Hairspray (2007) (Movie Review)

     

    After nearly a decade and a half long hiatus, the early 2000’s marked a colossal return of the movie musical genera. Not only were theatrical musicals making money again, and receiving critical acclaim, but they were suddenly sweeping the Academy Awards, just like back in the Golden Age of Hollywood. 

We were also seeing a number of hit Broadway plays make the transition to the silver screen ... although with admittedly mixed results. Despite being a dynamite decade for movie musicals, there was always a lesser one for every quality hit. The 2007 comedy musical titled “Hairspray” had all the potential to be one of the lesser, bottom barrel offerings of its time ... and yet, with a gifted director, a firmly realized tone, a delightful ensemble cast, and it just hit the mark. “Hairspray” was one of the biggest breakout Summer movies of 2007, was a commercial success, one of the highest grossing musicals, and is fondly looked back on as one of the best movie musicals of the decade. At the time, I was just getting out of High-School, and I was neck-deep in both drama clubs and stage plays. So, this film was mandatory for me to check out. I remember liking it to the point where it surpassed my expectations, although I had no real desire to watch it a second time either. Well … I blinked, and the time passed. I can’t believe it’s already been ten years sense this movie first premiered, but I’m genuinely excited to give this one a second watch. Will it be even better then I remember, or just a pleasant diversion for its time … let’s find out.  

       The year is 1962, and 16-year-old heavyset High School Student Tracy Turnblad is obsessed with The Corny Collins Show. Along with her best friend Penny, the two want nothing more then to audition for an opening, and dance the night away on the biggest hit local Teen show. However, if she can fill the open spot, and if she’s lucky enough to get things her way … Tracy really wants nothing more than equal screen time from both the Caucasian and African American dancers. The cruel station manager is none too pleased with her ideals, or her figure, but fortunately for Tracy, the show’s star prodigy named Link can see past her weight. He see’s the charm, charisma she brings to her dancing … and although he’s afraid to admit it, shares her ideals. If Tracy can just win the blessing of her parent’s, and make a good impression on her co-stars, maybe she can change the show around for the better. I’ll be honest, as far as teen musicals go … this is absolutely one of the best. That’s not to say it’s one of my absolute favorites, as it’s not quiet on the same high-bar of “West Side Story”, but it’s certainly not the disposable piece of fluff I originally wrote it off as.

       The first thing this movie has going for it is an infectiously lovable cast, with each talent bringing a distinct charm and appeal to the film. 

Nikki Blonsky had the breakout role of a life-time as Tracy Turnblad, and boy howdy … did she ever hit it out of the park. Obviously, the role called for someone overweight, but the spirit, the charm, the innocents, and the passion she brought to this performance can’t be undermined. Ever sense I saw this performance, I wanted to see her in roles that didn’t require someone overweight, because she really has the gift and the talent. Michelle Pfeiffer likewise delivers a delightfully wicked performance as the up-tight station manager Velma, and her song number “Miss Baltimore Crabs” is one of the most enjoyable villain numbers the genera has to offer. Zac Efron was just coming off the high of his TV success, and was just making his transition into theatrical productions, so no doubt he was just a big, juicy peace of bait for role of love interest Link. Elijah Kelley however, is the supporting young talent who I felt really shined on screen, and was chalk full of both style and charisma. Brittany Snow was a great choice to play Tracy’s TV rival Amber, but I feel she was the one talent who got swallowed up by the larger than life performances of her fellow cast members. Again, she fits the role, but I wish she had more scenes to really chew the scenery, or at the very least leave more of a memorable impression. No comment needed for Queen Latifah, as she shines in just about every-thing she sings and appears in.

     I also have to give credit to James Marsden’s charismatic portrayal of the host Corny Collins. While James Marsden has an unfortunate reputation for playing second banana to other stars in movies, he really is a likable talent, and even in this supporting role, he really displays a lot of charm. This role was originally meant for his fellow “X-Men” co-star Hugh Jackman, making this a rare case in which Cyclops beat-out Wolverine for once. Amanda Bynes plays Tracy’s best friend Penny, and this was one of her very last movie roles before stepping away from acting. I must admit, after re-watching this film, I suddenly realized I genuinely missed seeing her in movies. Amanda Bynes was one of those young decade talents I grew-up watching in a number of movies, TV shows, and she was a warmly recognizable presence who always added that extra layer of charm and delight to the experience. This movie is no exception, as Amanda Bynes makes for a lovable best friend, and naturally lights up the screen with her signature cute personality.      

