Transformers: Robots in Disguise "Pilot" Review

Transformers is one of the coolest concepts to be envisioned. The thought of giant robots being able to transform into cars, planes, etc. is something both kids and adults can get a kick out of. There has been countless toys, many TV shows, comics, and four live action films. Suffice to say, it's a pretty popular franchise yesterday and today. The latest iteration is the TV series Robots in Disguise, which is a sequel to Prime. Prime brought everything that was good about the franchise into one show: Great characters, compelling stories, and excellent fight scenes. Many fans were disheartened that Season 3 would be the last. A new show was quickly announced, and the question ringed in many minds: "Will it be as good?" I personally was not a fan of the earliest announcement, saying that it would be lighter, more comedic, and aimed at kids more so than Prime. But, as a reviewer it's best to hold judgement. Surely, this wouldn't be a slap in the face to the previous series like Teen Titans GO! is to its predecessor? While not that extreme, Robots in Disguise gets off to a mediocre/average start.

In the premiere, Bumblebee's solo mission to Earth turns into a team effort. Conclusion. Bumblebee and the team try to prevent a Decepticon from reaching Crown City.

Prime ended on a rather interesting note, with Optimus Prime basically deceased and Megatron no longer looking to conquer. Because of this, the new show obviously couldn't have the latter come back as the villain because that would slap all development away from Predacons Rising. Instead, the show decided to go the route of introducing exclusive creations. There's nothing technically wrong with this concept, but let's see how this show plays out. The opening establishes a rather odd status quo, because nothing is determined. Who is the leader of the Autobots? Does a leader exist? Are there only rouge Decepticons with no leader? What happened to Bulk Head, Arcee, and Ratchet? Let us ignore these questions for now and look at what the show does present to us.

Comedy isn't a bad thing, but a lot of the writing here ranges from average to painful. Characters that could be engaging are made less so because of that. Bumblebee's cadet Strongarm for example could be a very likable character, but her running gag of "This protocol states" quickly becomes annoying. Hopefully this was just for the pilot. Sideswipe is a very annoying hotshot, Still, the bot writing is rarely terrible. It's the humans that will make you want to change the channel, namely Denny Clay.

Transformer shows always have human characters. Usually they are annoying, but mainly when they take the spotlight away from the robot conflict. (This is why all four live-action films borders between average to plain awful.) Prime did this right, and interestingly Robots in Disguise looks to repeat that success. The only sad part is that when the humans are on screen the writing is terrible. The opening scene when Denny Clay greets his son Russell is so awkward and forced. From that scene alone you wouldn't guess that he was his father. Russell isn't terrible, but I don't see how he's going to bring anything to the table. He's probably just there for the kids to have someone they could relate to.

Bumblebee for the most part is pretty solid. I won't pretend he's anywhere near his Prime self, but he doesn't do anything that would merit a negative rating of him. The antagonist is an original creation, Underbite. He was a very engaging Decepticon to watch, with the right amount of evil and humor. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of him. One of the disappointments of Prime was that it hinted at the arrival of Grimlock and the Dinobots, but that never came to play. Here Grimlock is a main character, which is nice...but at what cost? For one thing it's obvious from his escape that he isn't inherently evil, why the Decepticon logo? In fact, since this is in the Prime continuity, he was established as a hardcore no-nonsense character (with the Autobot insignia) in the game Fall of Cybertron. So, what happened in-between? The blatant disregard for continuity is pretty appalling.

The animation is solid. It's a step down from Prime, but can't be called bad. The fights, while not too notable, are adequate enough. The scuffs between Grimlock and Underbite were pretty entertaining. The soundtrack is alright, not bad but not worth mentioning. (You'll forget almost all the themes by the time the second episode ends.) It's disappointing that there's no theme song, just a title card when every preceding Transformers show had a catchy intro.

Robots in Disguise gets off to an average start. There is definitely potential, but it's easy to see with such mediocre writing that the show is destined to stay average. Still, it's not fair to judge so early. While there are quite a few factors against it (mediocre writing, awful human in the form of Denny, poor representation of Grimlock) there's still potential with the solid animation and a few good characters. We shall see if it will rise or fall.

