageddon” was the Aerosmith love song. And don’t even get me started on the laborious “The Island.”
But ladies and gentlemen, calm down. We may have found the best popcorn flick of the summer! “Transformers” has more than meets the eye.
Shia LaBeouf stars as Sam Witwicky, a teenage boy who’s more interested in girls and cars than school. He’s saving for his car fund that his father promises to match. But Sam’s excitement quickly turns to disappointment with the purchase of a beater 1976 Chevy Camaro that appears to have a mind of its own.
When Sam offers Mikaela (Megan Fox), the hottest girl in school, a ride home, the Camaro steers the two of them together. Like Herbie the Love Bug, the car knows just what to do to keep the romantic mood going.
But things are about to change for Sam and Mikaela.
They soon learn that the Camaro is a giant robot named Bumblebee who’s a member of the Autobots from planet Cybertron. One by one, other vehicles join them, transforming into enormous mechanical beings who explain that they are on a mission to recover the “Allspark,” their life source, before their enemies, the evil Decepticons, can find it.
Suddenly, Sam and Mikaela find themselves in the middle of a gargantuan tug of war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. With the world hanging in the balance, it’s now up to Sam to save the world by finding the true meaning behind his family’s motto “No sacrifice, no victory!”
Based on Hasbro’s Transformers Action Figures, the film is blessed to have LaBeouf as the main actor, and the guiding hands of Spielberg.
LaBeouf, who’s this generation’s Tom Hanks, has such an openness about him, and an aw-shucks charm that you can’t help but root for his character. He also has a great sense of comedic
Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 5
I have just watched the new Transformers movie and Sweet Jesus Sweet Christ, it rocks. It rocks hard. This is my review and while I will try not to give away too much, I must warn you that somethings will probably come through.
I’ve considered myself a Transformers traditionalist and so thought I would be annoyed with the changes that were made but to be honest as I was watching it, I found that I really wasn’t bothered by them that much. One major change did bother constantly though. Optimus Prime now has a mouth and a nose. It looked ridiculous and annoyed me greatly but other than that, there wasn’t much that really got on my nerves. Megatron, for example, has been redesigned heavily but until I watched the film I hadn’t really seen a close up of his face. When I did, he was instantly recognizable. One problem with the redesigns, however, is that Starscream and Megatron look very similar. In the battle in the city, it’s sometimes hard to figure out which is which.
Now a few problems with the plot. Overall it was great but a few things stuck out.
1. Optimus, when recounting the history of Cybertron, seems surprised that Megatron betrayed the Transformers. To be fair would you be suprised if you were betrayed by someone who was the leader of the Decepticons? The clue’s in the name.
2. Why did they take the object which the Decepticons wanted so badly to a heavily populated city, knowing that they would follow them there?
3. Upon arrival on Earth, the Autobots seem mildly retarded.
4. “My bad” really doesn’t belong in Optimus’ newly developed mouth.
There were other minor things but I’ll let them slide. Now some great things.
1. Seeing the first transformation and hearing that classic transformer sounds sent shivers down my spine.
2. When I knew that Optimus was coming, I was incredibly excited. I felt like a kid again.
3. When I first saw Optimus transform out of his truck form, I literally yelled “Yeah!” in a hotel were many people were sleeping. It’s sad but I was proper in touch with my inner child at that moment.
4. Before the Autobots showed up, the main character says to the girl he wants to get it on with “I think there’s alot more than meets the eye with you.” I enjoyed that.
5. Jazz’s first line “What’s cracking little bitches?”
6. Scorponok and Frenzy. Frenzy was one of Soundwave’s cassettes in the original series but in the film he basically takes on Soundwave’s role. He speaks and acts a little like Stripe from gremlins.
In summary, the movie was like seeing old friends that you haven’t seen in years. Sure they’ve changed a bit in appearance but who doesn’t? Obviously Soundwave would have been great. Hopefully he’s in the sequel but I swear to god if he appears in a sequel as a robot who can transform into an ipod like some have suggested, I’m gonna be right annoyed.
