PREVIEW- TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE

Yes, I had too.

Here’s the link to the most recent trailer, the only one that shows us anything so far:

TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE HD TRAILER

Ok, so I’m going to give you guys all the info I have so far on the film. First, the basics:

Yes, it is being directed by the notorious Michael Bay of Armageddon and Bad Boys fame. He screwed up huge with Pearl Harbor, but from what I can tell, most people do in fact enjoy watching his movies when they are not meant to be serious.

skorpinok

Michael Bay is REALLY good at blowing stuff up- something I wish to one day accomplish, but his ability to capture actual essence typically misses the mark. Last year, he seemed to strike some level of improvement with The Island, however I haven’t seen it. Roger Ebert, from what I can remember, did however give it a thumbs up in a time when most sci-fi actioneer movies are given thumbs down because all mankind can come up with for his own future is inane garbage.
The one and only Michael Bay film I remember seeing was Armageddon. I personally enjoyed it- I can’t tell you if it was techinically sound or not, and yes it blew up a lot of things, but that is the entire point of disaster films. However, there was an inescapable charm to both Bruce Willis AND Ben Affleck in the film, and considering Steve Buscemi was in it well, how can I really not like it?
Back to the point though- The script has been co-written by at least three people, which in my experience is kinda low for a movie of this magnitude. I mean, the orignal Batman (1989) only required two people, but the script was all over the place nonetheless…So what I’m getting at is that I really doubt there is going to be much focus in this film, seeing as how 80% of it is going to be “In this scene…something gets blown up…and in this scene…something else gets blown up.”
Alex Kurtzman, one of the screenwriters, worked on the series “Alias” writing 10 episodes and producing over 20. There’s some credibility to that, at least if you were to ask my mom, but then again its also in a completely different direction from Transformers. The same goes for Robert Orci, another co-writer of “Alias.”

Starring in the movie is Shia LeBouf- a “Disney Kid” who’s proven his talents in Holes opposite Sigourney Weaver, Constantine, and Bobby. He seems the right kid to play the “Damn that’s one awesome giant robot” role, and if they get it right, I think it’ll work out just fine. However, if they get it wrong with this character, I’ll smell utter disaster A’comin. Personally, I’m just pissed he’s character is named Sam, and not SPIKE. Also in the movie are Tyrese Gibson and Jon Voight. They play the Army Guys. In my opinion, that’s just dandy cause I know they can handle their roles with charisma and toughness.

And to be honest, Jon Voight is probably one of the ONLY people who’s weird enough to the point where I’d actually believe him if he told me 50 foot robots were walking around town. So it’s a good call.

However, there’s only one main casting choice that should be taken into consideration, regardless of the robot-aesthetics (which I’ll shortly get into).

Yes, everyone that cares, Peter Cullen IS playing Optimus Prime once again. “Till all are one!” I say. There was even a contest online where fans could submit one liners for Optimus to say during the movie. Scary what the internet is doing to movies these days.

So the casting isn’t bad, the director is probably one of the only people crazy enough to actually TRY making a live action flick…so now lets get onto what could make or break the deal completely. THE ROBOTS.

Well, if you watched the trailer I provided you with up top, your opinion is probably already formed. I’m still on the edge though- the CGI still looks rough (obviously they just need something to show real quick) but it also looks plausible. The designs, however, are what have been getting to me and a lot of fans as well. Check this image out:

optimus

I’m still not sure myself what to think of that. He looks…interesting. But with all the stuff pointing out of his body I really don’t think I’m going to pay any attention to his face. That might be the point, but that’ll ruin the effect in my opinion.

I haven’t made a decision yet- I’m pretty damned sure I’ll go see it cause the Transformers were my freaking life when I was five years old, so why not try to give it a chance for the younger generation? Who knows, maybe it’ll inspire some kid to make a Metal Gear (the actual robot, God-forbid they make a movie) and nuke the parts of the world that disagree with U.S. Foreign Policy. You never know.