The Transformers Movie: Ba-da-ba-ba-baaaa, I'm lovin' it!
So it's been a few weeks since the Transformers premired in theatres. I've only seen it twice, but given that my family doesn't exactly like seeing movies multiple times in the theatre, I can't complain.
Everything about the movie was amazing. Alright, the story could have been a bit more complex. There were some plot holes scattered about, but given that this is an adaptation of an old 80's cartoon that was no more than a 30-minute toy commercial, can we really be surprised?
First, the human cast. I think I've found a new favorite male actor in Shia LeBouf, but then again I had liked him ever since watching his role in Holes. Shia plays the main character, Sam Witwicky... All the other actors gave commendable performances, especially the eye candy that is Josh Duhamel... ha.
And then there were the actors that everyone really wanted to see: The Transformers. I was in love with ILM's renditions of the Autobots and Decepticons from the second that Blackout transformed at the Soccent base to when Prime concluded his message to other space-bound Transformers at the end of the movie. The level of detail and movement was fantastic. I think all the voice actors did fantastic jobs, were they original G1 actors or not. Their interactions with the human cast and with each other was phenomenal.
WARNING: SPOILERS APLENTY AHEAD!
The Autobots
Optimus Prime - well, what can I say? Cullen being cast as his voice was a major throwback to the old fans. While I'm more a fan of Chalk's Prime than Cullen's, Peter made the flame bedecked leader of the Autobots really come to life. And for the record? I LIKE THE FLAME PAINTJOB!
Bumblebee - One of my personal favorites. I was a little skeptical when I heard he would only be capable of speaking through sound clips in his radio, but after reading the Prequel comic and seeing what Megatron did to him in the first place... it was understandable. And when Bumbles really started communicating, I didn't mind it at all. I actually thought it was kinda cute. The first Autobot to appear on Earth, he was put in charge of making contact with Sam, who held an artifact important to finding the legendary Allspark. Transforming into an old camaro, he cleverly snuck himself into a used car dealership (with a yellow VW Beetle parked beside him as a nod to G1 Bumblebee's original alternate form), where Sam's father would eventually purchase the car for him. Cait knows what she wants her first car to be! Seriously, I saw an old Camaro for sale down on Ward Rd. I WANT IT. And I'm going to detail it up just like Bumblebee. <3 What I found quite funny was when Mikaela (Fox) asked aloud "If he's such an advanced robot, why does he turn into this piece of crap car?" ... at which point the yellow Autobot ejects them from the front seats, turns around, and speeds off. Sam yells at his new lady friend "See? He's a very sensitive car!", but Bumblebee returns moments later after scanning a 2008 Camaro. The first time I saw this, the audience erupted into applause.
Jazz - "What's crackin' little bitches?" Ahhh, that quote is so full of win. With Scatman Cruthers six feet under, a big question was who would fill the role of the music-loving Earth culture afficionado. Not familiar with the actor myself, but whoever he was, did a great job... while he was alive. He died in a heroic (if not brutal and badass) manner at Megatron's hands, but only after pulling a Kup-style manuver as he fought against Brawl/Devastator. No longer a Porsche, but a Pontiac Solstice.
Ratchet - No longer a Nissan Vannete Onebox, he was a bright booger green Emergency Custom Hummer. Still the Autobots' Medic, he introduces himself with a rather hilarious line about Sam's pheromone levels... Sounding nothing like his G1 counterpart, I actually enjoyed the deep, slightly English tone in his voice. In fact, I'd choose movie Ratchet's voice to G1 Ratchet's voice anyday.
Ironhide - A far cry from his days as a bright red van, Ironhide returns as a black GMC Topkick somethingorother. I loved the new look, as well as the BFGs mounted on both arms. He's introduced as he scares the tar out of Sam, aiming the two cannons on his arms down at the human and saying in classic style "You feelin' lucky, punk?", (and later apologizing, stating that he just wanted to show off his guns). He later on states to Prime that he wants to off Sam's parents, who are giving their son a hard time. His leader chastizes him, and he shrugs, replying "I'm just saying, it's an option..." I liked hish voice actor quite a bit as well, even if it was nothing like Cullen's Southern gruff voice at all.
The Decepticons
Megatron - The big baddie himself. Only appearing near the end of the film after Frenzy helps to bust him out of cryo stasis, but his prescence was overwhelming. The dark, sinister leader was given life by Hugo Weaving, and I must say it's vastly supierior to Frank Welker's scratchy, larengitis-afflicted voice. Welker... is just too saturday cartoonish, to me. Weaving's Megatron voice was actually fearsome, monstrous... add to that the skeletal, fanged appearance of his face, and I'm pretty sure kids will come home from the theaters with nightmares. Haha. He doesn't transform into a Walther P-38 any longer, but is a strange, futuristic Cybertronian spacecraft. Brutal and merciless, he's seen actively killing and attacking humans several times in the film (the most notable scene being when he mutters "Miserable creatures..." and flicks an unfortunate man across the street and into a parked car. I actually laughed!)
