Many, many years ago, long before Critical-Film.com was even conceived, I had developed another website, WaldoPitt.com. The title was obviously nothing spectacular and made no suggestion to the site's content, it was simply drawn from both my and the conceptual partner of the site's last names. The subject matter was strictly anything related to classic cartoons, primarily of the 80's; cartoons such as G.I. Joe, He-Man, and obviously Transformers. You can understand then, that I have a certain appreciation for the subject matter (as I'm sure do most of you) and I was terrified that Michael Bay was going to butcher one of the most beloved cartoons of our childhood. It seems my negative anticipation was unnecessary, as Transformers is far and away the best big budget blockbuster we've seen this year.
Let me begin by explaining what founded my initial dread from this film. First, Michael Bay … I'm sorry to you lovers of Michael Bay, but I just don't particularly appreciate his work. The man is a genius of the visual medium, but his films lack any sort of depth or believability. and his visual antics serve more often than not to distance the audience from the proceedings. Bay's attachment to Transformers made my heart sink. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who wrote the screenplay, certainly did nothing to ease my fears, as their work to date has been less than stellar, working with Bay previously, on 2005's The Island. What made all of this far, far worse, however, were the concept drawings of the Decepticons. While the film's heroes, the Autobots, remained quite true to their cartoon counterparts, the villains however, were drastically different, appearing to have a less robotic and more alien look. At that point I had completely written the movie off as a disaster. But I knew, oh yes, I knew I was going to be sitting in that theatre, praying that in some manner the filmmakers could do the film justice.
So, there I sat, through the ambiguous Cloverfield(?) trailer, waiting… Something happened when the movie started, however, that made me change all of my initial thoughts. Something so simple… I couldn't believe. The film begins with a voice-over narration, explaining what we are about to witness. The voice of the original Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen, serves to open the film. This tiny little trait had changed everything I had expected, now realizing that the filmmakers had made some effort to appeal to the fans. I had renewed faith. It was this opening sequence that pulled me into the film, and to be completely honest, I enjoyed nearly every second of it.
The film seems like a modern retelling of the cartoon. As it should. Some details have been updated, Bumblebee is no longer a VW beetle, but is now a Camaro (nearly every vehicle is a General Motors product), energon cubes have been replaced by one giant cube, for which is the subject of both the Autobot and Decepticon search. Slight touches like these do nothing to harm the film, and are necessary, as the film would obviously fail, if it had been a direct adaptation of the original cartoon.
The film also focuses more on the human characters, thus making the scenes involving the transformers that much more impressive. The human characters are likable and funny, and surprisingly, very little of the humour misses the mark. The Autobots themselves are impressive, and while their physical appearances remain very similar to their cartoon counterparts, their attitudes are quite different. Example, Bumblebee can't talk, and Jazz, in his few lines, speaks in slang, uttering phrases like, “What's up, Bitches?” Interesting…
The Decepticons are much different physically, in particular, Megatron, who is made to look much more threatening than he did in the cartoon. His alien-like appearance works much better in the film than in the initial drawing I had mentioned, and I ended up actually being impressed with the changes made to his character. Also of note, the original voice of Megatron, Frank Welker, was considered for the part, but his voice didn't suit the character. Not surprising, but it's interesting to know that the filmmakers were genuinely attempting to make a film which appealed to its target audience.
Character and concept aside, the action sequences are really the main reason anyone goes to see a Michael Bay movie, and they are absolutely incredible. I will mention nothing to spoil your fun, if you have yet to see the film, but the sequences are original and intense, giving the film the blockbuster feel it so deserves.
The film is not without it's drawbacks however, as you can only stand to hear characters utter the words “more than meets the eye” so many times before it starts to feel like a punch in the face. There are obviously plot holes, and certain characters seem to just disappear, and occasionally it is difficult to differentiate between the characters, as I sat trying to think what had happened to certain transformers. These are all small gripes in the big picture, however. Not all fans of the original 'Transformers' will appreciate this film, but most will forgive the liberties taken with the material, and most will just enjoy the film for what it is, an incredible action-adventure film, which just happens to involve characters from the most beloved cartoon to come out of the 80's.
It's actually better than original animated film from 1986.
that is a load of rubbish, you have stated that the autobots didnt look like robots they looked like aliens, what?!? i think the whole film was great and as my friends and I studied this in our stage 1 english course we have led to believe that it has the best special effects around. Also the 'slang' that you have expressed as a negative part of the movie, created humour and made it possible for the audience to relate to. The movie transformers was 'based' on the original, this does not mean that things can be changed completly, the director altered parts of the movie, to make it exciting, incredible and more appealing to the audience of today. The actors/actresses are amazing in this movie and suit the part very well. I think you should actually watch the movie without judging, because if you had an open mind you would actually see the positives. The movie transformers gets 5 star rating from us movie critics. 'NO SACRIFICE, NO VICTORY', old witwicky motto.
Jason Pitt
– Canada
You suggest that I watch the movie... Perhaps you should actually read my review.
First... Your say that I wrote - "that the autobots didnt look like robots they looked like aliens". But in actuality I wrote, "the concept drawings of the Decepticons... appear(ed) to have a less robotic and more alien look"
I wrote both "Decepticons" and "concept drawings"...
Other than that nearly everything you're panning my review for are the exact same things you praised in your comments.
"Great Special Effects" - I mentioned that the action sequences are fantastic.
"The 'slang' - I never actually mentioned that it was a negative aspect, simply that it is proof of the modernization of the material.
Then you suggest that I should watch the movie 'without judging'. - Now tell me, as you're here reading MY REVIEW. How does a film critic not judge a film. That's what we do. And in this instance you completely misinterpreted my review. 4/5 stars is pretty damned good, and you reacted like I wrote a 2-Star review.
It's a good thing you enjoy movies because you sure as hell can't read.
JP