Date: Friday, January 30th 2009 8:19pm CST
Categories: Site News,
Toy News,
Reviews
Posted by: Skowl |
Credit(s): Duke of Luns
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 72,190
The year 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the Transformers franchise. To celebrate this incredible milestone, Seibertron.com will look back at a quarter-century of great Transformers toys, bringing back into the limelight some brilliant figures that have fallen through the cracks over the years. Once a week, a fan (be it a member of the staff or a user on the site) will have the opportunity to write about one of their favourite "hidden gems" of the Transformers Universe, and have their review posted on the site's front page.
We hope this feature will be a great success, and that many of you will be encouraged to look back at the last 25 years of Transformers and perhaps take a worthwhile second-look at some real unsung classics of the Transformers universe.
___________________________________________________________________
Buried Treasure - Frostbite (Universe series - 2005)
By
Duke of Luns
In the early part of 2003, the Transformers Universe Line was born. The intent of this line was to give collectors and kids a second chance to buy molds of previously released figures, occasionally paying homage to a past character in Transformer lore. Unfortunately, the Transformers Universe line was plagued by a dearth of uninteresting repaints in hideous or gaudy colors that sometimes hampered an otherwise great figure, and the line met its demise in late 2005. Because of the lines early end, several interesting figures and redecos were left on the manufacturing room floor. Many of these figures would either not see release for several years, if at all, but fortunately for us
Frostbite was not among them.
Before I begin my review, I think a little back-story is in order. Firstly,
Frostbite is a Decepticon repaint of
Transmetal II Jawbreaker, a Maximal. Jawbreaker was one of the final molds from the Beast Wars line, and since he never appeared in the show or any comic (barring the Beat Wars Sourcebook) as of yet, he‘s often forgotten. Frostbite was part of the final general retail release Universe figures alongside
Longhorn and
Night Slash Cheetor, and he‘s now showing up in a review about forgotten Transformers. It’s probably just a coincidence, but you never know. Anyway, speaking of back-story,
Frostbite actually doesn’t have any, other than he’s an agent of Unicron. Considering just how cool the figure looks it’s a shame, because after all Transformers are living, functioning aliens from outer space, and it’s nice to put a personality to a face. But since this is a review of a toy and not a character, I suppose it really is a moot point. So in that respect, let’s start by examining
Frostbite MOC shall we?
Frostbite comes in normal Universe packaging, with original character at on the front of the bubble insert. In short, pretty lame packaging. However, it would be in err to judge a book by its cover, since what’s inside is more than meets the eye….
Upon opening the package, we are presented with a Transmetal II hyena….with white, purple, black and light blue fur. I guess that he’d be some kind of artic hyena, if one existed. Not exactly realistic or even “disguisable”, but considering some of the color schemes that adorned other figures in the line, it’s pretty pleasing to the eye. Anyway, the color scheme is completely original and isn’t really meant to homage any past characters, but if you squint real hard you might catch a passing resemblance to
G1 Carnivac.
Molding and detail wise, it’s everything you would expect from a Transmetal II, and that’s a good thing. Almost every part on the figure is unique, with few if any “mirrored” pieces. Robotic and fleshy parts flow in and out each other very well, and this figure demonstrates very well just how much the Beast Wars line had changed up to that point. I particularly love the robotic right eye.
Moving on, I think now would be a good time to “point” out just how evil and dangerous
Frostbite looks. From his toothy buck toothed mouth right to the bladed tip of his tail, this guy just screams “Beware of Dog“. Also of note the spinning saw blade located on his back. It functions perfectly in this mode, and doesn’t scrape against the back of the head or anything. Hard to believe this guy was redecod from a Maximal huh? Oh yeah, and no need to worry scratching or cutting yourself, since this is a children’s toy most of the bladed areas are molded in soft plastic and all have rounded tips, and this factor only enhances how cool his beast mode is. After all, do you really want to have a first aid kit on hand every time you play with him?
Articulation is pretty decent for a Beast Wars era figure. He has some slight head articulation with full 360 degree movement, and can even tilt up, down, and side to side slightly. His front legs can’t move side to side, the but can rotate a full 360 degrees, though they will hit the hind legs in the process. These legs also articulated at the knee, and slightly at the foot as well. The hind quarters fare both better and worse than the front. They have some slight side outward movement due to being on a ball joint, but I personally don’t think they look right when jutted out. Also due to molding issues the legs can’t rotate a full 360 degrees like the front legs can, but this doesn’t affect posing much. The legs are also articulated at the knee and at the back of the calf to simulate the “backwards knees” that most four legged animals possess. Like the front legs, his feet have some minor articulation. Finally, his tail has some slight up and down movement. Not much to write home about, but more than some earlier Beast Wars figures.
Unfortunately, this great and original beast mode is marred by a couple of technical difficulties. First of all, his head is not very well hidden, and can easily be seen underneath of him in this form. The second problem is that the front quarter of the figure doesn’t hold together very tightly. The front legs have a habit of becoming un-pegged, and the connection behind the saw blade area isn’t very secure either. However, these are very minor issues, and do little to spoil the awesomeness of his beast mode.
But hey, despite how awesome
Frostbite’s beast mode is, this is a Transformers review, so now would be a good time to settle into the metal.
