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Transformers (Blu-Ray)
Review by Lando da Pimp

Few films last year were more anticipated on Blu-ray more than Michael Bay's Transformers. Right before the film was to be released on DVD, Paramount Pictures, shifted their policy to distribute only in HD DVD. Even, Michael Bay was upset that his film would not be released on Blu-ray! Less than a year later, witht he format war now won, Paramount is distributing all of their new titles in the far superior Blu-ray format.

I won't hide my judgement on this film. I hate it. When the film was announced a few years ago I was ecstatic. I have been a fan of Transformers since 1985, and a live action film was a dream I never thought would happen. Then I began to see images of the different Transformers, and I began to worry. Then the trailer really made me question if this is the film I was hoping for. I decided to give the film a chance. At the conclusion of the film I couldn't believe that the live action Transformers movie was horrible. Why did I hate it? First, I am a purist. I believe that Bumblebee should be a Volkswagon Bug, I think Megatron should be a gun, and I wish to God that another director was attached to this film who would have attempted to keep his (or her) arctistic licenses out of this film.

With that being said, I decided to give the film a second viewing a year later. If anything I was curious as to how the film looks in Blu-Ray. So here is my review:

The Story
Most likely you have seen the film, and know the story.

Sam Witwicky is the typical high-school guy who wants more than anything a fast car and hot girl to drive around. To achieve his dream, he attempt to sell priceless family heirlooms on e-bay. What he doesn't know is that the Autobots and Decepticons are searching for a pair of spectacles worn by his ancestor that contains the corrodinates of where the All-Spark is located. Meanwhile, soldiers in Afganistan are batteling a Decepticon, a really hot computer hacker deciphers the Decepticon signal with the Secretary of Defense, and a very strange agent of "Sector 7" knows more than meets the eye.

Special Features
The two disc set is loaded with supplementary material. A feature-length commentary track with Michael Bay discusses making the film, the reasoning for the design of the Transformers, and why (why God why?) Steven Spielberg chose him to direct the film. I did find it humorous in chapter 5 of the commentary Bay, talks about the threats he received from fans who were afraid that he would ruin their childhood and ruin the Transformers. I don't wish the man dead, but these fans were right to bitch!

Transformers H.U.D. is an informative pop-up trivia feature that offers factual information about the actual weapons, vehicles, etc. Not very interesting to me, but it is a nice feature.

The second disc includes a four-part feature called "Our World." Part 1 discusses the creation of stories, and how they relate to the cartoon. I found this interesting, that they did the research. The second part focuses on the human allies (the actors and characters). The third part discuses the role the U.S. Military had with the film. The final part focuses on the locations and how the sequences were shot.

The next feature entitled Their War begins with looking at the history of the franchise, including the fans. I found this laughable as Bay continues to point out the importance of pleasing the fans, and then he proceeds to make it his own. The next part discusses how the Autobot vehicles were chosen. The answer that is given is not accurate, as it really delt with what car company would sponsor the film. The next few parts deal with the Decepticons and the military equipment used, with the final part focusing on the work of Digital Domain and ILM.

The last feature, More Than Meets the Eye, focuses on the Skorponok Dessert Attack sequence from script to effects. Also included are the film trailers and concept art gallery.

So how does it look?
With Blu-ray DVDs I think its important to comment on the quality of the picture and sound. Transformers looks amazing in high def, as does Megan Fox. The film is framed at 2.35:1 and presented at 1080p. The details and colors are perfect. I also was able to see more of the action sequences now that the resolution is superior than the projection on screen. The best part of the high-definition is being able to see all the intricacies of the robots as they transform.

Overall
This version of Transformers really disappointed me. As a Generation 1 fan, I had hoped for something more close to the Transformers I loved as a child.

After my second viewing of the film, I still do not care for it. When watching the cartoon, we watched the story from the point of view from the Transformers. The film focused on the human angle. This wouldn't be bad idea if there were not so many characters.

So was there anything I liked about the film? Yes. I did like the connection Bumblebee and Sam had. While most of the characters could have been removed (or toned down), I thought the Sam character (much like the character of Spike from the cartoons) worked very well. The biggest compliment I can give the film is the
milestone they created with the special effects.

Paramount has released one of the best Blu-ray discs of a film to date. The quality of the video transfer, along with the audio and a plethora of special features will not disappoint the fans of this film. I may not like what Michael Bay did to the franchise, but I can recommend this DVD for those who wish to own it.

You can buy Transformers Blu-Ray at Amazon.com

Review ©2008 MillionairePlayboy.com