     Before I talk about the songs, lets first look at “Hairspray” as a comedy. 

Personally, I found myself smiling and lightly chuckling at the film, rather than any big knee-slappers, but sometimes that’s okay. The films comedic nature serves more to giving it’s 1960’s setting a personality all it’s own, lending to cartoony visuals, and imagery that wouldn’t have worked in a musical that felt grounded. There are still some quirky highlights, and the cast can be quite funny. John Travolta as Tracy’s mother is an inspired choice, and he infuses the film with a lot of amusement. Travolta is one of those talents who can either be on top of the world in one movie, or facing rock bottom in another, and I’m happy to say that this movie put John Travolta back on the high-ground. Aside from being genuinely charismatic, he actually has terrific chemistry with Nikki Blonsky … to the point where I’m genuinely convinced their mother and doubter. The only other larger then life screen presence who could match Travolta is Christopher Walken as the father. He’s one of the most unique talents out there, as his acting always feels out of this world, and you just can’t take your eyes off him. There’s an especially fun scene with him giving a tour of his shop to the nasty station manager, and being a superhero fan … I just loved seeing this little “Batman Returns” cast reunion between Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken. He’s also had experience as a dancer, which cares over into this film wonderfully. While the song “Timeless to me” is nothing too memorable on it’s own, it’s the sequence of him dancing with his John Travolta wife that makes for such an amusingly awkward highlight in the film. Yet, I find the funniest talent of the whole movie to be Allison Janney as Penney’s overly controlling and strict mother. I don’t know what it is about this character performance, but she just cracks me up every time she’s on screen … “You just wait till your father gets out of prison young lady”.        

     How are the songs, as those are what make or break a musical? While certainly not one of the all-time great song selections, just about every musical number fills me with energy, and just puts me in a good mood. 

Right from the opening “Good Morning Baltimore”, the personality of this musical just wins me over, and I feel hooked. I distinctly remember back in my teen-drama-class days, all the girls in my group loved singing “I Can Hear the Bells”, and it’s become something of a nostalgic number for me. Other songs like “Ladies Choice” and “Welcome to the 60’s” continue to carry the films upbeat style and mood. Surprisingly, it’s whenever the musical tries to go for either a romantic or emotional song that I find myself getting board, and those are typically the songs I look forward to in musicals. That’s not to say that either “I Know Where I’ve Been” or “Without Love” are bad in of themselves, there just not highlights that I look forward to. Ironically, I find the most disposable song to be “It’s Hairspray”, which is the song the play is named after. However, the big breakout song that can be viewed as the real theme is “You Can’t Stop the Beat”, which is easily my favorite number of the whole musical. This song is so catchy, and so infectiously cheerful, that even though I haven’t watched this movie in a decade, this song continued to stick with me for these years. 

    The film also looks great, with colorful set designs, and even though the whole 60’s look feels more like a back-lot replication, it still feels alive in its own fluffy way. 

However, despite the film’s cheerful nature and upbeat tone, it’s still not ashamed to address racial, social and general themes of indifference. While timeless for any generation, it’s something that’s really needed now. It also gives the film a welcome layer of substance, and keeps it just a head above being disposable entertainment. If I had any real reservations with the movie, it would be in its final act. While everything plays out the way you’d expect, it also feels rushed, almost like I’m missing important character bonding moments in favor of more entertaining musical numbers. Tracy at one point is accused of assaulting an officer, goes on the run, gets caught by her best friend’s nasty mother (who amusingly locks her in a nuclear fall-out shelter that’s been converted into a guest room), then both Tracy and her friend are immediately rescued, and a plan is quickly put into motion to get Tracy back on the show … and it all feels like it’s running on fast-forward. The climax is at least a good one, as all the characters get involved, the dancing is great, and I liked that the one cute African American girl won the crown as opposed to our female lead, as that would have been a pinch too predictable.       

