Transform and roll out!
Most folks celebrate their Fourth of July with fireworks and sparklers. Adding a little snap to to the city streets.
I celebrated my fourth by watching the Transformers movie. Caught an early Matinee showing. It’s flooded with loud booms and plenty of sparks. But equally fun.
Yeah, so I’m a geek when it comes to seeing old cartoon favorites made into big, loudmouthed action packed flicks. But this one has heart to it.
If the fact that hearing once again the original voice of Peter Cullen, who did Optimus Prime in the old series, doesn’t lift your spirit, then you must have had a pretty sad childhood life.
A childhood without the Transformers? Unthinkable.
During the height of the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was raiding the presidency with his idiotic trickle-down economics, I was glued to the TV screen watching strange alien robots shifting shape in what was known as Transformers. Just like almost any other kid my age. That was the highlight of the decade.
Not unless you were a boring kid who liked bean sprouts.
I admit never buying the original Hasbro toy-line that brought out the series of Transformers. But I did enjoy the cartoon like any young boy did. Those older, better toys are now worth a king’s ransom. If you kept your old toys in the boxes and never played them, then you’re a rich man.
But it’s not about money or the toys. It’s about nostalgia.
Which brings us to the Transformers movie.
The film, for the most part, is eye candy to be sure. It is filled with loud sounds and plenty of special effects for three different films. But it captures the heart of the old cartoon series. There are a lot of good, funny moments which sets it aside from the other summer action, blow-them-up, smash-them flicks.
The best summer movie.
Period.
Plenty character development between the human characters fuels the film, which reminds you of the approach made in Godzilla movies. It wouldn’t be a good monster movie if you didn’t care about the people in it.
But Transformers isn’t about a monster. It’s about giant-sized robots stirring from an alien world, bringing with them an age-old classic conflict of good vs. evil. Earth has become their battlefield. And, like any other war, there are casualties. They are ancient soldiers made of metal.
On the human side, I enjoyed the splitting up the stories between several different major characters, some in Iraq, another in the United States. It is these layers of stories that help make the story. I really enjoyed the character of Shia LaBeouf who is a cocky, smart-ass kid who always has a nice punch-line in dangerous situations. He uses his wits in the face of trouble. And trouble does follow him around like a puppy.
He ends up buying a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro from a local auto dealer, finds out that the four-wheeler is, in fact, an alien robot that is part of a never-ending war. He wanted to get a car only so he could get a woman and itches to lose his virginity. Much like most guys his age.
He gets more than what he bargains for.
The young boy is thrown into a massive struggle between robots who want to preserve or dominate the human race. Their forces collide with a solid, in-your-face metal mash. Perfect for the Transformers movie. I couldn’t have asked for more. Except for a huge box of popcorn to eat out of while I sit entranced.
Once again, I became that thirteen-year-old kid who followed the old cartoon saga of the good and bad. It’s an easy enough concept that anyone can enjoy.
I also liked the scenes set in the Middle East where the American soldiers find out the deep-seated secrets of the robot creatures who are bent on taking over the world. That was a very good storyline which rounds up nicely with the kid’s own backstory.
The parts with the leader of the good guys, Optimus Prime, are awesome. He’s a fierce fighter. He has courage and charisma like any other good hero. And it wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t have Cullen reprising his role as the two-fisted fighting hero turning into the semi truck with a road rampage.
The fight scene on the super highway with Prime is great especially when he delivers a double-decker sucker punch into the bad guy. Yeah! I was a kid again.
Call me childish. Call me stupid.
I don’t care. It’s the simple fact that I was feeling like a kid makes all the difference in the world. Not even George Lucas was able to pull that off with his Star Wars films of recent memory.
The director Michael Bay was able to make good on his promise on creating a good movie flick based on a cartoon series. The film doesn’t feel rushed. There’s enough development to make another movie, which seems to be the intention. Thankfully producer Steven Spielberg was there to make sure that the film was done properly without alienating old fans. While bringing in the new.
Most importantly, they kept the familiar sound when the robots changed their appearances. That sends another thrill for the old fans.
The action was A-plus. And I left the theatres feeling pretty good about the film. I wasn’t mad or anything.
The 1980s. You were either that kid lost in that world of the Transformers. Or that other kid munching on broccoli. That’s what Transformers were all about. It was the essence of cool.
Go ahead. Take your pick. Either the Autobots or the Decepticons. Which side are you on?
I celebrated my fourth by watching the Transformers movie. Caught an early Matinee showing. It’s flooded with loud booms and plenty of sparks. But equally fun.
Yeah, so I’m a geek when it comes to seeing old cartoon favorites made into big, loudmouthed action packed flicks. But this one has heart to it.