After a relatively simple transformation we now have a very cool, very posable robot. Articulation wise, he has fifteen points, sixteen if you move the back piece backwards a tad, giving him waist rotation. His head can rotate a full 360 degrees, and his arms are ball jointed. His right forarm is on a hinge at the elbow, and can rotate a full 360 degrees here as well. The left arm has a ball joint on the forearm. His arm kibble/beast front legs still rotate in this mode was well, but I don’t count them on his articulation tally. The legs are ball jointed, with hinges on the knees, calves , and feet. Stability wise, I’ve found no problem with my figure. The ball joints have held pretty tightly over the years, and his feet are large enough to accommodate him in almost any position. He also has pretty even weight distribution, so he’s not heavy anywhere.
Sculpt wise,
Frostbite is one vicious looking Decepticon. His head sculpt is pretty standard Transformers fare, though I find it interesting that his cyborg looking eye is on the left side, whereas his beast mode cyborg eye is on the right. Maybe he has different vision depending on what mode he’s in? You’ll also notice that like his beast mode, the robot mode is not symmetrical, and there is a mish-mash of organic and cybernetic parts going on everywhere. Also, Frostbite looks good from practically any position, with the only kibble being on his arms, but this doesn’t detract from the figure in the least, and enhances his look slightly.
Yep,
Frostbite certainly looks ready willing to rip any opposing Autobots to shreds! Obviously to do this he would require a weapon, and as I’m sure you’ve noticed, Frostbite not only has one built in, but very capable handheld weapon as well.
Let’s examine his right arm first. Like several Beast Wars era figures, his beast mode head has become one of his hands. Since the head is on a joint, it can be positioned to look very natural, in nearly any position. Behind his head we come to the main gimmick of the figure, namely his spinning saw blade. Often times whenever an action figure has any kind of spinning action figure, it almost always inhibits the posabilty or look that said figure could have if that feature wasn’t present.
Frostbite actually bucks this trend, because not only does the saw blade look good in almost any position, it doesn’t affect posability or functionality in the least! The only trade off is that the forearm is a tad bulky, but it’s light enough that it doesn’t weigh the arm down, and the exposed lever and un-detailed areas doesn’t look too ghastly.
Now then. let’s talk about
Frostbite’s only accessory. What was once his tail has now become a very deadly and sharp looking sword, excellently molded and painted. It’s molded in soft plastic, so there won’t be any poked fingers, and is light enough to be held high over his head should you wish to pose him that way. The sword is also very….big. Gee, with a weapon that size, ya think he might be compensating for something? Juvenile jokes aside,
Frostbite is actually a head or so shorter than most deluxe sized Transformers, but that doesn’t make him any less deadly in this reviewer’s opinion.
So in closing,
Frostbite is one excellent looking and often overlooked Transformer, and was certainly a great figure that came at end the original ill-fated Universe line, despite not paying direct homage to any particular past character. Hopefully when the Universe 2.0 line returns after the Movie we’ll see some more interesting original characters that can make their own legacy.
Links:
Visit the Frostbite gallery
by clicking here
Visit the Transmetal II Jawbreaker gallery
by clicking here
...Or find your own buried treasures by visiting all the toy galleries
here!
* If you would like to write a review for our "Buried Treasures" feature, please send a private message to
Skowl on the Seibertron.com forums!
Previous Buried Treasure Reviews:
Cannonball by Skowl
Snapdragon by Jeep
Cybertron Downshift by Chuckdawg1999
Date: Friday, January 23rd 2009 5:39pm CST
Categories: Toy News,
Reviews,
Site Articles
Posted by: Skowl |
Credit(s): Chuckdawg1999
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 52,387
The year 2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the Transformers franchise. To celebrate this incredible milestone, Seibertron.com will look back at a quarter-century of great Transformers toys, bringing back into the limelight some brilliant figures that have fallen through the cracks over the years. Once a week, a fan (be it a member of the staff or a user on the site) will have the opportunity to write about one of their favourite "hidden gems" of the Transformers Universe, and have their review posted on the site's front page.
We hope this feature will be a great success, and that many of you will be encouraged to look back at the last 25 years of Transformers and perhaps take a worthwhile second-look at some real unsung classics of the Transformers universe.
___________________________________________________________________
Buried Treasure - Downshift (Cybertron series - 2006)
by
Chuckdawg1999
Thinking back to the period of time before Cybertron hit I remember being quite anxious. Having been generally disappointed by the lackluster Energon line and accompanying cartoon I was starting to believe that perhaps the newer lines of Transformers were best left to those younger than I. Thankfully I was wrong and the first prototype shots of the new figures assured me that I was in store for something worthwhile. At the time I was co-writing the Cybertronian Enquirer with “Professor” Mike Kaye, he and I were on different sides of the debate of streamlined vs. boxy robot design. While he liked what he saw of Cybertron he wasn’t as excited as I was. As the line progressed Cybertron became my favorite line of the Unicron Trilogy while the good professor lamented the lack of articulation. I would constantly recommend figures to Mike saying this one or that one was quite good or had a great Cyber-key gimmick, but it took a exceptionally special figure to bring the professor and I to a common ground. That figure was
Downshift.