Starscream - One of the few who had less airtime. Actually, most of the Decepticons outside of Blackout, Skorponok, Frenzy, and Barricade had little limelight. Many die-hard Starscream fans were negative when they took sight of his new look all those months ago when the first concept pictures leaked; the thin, birdlike reversed-knees, the long arms ending in claw-fingers, a face only Waspinator's mommy could love... I was one of the few who thought the design was great, but then again, I wasn't a die-hard Starscream fan. *shrugs* Unfamiliar with his voice actor, Charlie Adler, it seemed to me like a hybrid of Dobson's and Latta's Starscream voices, which I thought was a perfect concession between old fans and new. His most notable scene had to be where he does battle with the air force over the city, deftly transforming between his robot and his F22 Raptor alternate mode as he tears the jets to shreds. He was never destroyed, and after the movie credits end rolling he is seen exiting the earth's atmosphere. Heading off to gather reinforcements, perhaps?
Bonecrusher and Brawl/Devastator - Ahh, these poor guys. *shakes head* If I had one gripe about the movie, it was the fact that several characters just appeared out of nowhere. While I understand that their sudden appearance after Frenzy's emergency broadcast could lend itself to the "In Disguise" factor (think of it like "Oh man! There were more in hiding? They really have invaded the planet!"), I felt bad because they got little introduction outside of a few lines in their native Cybertronian language. Granted, Bonecrusher was great (He's the Mine-clearing APC everyone saw body checking that metro bus on the freeway), and it was pretty kick ass when Prime decapitated him. Brawl, the badass green tank guy, was also an intimidating prescence while he was alive, and only died after taking a lot of shit from the Autobots and the military.
Frenzy - One of my personal favorites. The tweaked-out little CD player robot (armed with transforming shurkien CDs!) who I SWEAR has to be doing some form of Cybertronian crack or speed. He is one of the more commonly-seen Decepticons, first appearing on Airforce-1 as he tries to hack into the government's computer systems. Later being decapitated by Mikaela (Megan Fox) with an electric saw, he was able to transform his head into a copy of Sam's cell phone, pulling his disguise off so well he managed to get inside Sector 7 (think of Area 51), where he discovered not only Megatron, but the Allspark as well. Mainly for comic relief (Sam: "Not so tough without a head, are you? *PUNT!*"), he's quickly become a fan favorite among movie lovers.
Skorponok - The second Decepticon to appear in the film, the mechanoid scorpion was jettisoned from Blackout in the attack on Soccent and later hunted down the survivors (Duhamel and Tyrese's military unit). He was never killed, but lost his tail after an air strike put him back in his place. It's unknown where he tunneled off to, but it sets up for a sequel...
Blackout - Blackout is the first Transformer we lay eyes on in the movie, seen approaching the Soccent Military base in Q'tar. His Transformation sequence was so overwhelming... when I first saw it all the way through I squirmed in my seat from delight. He single-handedly destroys the entire establishment, save for Captian Lennox's (Duhamel) team. He sends Skorponok after them to finish the job, but he, ultimately fails. Lennox and the survivors will inevitably exact their revenge on Blackout for destroying their comerades, as Blackout is one of the many Decepticons to lose his life in the fight.
Barricade - Last, but not least, the Saleen Mustang police mech, Barricade. Bedecked with a custom police insignia (sporting the Decepticon emblem) and the words "to punish and enslave" as a mockery of the motto "to protect and serve", the notion of a bad guy transforming into a police car was always something that appealed to me. Luring humans in because he appears to be a keeper of peace, when in fact he is quite the opposite... it's the perfect disguise. He first appeared tailing Sam's camaro (Bumblebee), who in turn was following Sam (who was running from said yellow car because he had seen it transform the night previous). Sam tried to seek Barricade's help, but instead had walked right into a trap. Bumblebee would later rescue him and Mikaela from the dirty cop, but could not put an end to him permanently. It is unknown of what ever happened to Bari, since he is last seen on the highway pursing the Autobots. Many speculate he was left on the cutting room floor, while others state that he slipped back into obscurity to avoid sharing the same fate as Bonecrusher, Brawl, and the others. When the extended version of the DVD comes out, we'll know for sure. Voiced by Jess Harnel, he is one of the few Decepticons that took the time to learn the English language.
All in all, I love the movie Transformers.
Fan-gushing aside, I will say that viewing the Transformers movie on the premire night was probably the best 2 1/2 hours of my year. I don't know what it was about that film, but it was a thrill. If you haven't seen it yet, cancel your plans to go see Harry Potter and go watch Giant F'n Transforming Robots instead. You won't regret it.
♥