Transformers: What they got right...

As I've stated before, Transformers (2007), is my all time favorite movie. For one reason or another, it connected with me in a profound manner.

It's critical reception was overall positive, but many hardcore moviegoers, and fans of the series detested the film to a large degree. I myself, am a moderately harcore fan of the franchise. Though my interest started not with Transformers, but the 90s spin-off, Beast Wars. I can even remember walking around in Wal-Mart one day, and looking at these toys thinking to myself "these are dumb, they're a copy off of Transformers". Of course unbeknownst to me they were in fact, Transformers.

Though to be fair, technically the first Transformer I ever remember owning was a Powermaster Optimus Prime. He was in good condition too, but me being the eccentric creative spirit I was at that age (7 or 8 I believe), I spray painted him blue. He was never seen again. I'm serious, because to this day all I can find is the trailer.

The first ones I remember getting were Cheetor, one of the Maximal soldiers (Maximals were a sub-group of the Autobots). I also recieved a "Vs. Pack" for my birthday that year, that included the Maximal leader Optimus Primal, and his nemesis, leader of the Predacons (Decepticon sub-group), Megatron.

Surpisingly I grew to love these guys, moreso than I ever wolud've imagined. Soon I started collecting by the masses and eventually had over 40 Maximals and Decepticons (to a lesser extent I still do, though they're packed away).

Then in the late 90s, early 2000s I became formally introduced to the original Transformers, through the 1986 animated movie. What a treat it was to see the characters that forged the franchise into what it is today. I grew to respect these characters over time, and found myself once again in 2006 struck with the buying bug. Hasbro had released a line of figures called "classics" in which the old G1 characters were released with stylistic, modernized looks. I snagged Optimus, Starscream, Bumblebee, Astrotrain and eventually Megatron and Grimlock. Megatron once again had a gun for a robot mode, which hasn't been done since his original 80s incarnation. I'm glad to say that these figures are one of the highlights of my collection.

Then, the movie. Word of it caught pretty quickly on the web, and I was one of the many to follow it pretty closesly. Long story short, I had major reservations about the film, up until it was released. It's not everyday I'm blown away by a movie, but with Transformers I was annihilated. What an epic picture it was.

As I said, critical reception was for the most part, positive. But alot of the fans were displeased, making claims that Michael Bay "Ruined their childhood", and "Killed Transformers".

What alot of people do right out of the gate, is compare it to the original. By that standard alone it's not going to live up to the expectations. This is something that, yes, people do take very passionately. You can bash the film left and right, and it's understandable to an extent. But to say someone "ruined" your childhood is taking it alittle far, and downright silly I believe.

What alot of people don't realize, is that this was the first time anything like this was ever done. A full sized Semi truck transforming into a 35 foot robot merrited some considerable difficulty, for ILM. This was a test run for them, and for the first time ever, a realistic look at this universe and it's characters.

But they got it right, and here's why.

Look and Feel:
The characters themselves, are pretty standard. You have the reluctant leader who fights when he needs to, and you have the maniacal general type who wants "peace" by waging war. It's all been done before. But I learned that it's not always about what you do, it's how you do it.

Prime was pretty much just as he was in the show. He was a reluctant leader who would fight if he had to, and fight hard. He even in some reels of the comics was just as he was in the movie, but with a more hesitant nature. Even to the point of blaming himself for the war, simply because he chose not to fight the Decepticons at times that called for it. Megatron was, well, he was Megatron. He was tough, he was brutal and downright evil in nature. That's how he needs to be, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Starscream, with what little lines he had, was fine as he was. Though in the sequel they gave alot of the characters an emotional overhaul, he still had a good moment or two with Megs, a good reference to their love/hate relationship in the show.

The rest of the Decepticons were hulking brutes, who though may not have had any real character development, honestly didn't need it. They were mindless grunts with black hearts on the show, so it wouldn't make any difference here either. Every one of the featured Autobots, was a unique character, Bumblebee (as he should've been) was Sam's protector, and a noble guardian. Ratchet was the medical officer, with not much but little technical comments to add to whatever situation they were in. Ironhide was a gun happy warrior, who had some humorous moments (at the request of Bay no doubt, as he was responsible for alot of the easily overlooked immature gags). And Jazz, who was essentially a modernized version of his 80s cartoon countrtpart. Right down to the cool attitude he emitted during some scenes.

As for their look, they all had very traditional vehicle modes, which were either slightly changed for whatever reason the filmmakers felt they had to. Prime was a Semi-Truck, though with a broad nose and not the famous flat front like 80s Prime sported. Jazz was a Pontiac sports car, to fit more with today's standard of the "slick sports car". Ratchet was a medical evac Hummer, and all you would have to do to make him just like his 80s counterpart is change the green to white. Everything else is pretty much fine, aside from the fact that he was a van, and not a Hummer on the show. Bumblebee, though not a volkswagon, is a 1974 Camaro aswell as the new (not so "concept" anymore) 2009 Concept Camaro. I would've prefered something more along the lines of a ford focus or at least something compact. But I'm not complaining, he turned out much better than expected. Ironhide was a now discontinued Topkick Pickup truck from GMC, which makes sense considering him and Ratchet were the exact same vehicle on the show, just colored different ("repaint variants" as the toys are called). It probably would've been confusing to see two different characters have the same alt mode.

