More than meets the eye: Anticipating the release of the Transformers movie – Part 11

The Transformers is destined to be a killer blockbuster, packed with the characters many of us know and love from the cartoon series and original goofy animated film as well as the somewhat darker and more tragedy-filled comics the followed. The film has taken a non-nonsense approach that shows guts: jumping right into an all-out war involving the humans rather than beating around the bush like the comics did back in the day (when most robot conflicts went unnoticed by the people of Earth).

While there is doubtful to be much in the way of complex plot – as evidenced by the visually-gripping but duologue-lacking trailers – there is sure to be amazing action and special effects. As such, Steven Spielberg seems to be the best choice for the role of Executive Director. Spielberg is brilliant at turning standard blockbusters into epic and gripping thrillers. Between the creative live-action cinematography and classic iconography, this movie is sure to be a hit with fans of all kinds – from people like me who watched the series and owned the toys as a child, to anyone interested in seeing an action-packed summer movie!

Movie reviews: The Transformers (2007) – Part 15

There are little to no spoilers in this review. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.

After so many failed attempts at “blockbusters” since May, I am so happy to see the new Transformers movie! There was so much speculation going on about whether it’s going to live up to the title or not. There was a lot of fear for us old Transformers fans. Is it really going to be the Transformers, or is it just going to be some giant robot flick with the Transformers title? Since Optimus Prime is the only character graced by the original voice actor, how will the other voice actors measure up? Is it more a story about the Transformers, or is it more about the humans who befriend them? Well, I can tell you, speaking as a long time fan of the cartoon series and the original animated feature, this live action adaptation did not disappoint. Sure, there were a few quirks (Optimus Prime with a mouth?!), but all in all it was a great ride. There was a lot of great, well placed humor. The action scenes were a little blurry, but they were still pretty cool. I really like when Bone Crusher jumped into Optimus while on their way to the city. The sparks and the sounds were so cool! I was a little disappointed that the classic transforming sound was only featured in the movie once or twice, and it actually sounded really good. They made it work very well. I just wish it was in there for at least most of the transformations. Maybe in the sequel.

The only human acting that I thought was bad was the wife of Captain Lennox (aka Josh Duhamel). Her acting wasn’t bad enough to ruin the movie, thankfully. She didn’t have too many scenes, which I’m taking as a blessing. But, please Michael Bay, don’t cast her again! She was horrible! So unnatural. I’m sure others would agree. However, the rest of the acting was absolutely brilliant. Perfect cast! They interacted perfectly with the rendered characters.

The voice acting for the robots were also perfect. Even if they didn’t all sound just like their old animated counterparts, the voice acting was still wonderful, and the characters were portrayed almost flawlessly. Ironhide was a little overbearing, but it wasn’t all that bad. It was humerous more than anything, which I’m sure was the point.

I absolutely loved that the main event happened right in the city. In the animated series you never see them fighting in an area that’s inhabited by humans. So it was a real treat to see the action happening among a real world with people everywhere. One of my favorite parts was Megatron saying “Disgusting” and flicking a human away as though it were a bug.

The ending has a promise for a sequel, which is just fine by me. Hopefully it will move along the lines of the X Men movies and keep creating a string of masterpieces. The movie is brilliant and well worth the money. I advise all who haven’t seen it yet to make a night out of it. If you’re an old hardcore fan, this movie will not disappoint. Even if you’re reletively new to the franchise, I still recommend it, as long as you’re an action fan, as well as a fan of giant robots. But I do advise that you have at least a little amount of knowledge of the original series. You’ll get more enjoyment out of it that way.

I would have to give this movie a 9 out of 10.