2.5/5

Transformers: Age of Extinction Review

The Transformers movies are one of the most interesting contradictions in film history. They get very negative reviews, (the only one to reach above 50% on Rotten Tomatoes is the first one) yet each does astounding in the box office. It seems the concept of giant robots battling it out is so great that it overrides all the mediocrity. The last one, Dark of the Moon, was supposed to be the final one in this saga. The way it ends makes sense: the Deceptions are destroyed and most of Megatron had been turned to scrap. Director Michael Bay even went on record to say it would be his last one. But alas, when a film makes so much money the company doesn't want them to stop, so here we are three years later with the fourth installment: Age of Extinction. This movie is yet another example of why Bay is one of my least favorite directors. It's not terrible however, and there quite a few factors that deserve praise, such as the amazing action sequences. Sadly the writing and characters is typical Bay fare.

It's been four years since the battle of Chicago. The Autobots have gone into hiding and the Decepticons are no longer a group. Sadly, the CIA group known as Cemetery Wind is hunting down the good guys and making it seem to the public that they are actually runaway Deceptions. They are doing this with the help of a bounty hunter transformer known as Lockdown, who is neither Autobot nor Decepticon. Eventually Optimus Prime is brought back to life thanks to an inventor named Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) and goes on a mission to rally all Autobots. Things turn really bad however when Cemetery is able to make their own Transformers, one of which is called Galvatron, who contains some of Megatron's soul...

Before we get into the many negatives, let's talk about what the film does right. The action scenes are the best of the series, and probably the greatest from all movies this year. Sadly there are too many background shots of them and cutaways to what the human characters are doing, but when the camera focuses on those fights it's amazing. Gone are the days when the viewer couldn't tell what was happening because every bot looked the same. Peter Cullen delivers another fantastic voice performance for Optimus Prime, who is easily once again the primary highlight. Sadly most of the notable characters died in Dark of the Moon, so a good majority of the Autobots and all the Decepticons are new. Galvatron is nicely established, though doesn't get nearly enough screen time. Since this is the start of a new trilogy, it's forgivable.

Lockdown is the new antagonist established. Unlike Shockwave in Dark of the Moon, he's given adequate screen time and an interesting character. Aside from Prime, he was easily the most engaging Transformer. Sadly with Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave and all the other notable Decepticons dead, new characters are established. They can't talk so basically they're just a bunch of one-shots. It's been stated otherwise, but hopefully a way is found to bring back those aforementioned characters because new ones just aren't going to cut it. Interestingly, Bumblebee is given a rather small role in comparison with the previous three movies. His character portrayal is also much more annoying. Drift and Hound bring something to the table and make for a fine Autobot team. (Crosshairs on the other hand not so much.)

One of the primary things that destroyed the previous movies is the awful human cast. With Shia LeBeouf gone from this movie, some hope was that the main lead would actually be likable and engaging. Mark Wahlberg's character is definitely an improvement. For the most part he's the epitome of what a decent character in a Michael Bay Transformers film looks like. Sadly, it's the directing and writing that kill what could be a very good character. The film's tone is half comedy, which is a real shame and typical Bay-fare. Too often in these movies the story revolves around the humans with the robots in the background; it should be the opposite. (For a great example, check out the Transformers Prime TV show, which is more competently written than all four movies combined.)

Perhaps the worst thing about the Transformer films is the heavy reliance on sexual appeal. Megan Fox wasn't there for her acting skills in the first two movies, and Rose Huntington-Whiteley might have even been worst in Dark of the Moon. (There's something wrong if the very first scene with a lead actress in a movie that is supposed to be about a robot conflict is barely dressed.) This time however instead of being an adult what we have is a 17 year old senior in high school. Nicola Peltz's character (Tessa Yeager) could have been okay if this movie was from a different director. Her very first line to her friends, "After school girls in the summer we're going to get wasted whoohoo!" destroyed any chance of her being likable. From there forward she's displayed as some sort of super model. (Keep in mind again that in-movie she's underage.) Then we have her boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor) who is one mediocre character. "I'm not helping you save your daughter, I'm helping you save my girlfriend." "I like to be fresh when I'm making out with your daughter." The writing in this movie needs some serious help in producing likable characters and competent dialogue.

