Reviewed by Johnny McNair 

Paramount Home Entertainment – 143 mins – 2007 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40: 1 – Dolby TruHD 5.1 Audio

Last fall when Paramount announced that they would drop the Blu-ray format and only release their titles on HD-DVD, the world shook hard. It was weeks before everyone was waiting for the hit film Transformers to come out on high definition video, and now all those Blu-ray owners would have to suffer. Fanboys lost their minds, director Michael Bay showered the Internet with rage, and HD-DVD owners bragged like schoolyard bullies. It was a dark time for the world. Well, a few months later the HD-DVD format crumbled into the ashes and Paramount had no other choice but to run back to Blu-ray. After a long wait Transformers is now available on the only HD format, Blu-ray, and thus the world is finally at peace.

THE MOVIE

Directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg, Transformers is based on a cartoon series and a collection of Hasbro toys from the 80’s. Kids from this period, like myself, know all the names of the Autobots and Decepticons, but would probably not be able to name all the former Presidents of the United States. This enough was a reason for Paramount Pictures to invest over a $100 million dollars into a live action motion picture and in return they collected over $700 million dollars worldwide in box office receipts.

The film centers around a teenager named Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf), who saves up enough money to buy his first car, mainly to catch the eye of a girl, Mikaela (Megan Fox). He quickly learns that this car is more than meets the eye when it transforms into an intelligent combat robot named Bumblee, who is a part of an alien race called the Autobots, whom disguise themselves as automobiles as they hunt for the Decepticons, an evil pack of alien vehicles who are also on Earth. The Autobots and Decepticons are in a race searching for the Allspark, a powerful artifact, that has fallen to our planet, and whomever gets to it first will posses the power within it. Sam Witwicky, unknowingly has one of the key pieces in his possession that will lead them to the Allspark, and thus unravels an adventure that will sell millions of toys…uh, I meant save the planet.

Yeah, this is one silly movie, just look at the source it originated from. But for some reason it all works and this is thanks to Michael Bay, who knows how to craft something so ridiculous into a money making machine. This film was made for kids (ok, and the adults who used to watch the cartoon). It’s loud, colorful, fast, and did I mention there are giant freakin’ robots that transform into cars. No wonder Paramount put up the money for this; it’s like knowing you’re holding a winning lottery ticket in your pocket. The film has an interesting ensemble of co-stars including Jon Voight, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Anthony Anderson, and the late Bernie Mac. All of who look like they’re having a great time, and why shouldn’t they?

This is a live action cartoon, complete with cheesy dialogue, cardboard characters, and destruction all around, with the only thing missing are the commercials. If Spielberg himself directed this film would it look any different? Probably not that much, because Jurassic Park offers the same type of roller coaster thrill ride, where logic is put second to thrills. Bay is more of an action director than Spielberg, so gone are the cute little kids who are replaced with a setting where all the characters, good or bad, are cool, and the end only the coolest will remain standing. Moments like seeing Optimus Prime and Megatron battle it out in the film’s climax is spectacular, and even the most serious adult will wish they had a transforming car after watching it.

Transformers did a lot for all those involved; giving Michael Bay his biggest hit to date, making Shia LeBeouf a household name, turning Megan Fox into the babe of the moment. It also displayed to Hollywood that toys are the new bestselling novels that can be converted into cinematic cash. This is a fun movie that’s not trying to send out a message about humanity or shine a light on something horrible occurring in the world. It’s just trying to make you forget about everything negative and be entertained, whether you like it or not. Obviously, Transformers 2 is already in production, and more toys to sell with its release are being manufactured. So for all of you who waited patiently for Transformers to make it to Blu-ray, you have been rewarded.

VIDEO

Michael Bay has been a huge supporter of Blu-ray and said that it’s the only way to fully enjoy Transformers. Well with it’s 1080p resolution and 2.40:1 aspect ratio, Transformers does look excellent if you have a good HDTV that has been configured properly for colors, tones and noise. The benefit of the movie is that a majority of the action takes place in the daylight like the desert battle and the finale when the Autobots and Decepticons go head-to-head. Colors do look overblown at times, and skin tones spill into the orange end of the spectrum. The night scenes pick up a lot of grain that is very noticeable, particularly the scene when the Autobots wait outside of Sam’s house as he goes to get his grandfather’s glasses. But because of Bay’s rapid-fire style of filmmaking, things move so damn fast that by the time you pick up on a flaw in the image, a new shot replaces it. The CGI Transformer shots are the showstoppers, and while they may look blurry at times it’s still visually satisfying. This is not the best image quality you’re going to see on Blu-ray, but seeing it on any HDTV that is 40 inches or bigger is pretty awesome.