The world is now ready for a massive amount of old cartoon movies. A CGI Thundercats movie has now been confirmed. A live action one would have been awesome, with Samuel L. Jackson as Panthro, but I’ll take what I can get.
Also a new live action He-Man and the Masters of the Universe film will be made, produced by Joel Silver who produced such great films as V for Vendetta and Predator and such terrible films as the House of Wax remake and Richie Rich.
Who knows what the future holds. Til All Are One, Roll Out.
More than meets the eye: Anticipating the release of the Transformers movie – Part 1
The thought of finally watching the movie, Transformers, surely gives a tingle of excitement to all those who grew up with these “robots in disguise.” The story of the epic battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons for the fate of mankind captured the imagination of the kids of the time.
Now we are all grown up, and the prospect of being transported back to our childhood days is slowly sinking in. Better and better, it is not even an animated movie to reflect the original cartoon series. THIS IS THE REAL THING. Thanks to the wonders of CGI, we think to ourselves – how fitting that the movie still inherently targets its original audience – some twenty years on.
Let’s face it, had such a movie been made during ‘our’ time, it would have looked plastic, even toy like a la Japan’s Godzilla and Ultraman series. Actually, it would have been impossible even – lest we forget – these robots can also TRANSFORM.
The trailers and promotions for the movie have looked absolutely smashing so far, but I cannot help but feel a little apprehensive. No doubt that the movie will have updated the original cartoon to something eminently realistic and more catered to us adults, but the premise for the story somehow bothers me.
It is easy to believe in anything as a kid, so long as it excites. But the idea that somewhere out there is a planet (the Transformers’ home planet Cybertron) with inhabitants created in the exact image of our machines on Earth – now that’s rather far out isn’t it? We have all grown up after all. Can the movie address this loophole, or are we expected to leave our brains outside the cinema and just enjoy?
Then too, Transformers was a really long running series. Many movie adaptations of whatever have generally come up short on storyline and even characters. One famous example is Godzilla, which looked nothing like the monster from the original Japanese series.
What then, are those characters that have made the cut? I can imagine that many of the first generation Transformers will feature. We will probably see Optimus Prime and Megatron battling it out, but will we be also be seeing some of the Dinobots or Constructicons in action? Will some characters be axed in favour of plot details? Will we be missing the lovable Bumblebee? Will we be seeing the annoying but traitorous Starscream? Or the mysterious but versatile Soundwave? And what about the immensely powerful Unicron (he’s an actual planet!), who after all did not make an appearance until much later in the original series?
So many questions, and really only one answer. Transformers: The Movie is coming soon – to a cinema near you. Only one thing is for sure – it will be “more than meets the eye.”
Movie reviews: AVP Alien versus Predator (2005)
I must admit that I really like the concept of a “vs.” movie. Taking two or more iconic film characters and letting them loose against one another really works when the story and setting work, not to mention choosing the right icons to go at one another. For example, I really enjoyed Freddy vs. Jason, although I am not really a fan of either individual franchise. The two, while both slasher horror villains, are complete opposites in the way the go about their “business.” Freddy is the wisecracking, humorous villain who is tougher than he looks (and only completely effective inside a dream state) while Jason is the large and imposing no nonsense killer who stalks his prey with a cold efficiency. It’s possible that a Michael Myers would have worked playing off of Freddy, but a Michael vs. Jason film, for example, could never really work because the two killers are so similar in nature. Throw in a hero, such as Ash from the Evil Dead series with a Freddy and Jason or Michael, and you’ve got all the fixing for a fabulous “vs” film. So, where does a film like AvP fit in? Pretty well, actually. When compared against the entirety of the Alien and Predator franchises, I’d have to rank it smack dab in the middle. It’s better than the final two Alien films and it also surpasses the second Predator movie, but, obviously, fails miserably to compete with the likes of Alien, Aliens, and Predator.