There are a few other notable (in a bad way) characters. We have Cade's assistant Lucas who is there just to provide comedy relief. (Thankfully he dies early on, I wonder if that was supposed to be a sad scene because I can confirm no viewer was feeling emotional.) There's Joshua Joyce, who's a decent character until after the middle where he replaces Lucas for comedic relief. The acting is extremely over the top, no one would be acting like this considering what's going on. The human antagonist would be Harold Attinger, who is definitely one of the best human characters, maybe even the best. Moving on to arguably the most hyped aspect of the film: Grimlock and the Dinobots.

For some odd reason, the word 'Dinobot' isn't used and none of them are referred to by name. If the viewer isn't a long time fan, how will he or she know who they are? The actual portrayal is decent. The CGI is absolutely stunning and the rampage into the city destroying the bad guys was easily one of the film's highlights. Sadly, they seem to lack the personality which is present in almost all other continuities. Grimlock in particular if you read some of the comics can see that he was one of the most engaging Transformers. (Hopefully this is fixed in the sequel.) The soundtrack is pretty strong, having plenty of great themes and even some emotional ones when appropriate.

Overall, Age of Extinction suffers from many of the same problems the previous three Transformers movies has. It does improve in some areas, such as action scenes and plot progression. Optimus Prime is the highlight once again, and Lockdown ranks as one of the most interesting antagonists of the movie series. The human characters are very miss, which is in big part due to the mediocre writing. (The day Michael Bay actually has an engaging female lead in one of these movies will be a day to remember.) It's still a pretty fun film for the most part, and might be the best of the movie series aside from the first one. (Not that that's saying much of course.)

2.5/5

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review

Michael Bay's Transformers series has a rather infamous reputation. To be fair, people liked the first one. The second, Revenge of the Fallen, destroyed the box office, but got pretty negative reviews. Why? You know the story, Transformers were taken out of the screen time in favor for lots of crude humor. While the first film did have those negatives, it was relatively well-paced and an alright start for the franchise. Revenge of the Fallen took what was negative about the first, and increased it ten-fold. As Dark of the Moon approached, Michael Bay even said that Revenge of the Fallen didn't turn out the way he wanted. (Right.) He said Dark of the Moon would be the best one yet, with lead actor Shia Labeouf saying, "It's going to be the craziest action movie ever made, or we failed." Have they failed? That's what I wanted to find out. And I did.

The story begins with a flashback to 1961, about the Apollo 11's landing on the dark side of the moon. They find a mysterious spacecraft with technology beyond their understanding. Inside, they find an inactive robot, which means one thing.....we are not alone. It was the most well-kept secret for years, until now. An invasion is coming, and even the Autobots may not be able to stop it.

Believe it or not, I wasn't a big Transformers fan when I saw the first two films. The only two characters I knew where Optimus and Megatron. That was it. When I saw the second film, I decided that I was going to delve deep into the franchise, because these characters interested me. I liked this satellite one from Revenge of the Fallen, a Decepticon called "Soudwave." Thus I had a starting point. I went back to my Revenge of the Fallen video game, re-read my old comics, watched some G1 episodes on YouTube, and currently watching Prime. So I get to review this film as big fan of the franchise. Sorry, I've been talking about the life and times of myself, let's get on to the review. Skip to the last paragraph if you've yet to see it, there will be some spoilers.

Here's the problem. This is not a film about robots with humans as the backdrop, it's about humans with  robots as the backdrop. That's the problem with all three films, and Dark of the Moon suffers greatly from that. I could maybe let that slide if ANY of the main performances were half-decent. The scripting is lousy, stuff you'll hear on a Saturday morning cartoon. (Mixed in with Adult Swim humor, not a good thing.) Take out the robots and war backdrop, you have the basis for an R rated comedy.

