Before Michael Bay directed the 2007 live action film, an animated film with the same name was released in 1986 as the first ever “Transformers” related film. Now that the fifth entry is out, I’ve decided to review all of the films that were released before I go see “The Last Knight.” Check out my non-spoiler article for the 1986 version of Transformers. After five years of development since 2003, filmmaker Steven Spielberg who’s a fan of the franchise, signed on board to produce the film. He even managed to persuade his protege Michael Bay to give him the opportunity to direct. The Fanboys/Fangirls nearly lost their sanity (not in a bad way) when they first witnessed the teaser trailer. They had to make sure to mark their calendars in order to be the first in line to see it.
The live action film adaptation came out in 2007. (same year Code Lyoko’s fourth final season aired) It became a commercial success, however the film received mixed reviews from critics, fans and movie goers. Unlike the first entry, three sequels earned negative reactions.
Stand: Peter Cullen, Shia LaBeouf, Hugo Weaving, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, John Turturro, Anthony Anderson & the late Bernie Mac all did a great job for their respective performances.
Steven Spielberg served as an executive producer.
Visual Effects are superb. The C.G.I. wasn’t fake at all.
The Sound Effect from the cartoon is included whenever a robot changes form is in the movie.
Action Sequences got my testosterone levels off the chart.
An extra mentioned Michael Bay’s film “Armageddon” and another major character references Freddy Krueger, Bay also went on to produce a remake of “Nightmare on Elm Street.”
Opening Scene with a Decepticon attacking a military base felt strong kickstarting the plot.
Michael Bay has a cameo as a bystander with Megatron literally flicking him like a bug.
Linkin Park (my favorite band) contributed to film with their song “What I’ve Done.” Bonus Points for Styles of Beyond’s song “Second to None” with Bumblebee playing an audio clip.
Steve Jabolonsky orchestrated the soundtrack.
Optimus Prime said the words, “One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall.” A famous line from the 1986 animated movie.
A pair of glasses and a cube play pivotal roles.
One of the funniest parts of the film, is when John Turturro’s character, Agent Simmons gets a “free shower.” If you’ve seen the whole movie, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Besides the aforementioned joke, only good thing using Product Placement right is an Xbox 360 console and a Mountain Dew vending machine comes to life. Heck, they were sold as toys.
The Big Battle with The Autobots & The Decepticons kept me satisfied.
Fall: Megan Fox’s performance as Mikaela lacked a full range of emotions. The reason why Michael Bay hired her was just the give the boys instant puberty. Sari Sumdac (from the 2007 cartoon) has more personality and funny moments. If she were in the live action series, I would’ve liked to see Keke Palmer portraying her.
Chemistry between Sam & Mikala felt unnecessary. I never cared about them. I only care about Lennox, Epps, Glen, Agent Simmons, Keller, The Autobots & Decepticons.
Product Placement is all over the place. I’ll list them below. I thought Adam Sandler has a truckload of sponsors in his movies.
Unnecessary Sponsors
- Burger King
- GMC
- eBay
- Chevrolet
- Pontiac
- Cisco
- Hp Laptops
- Porche
- Panasonic
- Apple
- Nokia
Sam’s annoying parents mentioned one thing that has something to do with parents giving their kid “the talk.” I have one thing to say, Transformers is supposed to be based on toys for kids and the cartoon was made specifically for children! By the way, the parents are despicable.
One of my favorite characters from the franchise is killed onscreen.
The Final Verdict: B-
Despite a few blemishes, I think this is the best one in the live action series. I enjoyed the action, performances, (minus Megan Fox) visual effects among a few things listed above. The future was looking so bright for the franchise, until sequel after sequel, it went on to become a miscalculation in terms of plot holes, frat boy humor, and the forced romance.
Dreamworks & Paramount, if you’re reading this, learn from your big mistakes.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 