Downshift’s vehicle mode looks like it was taken directly from a 60’s Steve McQueen movie. I can picture in my mind some hard-nosed PI flying over a hill on the streets of San Francisco his muscle car wearing the scars of hard use. I was slightly disappointed that
Downshift’s bio revealed that he wasn’t some sort of Cybertronian PI. Sure we have Nightbeat but besides Jim Rockford we had Thomas Magnum so a second TF PI would’ve been ok with me. While green and black are the predominant colors for
Downshift, and look quite nice I must say, there is some silver used for his bumpers, grill, and engine. Smoked orange plastic is used for the windows and headlights. This car just looks cool.
Downshift comes with two spring-loaded rocket launchers that can be mounted on the figure in a few ways; in vehicle mode they can be pegged into each door giving the car an armored vehicle look. Imagine driving through rush hour traffic with those babies by your side. I would’ve liked it if Hasbro found a way to incorporate the launchers into the design of the car giving it a more streamlined look but that’s small potatoes and doesn’t hurt the figure at all.
Thinking back if there was one universal complaint about the Cybertron figures it was that sometimes the slots for the cyber-keys didn’t blend in as well as one would’ve liked into the vehicle or robot mode.
Downshift is one of if not the only figure where that isn’t a problem. There is a small hatch that when closed is flush with the rear window. Once the key is inserted Downshift’s front grill springs open becoming some sort of capture claw. In this mode Downshift begins to remind me of a MASK era vehicle.
Transformation is intuitive and a joy for your hands. In robot mode you’ll notice that like his Energon counterpart Downshift’s head is a nod to
G1 Wheeljack. Another nod to the old ‘jack is the ability to attach the rocket launchers onto
Downshift’s shoulders as well as being able to hold them as traditional guns. I prefer the one on, one off look as it gives him a real rugged badass look.
While the professor thought
Downshift was going to be another brick-fest Transformer even he was pleasantly surprised by Downshift’s extensive articulation. While I don’t look to be able to put my figures in various yoga poses I do enjoy the occasional run-and-gun stance.
When first released
Downshift was a touch under the radar due to his brief appearance in the cartoon which is a shame since I feel his character, with the proper development, could’ve been a significant part of the series. While I can’t comment on any other use of the mold I can tell you that Cybertron
Downshift is a solid investment and a great figure to fool around with. Grab him now before the Cybertron figures really shoot up in value. Thanks for reading.
Links:
Visit the Downshift gallery
by clicking here
...Or find your own buried treasures by visiting all the toy galleries
here!
* If you would like to write a review for our "Buried Treasures" feature, please send a private message to
Skowl on the Seibertron.com forums!
Previous Buried Treasure Reviews:
Cannonball by Skowl
Snapdragon by Jeep
Date: Monday, June 4th 2007 9:19pm CDT
Categories: Cartoon News,
Movie Related News,
Reviews,
Site Articles
Posted by: Hotrod |
Credit(s): Chris McFeely
Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 182,576
Our own Chris McFeely has stopped by. He has posted a review of Metrodome's THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – ULTIMATE EDITION DVD. Here is his review:
THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE – ULTIMATE EDITION
Dir: Nelson Shin
Cert: PG
Starring: Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, Lionel Stander, Eric Idle, Orson Welles, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker
FEATURE
Yeah. It’s the movie. You know it, I know it. That’s not what we’re here for. Let’s move on.
VIDEO
THIS is what we’re here for.
This is Metrodome’s second shot at properly releasing the movie – leaving aside cheapie budget versions that have nothing about them worth speaking of, their previous effort was “Transformers: The Movie – Reconstructed,” which aimed to show every millimetre of footage that was animated by peeling aside the edges of the screen to reveal it. This resulted in a rather misjudged “curtained” image which was fine for widescreen-television owners, but shafted those with regular-size sets. Additionally, the image was taken from the original negative, but was inadvertently converted to NTSC before being converted to PAL, resulting in a badly interlaced image. The colour balance of the thing was all over the place, and the picture was very soft – I recall speaking fairly well of it when it came out, but time has opened my eyes to its flaws.
This “Ultimate Edition” of the film takes it cue from Sony’s 20th Anniversary release last year, which featured a newly-remastered widescreen version of the film, to replicate its original theatrical presentation. This time, Metrodome have succeeded in making a PAL transfer directly from the negative, resulting in smooth video (which, due to PAL speedup, runs a few minutes faster than viewers will be used to, and while the faster speed is not noticeable to my eyes or ears, the quality it brings with it is) that is sharper in Sony’s, with colours that I would describe as... “cooler,” but for the most part, more “correct” to my eyes. Most notably, of course, Hot Rod is no longer the bubblegum-pink of Sony’s version.
All I can do is echo the sentiments of all the other professional reviews that have compared the two, and say that this is the best that the movie has ever looked on DVD.
AUDIO
The audio for the Reconstructed DVD was also a bodge-job, thanks to Magno Sound, who were responsible for adding all those extra noises to the series DVD boxsets (from both Rhino and Metrodome), and did it again for the movie – on both the 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks. For the Ultimate Edition, the Reconstructed audio was dissected with a fine-toothed comb, and while not every sound could be removed (otherwise it, uh, wouldn’t be 5.1), the most offensive, inappropriate offenders have been ganked the hell out of there. This includes, but is not limited to, those insufferable, overbearing “sizzling whipcracks” that were all over the place in the series, and the pop-gun banging of Prime’s gun. It’s still not QUITE perfect, mind you, because the levels seem not to have been modified following the removal of these sounds – consequently, the actual sound of Prime’s gun is very low.