Shia Lebeouf once again gives a strange performance. I'll admit that he could be funny sometimes, but as the main lead, he's not good enough, I'm sorry. There was this big thing that happened awhile back that changed the way some looked at the film. The main female lead from the first two, Megan Fox, quit for the third. I'm going to say what's obvious, she wasn't in the films for her acting credibility, she was there purely to help sell the film with looks. So when she left, someone had to take her place. Instead of hiring a seasoned veteran actress, you know what they do? They hire a Victoria's Secret model with no acting experice in the form of Rosie Huntington Whiteley. What?! So instead of hiring someone who could have given this film a little class, they hire someone who had NEVER acted in a movie before. Isn't it sad that a film relies on eye candy and mindless explosions rather than having a well-paced story to tell? Apparently it does, and succeeds, cause according to the stats, it dethroned Return of the King. (Now I know humanity has lost it.)

Of course, the main reason why we're watching this thing is for the robots. The scenes with them are always a treat, it's nice to see them rendered with great CGI. Optimus Prime as always is the most fleshed out and gives the audience a reason to watch these films. With his great quotes and Peter Cullen as his voice, he's truly great. But it's actually Soundwave's robot vulture Laserbeak who stole the show. Transformer purists probably won't like that they gave him the ability to talk, or his transformation ability. I for one thought they were both awesome inclusions. In G1, Laserbeak was always this silent thing Soundwave sent out to do missions, this film gave him character, his scenes were pretty horrifically awesome. Megatron is pretty much a chump the whole film, he doesn't appear that much, and is beaten up the whole time. His end is also pretty quick. Starscream in this film is one of the more accurate ones. My main bot Soundwave gets a nice little role here. It's nice to see him participating in the action, though he needed a heck lot more screen time.

One of my major criticisms with this film was the hardly-appeared Shockwave. This guy was marketed as the main villain, seen on the posters and everything. I remember the first major announcement, saying that Shockwave would be the villain. He appears near beginning of the film for a few seconds, then disappears until the invasion. He doesn't even get a big fight. Major disappointment there.

Sentinel Prime is portrayed as an ancient Prime would.......for the beginning. His betrayal and emergence as the main villain was unexpected, but didn't fit. As a Prime, he wasn't the Fallen, it just didn't make sense. The more logical thing would have been to him team up with Optimus and the Autobots against Shockwave and the invasion. So, not a big fan of that turn of events.

Things that don't make sense to me include the appearence of Carly. (Rosie Huntington Whiteley.) It doesn't make sense to me because Sam's past girlfriend is barely touched upon besides being heard that "she dumped him." The transition just isn't smooth. Like, if you were to watch the three films back-to-back, the third film would feel a bit out of place in that part. Also, the death of Ironhide was dramatic, but isn't touched upon or seen as a major factor. I mean, not even Optimus addressed it. Also, an annoyance, (big one for me) is that a scout like Bumblebee, could beat a communications officer like Soundwave? Absurd.

There are some really epic action pieces. Optimus's fight with Sentinel Prime being a highlight. The intro flashback to the war for cybertron was truly a treat and a taste of what a full blown prequel would look like. I'm sure the final forty minutes of this film looked amazing in the IMAX. The film's sountrack is decent enough, with two standout tunes. Could have been better though.

Overall, Dark of the Moon was a disappointment. It's far superior to Revenge of the Fallen, and maybe slightly better than the first. Once again, it suffers from too much unnecessary bad humor, bad performances, and too much screen time on the humans and not enough on the bots. Sam's parents could have been easily cut, they have ZERO significance in the film. To sum up the very cheesy scripting, here's a short quote. "I want to matter!" -Sam Witwicky, talking to Carly on why he feels like a helpless person. Ah, that line just might be the best, I'll never forget the ridiculousness of it. The only other line in movie history movie I know that is even more ridiculous was from the Asylum's Alien vs. Hunter. "Don't do! Don't do!" -The unmemorable main character from that Alien vs. Predator rip-off. Still, Dark of the Moon has some pretty amazing set pieces. Near the middle, with Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave, felt like an episode from G1! The action is by far the best in the trilogy, the final forty minutes being one of the most epic forty minutes in movie history.

6.5/10.