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Rating:  - Didn't See it Twenty Years Ago, So Judging it Without Nostalgia
I just picked up the new live action transformers the other day, and, based on the reviews on this sight that claim the animated movie was even better, I picked the animated movie up as well.
My family watched the live action movie last night (after having seen it in the theatres last summer,) and everyone loved it. We all -- my wife, daughter, son and myself -- thought it was fantastic.
We watched the animated movie earlier tonight, and only my son liked it at all.
My wife (who enjoys anima quite a bit) only needed a few minutes to decide it wasn't for her and left the room. My daughter got bored pretty quick, and came in and out of the room several times while the movie played, (although she did finally settle in for the end.) And while I watch a lot of animation and really enjoy good animated action, I was only able to force myself to watch about an hour of it with my son -- bored through all of it except the Optimus vs Megatron fight -- before giving up and finding other things to do in the room while the movie finished playing. My son liked it, but thought the live action movie was better. My daughter actually asked if we could watch the live action movie again after the animated movie while the animated movie was still playing. Every member of my family thought the live action movie was better.
So I'm writing this review for people like myself who aren't caught up in the nostalgia of having loved this movie twenty years ago. While I give the movie credit for actually killing off characters and making changes to the mythology, only the Optimus vs Megatron fight entertained me at all, and much of the rest of the movie I thought was bad to terrible. I honestly regret having spent my money on this.
The soundtrack (which during my quick look through the reviews I saw people praise) is the most over the top, oppressive, melodramatic soundtrack I have ever heard. It never stops. There is always music playing, every second, and 90% of it is up tempo cheesy eighties rock that's trying to drive the movie forward rather than letting anything build. It never lets up, and I found myself really wanting it to. 90% of the movie felt like that scene in every Rocky movie where Adrian's just given him her blessing and he goes into a music training montage to show how everything has come together and is positive and he's going to be ready for the fight. That scene shouldn't be sustained for an entire movie. The soundtrack shouldn't be that overpowering for an entire movie. At least in my opinion. And boy the music just sounds cheesy to me today. Orchestral music is far more timeless, and I think is a better way to go in most movies.
There's also little to no characterization. The movie feels like the third movie in a trilogy where you are expected to know who everyone is and only the climax remains to be told. If you watched the series regularly and went straight from that to this, ok, but if -- like me -- you've only ever seen a few episodes of the show, most of the action and death mean nothing because you just don't care about the characters.
And the plot just never seems to get any room to develop. In the first hour the characters go from Cyberton to Earth back to Cyberton back to Earth then crash land on two new planets on their way back to Cyberton yet again, with nonstop battles going on the entire time. Now as an action junky I never thought I'd say it, but I kept waiting for things to slow down a little and for some characterization, depth, and structure to be built up, but they never were. It was all action, and the action just didn't do anything for me because it seemed so arbitrary -- sometimes robots could shoot hundreds of shots and every shot would miss, other times a single shot would kill an enemy. The capabilities of the robots never really seemed to be set or determined, so you couldn't really feel any sense of tension or suspense.
Honestly, I don't understand anyone thinking this was a better plotted, better written, better structured, more exciting, or more engaging movie than the new live action version -- and that's why I wrote this review. As someone who's not biased by "twenty years ago as a kid I really loved this movie," I gotta say I will never watch it again. I've seen the live action movie twice so far -- enjoying it quite a bit both times -- and I'm certain I will watch it again. The animated movie will very likely never be played in my house again, as only my son would have any interest in watching it, and even he liked the live action movie better. The live action movie seemed much more real -- and not just because it was live action with real actors -- but because it was written better, the character were introduced and developed better, and the action was better established and choreographed.
Rating:  - Must have!
This movie is a must have for anybody that is interested in the world of Transformers. This movie has a great story and has a side bonus of the good music from the 1980's. The character Unicron is also introduced in this movie who is an important character to know from the world of transformers, and he's just plain awesome. I highly recommend getting this movie.
Rating: - Love the Show, and Missed It...
I love the show and use to watch it too... I missed having to see it, and I wish they brought all the epsiodes back to Cartoon Network in the time frame that they use to have then... 10pm to 11pm central time or bump off this show which I think realy sucks bad by my personal opinion.... " My Gym Partner is a Monkey " 7pm to 8pm Central time... and they can bump off this one as well " The Grim Advantures of Billy and Mandy " 5pm to 7pm Central time on Fridays @ Cartoon Network That one defintely needs go bye bye... It has no good teaching value for a young generation at all, and it don't make any sence at all eighter... Frankly I don't know why they even released that one into the network to begin with...
Feel free to drop Billy and Mandy out from channel 296 DTV 5pm to 8pm and put in Transformers in its place from channel 292 DTV @6am M-Fri At least the Transformers bare much sence then that pice of Crap that they went and put in right now.... I'm sure that their are alot of people who would agree with me right about now... And If you don't then I feel realy sorry for you... This may sound a bit harsh right about now, but it's true none or less.. If you prefer Billy and Mandy over the Transformers, then brain has already been turned to Mush, just like the affect of having to smoke Cigerattes too long in your life... Cigerattes Burn your brain cells out and ruin your body other then just being nasty, but that show just totaly turns your brain cells to 0 degrees brain Freeze, and when the brain freeze whears off it's total brain melt down, like an Ice Scream Mush that's been sitting too long in hot summer day of 105 heat wave record...
Rating: - Best cartoon movie of all time
Here's a movie that apparently transcends generations. I was a kid in the 80's when this came out and was blown away by it. Kids and adults today are still mining this classic for enjoyment and nostalgia.
Keeping in mind that it was a kid's film there are a few scenes and characters that are outrageously silly. But even that's few and far between. This movie took the best from the TV series and opened the concept up to a whole new level. It was in this movie where you really grasp how far and wide the Tranformers history and legacy spans - literally universes.
Unlike cartoon movies before or since Transformers, this movie had a genuinely no-holds-barred approach. For example, within the first 20 minutes or so, nearly all of the characters from the TV series are brutally killed in action. Most of those slaughtered are the 'good guys' (who as a child growing up watching the series for its first 4 seasons has come to know and love) including the leader and icon Optimus Prime. They are slain in the most merciless ways. The death of 'good guy' main characters is something virtually unfathomable and almost never done adult films let alone a kid's movie. But then again some of the language and scenes in this film were intended to get an R rating to appeal to the teenage and early 20's crowd. Yet it's this shocking reality about death that lends this movie so much gravity. Good guys do die in real life, too. The film acts as a sort of coming-of-age proxy for a child watching it.
The introduction of new interesting characters, namely Unicron, the planet that devours other planets, is done flawlessly and it works extremely well.
The plot is engaging, the eternal battle between good and bad is intriguing, and the concept of thinking machines that can transform is wholly original, making this movie a winner. It's the type of movie you can watch and revisit as many times as you want and it never gets old - not even 20+ years later.
Rating: - Transformers Special Edition
At last my favourite childhood movie as it should be!
Lots of dvd extra features and a digitally restored movie that still holds up as one of my all time favourites!
Anyone who grew up in the 80's knows how awesome this movie is!
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