Transformers (2007)
Genres: Action | Adventure
Actors: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Rachael Taylor, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson, John Turturro, Michael O’Neill, Peter Cullen, Charlie Bodin, Andrew Caldwell, Bryan Cox, Keith David, Frederic Doss
Director: Michael Bay
Country: USA
Download "Transformers": DivX ($2.99), iPod ($1.99)
Transformers is a 2007 live action film adaptation of the Transformers franchise. Directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, the film stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager involved in the war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons for the All Spark. It also stars Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight and John Turturro, and it features the voices of Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime and Hugo Weaving as Megatron. Cullen voiced Prime in the 1980s cartoon.
If you grew up watching Transformers in the morning before school and then again in the afternoon you will absolutely enjoy this film.
Plot Summary: A long time ago, far away on the planet of Cybertron, a war was being waged between the noble Autobots (led by the wise Optimus Prime) and the devious Decepticons (commanded by the dreaded Megatron) for control over the Allspark, a mystical talisman that would grant unlimited power to whoever possessed it. The Autobots managed to smuggle the Allspark off the planet, but Megatron blasted off in search of it. He eventually tracked it to the planet of Earth (circa 1850), but his reckless desire for power sent him right into the Arctic Ocean, and the sheer cold forced him into a paralyzed state. His body was later found by Captain Archibald Witwicky, and before going into a comatose state Megatron used the last of his energy to engrave a map, showing the location of the Allspark, into the Captain’s glasses, and send a transmission to Cybertron. He is then carted away by the Captain’s ship. A century later, Sam Witwicky, nicknamed Spike by his friends, buys his first car. To his shock, he discovers it to be Bumblebee, an Autobot in disguise who is to protect Spike, as he bears the Captain’s glasses and the map carved on them. But Bumblebee is not the only Transformer to have arrived on Earth - in the desert of Qatar, the Decepticons Blackout and Scorponok attack a U.S. military base, causing the Pentagon to send their special Sector Seven agents to capture all "specimens of this alien race," and Spike and his girlfriend Mikaela find themselves in the middle of a grand battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons, stretching from Hoover Dam all the way to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, within the depths of Hoover Dam, the cryogenically stored form of Megatron awakens…
A few modifications have been made to some of the characters. There are no surprises with Optimus Prime, he is still a very powerful figure as a robot and as a Freightliner semi truck.
There are plenty of other changes as well. For example Bumblebee used to be a Volkswagen Beetle. In this live action Transformers movie Bumblebee takes on the form of the 2008 Chevy Camaro that isn’t on the market yet. Optimus Prime is still an amazing semi truck, and Ratchet is a Ambulance. The voices of the Transformers are very powerful and they are a good replica of the original programming from the early 80’s.
Forget about story or character or plot development for a second, and simply focus on big giant robots beating each other up. And then, in an instant, those big giant robots will transform into a truck or a plane and rip through the city at an incredible pace. In the early days of film, the concept would probably be impossible to place on the screen and do it justice. In the golden age of film, it would look interesting, but laughable. In the special effects era of movies, it would look passable, but not believable. But now, in 2007, with all the possibilities and abilities which special effects wizards have at their disposal, the Transformers, at the very least, look realistic.
A common source of debate for the upcoming Transformers movie is how the characters should look. The classic cartoon appearance, while iconic and nostalgic, supposedly does not translate that well onto a live action, big screen experience. Therefore, a whole new redesign of all the characters was necessary in order to make this movie appear realistic. And that is one of the main objectives behind this movie: it has to look absolutely real. In today’s age of special effects magic, there shouldn’t be too many movies that have cheap looking production values. But, in terms of scope and size, the visual challenges of the Transformers represent some of the biggest in moviemaking history.
Of course, because this is a big-budget adaptation of a classic 80’s cartoon and comic, the whole idea is to make this a trilogy. But, nobody is going to be interested in Transformers 2 & 3 if the first one looks amateurish. This is one of those movies that could never have been made at any other time before this one, and it’s just as imperative that all the effects are done to perfection. There are some cracks at movies that you only get one shot at, with no remake really possible. This is one of those movies!
Tags: michael bay, robots, shia laBeouf, steven spielberg, transformers
Posted in Action, Adventure |
