Top Ten Transformers
Movie Moments
This week, Michael Bay’s mega robots return for a fourth
time in Transformers: Age of Extinction,
now featuring Mark Wahlberg instead of Shia LaBeouf and introducing the
dino-bots. So far, it’s being bashed by critics harder than any of the previous
films.
Though it intends to be a fun, summer blockbuster film
series targeted at family audiences, Bay’s Transformers
franchise has been the subject of much criticism. Fans of the original series
as kids who have since grown up find the films a disservice to the characters,
while many children have the newer series to grow up with (Transformers Prime) so are less concerned with characters and more
concerned with how many explosions can be shown over two and a half hours, but
their parents might think the films are too violent and so don’t take their
kids to see them. Film critics also have a hate-on for Bay and everything his
name is attached to, but despite all these detractions, his Transformers franchise has raked in huge
piles of cash, with all three films—Transformers,
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,
and Transformers: Dark of the Moon—topping
the box office in 2007, 2009, and 2011, respectively (do not misread that as “respectfully”,
there’s no respect for that).
Not only am I a fan of the original cartoon, I’m a fan of
the concept of giant transforming alien robots fighting to the death.
Unfortunately, I don’t think Michael Bay’s films suffice. With annoying
characters, interchangeable transformers, incredibly stupid plots and dialogue
(even for a brainless popcorn flick), none of them have any significant amount
of entertainment value for me. In short,
my thoughts on the movies go like this. The first one is dumb and doesn’t do
the giant robots justice, however it surprised me the first time I saw it—I
expected a total piece of garbage and what I saw wasn’t all that terrible. It is
entertaining and I can overlook the films detracting aspects and enjoy it as a
mindless effects extravaganza. The second one is not only one of the worst
sequels ever made, but one of the worst films of all time. Everything that was
bad the first time gets worse (acting, plot, awkward/childish comedy) and
everything good suffers (special effects, action, not enough Optimus Prime).
The third one is an improvement over the second, with bigger and better
effects, but still has a “been there, done that” feeling and in general, is
forgettable and unnecessary.
Say what you will about the Transformers films, but you cannot deny they do offer some pretty cool moments from time to
time. I’m going to graciously look at the ten best moments from the original trilogy.
Although I think Michael Bay is a terrible director and all three films
exemplify it, there is more to them than meets the eye.
10. Forest Fight in Revenge of the Fallen
Just squeaking in at number ten is perhaps the only moment
from Revenge of the Fallen that didn’t
make me not want to live on this planet anymore. One of the things lacking from
the second Transformers film was awesome
action scenes. In the first Transformers,
there weren’t all that many fight sequences, but the handful that did occur
were mostly pretty well done. With the sequel, it was expected that the action
would be ramped up, but it wasn’t. In the first twenty-ish minutes there’s a
completely confusing night time battle between the Decepticons and Autobots; you
can barely tell what’s going on or where one robot ends and another begins. At
the end of the first act, Optimus Prime unleashes his dual fire-red swords and
takes on Megatron and a few other Decepticons. It’s still confusing, but
because it takes place in the woods in the day time, it’s easier to see what’s
going on and there’s lots of destruction. Even though it’s a good fight, it’s
tainted by two things. One: why the hell doesn’t Optimus always use his fire swords if they’re so effective? He barely uses
them at all throughout the three films but every time he does he kicks ass.
Second: the scene ends with Megatron “killing” Optimus, and that’s how Optimus
remains for most of the second film: dead. It’s one reason on an endless list
of reasons of why this movie sucks.
9. When Revenge of the Fallen Ended
Is this too sarcastic? Too tongue in cheek? Too insulting to
Michael Bay, the Transformers, and everyone else involved in the making of this
motion picture (if you can honestly call it a motion picture)? Nope. I knew
less than five minutes into Revenge of
the Fallen that something was wrong. It opened the same as the first one,
dived right into a convoluted plot and action scene, reintroduced every
annoying and shoddy aspect from the first film, and continued sliding downhill
from there until it came crashing down to the bottom of said hill in a fiery
explosion of slow motion robot debris and despair. I was both relieved and
stressed when Revenge ended. I was so
incredibly disappointed by the film as a whole (stressed), but also pleased to
exit that theater and return to the real world and try to forget about it
(relieved). Unfortunately, I will never get those precious 150 minutes of my
life back, and I will never forget seeing Revenge
of the Fallen.
