Esotropiart

My good friends Jim and Marcus invited me to go with them to see the new Transformers movie. I have been looking forward to seeing this movie like few others, so I was happy to go, especially with two of my best friends who I know are crazy about Transformers. These guys are the type who like to quote their favorite movies, you know the type, like die-hard fans of the cult classics: Star Wars, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Princess Bride, etc. So of course they have Transformers the Movie (1986, animated) practically memorized and were quoting it on the way to the theater. I consider myself almost equally as profound a fan, but quoting movies (or songs) has never been an aspiration of mine. I don't even quote Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, which I watched probably 50 times. I find myself more concerned with appreciating the story lines and characters that drive the fiction.

As a child, aside from perhaps Construx, Transformers were easily my favorite toys. I was the type that liked to invent, build and take apart. Complicated toys that took on two or more forms fascinated me. I always transformed them without looking at the instructions. Unlike most of my friends at the time, I never broke any of them! The only barrier that inhibited me from collecting them all was their price tag, and I only had a scarce few. I did have Metroplex, my prize possession at the time. I also had Ultra Magnus, Rodimus Prime and Astrotrain among others. Of course I watched the animated Transformer TV series as often as I could... the original, not the horribly annoying "CG cube interface remakes?", Beast Wars, or other variations.

I am hearing mixed reviews about the new Transformer movie. I think all of my friends came away somewhat disappointed, probably expecting perfection. I tend not to get overly disappointed from movies. Most of the time I'm thrilled that someone takes the time and money to at least attempt to make such fantastic dreams reality, even if imperfectly done. I tend to expect less and thus enjoy more when I finally see a film. I think the worst mistake is to closely follow all the hype prior to big movie releases, as such heightened anticipation almost guarantees disappointment.

I was overly thrilled after the movie was over, almost with tears in my eyes - I feel silly at admitting this. From the previews, I was expecting the robots to be void of personality, more alien-like, with emotionless actions and voices. I worried that the cool, laid back, human personalities from the original series would not emerge. After all, mixing immaculately modeled CG characters with admittedly cheesy antics might not go over well in live action. After all, most cartoons don't translate well.

Without these goofy lines and human personalities, the Transformers would not be who they are. Optimus Prime in particular has always had a special place in my mind as a child. His personality traits were so noble, yet another fantasy archetype that resembles the character of Christ. He is a servant leader, always looking out for his friends. Even the humans, who are completely inferior and helpless compared to him, he cares for. Optimus is even willing to sacrifice himself to save another, and this happens a number of times in past story lines. Even after the defeat of Megatron, his mortal enemy of millions of years, Optimus calls him "brother". I believe the new Transformers movie captured the spirit of the original characters quite well. My eyes were especially glued to the screen each time Optimus made an appearance. Both in truck form and robot form, I was just sitting there, staring, thinking, "That is Optimus Prime!" I didn't care so much about the other characters, as I was impressed with just him.

I was thrilled to see no lacking personality in the robots, though the Decepticons and supporting role Autobots were not developed as well. Their voices were full of human emotion. The scene where the Autobots were attempting to hide in Sam Witwicky's backyard at night was priceless. Just seeing a hugely powerful robot caring enough to say, "Oops, sorry" after ruining some flowers (and exhibiting massive patience with the pathetic search for the all important glasses) was more than enough to satisfy. I'm sure that these things, which I fully appreciated, were unbearable to other viewers. Perhaps someone who didn't have past appreciation for the Autobots' human characteristics would have some of these moments quite cheesy or unrealistic. For me it was an affirmation that, yup, these are the Transformer characters I grew up watching.

As far as effects go, Transformers assuredly demonstrates the most amazingly detailed computer models ever devised. To see the complicated transformations and robots in live action was astounding. I have no idea how the models were created. Their movement is fluid, yet their structure remains intact. I can't even begin to imagine the kinematics involved in making all the pieces move together. Wow!

Aside from the well played personalities of the Autobots, I most enjoyed the movie's "robots in disguise" element. In the original show, very little interaction with humans occured. It seems all the action took place in remote deserts and mountains. The whole idea that the Transformers took on real-world vehicle shapes had little relevance. The movie really played on this idea, as each character transformed into a real model that blended in with any other in the human world. Even the interior of the cars and inner workings were identical. It would be impossible to perceive a difference between the Transformer and a real car. I loved to see this very important aspect of the story portrayed so well.

While I recognize the shortcomings of the Transformers movie, I couldn't help but enjoy the film. I was so enthralled with what I perceived to be incredible pluses that my mind looked past the faults. I look forward to when I can get it on DVD, as repeated VI$IT$ to the theater are absolutely a thing of the past for me.