If the fact that hearing once again the original voice of Peter Cullen, who did Optimus Prime in the old series, doesn’t lift your spirit, then you must have had a pretty sad childhood life.
A childhood without the Transformers? Unthinkable.
During the height of the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan was raiding the presidency with his idiotic trickle-down economics, I was glued to the TV screen watching strange alien robots shifting shape in what was known as Transformers. Just like almost any other kid my age. That was the highlight of the decade.
Not unless you were a boring kid who liked bean sprouts.
I admit never buying the original Hasbro toy-line that brought out the series of Transformers. But I did enjoy the cartoon like any young boy did. Those older, better toys are now worth a king’s ransom. If you kept your old toys in the boxes and never played them, then you’re a rich man.
But it’s not about money or the toys. It’s about nostalgia.
Which brings us to the Transformers movie.
The film, for the most part, is eye candy to be sure. It is filled with loud sounds and plenty of special effects for three different films. But it captures the heart of the old cartoon series. There are a lot of good, funny moments which sets it aside from the other summer action, blow-them-up, smash-them flicks.
The best summer movie.
Period.
Plenty character development between the human characters fuels the film, which reminds you of the approach made in Godzilla movies. It wouldn’t be a good monster movie if you didn’t care about the people in it.
But Transformers isn’t about a monster. It’s about giant-sized robots stirring from an alien world, bringing with them an age-old classic conflict of good vs. evil. Earth has become their battlefield. And, like any other war, there are casualties. They are ancient soldiers made of metal.
On the human side, I enjoyed the splitting up the stories between several different major characters, some in Iraq, another in the United States. It is these layers of stories that help make the story. I really enjoyed the character of Shia LaBeouf who is a cocky, smart-ass kid who always has a nice punch-line in dangerous situations. He uses his wits in the face of trouble. And trouble does follow him around like a puppy.
He ends up buying a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro from a local auto dealer, finds out that the four-wheeler is, in fact, an alien robot that is part of a never-ending war. He wanted to get a car only so he could get a woman and itches to lose his virginity. Much like most guys his age.
He gets more than what he bargains for.
The young boy is thrown into a massive struggle between robots who want to preserve or dominate the human race. Their forces collide with a solid, in-your-face metal mash. Perfect for the Transformers movie. I couldn’t have asked for more. Except for a huge box of popcorn to eat out of while I sit entranced.
Once again, I became that thirteen-year-old kid who followed the old cartoon saga of the good and bad. It’s an easy enough concept that anyone can enjoy.
I also liked the scenes set in the Middle East where the American soldiers find out the deep-seated secrets of the robot creatures who are bent on taking over the world. That was a very good storyline which rounds up nicely with the kid’s own backstory.
The parts with the leader of the good guys, Optimus Prime, are awesome. He’s a fierce fighter. He has courage and charisma like any other good hero. And it wouldn’t be the same if it didn’t have Cullen reprising his role as the two-fisted fighting hero turning into the semi truck with a road rampage.
The fight scene on the super highway with Prime is great especially when he delivers a double-decker sucker punch into the bad guy. Yeah! I was a kid again.
Call me childish. Call me stupid.
I don’t care. It’s the simple fact that I was feeling like a kid makes all the difference in the world. Not even George Lucas was able to pull that off with his Star Wars films of recent memory.
The director Michael Bay was able to make good on his promise on creating a good movie flick based on a cartoon series. The film doesn’t feel rushed. There’s enough development to make another movie, which seems to be the intention. Thankfully producer Steven Spielberg was there to make sure that the film was done properly without alienating old fans. While bringing in the new.
Most importantly, they kept the familiar sound when the robots changed their appearances. That sends another thrill for the old fans.
The action was A-plus. And I left the theatres feeling pretty good about the film. I wasn’t mad or anything.
The 1980s. You were either that kid lost in that world of the Transformers. Or that other kid munching on broccoli. That’s what Transformers were all about. It was the essence of cool.
Go ahead. Take your pick. Either the Autobots or the Decepticons. Which side are you on?
posted by K.M. Paters at 4:10 PM
2 Comments:
Chills shot up my spine when I heard Optimus speak his first line. No one else is worthy of speaking for Optimus except for Peter Cullen. Just like James Earl Jones is the only voice of Darth Vader (In battle armor/respirator).
Thanks for the comment. That's very cool that you remember the voice from the old Transformers shows.
Some of the Star Wars prequels had their flaws. But there's no villian as dark and mysterous as Darth Vader. No bad guy topped him in the newer prequels. Though I still thought Revenge of the Sith was the best of the newer films.
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