Product: The Transformers - The Movie (1986)
Rating: 4.0
For 1986, this is one impressive piece of animation
Compare the animation in this film to anything modern...it holds up very well. The DVD transfer is very very crisp and rich and is an absolute treat to watch! Now on to the movie's content.I was probably the only one of my generation who didnt see this movie as a kid, so now at 24 i got to see it for the first time. First, I think Im glad I didnt see the movie when I was a kid. Seeing all of my favorite TV heroes and toys being obliterated within the first 15 minutes of this would have seriously upset me! I faintly remember that they advertised this movie as the chance to see all your favorites on the big screen. But instead, all the guys you grew up with are fried in the first 15 minutes, and you are kind of held as a captive audience watching all of the new characters steal the show for the reamining hour or so. Obviously this was a marketing ploy to get kids to buy all the new toys, and to be honest I rememeber everyone I knew not getting so much into the next generation transformers so it didnt work. Optimus Prime is an irreplacable hero! They should have given us the satisfacton of seing our heroes on screen for AT LEAST 45 minutes! Oh well. There is a fair amount of violence in this film, and overall it is a very DARK film, which is not in keeping the spirit of the TV series. The TV show was often comical, and nobody died! There was always a happy ending, often with laughter. This film has a mean streak to it and really bears little resemblence to the series. Except for StarScream, the characters are much meaner and not like their TV show counterparts at all. But, as a fan of David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick I am accustomed to dark films. All in all I enjoyed this film despite its differences from the show I grew up with. The plot was pretty good, though a bit thin (it IS, after all, a kid's movie!) and there's action aplenty to keep kids and adults happy! I have to deduct one star for the GODAWFUL theme song "You got the touch" (yyyeeeeacchhhh....) that pops up WAY too often. The rest of the score is OK, it was written by the guy who did Rocky 4, and it really shows. The Unicron theme sounded eerily reminiscent of the music when Rocky fought Drago. Overall very cool, but different from the series. The TV episodes are available from Rhino on VHS, and for those like me who loved the show and all its little quirks, I would recommend getting those first, and then using this movie to fill out the collection. Whatever order you get them though, this really is a must own for anyone from the 80's generation!