OTWOMD | Bluepanjeet.Net

Taking a break from my usual review, I pushed myself in going to the nearest SM Cinema to watch my much-awaited movie of all time – Transformers the Movie 2007. It was in 2003 when I first saw the ILM test run of the CG Optimus Prime transforming into a 10 wheeler truck. Since then, the video already etched in my mind and hoping that someday, a film outfit would make these robots come alive in the cinemas. Seeing my favorite cartoon series come to life is a dream come true not only for me but for the millions of fans of the animated series. I can’t find any words to describe my whole experience with the movie. Trying to avoid in reading the reviews of my fellow bloggers regarding the flick, it somehow proved worthless, for even if one has already read the review, it would not be enough to dismay absolutely one’s expectation of the Transformers. For the first time in movie history, over and under expectations have failed human cognition. Mind blowing as it is, I will try my best to use my Cybertronian processors to connect with Teletraan 1 in order to transcribe my internal data into words. First of all let’s have a background check.

The Original Pilot Story in Animation

In the animated series, the Autobots flee Cybertron in search for alternative fuel. Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons somehow have known the plan through his minions’ eavesdropping. The Decepticons hijacked the starship and crash landed into a volcano, deactivating them including the Autobot’s mainframe computer Teletraan 1. the original transformation vehicle of the Autobots are far more advanced than the vehicle form they acquired on earth. After millions of years, Teletraan 1 woke up unexpectedly or should I say, activated spontaneously by itself and sending a Starwars-like probe into earth’s cities. The probe arrived in one of the US Military base and scanned a fighter jet (F-12 Eagle). Teletran 1 activated Starscream first and acquired the form of the fighter jet. Discovering this, he activated the rest of the Decepticons including Megatron himself. When all of the Decepticons were finally operational, they shut down Teletraan 1 and flee the wreckage, thinking that the Autobots would never be activated. But a tectonic shock stumbled one of the Autobots into Teletraan 1’s scanner and the Autobots were activated.

Difference from the Animation

There are many differences between the film and the animated series which I like to point out in order to highlight what makes the film more evolutionary, since Transformers has continued to evolve through the years since 1984.

1. In the film, only Megatron crashed to earth

2. The rest of the Decepticons were already activated on the start of the film

3. In the film, Prime sent bumblebee to scout the earth instead of taking all the Autobots with him.

4. The cube was the energy that enabled the robots to transform and have life, but in the animated series, a computer at the center of the core of Cybertron enables all Cybertronian species to have their different personalities and transform into vehicles. Megatron once created a prototype of this when he created a sub group of Decepticons known as the Stunticons which mimics the abilities of the Autobots.

5. In the Cartoon, Bonecrusher was a member of the sub-group Constructicons and was not yet present during the arrival of the Decepticons on earth.

6. In the animated series, Brawl who was later named Devastator in the movie, was a member of the sub-group Combaticons which were created by Starscream for his mutiny against Megatron’s leadership. And like Bonecrusher, he was not yet present during the arrival of the Decepticons on earth.

7. Frenzy was a robot crawler who transform into a cassette player in the film while originally he is just one of Soundwave’s tape ejecting from him and only comes out when ordered by Megatron.

8. Sam Witwicky is “Spike� in the animated series.

9. Sam’s Father, Ron Witwicky is “Sparkplug� in the animated series and was an oil rig engineer.

10. Mikaela is “Carly� in the animated series and was blonde and not brunette.

11. Soundwave was not in the film, which is quite bizarre since he is one of Megatron’s staunchest allies and the Decepticon’s main intelligence and communication agent.

12. Like Soundwave, Wheeljack was also missing in the film. He is the Autobot’s scientist, which created the Dinobots together with Ratchet.

