Rating: 
Summary: The Transformers Movie
Review: One of my all time favorites. I loved the series when I was a kid and was first in line for the movie. About five years ago I searched long and hard to get a copy on VHS and finally found one. Now here it is on DVD right at my fingertips (of course I have to get it).
As far as the movie goes it was awesome beginning to end and now at 26 I still feel that way. Many people say that the animation is inferior by today's standards, but I say that this cartoon as well as many of the 80's cartoons are superior to the animation I see on cartoon network. What I see now are drawings, cartoon etc. However what I see in The Transformers Movie were solid characters that I still have to remind myself were cartoons. The animation (movements) my be a bit off key but the drawing on a whole look far more detailed right down to the shine on the metel as they moved. The voices were great especially Leonard Nimoy and Orson Welles. The only downsides to this movie were the killing off of so many cool characters such as Optimus Prime, Wheeljack and Ironhide, and the butchering of the series that followed the movie. Far too much emphasis on the matrix and Rodimus' insecurity as a leader. The writers knew it too because they had to bring Optimus back.
I would definatly suggest getting this movie and watching over and over again. When I show it to my kids they are amazed as to how much cooler my cartoons were to theirs, something I never said to my parents.
Rating:
Summary: transformers the Movie
Review: The Movie Is so Transformie,And real Matrixie too!
For Generation 1 Transformers! My Favorite Part is when Hot Rod Opens The Matrix!!
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of money!!!
Review: I remembered watching this movie as a kid and really enjoying it. However, after rewatching the Transformers Season 1 4 disc DVD set, this movie pales in comparison. The characters lacked personality and didn't look as interesting as the others. I recommend that you save your money and put it towards the more expensive, but more enjoyable, DVD box sets.
Rating: 
Summary: Bah weep bah na weep ninny bong!
Review: I was a bit disappointed in the movie when it was first released in 1986. Not only was Optimus Prime killed off (but later revived), but a lot of my favorite characters (Skywarp. Thundercracker, Prowl, Ratchet) were killed off as well! I think more extras should have been added like interviews with some of the voice actors, or even include the music video of Stan Bush's "The Touch". (Yes, there was an actual music video! I have it on tape. I don't think it was ever played much on MTV.) But overall, it is nice to have the movie on dvd.
Rating:
Summary: Only for the nostalgic and the die-hard.
Review: Having collected Transformers toys and comics for almost 20 years now, they've always held a soft spot in my heart. But nostalgia aside, let's face it, the Transformers movie has not aged well. Even back then, it was not the cinematic tour de force that many now hail it to be. It was released at a time when most fans were beginning to outgrow the series. The toy line had grown so huge and convoluted that nobody with middle class parents could hope to keep up and each month more bizarre and, frankly, stupid characters were coming out (Pretenders, Headmasters, and a whole army of robots that combined to make bigger robots). Keeping up and remaining a fan became increasing difficult and frustrating and Hasbro was losing much of their core fan base at the time.
This movie represented the end of an era, too little too late, a funeral toll for a generation's love for the "Robots in Disguise", arguably driving the final nail in the coffin and removing Transformers from popular culture for nearly a decade until the Beast Wars resurrected, in a twisted manner, the original concept which has now, more or less, come full circle with the modern toys and cartoon.
If anything, the one clear mistake was to kill off Optimus Prime (sorry to spoil the surprise but if you didn't know that already, you're exactly the person this movie would hold no appeal for). For a nation of young boys having grown up with this champion-of-good robot/semi-truck as the latter-day John Wayne role model figure, it was nothing short of traumatic to witness his demise and have it all glossed over with the introduction of some cheesy nobody called Rodimus Prime. The manner in which the movie attempted to excuse it all with a series of bad 80's glam rock ballads about hope and light was just plain insulting. Moreover, to witness the death of other such integral characters like Starscream and the effective death of such pivotal roles like Megatron (okay, sure, he's bigger, badder, and meaner, but he's just not the same anymore as Galvatron), was like watching your whole childhood come unraveled. Mind you, these cartoon robots formed for many of us a sort of modern substitute for the mythologies of old, and to watch it so grotesquely rewritten in the course of a single film was nothing short of blasphemous.
But all childhood memories aside, it's just a bad movie. The storyline is bizarre, introducing characters and settings so quickly and randomly you get the feeling it was written during an overnight drinking binge. The pace is haphazard, with cheesy, "feel good" scenes alternated by grim and heavy scenes which attempt to convey gravity and seriousness but just come off maudlin and melodramatic. All accompanied by a perfectly awful guitar opera soundtrack with which to watch all your most beloved characters die, only to be replaced by paper-thin, gimicky substitutes (okay, so this guy talks really fast, this guy always talks in rhyme, and this guy quotes commercials... got it. Whatever). An all star cast of voice talent, including Leonard Nimoy, Orson Welles, Eric Idle, and, oh yeah, that guy from the Micro-Machines commercials, does nothing to save this plodding dud and, in retrospect, seems a bit over the top.
In short, this film left a whole generation of boys feeling jaded, jipped, cheated, and insulted. It's no wonder the whole genre died shortly after, as fans grew up and discovered cars and girls.
For nostalgia sake alone, it's worth a single viewing, and for the pop-culture value, it's worth owning. But if you were born in the 1980's or after, just rent it and have an older mentor help you through the confusing and muddling parts. And be patient and understanding if he seems a little bummed out afterwards.
Rating:
Summary: An honest review of TFTM.