    In the end, even if I don’t call “Hairspray” one of my absolute favorite musicals, it’s still hard not to like and have a fun time with. It’s bursting with energy, and it’s one of those movies that just invites you to have a good time. The themes and messages are also thoughtful enough to anchor the upbeat songs, which is always welcome. Just as long as you go in with a mind set for some goofy fun, and catchy songs … this musical will give you your fix, and leave you feeling all warm and smiling. I’m happy to say it’s held up over the years, it’s absolutely on the high ground of Teen Musicals, and I genuinely hope more people rediscover this one, because I found this a very satisfying experience to give a second chance.

I give the 2007 musical “Hairspray” … 4 stars out of 5.

Fin.

Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (1999) (Movie Review)

  20 YEARS ... that’s how old Pokémon is (as of time I'm posting this), in fact 2017 marks the 20^th anniversary of the franchise, and it kind of makes me feel old. Of this time, I’m three years out of college, but I remember being in 2^nd grade when Pokémon first erupted in our pop culture, and left a huge impact on many kids between the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Yet somehow, it’s slowly becoming popular again, and I’m quite impressed that it’s lasted for twenty years.

I grew up with Pokémon when the series was in its prime. My friends and I played all the original Nintendo games, we collected the cards, and of course we watched the cartoon show. Having said all that, I wouldn’t call myself a “die-hard fan”, because it’s not something that’s really stuck with me over the years, nor do I really re-watch any of it. That being said, I do think back on it fondly as something special from my childhood. Aside from the first series, I also watched the first five theatrical animated Pokémon movies, and I remember genuinely liking these films when I was a kid. The one movie I remember watching and loving the most was the second theatrical film titled “Pokémon: The Movie 2000”. In fact, there was a short time in my childhood that I held this film alongside “Toy Story 2” as one of my personal favorite animated movies ever. So, in light of the franchises 20-year anniversary, I think it’ll be fun to review the one film in the series that I have the strongest childhood nostalgia for.

  Set during the second season of the original series, the shows main heroes are traveling through a series of islands, four of which will be the center point of this story. Things are set in motion when a new villain simply called The Collector launches multiple attacks on the homes of three legendary giant birds, who individually harness the elements of fire, ice-water, and lighting. What the collector failed to realize is that the three birds are more than just creatures with special powers, they are in fact connected to nature itself, and by disrupting their peace, it throws all the elements of nature out of balance. Very soon, a global super storm is born from this imbalance of power, and it’s threatening to flood the entire planet. It doesn’t take long for our main group from the TV show to get caught in the mess. After washing up on an island, our heroes learn that this super storm is in fact part of an enchant prophecy that’s coming to fruition. Our lead hero Satoshi is singled out as "the chosen one", and sent on a quest to set nature back into harmony. Thus, the adventure is on, the stakes are higher than ever before, and both new friends and creatures are met along the journey.

 Before I get into the details, lets first talk about the characters, both held over from the series and the new ones created for the movie. 

The little electric hamster Pikachu of course is present, as he’s one of the most famous cartoon/video game characters ever, but surprisingly, he doesn’t do that much in this film. Seriously, despite being the franchises most marketable icon, I keep forgetting how little he ever dose. I should also note that back when I was a kid, I was less interested in the characters, and more excited about what pocket monster they'd come across next. That being said, for as simple as the characters are, they were still memorable. We all recognize Satoshi as the shows main lead, as his signature red cap and blue attire are about as recognizable as Super Mario’s design. Also, to this movies credit, it really tries to put focus on Satoshi as a main lead, and the story dose revolve largely around his journey. While the characters are always present in the movies, they're usually just players in another character's story, so this film at least aims to make our heroes more relevant. Unfortunately, I've never been a fan of the branded “The Chosen One” gimmick ... even in movies I like, I always feel it's a cheat to make a main character special by default, without really earning anything on their own. It's also funny how in hindsight, his chosen one status will have no bearing on the character as the series moves forward. He just continues on his journey, and saving the whole world was just another day at the office.   