8. Blackout’s First Transformation
in Transformers
With Revenge of the
Fallen out of the way, let me focus on moments from the first and third films
that were actually not detractions. Way back in the summer of 2007, I remember
seeing a preview for a new movie based on the Hasbro toys known as “The Transformers”.
I wouldn’t say I was a big fan of the toys and cartoon as a kid, but I did like
them and even had a few of the dino bots. When I found out about the movie, I
wasn’t even excited. A movie based on a bunch of kids toys? No thanks. But when
I heard from friends and family that it was actually pretty cool and
entertaining, I rented it from the video store months after it had come out in
theaters and gave it a watch. I had recently got a 5.1 surround sound speaker
set, so cranked the volume and sat back and watched. The first time the
transformer known as Blackout transformed from a MH-53M Pave Low IV helicopter into
a mechanical fury of moving parts and laser canons in the first ten minutes, I
was blown away—partly by the deafening surround sound, partly because it looked
really cool.
7. Megatron’s first
reveal in Transformers
Like many great villains from great movies, Megatron is not
fully revealed until the third act of the film. Unlike great movie villains
however, Megatron really isn’t one of them. That isn’t to say he isn’t cool or
intimidating or badass. Megatron is shown in clips of flashbacks and halfway
through the film it is revealed to the main characters that he is in cold storage
at the Hoover Dam— Area 51 would have seemed like a more appropriate location,
but I guess they didn’t have room. Decepticons Frenzy and Starscream free
Megatron from his icy imprisonment, and he breaks out of the ice surrounding
his body with all-out wrath. People scream and run as he transforms into a jet
and flies out of the Hoover Dam, causing a decent amount of destruction in the
process. Megatron’s presence is enhanced by his incredibly sinister voice,
credited to Hugo Weaving, who also starred in the Matrix and Lord of the Rings
trilogies.
6. The Death of
Ironhide in Dark of the Moon
When Optimus Prime was killed in Revenge of the Fallen, there was no shock or tension. I knew he had
to be coming back at some point. No summer blockbuster with a lack of brains
could be as ballsy as to kill one of the main characters. I waited impatiently
for Optimus to return, wondering why they wouldn’t just use the Allspark shard
to revive him right away instead of waiting until the last possible minute.
Anyway, my point being, over the course of the first two films, only two
Autobots bit the dust: Jazz was killed indefinitely by Megatron in the first
film, and Optimus died in the second but was brought back. So, in the third
one, I was genuinely surprised when Sentinel Prime was revealed to be a traitor
and killed Ironhide, the Autobot weapons specialist. I wasn’t surprised that
Sentinel was a traitor—that was obvious all along—but Ironhide’s death was
unexpected and, although not overly devastating, reminded me that the Autobots
still had the potential to die, because up until then I was beginning to
wonder...
5. The Final Battle
in Dark of the Moon
Dark of the Moon
did away with a lot of crap from the second film that went towards making it so
bad, such as the racist Autobots Skids and Mudflap and Sam Witwicky’s roommate
Leo Spitz. Unfortunately, Michael Bay still brought back elements that sucked
before and continued to suck, such as Sam’s Parents, toilet humour (though less
than before), and the character Agent Simmons, played by John Tuturro, whose
career will never be the same thanks to these films. But, they saved the best
for last, because the final fight scene is, although ridiculous, one of the
best parts. Optimus Prime fights the traitorous Sentinel Prime and gets his ass
kicked, but after Megatron gets bitched at by Sam’s latest girlfriend, he realizes
he has to kill both Optimus and Sentinel if he is to become master of Cybertron
once again, so saves Optimus from Sentinel, then fights Optimus, who completely
annihilates him, and then, in a final act of badass-ness, Optimus shoots
Sentinel in the face as he begs for mercy! It’s as chaotic as the rest of the
film, but it makes for an exciting conclusion.
