</p> <p>Transformers</p> <p>A film review by Jason Pitt </p> <p>For Critical-film.com </p> <p>&nbsp; </p> <p>Many, many years ago, long before Critical-Film 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 name. 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.</p> <p>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. While this fault can generally be attributed to the screenwriters, Bay's attachment 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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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 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.</p> <p>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…</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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, regarding characters that 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.</p> <p>It's actually better than original animated film from 1986. </p> <p>(Four stars) </p> <p>&nbsp; </p> <p class="style1">This review was provided in HTML format, as your browser is not capable of displaying flash content. To experience Critical-Film.com the way it was meant to be seen, please download the flash player from <a href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BIOW">Macromedia</a>.</p>