hlueilwitz - 2017-03-16 17:42:29

The Transformers: The Movie is a one-of-a-kind animated, 80’s music-driven, kid’s action adventure that is both ridiculous and hilarious. One-liners inundate the dialogue and often make as much sense as the plot, which is very little. Still, the quality and creativity of the different pieces makes this a worthwhile whole.

The cast is large, the world-building is expansive, and the plot is quick ‘n dirty. In other words, The Transformers unleashes boatloads of information in a short span of time. This unrelenting pace makes the movie enjoyable as you can’t get a quiet minute to reflect on what’s happening, which is when you’d be able to poke and prod at the movie’s sanity. The characters in the cast are many and difficult to follow. They have really cool names like Optimus Prime, Hot Rod, Megatron, Galvatron, and Grimlock. Those are just a few, but the names a very inventive. The characters themselves are defined more by their quips than much else. Optimus is obviously a great, powerful leader and Arcee is the sole female character, acting the part. There is no pretending that is not a shortcoming. However, the characters are mostly important because of their humor or deaths than any connection between the audience and the transformers. It isn’t about the characters, but the fact that so many are killed off, in a children’s movie, is impressive and ambitious by the creators. And, it definitely pays off because you get to here more of those zany names, which aren’t merely a dime a dozen.

The world-building is epic in proportions, while making little sense. There’s two moons, autobot city on Earth, and Cybertron. The autobots rule autobot city, and they control the moons, but the Decepticons hold dominion over the planet Cybertron. It’s a half-and-half dynamic, with both parties having roughly equal power. Then, there is Unicron the destroyer of worlds who convinces a damaged Megatron to do his bidding and capture the “Matrix” from Ultra Magnus. There’s a lot of complicated things, too, like transformer-ception, not to mention all the weird things the transformers can change into, including cars which are extremely effective at ramming things, – don’t question it – an astro-train, dinosaurs, bikes, and a radio. The sheer, unadulterated imagination present in this movie is grandiose and beautiful. It’s a marvel they were so crazy and free with their ideas, when our society is built on naysayers and critics these days. Given, the creativity only works because this show never cares or even pretends to care about making a whole lot of sense.

The plot is very fast and cuts between various sub-plots and characters, which works surprisingly well. Entertainment is numero uno, and coherency is a problem for the lay. Who needs sensible when 80’s rock and synth is constantly assaulting your ears, bright colors and intricate backgrounds are tripping your eyes, and distracting transformations and battles are taking place left and right. In between all of this, there is no time to complain. The sheer sensory overload is tantalizing and even if only half of it is any good at any one time, then that’s all that matters because your not going to notice the poorer half! Voice acting talent is also commendable and adds a needed dose of personality and memorability to the flimsy characters.

The Transformers: The Movie is by no means a traditional or conventional movie. As such, it should be praised for what it does differently, combining several ingeniously creative parts, including music, world-building, and animation. More than that, it puts those in an ultra-stuffed burrito with little spices here and there. A few wacky names here, a weird transformation over there, several good one-liners througouht, and bon appetit. Now, I’m not a fan of meatless burritos, but as is the case in Transformers, there are enough seasonings, hot sauce, and beans and rice in addition to several unorthodox ingredients that I hardly even notice it’s missing. Transformers may not have any “meat,” however its whimsical sensory overload is sating.

grady.carolyne - 2016-03-15 02:32:52

Even though it was made to kill off the previous toy line, it was wonderfuly executed and fun to watch.