Movie Info:
Writer: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Anthony Anderson, Jon Voight, John Turturro, Julie White, Kevin Dunn
Rating: PG-13
Studio: Paramount

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 2, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.95

When Transformers came out on DVD a few months ago, I remember how excited I was to be able to get the DVD for review. As an 80s kid, nothing was cooler than Transformers. Little did any of us 80s kids know that more than 20 years later, Michael Bay would bring our childhood robot friends to the big screen in one of the most awesome live-action remakes that I can remember. I have seen the standard version of the movie numerous times since we have received it. Actually, it’s one of the few DVDs that I have watched more than twice since I have done the review. That’s not to say anything against any of the great films that I have reviewed. I just get a lot to review so it doesn’t always leave me time to re-watch things.

When I heard we were getting Transformers in Blu-Ray I couldn’t contain my excitement. My Playstation 3 sat anxiously awaiting the newest Blu-Ray title and as soon as it arrived I popped it in the machine. All of the good things that I thought about the original were now magnified tenfold, if not more. Blu-Ray blows anything standard definition out of the water, but this is just taken to another level. It looks just like you are in a movie theater. Seeing those cars transform into gigantic alien robots is certainly a sight that you have to see on Blu-Ray. No other form of video does this visually amazing movie justice. Even the now defunct HD was not the same as watching this.

Maybe I am biased in saying that Transformers is an amazing movie. Perhaps it’s all some delusion. However, I have yet to encounter a person that doesn’t like the film. It is well acted by stars young (Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, Tyrese Gibson and Anthony Anderson) and older (Jon Voight, John Turturro, Julie White, and Kevin Dunn). The writing is smooth enough to encapsulate the 80s Transformers in a modern setting with plenty of action and moderate amounts of humor. It’s also directed with strength and certainty.

Michael Bay could have set up the action sequences mainly in CGI, but he has stated on multiple occasions that he prefers the old fashioned method of filmmaking. This means that Josh Duhamel really does slide along the pavement, Shia LaBeouf really does hang on to a building for dear life, and more often than not (whenever possible) real camerawork was used rather than employing CGI. What’s not respectable about that?

The Transformers Blu-Ray Two Disc Special Edition Plot
Like the 80s cartoon used to tell us, Transformers are more than meets the eye. In short, the plot has the autobots coming to Earth to find and destroy the allspark before the decepticons get a hold of it. If the decepticons get it, the autobots know that they will use it for evil, enslaving humans and eventually destroying the world. The longer version of the plot includes a little more than that.

We learn early in the film that the Transformers were “discovered” by a thought-to-be insane explorer. Well as modern day comes along we are greeted with his grandson, Sam. Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf), also known as LadiesMan on eBay, is a high school kid that is content to hock his grandfather’s explorer gear on eBay in order to get that unattainable car that he so desires. He ends up getting that car and it’s a semi-beat-up 77′ Camero (Bumblebee isn’t a bug anymore).

Sam is a driving force in the film, helping the autobots avoid danger and leading them to the allspark. However, in order to do that he has to avoid some probing questions about masturbation from his parents (hilarious performances are turned in by Julie White and Kevin Dunn) and detention from the underground government group S7 (John Torturro’s undershirt is classic). In the end, the military (in the form of Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and Jon Voight) plays a functioning role of out ruling S7 and leading Sam to the allspark with hopes of saving the world.

The amount of comedy here by Dunn, White, and Anthony Anderson cannot be understated. Some stronger battle scenes would have been nice, but these moments of humor definitely make this movie a comfortable fit the first time that it is tried on. However, it is the action that people will be watching. The Transformers look as realistic as can be and it is amazing to see them transform on a big screen. The graphics, writing, and acting all rolled into one are what sells this film and we have Michael Bay to thank for bringing it all together in such a nice, shiny package.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
It does not get any better than this. Clarity down to the tiniest thing is absolutely visible. You see each small change as the transformers move and morph into something else. You see sweat droplets on a person’s body and even detail in places you wouldn’t expect, such as grains of sand and something as simple as dirt or buildings. The actual specs here include AVC encoding and a 2.35:1 aspect ratio in widescreen. The colors are bright and the attention to detail is astounding. If there was a flaw here, I didn’t catch it. This is one film that looked absolutely spot on from start to finish.

TrueHD is a beautiful thing. Strong, dynamic sound resonates through the entire film so you will want to keep that in mind when adjusting your volume. The sound effects are amazing, the dialogue is always easy to hear, and the music sounds great. Again, you’re looking at a near perfect offering and something that in both cases puts the standard definition and HD option to shame. In addition to the English TrueHD track there are Spanish and French tracks in DD 5.1. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
The features do not change much at all from what you received on the previous special editions of Transformers. The first disc offers an entertaining commentary track by Michael Bay. While Bay can have a tendency to drag in other tracks, he is interesting here. Other features on this disc are viewable online. This includes an interactive track that allows you to learn facts and little known things about the movie. Some video clips are also included in this area.

The “Our World” and “Their War” sections include a number of making-of featurettes that talk to just about everyone involved the filmmaking process from Hasbro (makers of the Transformers) to the producer, actors, and anyone else that will and can be interviewed. This offers some really interesting information that can also get pretty funny when people like Shia LaBeouf are in the limelight.

You learn plenty about the filmmaking process and how much time the actors put into preparing for their roles. These featurettes can be watched together or one at a time. The featurette options include “Our World – The Story Sparks,” “Human Allies,” “I Fight Giant Robots,” and “Battleground.” In the next section you have “Their War: Rise of the Robots,” “Autobots Roll Out,” “Decepticons Strike,” and “Inside the Allspark.” Another interesting featurette is “From Script to Sand: The Skorponok Desert Attack.”

Of course, there are also some BD-Live features available now that weren’t available on previous releases of the film on DVD. There are three main features in this area including Transformers Intelligence Mode, Menubot, and Transformers Profiler. Also included to round out the discs are a couple of trailers for Transformers and one for IronMan.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
If you have a Blu-Ray player you need to rush right out and pick up this movie. If you don’t you need to rush right out and pick up a blu-ray player so that you can pick up this movie. I wish we could give one out, just so you can see how amazing Transformers looks in blu-ray. The quality cannot be understated here, it’s one of the most amazing transfers that I have seen and it makes me look forward to what’s to come both in the Transformers series and in future blu-ray releases.

Overall Rating:

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