13. Barricade (The police car) is the Autobot Prowl in the animated series.

Highlights

Early 2003 when I first saw an actual footage of a test CGI run by ILM (Industrial Light and Magic owned by George Lucas) on the internet, I thought it was just a fan video made for a certain website. But rumor in the transformer fan communities became so profound that the actual top secret film leaked. Though most of the fans were not so sure if there was really a film but when an official communication was released by DreamWorks, the film was confirmed. And since last year, I’ve been following its developments on the net like Laserbeak, spying on the Autobot’s every move. When I first saw the production photos, I was disappointed because being a huge and loyal fan of the original (Generation 1) Transformers; I was expecting they would somehow follow the original details of the animated series including the robot designs. Learning that Michael Bay directed the movie, I was even more skeptic. The appearance of the Autobots and Decepticons were grotesque in my initial view. I thought Bay had sway from the animated series, but I was proven wrong. The movie is truly more than meets the eye. Here are some of the many reasons why it is such:

1. The film’s trailers were literally “teasers�. They only showed a preview of the film, but somehow preserved in the film the huge part of the breath taking scenes like:

a. the Allspark cube’s transformation

b. The gradual appearance of the rest of the Autobots and Decepticons

c. The conversation of Prime and the rest of the Autobots in the observatory and throughout the rest of the movie.

d. The transformation of other inanimate gadgets like the Nokia cell phone

e. The acquisition of vehicular form when they landed on earth

f. The battle scenes of Bumblebee vs. Barricade, Bonecrusher vs. Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Jazz and Ironhide vs. Devastator (Brawl)

g. The dog chase of Starscream with the other F-22 Raptor Jet Fighters

h. The transformation of Megatron into an interstellar jet

i. Optimus Prime and Megatron piercing through a building

2. The transformation of the transformers were so jaw dropping that you literally have to pick your mandible on the cinema floor without batting an eyelash from the movie. There are gazillion pieces of the robots moving in continuous and spontaneous movements that you don’t really have enough time to pay attention to every minute detail. It was so tremendously awesome to behold. A never before scene in cinematic history.

3. The battle mode of the Autobots was so cool and life like. The mask and head gear of Prime, Bumblebee and Jazz was exciting especially when they cover their faces when the battle commenced. The poses and movements of the robots, especially that of Optimum prime gave me Goosebumps precisely because even in the animated series, he never showed such gallantry, and warrior like moves. Eat your heart out Voltes V, Voltron, Daimos and Babilos!!!

4. The vehicle forms were so cool especially the Peterbilt 18 wheeler truck (Optimus Prime), F-22 Raptor (Starscream), GMC Topkick pick-up truck (Ironhide), Modified Pontiac Solstice (Jazz), Modified 70’s Chevrolet Camaro (Bumblebee), Saleen-Modified Ford Mustang (Barricade) and the MH-53 Pave Low Heavy Lift Chopper (Blackout). They are the “Toys for the Big Boys� par excellence. My personal favorite is the GMC topkick pick-up and the Peterbilt truck which I am now planning to buy when I’m already 100 years old. Obviously it will take that long for me to actually buy them. But what the heck, I really want those cool toys.

5. The design and appearance of the Autobots are beyond words. I was proven wrong. They are so awesome to behold. It is only fitting that alien robots known as the Transformers acquire such sophisticated designs since their civilization is far more advance than earth, unlike the old animation models wherein rectangular arms and box-type torsos were the trend.

6. The action scenes are heart pumping. You have to hold on to your seat otherwise you can fall off from your chair. This is much better ten thousand times than Fantastic Four and Spiderman combined. X-men the last stand only comes second to the movie’s action packed scenes. It was like: “More More… Okay.. here’s more… and more.. and more….� Until you actually get dizzy on the spins, turns, blows and blast of the Cybertronian war.

7. The comedy was stupendous.

8. The dialogues of the Robots are charming and endearing in a sense that the voices fit every personality and character

9. The storyline is simple and different from the original animated series but nevertheless made sense since it was a sci-fi action movie.

