The Transformererers.

[Rob McCow]

Trailer.

Here.

Start working out how to spell "Chhh chhho chhh chcch hc cchc hcch" or whatever the transform noise is.

[Alex]

It does look pretty damn good, but it's a Michael Bay film so I can't get too excited about it. I'll definitely try and see it though, and I do hope it turns out to be fun.

Oh, and I'd go for "Krraawwwkkkkkcchhchhhchhhhchhhchh" personally on the sound front.

[Doctor Vendetta]

I spell it "ernk ERNK, ernk ernk".

[Jeff]

I read a review from a user on another forum who got to see a test screening for it, and they thought it was really good. I don't expect it to be anything like the G1 cartoon series though, so there is sure to be people who whine and moan that their childhood was raped by Optimus Prime's blue flames and so forth...

[Paul Monk]

Gobots Rule!

[Paul Monk]

Has anyone seen the original Transformers movie. Its a masterpiece of crapness. It has quite a good cast though including Eric Idle and Orson Welles.
The Bit where Hot Rod becomes Rodimus Prime is fantastic. Stan Bush rules!

"You've got the touch. You've got the POOOOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!"

[Rob McCow]

Transformers: The Movie contains some shocking violence for a kids film. Though it is entirely robot-on-robot violence.

Here's hoping for more of the same in the new version!

[Jeff]

I loved the movie as a kid. Saw it at the theater. I thought the cartoon took a turn for the worse after that though. It just wasn't as interesting to me without the earth setting, and Spike, and all the familiar characters.

[cullsoft]

I've gotta admit... I feel dissapointed. Somewhat too RL for what I was expecting, and it looks to me like the Transformers themselves do nothing but smash stuff up in nifty CGI showoffiness.

Where's "I thought you were made of sterner stuff" and the likes thereof?

[Rob McCow]

A huge success for Facebook this weekend as we used it to organise 9 of us to see the Transformers movie. True to it's transforming nature, it was at the same time a masterpiece and a hideous train-wreck, with moments of genius and stupidity. Let's have a look at the key issues.

- The Transformer design. At a first glance they were hideous, but closer inspection or rather inspection from further away, shows that they're superb. The thousands of sliding plates of metal idea means that the Transformers are brought to life not just through brilliant CGI, but through having a believable design.
Not only were the robots great, but the Autobots transformed into the grooviest collection of chunky, colourful cars I've ever seen. The Decepticons, meanwhile, got their share of awesome vehicles. I paticularly liked Barricade's form, the chunky police car with 'Enslave and Destroy' written in cheery letters along the side.
I was very worried at first that the direction of the battle scenes might make it impossible for 3rd row cinema viewers to work out what was going on, but again it just about worked.

- The tension. It's perhaps a bit facile, but the opening approach of Blackout to the army base was straight out of Hitchcock. You just get the little clues that something is wrong with this helicopter, that it's evil. The flickering face of the pilot would have been enough, but it's kind of sledgehammered home with the revelation that the helicopter with that registration was shot down months ago.

- The line 'I'm more than meets the eye' when Sam says it was hammered into the script so hard that it left gaping fractures in the movie for 20 minutes either side of it.

- This is a film for nerds. Therefore, the lead character is a geek. That's logical, of course. But by showing that the geek only gets the girl when his car transforms and he saves the world by putting the Space MacGuffin into the chest of a giant robot, it fuels the dreams of geeks around the world. It doesn't say that geeks are kind people too; it says that geeks can only elevate themselves with extra-terrestrial help. And so millions of fanboys stare out of the window dreaming of robots when they should be making their own lives better.

- The Space MacGuffin / Allspark / Cube was a genius idea. Because it was simple. It does beg two main questions though: What idiot lost it in space? And I can understand how it can fold itself up to football-size, but what happens to the mass? Either one explorer could have carried it back on their own or when it was passed to Sam, it should have crushed him. Though this is a problem Transformers have faced for decades, with the 30ft tall Soundwave and Megatron turning into handheld objects. Apparently, according to the comic, they release a special gas that compresses them. Duh!