Besides Aliens and Predators, Alien vs. Predator stars Lance Henriksen (The Terminator) as Charles Bishop Weyland, multi-billion dollar robotics magnate and inspiration for the “Bishop” series of androids as seen in a couple of the Alien films. It happens that one of his satellites picks up a heat signature from a remote and supposedly desolate island in the antarctic. He assembles a team of fodder, I mean scientists, led by cold weather terrain expert Alexa Woods (Sanna Lathan, Nip/Tuck). According to the fodder’s findings, this may be the very first pyramid ever built. It combines elements from Cambodian, Aztec, and Egyptian architecture. Once the team manages to get inside, the temple becomes a transformer, and it would probably fit right in on Cybertron but it comes off as a little too much here. We already have two awesome villains to chew the team up. Why turn the temple into a transformer, then? A weak explanation is given, but suffice it to say that as the story moves along, the fodder is killed off one by one by both species, and our heroine will have to “choose a side”
Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 8
Transformers, the live action movie. The very idea had gave me a roller coaster of emotions. On the one hand, this was the movie I had wanted to see since before I could walk, on the other hand, this was the movie I had wanted to see since before I could walk. It was a movie that could go very very well or a movie that could go very very bad.
It ended up somewhere in between. It was surprisingly good, but it could have been better.
The movie is about the Transformers quest to find the Allspark, a power source which can give life to random machines (Vector Sigma in a handy cube form, for fans of the original). The Autobots want to use it to restore their dying home world, Cybertron, the Decepticons want to form an army to conquer the Universe. A fairly typical Transformers type plot.
The film starts with a sceen showing some army guys talking and straight away the crucial error is made. The focus of the movie lies far too much with people. Regular guys.
Almost imediately this sceen is followed by a Decepticon attack, which is incredibly cool to watch, but no detail is ever followed up as to the Decepticon’s background.
*Spoilers*
Apart from Bumblebee, who despite not saying anything still manages to be cool, the other Autobots do not arrive until an hour into the film. They are then given a few sceens, but nothing major. Only Optimus Prime and, to a lesser degree, Ironhide come across as having any character at all. When Jazz is brutally murdered, it’s very difficult to care. His character is not even slightly developed and he’s different enough from the original cartoons so that not even hardcore fans will feel connected.
The Decepticons are recieve even less character development. Megatron and Starscream don’t appear until almost two hours into the film, Megatron spending the entire time in a giant freezer. The whole Megatron – Starscream love hate relationship, a very key feature of the original cartoons, is given only one line, when Megatron announces Starscream has failed him “Once again.”
Presumably, when doing a live action, it’s just alot easier to focus on real people than imaginary robots. But it’s the imaginary robots we came to see. No one cares about some girl working for some computer type people and her friend the hacker.
On the positive side, the transformers are incredibly cool to watch and certain moments will make real fans incredibly happy, no matter how much they want to hate it. For example, anyone with any claim to being a fan could not help themselves at bubbling up with glee when Optimus Prime announces,
“One shall stand, one shall fall.”
Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 4
Before sitting down to view this film, one has to understand what they’re about to see: a sci-fi action movie based upon a cartoon show based upon a toy. Given that, one cannot expect to be sufficiently awed by the screenwriting or character development, as that’s not why we watch action films, and that’s not why we watch cartoons.
Transformers is a re-imagination of the original concept of a race of hyper-advanced robots that can transform their shape into virtually any chosen object they come in contact with. The film takes the storyline of the comics and cartoons all the way back to the beginning, preserving the origins of the Autobots and the Decepticons from their beginnings on their home planet of Cybertron. From that point, however, writers John Rogers, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman elected to take the story in a different direction. The main point of contention in the film is over control of the “Allspark,” a cube that generates cybernetic life from seemingly normal technology. Given this, whomever controls the Allspark can dominate the world.
While accepting that this film was not made to win any writing awards, several scenes in the film feel out of place and almost filler to take up screen time and present other story arcs that have very little to do with anything else in the movie, but do relate in some way. To balance that, the screenwriting itself is solid, and even though some lines feel out of character for the actors, the sense that the events in the film play out exactly as they might in reality is ever-present.