AUDIO

Got a new sound system you want to test on your Blu-ray player? Well Transformers should be one of your top five choices of movies to show off with. Flaunting a Dolby TruHD 5.1 Surround mix, you will completely believe that a war is going on in your house. The sound design for the Autobots and Decepticons is a true achievement, allowing you to hear every gear in their machinery as they transform from car to bot. Dialogue also sounds crisp, even when things are blowing up all over the screen, and hearing Peter Cullen’s deep voice as Optimus Prime pumping out of your speakers will make you remember all those afternoons you sat in front of the TV watching the Transformers cartoon as a kid. Keep in mind that this film is “loud,” so if you have one of those neighbors who constantly complains about noise, you may want to wait until they’re not around before you crank this one up.

EXTRAS

Like the HD-DVD, the Blu-ray is also a two-disc joint, with the film and director’s commentary on disc one, and a jam-packed list of goodies on disc two, all of which are in HD.

Director Michael Bay provides a lengthy audio commentary that goes into every detail you can imagine. Say what you want about this guy, but he absolutely loves what he does. He also has a good sense of humor and understands that he’s not making Gone With The Wind. Even if you don’t like him, you will come away with something after listening to this commentary.

Disc two features all the behind the scenes documentaries, PIP, and BD-Live supplements divided in to the categories ‘Our World’ and ‘Their War.’

‘The Story Sparks’ is a ten-minute look at bringing the Transformers from cartoon to toy to the big screen, with interview clips of Michael Bay, producer Steven Spielberg, and a look at the Hasbro toy archives.

‘Human Allies’ runs twelve minutes and goes into the casting of the film.

‘I Fight Giant Robots’ is a fifteen-minute look at making the film’s military involvement look accurate. Like I’m sure the U.S. military has a plan of action in case toys from a childhood cartoon attacks the Earth.

‘Battleground’ also fifteen minutes, dives into the action scenes such as the desert battle, to show how computer graphics and live action were blended together.

‘Rise of the Robots’ is a fifteen-minute look at how the filmmakers chose to make the robots look on the big screen, and trying to remain as faithful as possible to the cartoon and toys.

‘Autobots Roll Out’ and ‘Decepticons Strike’ is a half hour look at the complicated computer and live action work that went into making the Transformer robots look functional in our world.

‘Inside the Allspark’ is a fifteen-minute featurette that looks at all of the computer-generated designs that were used.

‘The Skorponok Desert Attack” is a shot-by-shot look that compares the storyboards to the actual footage used for this action scene.

For those of you who loved the trailers for The Transformers, both are included, as well as the teaser

Note: All of the features noted below require a Blu-ray player that is profile 1.1 enabled, such as PS3.

Transformers H.U.D’ is a Picture-In-Picture allows you to access certain CGI test for scenes, trivia, production notes, and anything else they could think of tossing in.

‘Intelligence Center’ is a BD-Live enable feature that allows a non-HD version of the film to play along with five specific robot icons on the screen. These icons represent the Autobot and Decepticon characters from the movie, and will react to events in the film such as taking hits, displaying a score, GPS tracking, etc. Basically, it’s like micro-managing the robots as you watch the movie. Kids may get a kick out of this, because it provides a whole new way of watching the movie.

‘My Clips’ is a BD-Live feature that allows you to share scenes from the movie with others via the web.

‘Intelligence Center’ is a BD-Live gimmick that should be a big hit with those who are obsessed with the robots from the film. Here you can see the perfectly detailed features of the Autobots and Decepticons in a three-dimensional view from head to toe. The Transformers are moving way to fast to study them in the movie, so this feature will let you see how different the movie version of Megatron looks from that Toy you have sitting on your desk.

BOTTOM LINE

If you’re looking for a cinematic experience that will define the art of motion pictures, this is not the film for you. If you grew up watching the Transformers cartoon while eating sugar-filled cereal, and owned every action figure based on the series there was, you’ll be in heaven. Michael Bay has made the ultimate popcorn film and this Blu-ray is an absolute must own, because it has everything packed onto two discs but the kitchen sink. Unless you just absolutely hated this movie or you despise Michael Bay and everything he represents, this Blu-ray is without question a must own. Autobots Roll Out!

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 3.0

Video: 4.0

Sound: 4.5

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0