There is, however, a completely unmolested 2.0 track to enjoy, with nary an extra zip or zap in sight. That’s how I’ll be watching it!
PACKAGING AND PACK-INS
The movie is available in both a single-disc and a two-disc version.
The single disc is packaged in a standard DVD case, with a rather artsy cover image that’s a paintbrushed version of the image of Optimus Prime that Andrew Wildman drew for the Season 1 box set. This version – I don’t have it, so I’m not 100% on this – does not have any extra features beyond the remastered picture and the two audio tracks. It is simply labelled as a “special edition.”
The two-disc set is the “Ultimate Edition.” It consists of a metal case, decorated with the above-mentioned illustration, which opens to reveal a standard DVD case with a different sleeve, bearing the original UK movie poster artwork. This is awesome. It’s nothing against Don Figueroa, but when I look at the Sony set, or the Australian release that he also provided a cover for, it just looks *wrong* to me to have this stylized, modern artwork appearing on the cover of a release of a twenty-year-old film. I’ve always preferred the use of the original poster artwork, be it US or UK, for releases of the movie, and this tin-and-case combo balances new and classic art in just the right way to keep me merry.
Depending on where you buy the two-disc set, there could be one of several different bonuses in store for you when you open the case. Buying it from Play.Com will net you a set of three postcards commemorating the different movie artwork – one displays the US poster, the second the UK poster, and the third the Ultimate Edition cover art. Snag it from HMV, and you’ll find that the sleeve is reversible, with the US artwork on the other side. Pick it up from Virgin, and there’s a set of art cards waiting for you, displaying various images from the film. Woolworths and Toys R US include posters with their versions, but I’ve not seen these, so I don’t know what they’re of.
The set comes with a sixteen-page booklet written by me (I assume this isn’t included with the single-disc version). It serves as an overview of the movie and the DVD, beginning with a personal introduction, then a discussion of the remastering of the video and audio, and a four page “essay” on the making of the movie, discussing the production, writing, animation, actors, soundtrack and distribution. After this, there’s a section on where the movie falls in the chronology of the series, summarising each of the seasons, ending with an explanation of what Scramble City is (it’s included as an extra feature), and thanks from me and Metrodome to various good chaps. In general, as with the commentary discussed below, my aim with the booklet was to put the information across in a clear and descriptive manner and without “familiarity,” if you know what I mean, so that newbies and nostalgics inspired to buy by the live-action movie can read it and understand it without being baffled by terminology or the tendency to take certain things as read, as hardcore fans do, while at the same time, discussing topics and trivia that not even regular online contributors may be aware of.
I also wrote a large selection of actor biographies/filmographies, but there wasn’t room in the booklet for them. I’m told they might appear on the website –
www.transformersdvd.com – at some point.
MENUS
After the copyright stuff at the start of the disc, the traditional Metrodome logo has been replaced with a Transformers logo, rendered like the live-action movie logo, as if it were tarnished metal (the same effect is employed on the DVD cover), which then “transforms”, like the logo in the LAM trailer, into the word “Metrodome.” This is cute. I like it. :)
The menus themselves are fairly simply affairs with clips of the movie running in the centre, and a lot of geometric shapes for buttons that are not *entirely* intuitive. They’re not stunningly attractive, but they are functional, and while not as intricate or impressive and Sony’s shifting design, I’ll take actual footage of the movie over Sony’s use of purse-grabbing Dreamwave art for reasons very similar to those discussed above over the cover.
EXTRAS
The meat and potatoes of it all.
DISC 1
This disc includes a feature-length audio commentary by me. It’s a pretty breathless experience, as I just had *so* much stuff laid out in my notes in front of me that I didn’t have time to let up anywhere. No slight against those that participated in the Sony commentary track, but I felt that it fell into the trap I discussed above – the tendency to be very “familiar”, talking not just about the movie, but Transformers as a whole, as if all the listeners are automatically informed about all of it, and will know what “Diaclone” is, and other such things that are not the province of Joe Public, with the presence of multiple commentators preventing them from dwelling on any one topic long enough to get really specific about it. I go out of my way to begin the whole affair by summarising the creation of the Transformers toyline, going through G.I. Joe, Henshin Cyborg, Microman, Diaclone and MicroChange, so that viewers will understand what I’m talking about when I refer to them, and I always make sure to clarify what characters I’m talking about by saying something like “Dirge, the blue cone-headed jet,” given how few of them are actually named in the film. It’s a very concentrated effort to make the commentary open to everyone, to not confuse those who aren’t as informed as fans on message boards, but at the same time, to include lots of obscure facts, trivia and anecdotes that will ensure that even informed fans get something out of it.
At least, uh, I hope. /: )
Next on the list is a familiar feature from the Reconstructed list of extras – a compare-and-contrast of the differences between the US and UK versions, offering clips of the opening, closing and Spike’s expletive. Twelve TV spots for the movie follow (in contrast to Sony’s eight), alongside the US theatrical trailer and the Japanese “trade trailer” with Diaclone Magnus. Both Sony and Metrodome include the “final title check” and “cinex check” reels, the former featuring the Superman-style flying text cast credits, and the latter featuring several animation effects, including a “clean open” version of Laserbeak’s approach to Cybertron, without text.