- For the first hour or two, it was like watching three different Transformer movies. An exciting desert movie, a naff but amusing love story and a seriously low-rent hacker movie. Unlike Pearl Harbour, which was 8 different movies that never got together, Transformers melded its strands together into a walking mutant storyline from hell. And the hackers had nothing to do after eating some doughnuts.

- Optimus Prime. Oh Prime! Hero of the Autobots, eternal saviour of mankind, Christ and father figure of the comic books. How we love thee. How we love Peter Cullen's awesome voice, that can make you quake with joy and awe at such pretentious lines as 'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.' and 'Megatroaahahhn!' How we love thine truck form. Our Prime, who art in Transformers, hallowed be thine name....
How right Deathray were when they said 'When you see Prime transform for the first time, your geek glands will produce excess nerdstrogen.'

- Bumblebee looked better as the old Camero.

- Sam's mum was fab. Have you been masturbating? And the whole 15 minute sequence where they search for Sam's backpack, fearing that the Decepticons had got there first, was resolved when Sam's mum casually remarked 'It's in the kitchen!'

- 'No Sacrifice, no victory'. Sam risked his life, but at the end of the film, what had he sacrificed? His dignity for 5 minutes? Getting short of breath running from Megatron? He sacrificed the Giant Space MacGuffin, but that wasn't really his to give away. Prime was prepared to sacrifice. Witwicky most certainly wasn't.

- Ratchet and Jazz were always my favourite Transformers as a kid.

- Optimus Prime is Megatron's BROTHER?!?!?! HOLY CRAP!!! Did they have a mum and dad then? What did they get for Christmas, Transformers?! Or Action Man?
Daddymus Prime: Our son, Optimus, is growing up fine and brave.
Mummytron: But I'm worried about our other son, Megatron! He keeps skipping school to blow things up and be evil!
Daddymus Prime: Well you did build him with a gun for an arm, dear.

- Everything is forgiven though, as Robots are Awesome. Robots that Transform into cars are super-awesome. Robots that transform into cars then beat up robots that transform into planes with missiles and cannons on their hands are the best thing ever.

Transformers was the film I waited 24 years for. Revisiting your childhood is always dangerous. I once watched the old Transformers cartoon at University and what a sad and sorry mess that was. But against all the odds, Transformers was everything we hoped it could be. Prime's closing speech, calling out to Autobots around the Universe, stating that they would protect Earth, had me swelling up with a little tear. Everything was possible. I was 8 years old again. And it was astounding.

[WhiteCrow]

Yes Transformers - overall a bit of a dissapointment.

One of the biggest problems for me was that the Transformers themselves lacked personality. Having seen the robot used in the Citreon advert - these seemed to have more personality, and were better done than the robots offered up here.

Sams parents were the saving point of the movie.

Other than that it felt like Pearl Harbour with Robot Cars. Actually throughout the film you were reminded of other better movies. In pace and setup it reminded me of Masters of the Universe, the whole Megatron on ice reminded me of Independance Day.

[Rob McCow]

Yes, but it was better than Pearl Harbour, miles better than Masters of The Universea and a considerable improvement on Independence Day.

Si enjoyed it too!

[WhiteCrow]

a considerable improvement on Independence Day.

Independence Day is a top film!

[Jason Thompson]

I have to say I quite enjoyed the film. A few random thoughts.

Removing Bumblebee's ability to talk was, I suppose, the only way to avoid having him explain everything to Sam straight away, but unfortunately it robbed him of a fair bit of personality. Optimus Prime was the only transformer with any real depth of character. Jazz was not given enough time or dialogue for his loss at the end of the film to actually mean anything, and the others all seemed pretty interchangeable. Had they not had Peter Cullen doing his definitive Prime, I doubt the film would have made much impact, to be honest.

There was one big, bad plot failure, however. The one that made me think it was a case of having a character make an arbitrary decision just so the final scenes would look a bit better. Why in the name of hell did that military guy, knowing that a bunch of huge robots with no regard for life, law or property were after the cube, decide to take it to the city?! There's plenty of unpopulated space in America for hiding a small cube and making a stand. Why take it and unnecessarily endanger civillians? And I had to laugh when at the end they dropped the remains of the dead transformers into the sea, 'leaving no evidence.' No evidence except a trail of destruction through a major population centre, witnessed by hundreds of people....