  Also of note, Satoshi's red headed companion named Kasumi is given a little more attention, and the film suggests she might be ready to transition from best friend to girlfriend. I honestly don't remember this amounting to anything in the show, but I do apricate the film again aiming to expand on the characters, rather than just have them present. I do wish the film could have given these two more to bond over near the end, because aside from a nice moment of Kasumi rescuing Satoshi from drowning, the two don't really have anything to say to each other.  

I should also note that the English version changed a lot of the dialogue around, rather than being direct translations, and in some cases the alterations were welcome, while other times it was for the sole excuse of putting in some rather silly one-liners and self-referential hummer. There are at least three scenes in which characters break the fourth wall by addressing that they're in a movie, most of which are provided by those annoying evil henchman that are dragged along for every step of the adventure. I actually forgot all about those three clowns, and while I would have preferred if they were left out of this adventure, I can again give the writers some credit from making them helpful to the cause.  

  With all the hold-over characters from the show addressed, lets shift our attention to the characters exclusive to this movie. For a selection of one-shot players, I've always looked back on them as memorable characters from this franchise. The local island girl named Fleura, or Melody as I remember from the English Dub, represents the culture of the films setting, actively aids our hero’s, has a great deal of personality on display, and subsequently has a more subtle arc then our main lead. While Satoshi has a bigger journey and goal to reach in the film, Melody feels a little more grounded and interesting. This is a girl who was raised by a culture, then fell out of it when she reached a certain age, and became more interested in modern appeals and fashions. As she joins our heroes on their quest, she begins to grow closer to the heritage she left behind, and by the end, we see that she rediscovers her old beliefs, and becomes one with her lineage again. It's simple, but conveyed nicely through visual storytelling, and it appeals to me more than the generic "Chosen One" arc. Honestly, I think this film would have benefited even more if she was on equal footing with Satoshi as the main character.  

  The sinister Collector leaves much to be desired from an antagonist, as his motives are paper thin, and he doesn't even interact with our hero's that often. Still, even with his basic motives, he makes for a better than average foe by this series standards and seems to have a certain class and intelligence. Also, some of his dialogue (at least in the English version) may suggest that he views himself as his own “Chosen One” with a great destiny to fulfill, which is a nice contrast to our main hero. Of course, every Pokémon movie needs a marketable figurehead, and this time it comes in the form of a giant sea beast called Lugia, who aims to bring peace between the three ravage titan birds. He actually makes for a cool mystic creature, but aside from occasionally flying Satoshi to the different islands, he doesn’t do that much in the grand scheme of things, and surprisingly doesn't even have that much screen time. All the other new Pokémon ranging from our three titan birds and the elderly Slow-King likewise have their place in the film without being overutilized.   

  On that note, the Pokémon featured in this film are mostly supporting the human characters and their stories, where in other films it's reversed. Even the battles, which are selling points for this franchise are replaced with characters running around and avoiding obstacles. Sense the film is more quest based, it makes sense the film utilized more adventure elements as opposed to straight-on fighting, which could be a hindrance to many hard-core fans looking for combat. For my liking, even when I was a kid, I always preferred the adventure and journey elements of the show over the fighting, and that's one of the reasons this instalment appealed to me more. That being said, this film is repetitive with its action revolving around our heroes ridding boats, and there really needed to be more variety in the set-pieces. There are at least some exciting flying sequences on display, and select moments for creatures to show off their special abilities.    

  The animation on display is definitely an improvement over the smaller scaled TV show, and there’s some great visual highlights. Perhaps the film gets a little too reliant on having CGI effects overshadow the traditional hand-drawn brush strokes, but having said that, it's not awful, just a little choppy. 

I do still love the design of the villains flying fortress, and it dose still convey a sense of looming dread when it’s on screen. Back when I was a kid, CGI was still very new to me, and there was one select moment that I distinctly remember re-winding a lot. It’s a shot in the opening that starts with a close-up of the villain, which then pulls back into a wide shot of his flying castle, and I remember just thinking that was the most epic thing ever. Some of the backgrounds are really nice, and the setting has some personality. Some of the details are kind of curious, as the island setting is an amalgamation of different cultures, and there's even some religious imagery on display. Also, for all the mayhem in this film, it at least has some quiet moments that allow the audiences to be more submersed in the experience. In fact, both the soundtrack and the visuals of the changing weather do help give the movie some atmosphere. 