10. The cinematography, effects and lighting was absolutely brilliant. I cannot comprehend how Michael Bay was able to include the transformation in the fast moving cars and Jets. Awesome.

11. There were many car chase scenes (wooohooo), which make this film a true blue movie for the big boys.

12. The actors are refreshingly new which make this film a brand new piece of entertainment. Veteran actor Hugo Weaving and John Voigt spiced up the movie.

13. The running time of the movie is so very satisfactory which gave the audience a real value for their money.

14. The element of suspense was also there. The movie revealed each Autobot and Decepticon characters one by one giving the audience a gradual shock of the awesomeness of the plot.

15. There were many subplots in the movie, which prevented the audience from being dragged into a monotonous scene. In layman’s term: there’s a lot going on in the movie.

16. The screenwriters for this film made an effort to listen to the consensus of the majority of fans flocking to different transformers forum in the internet which makes this movie a truly fan based film.

17. Bumblebee smashed the side of a Volkswagen beetle by his Camaro door during the seen wherein Bernie Mac offered the beetle to Sam. That is so classically funny and witty since German Volkswagen made an unfair deal with the movie creators, hindering the original vehicle form of Bumblebee to come to life in the big screen. Such a sweet revenge.

Almost

But with all the positive points I raised above, there are also some points which I wanted to emphasize. It is not actually a weak point but rather a missing link that could somehow fill some gaps on the film:

1. Only few armies and a squadron of Fighter jets were dispatched wherein in real life, it would be futile. The mere fact that giant robots, are invading the earth, the Pentagon should have called large number of soldiers.

2. There was no actual “Lover’s Quarrel� between the infamous Megatron and Starscream, which for me (and to some people who are loyal to Gen 1 Transformers), is the essence of the Decepticons—> power grabbing and mutiny amidst adversary. In the official website of the movie, the writers were quoted as saying that “the angst� between the two Decepticons will be present, but it was no where to be found on the movie except when Starscream made a report in Hoover dam and Megatron exclaimed: “You have failed me again!�. Other than that, the treachery and ambition of Starscream is nowhere to be found on the film. Maybe on the DVD release it will be included as a deleted scene.

3. Another element that was lacking in the movie was the annoying husky-yet-high-pitched voice of Starscream, which was a noticeable and indelible trademark of the character. His screechy voice plus his witty taunt and satire of Megatron is missing.

4. Most of the transformers have few lines and the confrontation between the Autobots and Decepticons lacks the traditional blabber mouthing. There were only a few taunts, which caused Jazz his life in the middle of the battle scene.

5. The film should have included Soundwave and Wheeljack because the two characters are the closest to Megatron and Optimus Prime. They also play an important role in the Decepticon and Autobot war strategy.

6. Much of the story was given emphasis on the humans rather the robots themselves. Though it is understandable that the movie is only the initial installment, yet there is a yearning that a separate story should unfold within the robots themselves.

7. The movie failed to show what happened to some of the decepticons.

a. Bonecrusher was the first one who died on the battle, being cut-throat by Optimus Prime’s blazing axe.

b. Frenzy was axed by his own rotating starblades

c. Brawl/Devastator was the next one who perished in the triple tag team of Jazz, Ironhide and Ratchet

d. Jazz was the next casualty when Megatron stepped on him like a hawk clawing its prey, and then effortlessly ripping him apart into two.

e. Blackout was the last one who died before Megatron due to the concerted efforts of the F-22 Raptors and the courageous Capt. Lennox (Josh Duhamel) as they sacked the Chopper-Decepticon into pieces. Scorponok, which is a symbiote of Blackout, died with him.

f. After Megatron’s death, the fate of Barricade was never sealed. That was the missing link in the movie. Starscream was still alive and went into space in between the rolling of the credits.

8. Some of the Decepticons do not fly which is a trademark of the evil race in the animated series. It could have been more cool if they all fly as a pack which was also their trademark.

Sequel?