After that, there are a selection of character biographies – these appeared previously on the Reconstructed disc, and actually come from the Australian release, but whereas Reconstructed just literally cropped the screens of text and pasted them in, background and all, this version reproduces the text with a new design. Profiles included are for Arcee, Blurr, Hot Rod, Kup, Springer, Ultra Magnus, Brawn, Ironhide, Optimus Prime, Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Windcharger, Cyclonus, Galvatron, Scourge, Bombshell, Kickback, Megatron, Shrapnel, Skywarp, Starscream, Thundercracker and Unicron. The presence of so many unimportant characters, only included to give a sort of “book of the dead” side to the profiles, is sort of bothersome when characters like Wreck-Gar, Grimlock and Perceptor go unmentioned, as is the sweeping statement that Skywarp unequivocally became Cyclonus, or the *ridiculous* notion that one of Galvatron’s weaknesses is a “reliance on Unicron,” but overall, they’re as nice as they ever were.
The final extra on this disc is a rather nifty little trailer that Metrodome created to promote this DVD release.
DISC 2
As I haven’t mentioned it before, this would be a good time to point out that this disc features the original, fullscreen version of the film. It is an unremastered version, the same version included on those budget releases you can pick up for £2 in any store, hence it is entirely unremarkable – kinda dark, but watchable anyway, and certainly nicer looking that the fullscreen version on the Sony disc, where the colours are all *over* the place. What is notable is that is it the UK version of the film, with the opening text crawl, no swear and Caroli’s closing narration, thereby making both versions of the movie available in one set. Nice!
After this, the disc includes a 25-minute interview featurette with story consultant Flint Dille, then a 20-minute video of Peter Cullen’s Q&A session from… I don’t know what convention this is from, I’m afraid, but the video comes courtesy of Evantainment.Com. Both men talk about their history in the industry and their involvement in Transformers, coming across as likeable blokes, with Cullen getting emotional in a few spots.
The next feature is Scramble City, the big draw of which is that – unlike Sony’s version – it contains the original Japanese audio and subtitles, as well as a new commentary from me. The subs, it must be said, are “hard” subs, permanently on-screen, which cannot be turned off – I believe this is a rip of that bootleg that goes about. The subs are functional, conveying the action and intent decently, and thankfully, were already translated into English terminology, talkin’ about Optimus Prime, Autobots, Decepticons, etc, rather than Convoy, Cybertrons and Destrons. I don’t think they use an apostrophe correctly in all 30 minutes, though. VERY disappointingly, however, something has gone horribly wrong with the video. The individual disc I received of the episode during production of the DVD was of the same sort of quality as the version included on Sony’s – however, somewhere between that disc and the final release, the video has become washed out and greenish throughout, looking like a bad VHS dump. I mean, yeeeeah, audio and subs, but… what *happened*? I’m playing detective on this one right now…
Next on the list is the “Alternative and Deleted Footage” also seen on Sony’s disc – a lot of stunningly unremarkable footage that is either missing some luminous effects or small overlays, or not immediately distinguishable from the finished affair, and then the sole second or two of ACTUAL deleted footage that has been uncovered. This has no audio, so I provide some colour commentary, as Paul Hitchens did on the Sony disc... there is not a lot to say, so I try to spice it up by talking about how the luminous effects are created and such things.
The first theatrical trailer for the live-action movie is also included here, as opposed to the Mars Rover teaser on the Sony disc. After that, the animated storyboards feature on the Sony disc, courtesy of Paul Hitchens, put in an appearance here, with storyboard stills of Hot Rod and Daniel’s fishing sequence, the Decepticon attack on Autobot City and Optimus Prime and Megatron’s battle set to the audio of the finished sequences, as well as one “deleted scene,” when Magnus, Tracks, Sideswipe and Red Alert attack Devastator, and Red buys it. Also featured on the disc are the original movie script (the ACTUAL original script, featuring all the wacky stuff that didn’t get into the finished movie, not the transcript included on Reconstructed), and the “5.1 breakdown” I made singling out all the added noises from the Reconstructed audio. Beware of snideness!
OVERALL
The disc offers a superior video presentation to Sony’s, so that is a major plus to it. Beyond that, it really comes down to a battle of the extra features, and what is present and what is not. Metrodome’s version lacks some extras that Sony has, due to the dissolution of Sony BGM making their acquisition challenging, but features some of their own unique extras which Sony did not have. For starters, the Flint Dille, Nelson Shin and Susan Blu commentary is absent, as are the collection of featurettes with that trio, Jay Bacal and Tom Griffin – however, Dille was the only real reason to listen to the commentary, and he covers the same basic stuff in his interview (unique to Metrodome’s version), while the inclusion of a Peter Cullen segment is a worthy substitute for any featurette, given his complete absence from the Sony disc (also, I’m not afraid to mention that I culled a bunch of stuff out of the featurettes for use in the commentary, so a chunk of what was talked about in there is already covered on the set in some way). Sony also included some toy commercials and a gallery of production art that are not here, but Metrodome features the original script, more TV spots, audio and subs for Scramble City and two different versions of the movie. I don’t really think that any one selection of extras is particular better than the other – Sony has some good things Metrodome don’t, Metrodome has some good things Sony don’t. This one’s a judgement call for all y’all out there, but if you’re basing it on the video, then Metrodome wins.