                   
  With that said, my favorite thing about this movie has always been the music score. Both Shinji Miyazaki and Ralph Schuckett composed some memorable music pieces for this film, with both the adventure theme, and Lugia's theme being highlights. Prior to posting this review, I hadn't re-watched this movie in over a decade, and somehow over that time, Lugia's triumphant anthem music from Ralph Schuckett 's American score has always lingered in the back of my mind. Even for my sister, who had less of a connection to Pokémon then I did, can still single out the music from this film as memorable and appealing in its own simple way. 

As is tradition with this franchise, and a staple for Anime's in general, as the end credit's role by, the animation keeps going, and serves as a visual epilogue for all the characters ... as well as a chance for the soundtrack to make itself known. The films American song selection is also an enjoyable product of its time. Westlife's “Flying Without Wings” is one of those corny gems I can't help but think back on with fondness. Weird Al Yankovic also gets a randomly placed countdown song. The big song however is “The Power of One”, performed by the Queen of Jazz herself, the late Donna Summer. She was a great talent, and her song is almost too good to be utilized for a Pokémon soundtrack, but it certainly adds to the film's nostalgia factor.   

  When all is said and done, “Pokémon The Movie 2000” obviously doesn’t represent quality filmmaking, but I do still feel that a lot of effort was put into this movie to make it a little more special than just an extended episode of the series. Looking back, I actually think that the film offered more than needed, including some decent animation and an absolutely blissful music score. On my figurative totem pole of favorite Japanese Anime's, this film doesn't even come close to reaching the heights of films like "Spirited Away", "Princess Mononoke" and so forth ... but it still has a place on that totem. It's comfort food, simple, but pleasant to look back on as something from my childhood. Again, I'm really not that big a fan of Pokémon in general, but it had its place during my youth, and this movie for better or worse was at the center of it. Not a great film, but a harmless little trinket from my childhood all the same.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1999 Anime “Pokémon The Movie 2000” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!     

The Transformers: The Movie (1986) (Movie Review)

   Summer 2017 marks the premier of yet another live action “Transformers” movie, and I really couldn’t care less. I remember when the first live action movie premiered back in 2007, and it was kind of cool as I’d never seen special effects of that magnitude before, but it got old fast. I don’t even think I’ve watched a single “Transformers” sequel all the way through, the characters are all so stupid, and worse yet, from what I’ve seen of those films, they make big action spectacles feel boring. I can’t even bring myself to watch the first movie from 2007 a second time, as even that film felt like a mess. 

Now personally, I’m really not that big a fan of “Transformers” in general, I’ve never really watched the various animated TV shows, and I’ve never even seen a single episode of the now classic 80’s cartoon. I will say that I do have a great deal of nostalgia reserved for the animated “Beast Wars: Transformers” series that premiered back in the 90’s. That was one of my child hood favorites, and despite some dated animation, I think that show still holds up. Personally, all my love for the “Transformers” saga begins and ends with “Beast Wars”, but there is one slight exception ... and that’s the animated 1986 theatrical feature “The Transformers: The Movie”. Yeah, thanks to the internet I discovered that there was in fact a theatrical Transformers movie that premiered long before the live-action 2007 film we’re more familiar with. So, even though I’ve never watch the 80’s cartoon, I was whiling to watch the animated film, and judge it as a movie on its own. Was it any good ... well ... let’s talk about it.

  Chronologically the film is set after the events of the second season of the cartoon show, and at this point, the heroic Autobots are waging war against the Decepticons and their sinister leader Megatron. During a tense battle, the Autobot leader Optimus Prime parishes, which couldn’t have come at worse time, because a new threat called Unicron has just interred the galaxy, and is dead set on destroying every planet in his path. He’s an all powerful Transformer the size of a planet, but there’s only one thing that can defeat him, and that’s the Matrix of leadership. The Matrix is a device that can light our hero’s darkest hours, and in theory can vanquish Unicron. Just before Optimus Prime died, he passed the Matrix of leadership to a young new Autobot nick-named Hot Rod, who sets off on a journey to become a worthy new leader, and command his comrades in their epic battle to come. Right from the begging, the film feels like it could have been an episode of the show ... except it more cinematic in it's presentation. The film also drops us right into the action, and we’re never really introduced to the characters, there just present from the start with no real lead in. The movie itself feels like it’s picking up after the events of an episode, although it's apparently set twenty years after the season two finale ... in the year 2005 to be precise.  