4. Scorponok’s first attack
in Transformers
After seeing Blackout destroy the US military base and hack
into their computers in the first action scene of the first film, I was excited
and ready to see more. A while later, the focus returns to the survivors of the
base attack, who find themselves under assault by another Decepticon, known as
Scorponok. Scorponok looks like a mechanical scorpion (in case you couldn’t
guess) and of all the animal-like Transformers in all three films, he is without
a doubt the coolest. Scorponok has a gun on his tail, can dig and burrow
underneath the desert sand, and is extremely strong. The military shoots dozens
of clips of bullets at him, fires missiles, and it isn’t until a jet flies in
and shoots sabot rounds that they injure him and force him to retreat. It’s a well
done action sequence, and unlike the later fights to come, you can actually
tell who is who and what is going on. Scorponok made a brief return in Revenge of the Fallen, but was abruptly
killed: yet another negative from the second film.
3. The Driller Destroying
Everything in Dark of the Moon
This is hands down the greatest moment from the third film,
not so much in concept but in execution. The gigantic Driller Decepticon
attacks a skyscraper and cuts it down like a tree. The scene might not sound
like anything special, but the Driller itself is. Basically a giant mechanical
snake made up of rotating segments and sporting a great number of teeth, the
Driller drills through entire buildings and is beyond formidable. The visual
effects to bring this character to life are staggering. When you look at it,
you can clearly see how many individual parts and pieces there are all moving
at once. For the animators, it was a daunting task. To put it in perspective,
Optimus Prime has about 10,000 parts. The driller has about 70,000. That the
animators could bring the Driller to life and make it look that cool is very
impressive.
2. Optimus Prime’s
Opening Monologue from Transformers
Going back to before any Transformers ever fought each
other, back to before Shia LaBeouf was screaming for Optimus or Bumblebee’s
help, before I even knew if the first Transformers
was going to be good or not, there was the opening monologue. Optimus Prime,
speaking over a black screen, says: “Before time began, there was the cube...”
and so begins the epic opening scene which shows the decimated world of
Cybertron and fills us in on the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons.
Peter Cullen voices Optimus, and also voiced him in the original cartoon, and
his commanding, booming voice sounds incredible. The first time I heard his
opening lines on my surround sound, I knew the movie was going exceed my
expectations.
1. Optimus Prime
fights Bonecrusher in Transformers
Let’s not forget why we go to a Transformers movie in the first place. Do we really go for the
human characters and drama and comedic moments and clever plot? Well, do we go
to a Godzilla movie in hopes to see
an Academy Award winning performance, or do we want to see Godzilla stomp on a
city and fight another monster? Of course it’s the latter, and of course we don’t
care about all that stuff I mentioned in the Transformers movies. All I wanted to see was giant transforming robots
beating each other to a pulp, and while it failed to really deliver on that
promise, the one scene from the first film that honestly felt like a genuine Transformers moment was when Optimus
Prime took on Bonecrusher in a one-on-one fight on a freeway. There’s everything
you could ask for from a Transformers
fight scene: transforming, punching, sparks, destruction, laser blasters,
humans caught in the madness, Optimus unleashing his fire sword, and a slow
motion death for Bonecrusher. It’s brainless, it’s loud, and it’s awesome.
Hands down, it’s the best moment from all three Transformers films.
Transformers mural from mollyellentaylor93.wordpress.com
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen image from www.hbo.com
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen image from rgthinkcreative.com
Transformers image from pinstor.usTransformers image from www.tfw2005.com
Transformers Dark of the Moon image from www.comicbookmovie.com
Transformers Dark of the Moon image from forums.sherdog.com
Transformers image from www.youtube.com
Transformers Dark of the Moon image from thesplitscreen.wordpress.com
Transformers image from transformers.wikia.com
Transformers image from www.scifiscoop.com
No comments:
Post a Comment