Date: Monday, February 19th 2007 9:26pm CST
Categories: Site News,
Movie Related News,
Reviews,
Site Articles,
Collector's Club News
Posted by: Seibertron Discuss This Topic · Permanent Link
Views: 334,918
Written by Ryan Yzquierdo
February 13th, 2007
Ok, where to begin? As many of you know, I've been a pretty big naysayer about a variety of issues regarding the upcoming Transformers Movie. Most of my concerns have revolved around the designs of the robots. While I still think the look of Megatron and Starscream is pretty bad, other characters such as Blackout, Barricade and Bumblebee are saving my overall opinion. The leaked script that I read during August 2006 is actually a big part of what started to turn me around about the movie. While I think it's great that Transformers "transform", I've always been more interested in the story behind the Autobots and the Decepticons. I found the script interesting, entertaining, compelling, emotional and true to an alien invasion of Transformers robots coming to Earth. While I found the script up to par, I still had my reservations about the movie.
Until tonight.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
Event Introduction
Let me rewind by about 6 hours. Tonight was the big event that truly brought me from Chicago to a fun-filled weekend in New York that just happened to intentionally coincide with Toy Fair 2007. The event was located at the Walter Reade Theatre on 165 W 65th St in New York city, on the northside of Manhattan and east of Central Park (near WABC's studios). The doors to the event opened at 5:45.
Upon entrance to the event, I had begun to immediately feel underdressed in my black pants and button up shirt. It had become obvious very quickly that the event wasn't designed to cater to guys who run major Transformers fan websites. Regardless that I was missing the attire that most were wearing, I quickly saw some familiar faces from Hasbro, Hunter PR and, of course, several key people within the Transformers hobby.
The walls of the front rooms to the theatre were decorated with various Transformers Movie posters, most of which prominently featured the Autobot and Decepticon symbols. The cardboard cutouts of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee were near the place where we checked in our coats. The 4 primary products featured at Toy Fair (Optimus Prime helmet, arm blaster, Leader class figure and Ultimate Bumblebee) were also on display. I expressed to Aaron Archer that I thought the Bumblebee figure was excellent. He seemed to be really proud of the figure. I got the same sense from Brian Goldner during a brief conversation with him at Hasbro's Toy Fair event this past Saturday.
The staff of theatre people operating the theatre were all dressed in black Autobot and Decepticon t-shirts. It was pretty cool to see all of these people wearing Transformers shirts ... and we weren't even at a BotCon or comic book convention. The staff of people handing out drinks had black Autobot and Decepticon napkins which several of us kept as souveniers.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
After a few drinks, we started moving into the theatre to view the presentation. I sat next to Tony Bacala (tfw2005.com) and Rick Alvarez, one row above Brian Savage and one row below Kevin and Jason Lukis (unicron.com). Ben Yee (bwtf.com) was there also but I'm not sure where he sat at the event. I'm assuming that most of the people who were in the theatre were executives of various companies or worked for Hasbro, Hunter PR, Paramount, Dreamworks or various retail chains (the CEO of Toys R Us was apparently there).
Brian Goldner (Hasbro - CEO) took the stage once everyone was in the theatre. He made several comments about the Transformers franchise before making some introductions. I missed the name of one of the people who were on the stage. Tom DeSanto was present, but not on the stage. Brian Goldner was joined by Adam Goodman (Dreamworks), Wayne (didn't catch his last name) and, of course, Michael Bay (Director). Here are some of the things that were said about the Transformers Movie prior to playing the 4 different scenes:
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
- This movie will be "Revolutionary" in the same sense of the Matrix trilogy starring Keanu Reeves from Warner Brothers.
- I wrote down in my notes: "Robots in Disguise". If I recall correctly, Brian Goldner was talking about how the movie really plays up the aspect of the Transformers being "robots in disguise." While this might not seem like an important part to some of you, it really is the key idea behind the Transformers. The ability to infiltrate society as everyday objects, cars and planes is what makes the Transformers so unique.
- [You will be] blown away.
- Transformers is a 3 billion dollar brand behind Star Wars and G.I.Joe. I was surprised to hear that Transformers makes less money than G.I.Joe but this might have something to do with Hasbro's brand sharing with Takara Tomy.
- The Transformers Movie is one of the few original franchise flicks that will be released in 2007. Mentioned other franchise films such as Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man and several others.
- For Dreamworks, this movie will be bigger than War of the Worlds and Mission Impossible 3 (both movies starred Tom Cruise). The Transformers Movie will be a worldwide event.
- Shia Lebeouf (Sam Witwicky) was compared to a "young Tom Hanks".
- The scenes that were previewed were "most ready to show but not finished." This meant that there was temporary sound, music and animation still in place in the scenes that we saw.
- Mentioned that this movie harkens back to the fun days of Steven Spielberg's Back To The Future and other Amblien movies from the 1980s.
- Really stressed that Steven Spielberg is a really big fan of the Transformers and was familiar with the comics and toys from when his kids were into the Transformers during the 80s. For those of you who saw Spielberg's message on the TransformersLive.com website about 1.5 to 2 years ago, it seemed like this was a rehash of things that Spielberg himself said in that video clip.
- Michael Bay stated that this has been a really fun movie to work on. He really seemed to have enjoyed his time with this movie. He told us some about the origin of him getting involved with the movie. His initial reaction was that he didn't want to be involved with a toy movie to "how can I find out more about this franchise" in about 30 seconds.
- I read in some of the existing reviews of this event that people quoted Bay as saying it took 38 hours to render 1 frame of film. I wrote in my notes that it was 38 hours to render 1 second of film. I don't know if I misheard or what, but that's what was in my notes. I'm sure we'll find out clarification at a later date.