   This proved really challenging on my first viewing, sense I didn’t know any of these characters. I was at least aware of both Optimus Prime and his arch foe Megatron, but they both perish in the first twenty minutes, leaving me with all these unfamiliar robots, which the film never really gives me the chance to know. I was very surprised that with the exception of two human characters, the entire cast is all robots, which is cool, but still I found it challenging to single-out any of these robots as memorable characters. 

The transformer Hot Rod at least stood out as the young hero with a destiny to fulfill, but that’s all he is, just your proper coming of age hero. There was also a female Transformer who stood-out with something of a Princess Leia design, but that’s all there was to her character, just a familiar design. I liked the villain Devistator, but only because he’s made of several smaller robots that all come together to create a giant Transformer, and the child in me is always thrilled by things like that. Lastly, the Dino Bots also stood out for being painfully annoying, stupid, and I couldn’t stand their voices. Aside from that, I really couldn’t tell one Transformer apart from the other, or perhaps I should say, none of them left a memorable impression of any sort. 

None of these robots interested me from a character stand point, and even the two humans were very forgettable. The only real characterization that seemed interesting was Megatrons relationship with his first lieutenant Starscream. I definitely felt a history between those two, and I found it very amusing how they exchanged insults with each other. Unfortunately, neither of these characters last long, Starscream is also killed off within the first twenty minutes, and while Megatron doesn’t die, he does take a new form called Galvatron, who’s so different he’s actually voiced by a different actor. From what I understand, the main characters from the Transformers cartoon were either killed off in this movie, or reduced to short cameo’s, in favor of a new cast. Obviously a marketing tool to promote more toy’s, but personally, if I was a devoted fan of a TV series, and saw my favorite characters neglected from a theatrical movie of this sort, I think I would have been a touch up-set.

     Actually the film is quiet dark in tone, and needlessly cynical at times, to the point where I wondered if any young fans were put-off by it. Of course, the most famous scene of all is the death of Optimus Prime, which traumatized many kids back in the 80’s. Personally, my traumatizing child hood transformer death was the loss of Dinobot from the “Beast Wars” series, and I just didn’t feel the same emotional impact with the death of Optimus. 

I will say that the scene in of itself was shot and executed masterfully. The voice acting is solid, the subtly somber score is effective, and that final image of Optimus Prime turning from bright colors to dull rust was quiet chilling. Moments like this made the film feel surprisingly adult, but the tone isn’t always consistent. There are in fact some downright silly moments that spoiled the mood. For example, there’s a scene when the transformers randomly throw a dance part right in the middle of an active war zone. It’s very abrupt, our hero’s don’t even accomplish anything that meaningful and suddenly their break dancing, and disco dancing, and it’s all set to Weird Al Yankovic’s song “Dare to be Stupid”. Again, I wouldn’t mind if the tone was more consistent, but the movie just drops us into really tense moments, followed immediately by silly scenes with no proper segue in- between. I think the biggest surprise of all came from all the swearing. No joke, this animated movie based on a children’s Saturday Morning cartoon features characters saying things like “Damn it!” and “Owe Shit!” 

    Another thing that took me by surprise was the voice cast, which consists of some noteworthy talents. The late Casey Kasem, famous for voicing Shaggy on “Scooby-Doo” is part of the cast. John Moschita, Jr. who’s often labeled as the world’s fastest talker, is perfectly cast as a Transformer named Blurr. One of my favorite British comedians Eric Idle is also part of the cast. The villain Galvatron is voiced by the late Leonard Nimoy, who from what I’ve gathered would later do voice work in one of the live action movies. The most notable talent of all is the late Orson Welles, who supplies the voice of the films main villain Unicron. From “War of the Worlds” to “Citizen Kane”, Orson Welles was one of the most respected radio and movie talents to ever live, and this was his final role, supplying the voice of a Transformer. Honestly, this is one of my favorite roles in his whole career, and even though I’m not a diehard fan of this series, I think Unicron is one of the coolest animated villains I’ve ever seen. Despite just being a giant round figure floating in space, he actually conveys this dooming presence. His laid-back theme music paired with Orson Welles chilling voice allows this villain to thrill every time he’s on screen.