Shia LaBeouf turns in an excellent performance as Sam Witwicky, the main protagonist of the film. His lines are well-written and even better acted as a teenager struggling to find his place in the world until it is handed to him on a silver platter, or in this case, a silver robotic hand. Megan Fox plays Mikaela Banes, the love interest of Sam, and does little other than walk around in tight clothing that clings even more when she sweats, which is how she looks for almost all of her screen time. It’s quite obvious why she was chosen for his role, but one would have hoped James Cameron would have helped her with her lines a bit more.
Easily the most disappointing performance in the film is displayed by Jon Voight, playing Defense Secretary John Keller. Keller comes off as weak, indecisive, and generally bumbling as the centerpoint of the American defense against the Decepticons. The impression for the character seems to
The most despicable cartoon character in TV history – Part 1
Megatron was not even the most despicable of the Decepticons, never mind the most despicable cartoon character. He earned his role as a Decepticon general and after they crashed on earth he naturally became leader of the Decepticons on earth despite repeated attempts by otehrs to dethrone him. Later repeated defeats by Optimus Prime and other’s drove Megatron insane and only then did he become the truly ruthless monster that appears in the original TV series and the first animated movie. Megatron tolerated the very unsubtle attempts by Starscream to undermine his leadership for a long time in the comics, partially because he was the most powerful of the decepticon jets and very useful but primarily because he was a member of the decepticon army. Megatron had a sense of Honor, before he was driven mad their were several opportunity’s in the original comic series and associated stories when he could have killed Optimus Prime and other Autobots but chose not to because it broke his own code of Honor or because he saw it as unnecessary, the first being in the very first issue of the transcormers comic.
In one story in a transformers annual released in the UK we see the origin of the rivalry between Megatron and Optimus Prime and we also see Megatron when he first joined the Decepticons, along with Ravage. The Decepticon rebellion on Cybertron has just started and Megatron and Optimus Prime are escorting an Autobot elder from one city to another along with two of the elders bodyguards, one of which is Ravage. At this point Megatron and Optimus Prime are friends, their is a continuous philosophical discussion throughout the story which ends with the death of the elder, killed by decepticons despite the best efforts of Megatron, Optimus Prime and Ravage, he dies from lack of energy due to his old age. Optimus Prime is injured and Megatron and Ravage refuse to give the old transformer energy to preserve his life, they declare that the old order should be allowed to die and that they are going to join the Decepticons.
This shows that Megatron had a code of Honor, he was a loyal autobot until he became disillusioned by them and even after choosing to join the decepticons he remained loyal to the mission. This demonstrates personality traits which are far from despicable!
Examples of despicable Decepticons:
Starscream
Soundwave
Shockwave
Among many others!
Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 2
July 4 seemed like the ideal time to take my children to see the classic cartoon made into live-action movie. The cartoon used to be a favorite of mine (as it was for so many my age) and my children were eager to watch robotic-aliens “tranform” into everyday machines in an effort to save the planet. I admit that I was skeptical about the movie, after many favorites of my childhood have been butchered in their movie adaptations. I can assure you though, that Transformers did not disappoint.
In this movie the Autobots and Decepticons fight a war that leads to the destruction of their home planet Cybertron. The surviving robot aliens search the universe for the Allspark, a device which will give life to machines anywhere. Discovering the Allsparks where-abouts are on Earth, the Decepticons launch attacks on the World to uncover the location of the life-giving cube that will rebuild soldiers for their war. The Autobots are summoned to Earth in an attempt to not only save our planet, but to prevent the Allspark from landing into the hands of the enemy.
I was in awe just as much as my children were wactching the special effects that movie-magic unveiled in transforming Optimus Prime from semi-truck to giant robot. Tranformers managed to take me back in time and was pleased that the movie followed the sme basic story line shared by the cartoon. The movie even included some of my favorite characters in a more updated version of the classic.
The movie was an action-packed hit directed by Michael Bay (Bad Boys, The Island) and kept the story-line pumping from chase scenes to explosions with a little humore mixed in. Shia Lebouf gave a lovable performance of a teen kid who discovers his first car is a robot sent to Earth to become his protector. Bernie Mac even added to the movie in a small part as a car sales-men with no small role in adding comedy to the action flick.