The Decepticons, namely Starscream, Blackout (who was originally named Vortex, but had the same alt mode), and Brawl all had their conventional vehicle modes. Though understandably, and with most of the characters in the film they were modernized. Megatron was an advanced Cybertronian Jet, which at first I was unsure of whether I would like it or not. Surprisingly he makes more sense as a flying vehicle alongside his second in command, Starscream. The rest of the Decepticons had different vehicle modes then their 80s incarnations, with the exception of Skorpinok, who had no robot mode (though technically in the show he did).

Story:
Revolves around the Autobots and Decepticons as they search for the key to their existence, the Allspark, when it has made it's way to Earth. Energon, was initially their source of energy and life in the cartoon, and if you watch the second film, you would think this is something they would've mentioned during the course of the first film. The story in itself is simple, as was the one on the show. And if you really want to get technical about things, the show itself was just a way to pitch the toys and characters to the target audience of that time. But it's grown to something much more than that in recent years.

A few honorable mentions are that one, during a few Transformations, the synthesized morphing noise was used. A really excellent nod to the show. And two, Peter Cullen returned to voice Optimus Prime, and I must say the years have been good to him, he really gave Prime that extra ingredient that was needed to make the character whole.

Now with all of that said, I must stress that this is my personal opinion. But you can't deny the facts, they're right there for you to see.

What Revenge of the Fallen did right (and yes, it did actually due the show some justice aswell, Balls aside).

The movie itself, is a decent follow up. And let's be honest here, can it really get any better from this point in the series? No, but it can be amplified to a degree, tweaked if you will. Take everything from the first film and kick it up a few notches, with some Bay humor thrown in at inoppurtune moments.

With my personal gripes aside, the movie had some really awesome moments. While it didn't have many faithful qualities like the first film did, it still had one or two here and there.

Look and Feel:
The central characters from the first film are present again, namely Prime and Bumblebee. Prime was more of an aggressor this time, often times making the Decepticons look tame in comparison. That was never a major trait of his in either the comics or show, but it was an interesting turn from the 1st film. Bumblebee was the same, but had more sequences where he engages someone (or multiple someones). And the rest of the 1st movie's central cast were mostly in the background, but still provided enjoyment in some form or other.

New characters on both sides were introduced, though I'm honestly not too partial to many of them or their 80s counterparts.

Megatron returns, as does Starscream and a surprise from an old foe towards the end of the film. Though his scene was miniscule.

Another good addition was that of Frank Welker voicing the infamous Soundwave (who was changed from a boombox to an alien satelite). His minion Ravage makes a few appearances too. The Constructicons have a considerable role in the film aswell, though some of their names differ from their 80s incarnations. But the most true-to-the-show aspect of these characters is their combined form, the Epic Devastator. Though his overall profile is vastly different from the cartoon form, his essence is still there. You could even say moreso, considering this is a realistic approach to the character. The Defected Decepticon turned Autobot Jetfire has a role, though his robot and alt modes differ greatly from his G1 counterpart. A small but noticable Armada reference is evident too, with Jetfire making use of himself with one of the Major characters towards the end of the film. Though abit anticlimactic, it was still cool to see.

A G2 reference makes it's way into the film aswell, with Megatron returning and Sporting a new look-a Tank much like his G2 counterpart. His relationship with Starscream mirrors the show's perfectly this time around, as does Megatron's general personality. The additions of Energon, The Decepticon flagship Nemesis, and The Fallen (A character taken from the "War Within" comic series which debuted some years back) were interesting details. Energon apparently plays a big role in their survival, which if I remember correctly was one of the reasons for them coming to Earth to find the Cube.

Many references to the 1986 animated movie were included aswell. The girl character Arcee (a sport bike in this film), Wheelie, an RC truck and The Matrix of Leadership all make an appearance in the film. One major aspect (whether it was a direct reference of just a coincidence, it still mirrors the 1986 film) was the Twist mid-movie, the death of Prime. It was an interesting approach to the story needless to say.

All in all these little nods and pokes gave the film it's genuinality. A charm that many hardcore G1 fans should appreciate more. I still have my reservations, but overall these movies have a special place in my heart. They did it right, and I hope they do it again soon.

You can look at these films with a passing glance and come up with a blinde assessment, or you can watch them and at least mildly enjoy the entertainment they give out. Something as I said once before, that only my 8 year old self could possibly explain.

And with that said, there is more to these films, than meets the eye. So until next time.