     Let’s finally talk about my absolute favorite thing in this movie, and that’s the soundtrack. The 1980’s was the age when hard rock and metal tunes were at their peak, and this film’s song track is one of my favorite products of this bygone era. I was actually a fan of this soundtrack years before I’d even seen the movie, which really isn’t uncommon for me. 

Many of my favorite movie soundtracks I grew up with came from classic 80’s movies like “Top Gun” and “Rocky 4”, neither of which I’d see until many years later. Speaking of “Rocky 4”, that movies music composer Vince DiCola also dose the instrumental track for “The Transformers: The Movie”, and both have equally similar melodies and compositions. Some of my favorite songs from this track are “Dare” performed by Stan Bush, “Hunger” performed by Spectre General, “Nothin’s Going to Stand in Our Way” also performed by Spectre General, and of course the most classic song of all is “The Touch”, which again is performed by Stan Bush. This song and subsequently it’s music video are just drenched in 80’s cheese, and I love it. Over the years, I’ve recognized “The Touch” as something of a classic Transformers anthem. On that note, this films variation of the classic theme song from the cartoon show is outstanding. When the titles come up in the opening, and that theme song kicks into gear, I just got chills all over. By the way, the title sequence is very reminiscent of the original Richard Donner “Superman” opening, which I thought was a cool detail.   

    Another ace up this movies sleeve is the animation itself, which has a distinct influence on Japanese Anime. A standout animation Highlight is when Megatron is transformed into Galvatron, which leads to some spectacular 80’s animation that stood apart from all the fighting. Needless to say, the animation in general is gorgeous, and a real testament to the craft, especially considering that this film came out in the mid 1980’s, before computers and CGI took center stage. 

Every single shot is packed with depth and detail, which I could praise all day, but it’s a double edged sword, as it can also get exhausting at times. The bulk of this movie is watching robots battle, with lots of mayhem, laser guns blasting, and after a while, all the scenes just bleed together. Upon my first viewing, I couldn’t even separate that many individual moments in my head, because the whole movie just felt like a blur of outer-space robot fights, which again are beautifully animated, but there’s not much in-between. There were at least some select moments that stood out. The only piece of action that seemed to be of any significance was the final dual between Optimus Prime and Megatron. This genuinely felt like a classic showdown between two iconic titans, and I got really hyped watching the two clash. My favorite scene of all comes near the end when Unicron reveals his true form as a larger than life Transformer complete with giant bat wings and devil horns. Needless to say, it’s a pretty darn cool finally, but the ending itself felt rushed. In fact, it takes the span of a heart beat to go from the climax to the credits, and it left me wondering what the heck I just watched.           

  

     As a casual viewer who’s never seen the original 80’s cartoon, I can’t say this film converted me into a fan of the series, and it's not going to stick with me as a personal favorite of any sort. Having said that, I certainly don’t regret watching this movie, as it definitely had some merits, and select highlights that have stuck with me. The animation is worth admiring, the soundtrack is worth listening to, and the novelty of Orson Welles in his final role as the movies sinister villain makes everything worthwhile. 

Aside from all that, I can’t help but feel this film is most meaningful to a certain age group that grew up with Transformers back in the 80’s. Then again, I find myself noticing more and more reviewers, critics, and even actors ranking this movie among their all time favorite films. Heck, Steven Yeun who played Glen on “The Walking Dead” ranked “The Transformers: The Movie” among his top five personal favorite movies. So maybe there is something more to this film that goes beyond being a fan of the popular cartoon show. I’ll say this, for as okay as I found this movie to be, it was leaps and bounds more mature, emotional, and honestly more adult than anything I’ve seen from any of the live action “Transformers” films. If your a fan of the franchise, I'd say this is mandatory viewing, and if your a casual animation fan, I'd say it's well worth checking out.

Thanks for reading my review of the 1986 animated picture “The Transformers: The Movie” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!