Transformers was a great movie that you can feel good about taking your kids to see. I would recommend this flick to children of all ages (or if you want to feel like one again.)
Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 3
More than meets the eye is right! Transformers the movie has shocked everyone. The moment it was announced that there would be a Transformers live action movie, it was met with a mixed bag of reactions. The first was excitement that such an awesome franchise would be coming to the silver screen, then there was confusion on how it would look as a live action film, lastly it was fear that it would have the potential to be bad if it weren’t done correctly. After all this was an 80’s cartoon and comic book with a very successful line of toys and other paraphernalia and here it is 2007 where many have forgotten or are unfamiliar with the franchise. There was a lot of room for error. Enter Michael Bay.
Michael Bay, a Transformers fan himself, knew what it would take to make this movie a success. On top of all that he had a personal interest to see Optimus Prime live again. Many fans of the Transformers may remember shedding a tear or two when Optimus died in the original Transformer movie. Optimus is the heart of the franchise brought to life by the outstanding voice acting of Peter Cullen who voiced the mighty Autobot leader in the original series. Bay found a way to keep the heart of the Transformers mythos and provide upgrades necessary to make this film a hit.
In the movie, it speak of an age old struggle between the Autobots led by Prime and the Decepticons led by the evil Megatron that once took place on their planet Cybertron but has now shifted to planet Earth with humanity in the middle. Whether its the Transformers fighting the other Transformers or the Transformers fighting the humans the action is intense. While most will see the movie for the Transformers, the cast is complemented and rounded off with performances by Shia Lebouf, Anthony Anderson, John Voight, John Tuturo, Meagan Fox, Tyrese and several others. The action is epic and the comedy is side splitting. So for those who feel nervous about how the movie will treat the franchise, don’t worry, thanks to Michael Bay and company, Transformer refuses to disappoint. Grab your movie ticket and roll out to see the battle for planet Earth in Transformers the movie.
Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007)
Transformers
Action/sci-fi
Runtime: 144 min
stars 2.5/4
The Transformers franchise was an eighties cult phenomenon, and a big part of my childhood. it was a great cartoon series and a line of action figures that were, looking back, some of my favourite toys as a kid. I have a good decade between now and the last time i ever even touched a transformer though i have seen the original ‘86 film on TV since then (man that takes me back) and the time has given me some perspective on the series though i have to admit I’m still gonna be a little biased in favour my childhood memories.
The Basic plot of the film is not much different then that of the original series, that being a war has raged for a really long time on a planet known as cybertron between the Autobots and the Decepticons. This time round, as Optimus Prime explains voiced by Peter Cullen of the original show, the war has ravaged the Transformers planet to the extent that it is incapable of supporting life anymore (weird place for an environmental message I thought) and the only thing that can possibly save cybertron is a powerful cube called the AllSpark (reminiscent of the Energon cubes of the show) unfortunately the decepticon head honcho Megatron is also seeking the AllSpark for it’s power to boost his diminished rooster of Decepti-Creeps (didn’t get that reference? search youtube for IronHide) Megatron has been looking the AllSpark for a while but gets trapped in the Arctic and freezes where, in the eighteen hundreds he is happened upon by an American explorer who also happens to the ancestor of our (human) protagonist Sam “Spike Witwicky (though i can’t remember anybody ever calling him Spike to the nod the G1 fans kinda falls flat) who has a map that Megatron burned into the glasses (and retina) of his great-great granpappy.
the map of course leads to the AllSpark, which the newly arrived Decepticons are looking for.
The second plot line involves a group of Special Forces soldiers in Qatar who are on their way back home and can’t wait to get reacquainted with their various foodstuffs, Women, Children and the like when they are attacked by the decepticon scorpinock. and this is where we can forget all about the plot, Who needs it? not this movie apparently seeing how it kicks it into high gear fairly early into the film and doesn’t stop until the lights go back on. this film is as action packed as they come and certainly the movie Micheal Bay was born to direct.
The