The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

 

Genre: Sci-fi/ Action

Time: 1h 25mins

Director: Nelson Shin

Quick Summary: The Autobots must stop a colossal planet-consuming robot who goes after the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. At the same time, they must defend themselves against an all-out attack from the Decepticons.

Killing off some of the most iconic characters was a big move, and I'm not sure I liked it. Then they went on a killing spree, which I wasn't sure about either. Being someone who hadn't watched any of the cartoons beforehand, I was glad they introduced everyone. They didn't assume I'd come straight in knowing everyone, that was really refreshing. 

The first quarter of this film is basically montage after montage filled with 80's ballads, which I did enjoy for a while, and then I got really tired of them. They just kept happening back to back. It felt a bit mindless, watching all the transformers jump into one battle after another filled with flashy lasers and action. Obviously, this was to keep kids' attention and show off how cool these transformers are (for those who don't know, this film was made purely to sell the new line of Transformers back then.)

One thing I want to say. The Dinobots were absolutely useless. They did nothing throughout the film except be an absolute pain. 

The villain was honestly my favourite part. Their design was so cool and unique and paired with the art style to top it off. Without spoiling too much, it's a planet-sized transformer, so you can imagine how epic that is. Shame the end fight felt super rushed. The plot is essentially nonsense and feels like 100% filler after the initial battle. Many characters are killed off for a new toy range and that's it!

I wasn't sure if I loved or hated the soundtrack. It felt very much off its time, but I was enjoying it. There were a few misses in tone, but it's nothing really worth complaining about. Every song was high energy and upbeat, equally as flashy as the visuals were. They were attention-grabbing, like a lot of this film was. 

 Even though the animation is almost 40 years old at this current time, I thought it held up. It's smooth and fluid. The art style I personally liked as well, it was obviously dated, but  I think that's what adds to the charm. 

The pacing is a bit all over the place, and there are a lot of plot holes. But it's still entertaining, I wasn't bored by anything. I feel like if I was actually a fan of transformers, the deaths would be more emotional for me, but as someone who isn't, they were okay. 

6/10

"I've got better things to do tonight than die."

"Unicron: I have summoned you here for a purpose.

Megatron: Nobody summons Megatron.

Unicron: Then it pleases me to be the first."