But by showing that the geek only gets the girl when his car transforms and he saves the world by putting the Space MacGuffin into the chest of a giant robot, it fuels the dreams of geeks around the world. It doesn't say that geeks are kind people too; it says that geeks can only elevate themselves with extra-terrestrial help.

I disagree with that. Mikaela was as interested in Sam because of what he said and did as because of the cool transforming car. His response when she asked if he thought she was shallow, his demand to get her criminal record erased, his willingness to risk his life to prevent Megatron getting the Allspark. Yeah, OK, the transforming car helped, but it was what he did with that that worked the 'getting the girl magic'. He's basically a decent guy, and the situation just allowed her to see that whereas before she never really noticed him.

[SiHart]

The facetious answer is to say they went to the city because they needed a kick-ass ending. But I wouldn't say that, would I?

Si xx

[WhiteCrow]

Jazz was not given enough time or dialogue for his loss at the end of the film to actually mean anything, and the others all seemed pretty interchangeable.

Looking at the original Jazz from the cartoons - could this be another example of a gender confused character in cartoons?



That bumper looks awfully like it's a pair of breasts.

[Rob McCow]

I disagree with that. Mikaela was as interested in Sam because of what he said and did as because of the cool transforming car.

Possibly. If his dad had just bought Sam a standard car, he'd have still given her a lift home. We didn't see much of his tree-climbing friend after his first scene. Lost!

[Darren]

I went to see this this afternoon, and really enjoyed it. Michael Bay seemed to restrain himself here as his direction is often more intense and flashy (The Rock, Armageddon). Meagan Fox is absolutely stunning (yum!) , and Shia Beowulf was a good lead actor. The character and plot development was obviously always going to be secondary to the special effects and action scenes, but I was pleased to see the film from different perspectives. Infact it was less "gung ho" than I expected.
I loved the fact that the President appeared to be based on Bush, and Jon Voight looked a bit like Donald Rumsfeld.
I didn't like having to figure out which robot was which during the more hectic set pieces. And what was the point of the pyscho cop who arrested Sam? And I really waned Mojo to sort out the critterish decepticon!

[Darren]

I went to see this this afternoon, and really enjoyed it. Michael Bay seemed to restrain himself here as his direction is often more intense and flashy (The Rock, Armageddon). Meagan Fox is absolutely stunning (yum!) , and Shia Beowulf was a good lead actor. The character and plot development was obviously always going to be secondary to the special effects and action scenes, but I was pleased to see the film from different perspectives. Infact it was less "gung ho" than I expected.
I loved the fact that the President appeared to be based on Bush, and Jon Voight looked a bit like Donald Rumsfeld.
I didn't like having to figure out which robot was which during the more hectic set pieces. And what was the point of the pyscho cop who arrested Sam? And I really waned Mojo to sort out the critterish decepticon!

[Jeff]

I've had this on DVD since October and finally got around to watching it this past weekend. As an avid fan of the original series who owns the entire G1 set (saved a ton by getting region free English language edition that was made in China off Ebay) I loved it. I know some fans of the old series who hated it though, I can only guess they haven't actually seen the old cartoons in awhile if they thought something like that was going to work. Yeah, they spent too much time with the human characters and not enough with the Transformers, but it was still good. 7.5 out of 10.

And who knows, maybe they will explore the Transformers themselves more in the NEXT FILM, which is due out next June and will start filming, like, next week or something.

BTW, Michael Bay and the same producers are back for the next one, so if you didn't like the first one, don't start getting your hopes up for something different.

[Dirk Gently]

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Anyone going to watch it when it comes out?

Trailer here & trailer 2 here.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Gobots Rule!

Crap - probably the only time I'll agree with this man. Though I think he's being sarky ...

[Rob McCow]

Damn. That second trailer makes me want to see the film.

[Martin Penny]

I'm looking forward to it - looks to have much more robot screen time than the first!