- I think it was Bay who said that the movie was "mind blowing." It was also said that the film was ILM's "heaviest digital effects ever." Considering their work on Star Wars, I find this hard to believe but after the full sophisticated transformation of Blackout, I could see how it was more complex than just rendering a shell of a ship (for example).
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
Descriptions of Movie Scenes
There were a total of 4 scenes previewed at the event. If you do not want to read any spoilers, please do not read any futher. Here are my notes and thoughts on the scenes that were previewed:
- Qatar 1: Blackout Transforms and Attacks!
- The tension that builds up to Blackout's transformation (not to mention my anticipation) was excellent. The execution of this entire scene was very well done.
- I noticed the Hewlett Packard logo on a couple of products in this scene. Knowing how movies work these days, I'm sure this was NOT a coincidence. I think we can add Hewlett Packard (HP) to the list of official movies sponsors alongside Pepsi and Burger King.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
- Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas) and Tyrese Gibson (Four Brothers, 2 Fast 2 Furious) were both prominently featured in this scene. Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break, Mr 3000) was also in this scene. It was a running joke during his scenes that he was always speaking Spanish.
- Captain Lennox (Josh Duhamel) speaks with his wife over a video phone. His wife recently had a baby during Duhamel's tour of duty. There's some fun cutesy comments shared between the couple. I'm assuming the video connection was lost during the couple's conversation thanks to Blackout's EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) deployment.
- During Blackout's transformation, the original transformation was used briefly during one part of his transformation. I am assuming this is one of the temporary sounds that were mentioned in the introduction. It sounded out of place and much louder than the other transformation sounds. As much as I love the old school transofrmation sound, I would prefer it to be more realistic ... kind of like a cross between the "whirring" sound from Beast Wars when the Maximals and Predacons transformed. The actual sound of the transformation that was used throughout the rest of Blackout's transformation sounded more like I would expect: metal moving against metal, parts moving and shifting.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
- Blackout's transformation was more complex than I would have imagined. This was a big area of concern for me originally. I was worried that the robots were going to have parts that "morphed." I was reassured by seeing an actual Blackout truly "transform" from a helicopter to a robot. I couldn't believe the complexity of his transformation on screen. It was unbelievable and much longer than I was expecting. If I recall correctly, Blackout is the first Transformer to transform in the movie. It was everything I could have hoped to see a helicopter transform for the first time on the big screen. It was absolutely amazing and even gave me chills while I saw this incredible event happen.
- When Scorponok "ejected" from Blackout's helicopter mode, there was a round of applause.
- Sam's "first" encounter with Mikeala
- Sam and Mikeala at the Witwickys' house
- I believe all 5 Autobots were in this scene (Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide and Jazz) who took
Spike (Sam, yes, his name is "Sam" in this movie. I hope he becomes codenamed "Spike" at some point.) and Mikeala to the Witwickys' house. - Sam was looking for his grandfather's glasses (Archibald Witwicky is his grandfather's name) which have the code from the AllSpark encoded onto the glasses if I remember the script correctly.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
- While Sam was desperately searching his room for the pair of glasses, Optimus Prime lifts Mikeala up to Sam's window with the palm of his hand.
- Sam tells Mikeala that he can't find the glasses. They argue back and forth about who should go tell the alien robots that they can't find what they're looking for.
- Optimus Prime does have a mouth in this scene. While I can't really remember what his mouth looked like in this scene, it reminded me of a really detailed version of Masterpiece Convoy / Optimus Prime's mouth when you removed the toy's face shield. It was very alien looking just like the rest of the Transformers faces. It will take some time getting used to it though I imagine Optimus Prime will mostly have the face shield based on all of the marketing pieces that I've seen so far. I didn't really like it but I knew it was going to happen. It's better for live film (the same reason why Cybertron Optimus Prime and Beast Wars Optimus Primal had mouths.
- There was only one line that I caught as sounding like Peter Cullen. It honestly sounded like a filler voice to me during the scene but everyone I asked about it said that it was indeed Cullen. Apparently, Cullen was talking quietly or whispering to keep quiet during this scene so that could be part of why it didn't sound like the Optimus Prime that I'm used to hearing. Generally, Optimus Prime is "commanding" the Autobots, which he definitely wasn't doing in this scene.
- I especially liked the scene where Sam was attempting to keep the Autobots quiet. The mute Bumblebee acknowledged Sam's request by holding his index finger up to his face.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
- It was pretty humorous when the Autobots transformed into car mode to "hide". This is a great example of the Autobots not always being able to pull off being "robots in disguise" which I appreciated as a fan. Sam commented on how transforming into car mode while still on the lawn wasn't "hiding". It was a pretty humorous scene that the audience seemed to genuinely enjoy.
- The Autobots seemed very "real", which I guess is the main objective. This is one of the things that really seemed to gain my interest and trust in what the movie folks are doing with the Transformers property. If they can convince me, one of the most die-hard Transformers fans ever, then I think they've done their job regardless if I feel like the robots could've benefited from better designs in robot mode.