Now would there be any prequel? Yes. Proof of this is the following:

1. Optimus Prime said in his last dialogue overlooking the horizon, “to the remaining Autobots spread throughout the galaxy, we are here waiting…�

2. Starscream escaped into space, probably on his way to call reinforcements in Cybertron

3. Barricade is missing in action and would reappear at the sequel. It is very unlikely that the movie would never mention anything about Barricade’s fate.

4. Megatron was thrown into the ocean, which is the Decepticon’s future lair. In the animated series, the Decepticon’s hideout was in the middle of the ocean

Critics

Transformers The Movie 2007 broke the box office record with a whoopering $27.4 million in its initial debut beating the $15.7 million raked last year by “Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man’s Chestâ€?. “Transformers” is positioned to join the ranks of this summer’s (US, Canada and Europe) blockbusters, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” “Spider-Man 3″ and “Shrek the Third”, all of which have surpassed or are about to cross the $300 million mark domestically. Nevertheless, behind this huge success of the transforming Cybertronian robots are mixed reviews by the critics:

“Great special effects + Shia LaBeouf - flimsy story = lotsa fun.”

Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“…a partly impressive, partly inane buck-banging toy of a movie.”

Wesley Morris
Boston Globe

“It’s goofy fun with a lot of stuff that blows up real good, and it has the grace not only to realize how preposterous it is, but to make that into an asset.”

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times

“In Bay’s world, which is more about metal than people, every action sequence must be edited like a cinematic seizure and every extreme-telephoto image must be jammed headlong into the next.”

Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune

“…clunky, heartless and boring.”

N.V. Cooper
E! Online

“LaBeouf has the hefty job of single-handedly injecting the action with personality, and he brings it off, though without offering much variation on his nervous, hipster-squirt charm.”

Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

“…takes too long to reach high gear.”

Sean O’Connell
filmcritic.com

“…both smart and funny.”

Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter

“Compared to the labyrinthine plots of some of this summer’s other blockbusters, this one is positively simple and easy to follow.”

Lou Lumenick
New York Post

“…a movie of epically assaultive noise and nonsense.”

Manohla Dargis
New York Times

“…essentially one long product placement.”

James Berardinelli
ReelViews

“Sure, the action is over the top, but the people in charge seem completely aware that every scene is hokey. It’s a triumph of lowbrow consistency.”

Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle

“…a wildly absurd, visceral fantasy and far more fun than it ought to be.”

Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“…perfectly embodies the concept of a summer blockbuster with its simple good-guys-vs.-bad-guys plot, cheeky humor and flawless special effects.”

Claudia Puig
USA Today

My Take

Of course some of these critics may either be too old, too classical, too effeminate or too sentimental to see the beauty of the movie. Most of these people may have never been heard or watched the transformers movie in their life until they attended the private junket of the film. On the other hand, maybe they wanted Barbie dolls to transform into Disney princesses instead of the actual adrenaline pumping robots. Real criticism and review should belong to the fans and followers of the Transfrormers for to them belongs the authority and wisdom of the origins of the movie. You would never see an Olympic swimming champion judging an ice skating event. For me, I’ll give the movie 5 out of 5 energon cubes for making the childhood memories of millions of 80’s boomers come to life once again. And that includes mine.

Transform

There are only three kernels of morals that we can learn from this movie: freedom, respect for life and the battle for good angainst evil. These three themes are intertwined in our lives. Most of the times we see people dying everyday, gracing the covers of our newspapers either as salvage victims or casualties of crimes. Each entity wants to destroy and enslave other people for their own stakes. And the battle between good and evil are misinterpreted as something of a cliché, tending to be neutral even if the price to pay is one’s moral standing. Yet it is a reflection for everyone: that it is a shame that some robots like the transformers knows how to become human to some extent beyond their steel frames and iron components, while real human beings try hard to transform themselves beyond comprehension into apathetic and indifferent cyborgs.

All Photos are owned by Dreamworks

If you like this post, Press the Button!