Review: Ah, Transformers: The Movie. I'll admit it, I *like* TFTM but that's because I was fond of the movie as a child. Generally, 99.9999% of the reviews are "This is the Greatest Film Ever." Those people are either totally blinded by nostalgia or are too heavily medicated. This is no 'Dumbo.' 'No Bambi.' This isn't even a 'Rescuers: Down Under.' It's one of the poorer animated films, released as a major motion picture, from the last half of the twentieth century. Where to begin? It's obvious that TFTM is an hour and a half commercial for the 1986 line of the Transformers toys, so that's barely worth mentioning. The biggest insult of TFTM is that it took characters whom children had bonded with over the past two years and needlessly and mercilessly slaughtered them so that they could start more or less from scratch with the new wave of toys. Filled with painfully cheerful and worthless hair rock, the soundtrack adds very little to the actual film. It's only another layer of dead skin that you have to tear off to reach the actual core of the movie. That core is...quite thin. It's the archetypal hero story. It's possible that the writers didn't understand what an archetype was, as the plot of the movie was plucked directly from 'Star Wars.' The animation is sub-par, riddled with dozens and dozens of errors. If you're a fan of the series and you weren't scarred by it as a child (as _many_ were) you may enjoy this. If you're not a fan of The Transformers, do yourself a favor and skip TFTM.
Rating:
Summary: Transformers The Movie
Review: "It is the year 2005, the treacherous Decepticons have conquered
the Autobot's home planet of Cybertron. But, from secret staging grounds on two of Cybertron's moons, the valiant Autobots plan to retake their homeland."Ok, those reading this have probably already seen this movie, so I see no reason to describe it, I would rather answer some retorical questions: Q: Why isn't the Aerialbots and Stunticons and Combaticons or Jetfire in the movie? A: The script was being written when we were still watching the first 16 episodes of Season 1 in 1984 on Saturday mornings. It wasn't until sometime during the second season that we started to see trailers for the movie due to come out in 1986. Therefore some of the characters didn't exsist when the film was near completion. Q: «One thing I didn't understand, if they could fix Kup and Ultra Magnus when they were hurt, why couldn't they fix Prime and the others?» A: When Optimus Prime and other Autobots who died were shot, they wern't blasted apart, but fatally hit in vital circuts, much like a human being shot in single vital organs like the liver. Kup and Ultra Magnus was mearly torn apart and could be repaired by skilled hands. A truely lifeless Transformer has dark grey metal skin and colourless eyes. Now those who complain about the music, remember this is a kids movie made in the 1980's and I'm sure many of you have bought the soundtrack even if it's rather cheesy by today's standards. It's not that bad really. I give this DVD 3 stars out of five, while I give the movie 5 stars. My reason for only 3 stars, is that the DVD was rushed rather than taking the time to insert the extras we were hoping for like the deleted scenes and 'The Touch' music video or Trailers and the lack of subtitles and language features. The other reviewers were right, we would see these if Rhino Studios were true Transfans rather than cashing in on popular pop culture. But look on the bright side, it's better than the VHS release. Good things come to those who wait. You might have also heard that the rumour of a live action Transformers movie has been confirmed and is starting production soon.
Rating:
Summary: It shouldn't have been like this!
Review: I was five when the Transformers came out.It was my favorite show.All of the characters were cool.Optimus Prime,Megatron,Prowl,Bumblebee,Skywarp,Ironhide,and yes...even Starscream.So when I heard that there was going to be a movie,I was exstatic.Then I saw the movie.I was seven then.And I was absoulutely horrified!Prime,Prowl,Ironhide,Ratchet,and others bit the dust.Isn't it funny that when someone was shot in the series,they only suffered minor injuries.Yet,when the movie comes along,all of the heroes from the original series(Except for Jazz,Bumblebee,Perceptor,and Blaster) die horrifying deaths.The worst was when Prowl is shot and has smoke coming out of his mouth and eyes,and when Megatron blows Ironhide's head off!It was probably a little too much for young kids at the time(Remember,this is before parental groups complained about "desensatized children"),myself included.But now that I'm all grown up,I criticize this movie,not just for that,but for how everything went.Epic battle...Yes!Death of all of the originals....No!Plus,the audiance is expected to like Hot Rod,Ultra Magnus,Kupp,and the rest on the spot!At least T.V. fans got the chance to get to know and like the Star Trek:Next Generation crew! We didn't get that luxury in this movie.Now,other than those major objections....it's a decent film on it's own.The introduction of Unicron(played by the late great Orson Wells) is a good concept.But,really,this thing could've been better.
Rating:
Summary: You can't pass this one up!
Review: The movie brought back a lot of old memories from my childhood. I bought the movie for my girlfriend's son who is four and he absolutely loves the movie. The only thing you have to watch it the few little curse words that fly out. Other than that, the movie is great and will keep your child, or yourself if you are a fan, highly entertained.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE! Not so great DVD.
Review: The Transformers The movie is one of my favorite movies. Reviewers like L. Maltin gave this movie horrid ratings. I honestly don't thing they even bothered to watch the thing! Were talking non stop action a very well writen story and a truly AWSOME soundtrack! This Movie has a star studded cast including the late great Orsen Wells! Infact this was Orsen Wells last movie! This DVD version has excellent audio and video. There very few extra features on the disc. The ones they have are not bad but they could have done better! The one thing that I find totaly absurd about all the Transformers videos & DVD's As well as the G.I. Joe ones is there are NO captions or subtitle options on any of them! Closed captions are in my opinion a standard feature for videos and DVDs! I am hopping they re release this movie in 2006 to celebrate it's 20th anniversery and go all out with features! Cross your fingers folks! This one DVD is not perfect but it is well worth the money any way! I give the movie 5 stars it is a great movie. I have to give the DVD only 3 though.Enjoy!
|