- One of the Autobots almost step's on the Witwicky's Chihauhau. The dog retaliates by peeing on Ironhide's foot. The Autobot turns his weapon on the dog which causes Sam to flip out.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
- Sector Seven, lead by John Turturro's character, arrives at the Witwicky's house who want to take Sam with them once they find out he's covered with "isotopes" (??? can't remember if that was the term used) from being around the Transformers. Determine he's had physical contact with them. Sam's father, Ron, tries to prevent them from taking Sam with them. From reading the script, I can tell you that Ron and his wife (can't remember her name offhand) were unsuccessful in their attempt.
- Someone refers to the Witwicky's dog as a Taco Bell dog ... I think it was one of the Sector Seven guys.
- Ratchet trips over some power lines while trying to leave the scene quietly so as not to alert Sector Seven. Ratchet's line that he says after falling was originally supposed to be a line Jazz says from the February 2006 script.
- The Transformers seemed very real and despite some of their odd faces, they seemed to be able to express emotions just fine. Kudos to ILM for being able to pull that off with these designs.
- Qatar 2: Scorponok Attacks!
- This scene was shown as an encore, thanks to Brian Goldner.
- There's a humorous scene during Scorponok's attack of Captain Lennox trying to get a Middle-Eastern Operator to connect him to the Pentagon. Lennox obtained the phone from a civilian. The operator was trying to get Captain Lennox to use a credit card number when he obviously didn't have access to one during the middle of a battle.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
- Jon Voight appears briefly during this scene at the Pentagon.
- While Scorponok was one of my least favorite characters from the movie roster, I have to admit that watching him "slither" mechanically in and out of the desert sand was pretty damn cool. Scorponok is really little more than a plot device to show off a pretty cool desert battle scene but it appears they succeeded in coming up with a compelling action sequence that is sure to please audiences.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
- The humans attack Scorponok with an onslaught of weapons. The humans are eventually successful in forcing Scorponok to retreat. Part of Scorponok is left behind which will be used as a plot device during a later scene in the movie.
- For whatever reason, I don't remember as much about this scene as I do the others. It seems like it was pretty action intense. It was just an all-around incredible action sequence.
My Thoughts on the Sneak Peak
After the event, a group of us were gathered near the coat check toward the front of the building. I talked to Paula Walsh (Hasbro's Public Relations Director) for a little bit. Brian Goldner joined the group to ask a few of us what we thought. I said "Remember that little Transformers 101 stunt from my website?" everyone kind of chuckles nervously, not sure where I'm going with that comment. "Let's just say that tonight was Transformers 102 and it was MY turn to get schooled." Everyone in the group laughed and I felt a lot better after acknowledging the Transformers 101 thing directly to Brian. No hard feelings, right? ;)
The Transformers Movie reminds me most of Independence Day (ID4). It doesn't seem to have the stupid slapstick humor that I didn't find appealing in Armageddon but it does retain some of the classic humor that Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum demonstrated in Indepence Day as well as Bruce Willis and Ben Afleck in Michael Bay's Armaggedon. It's not Steve Buscemi type humor.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
The action seems very similar to Indepence Day (ID4 - Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum). ID4 is one of my all-time favorite movies so I'm pretty pleased with this direction. The scenes were absolutely incredible, the transformation of Blackout was fascinating and spectacular, and the mood was exactly what I was hoping for in the movie. I still think some of the robot designs could have used some improvements to be more reminiscent of the original characters but it's too late for that now. From what I've seen and from the version of the script that I've read, I think ILM has done a top notch job with bringing Transformers to life. The robots are designed to look like REAL Transformers, not computer animated or cell animated or toys for that matter. I think this goal was accomplished.
I've read that a few people out there were questioning if Hasbro/Paramount/Dreamworks "bought out" some of the outspoken people such as myself who attended this event. If getting to see a sneak peak of the movie so that I can share my thoughts with all of the fans of my website constitutes as being "bought out", then that's what happened. I think their main objective was to give some key people in the Transformers hobby a taste of what Hasbro/Paramount/Dreamworks have been seeing so that we could share that with you. It's a little different to hear the opinion of a die-hard fan like myself and not from someone who's officially involved with the movie. I saw it. I got it. It's going to be a spectacular summer blockbuster that most of us should enjoy. Ben Yee (bwtf.com), Kevin Lukis (unicron.com), Jason Lukis (unicron.com), Rick Alvarez (Transformers Collector's Club, etc), Tony Bacala (tfw2005.com) and myself all seemed to genuinely enjoy the movie. If I can look past some of the robot designs that I don't really like and was able to thoroughly enjoy myself while I watched the scenes that I saw, then I'm pretty confident that most of you will be able to enjoy the movie as well.
Click here to view screen captures from the trailer ...
The Transformers Movie is going to be a very solid action flick that audiences worldwide will thoroughly enjoy. If you're a fan that is really against this movie, all that I ask is that you see the movie at least once with an open mind. You know the movie is going to be different. If you can accept the Transformers Movie for what it is, I'm pretty confident that you'll find yourself having a great time with the rest of the audience.
Stay tuned to Seibertron.com for all of the latest news regarding the Transformers Movie. I'll see you in theatres starting July 4th, 2007!
Sincerely,
Ryan Yzquierdo
Seibertron.com
Other Links
Transformers Movie - Official WebsiteTransformers Movie News on Seibertron.comTransformers Movie Toy GalleriesTransformers Movie Trailer Screen CapturesUnicron.com's Preview ReviewBen Yee's Preview Reviewtfw2005.com's Preview ReviewTFormers.com's Preview Review
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