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UHD Review – Transformers: The Movie (Shout Factory)

Beyond good, beyond evil, beyond your wildest imagination

Director – Nelson Shin (My Little Pony, Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother)
Starring – Orson Welles (History of the World: Part 1, Shogun), Robert Stack (1941, Airplane!), and Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek, The Outer Limits)
Release Date – 1986
Rating – 4.5/5
UHD Release – 5/5

I was born in 1986 and lived through the end of the 80s and up through the 90s. I’m a product of the 90s but I’m very much obsessed with the 80s. When I was little, around 5 or so, my uncle introduced me to the cartoons he watched in the early 80s. Cartoons like He-Man and Transformers. He-Man is a phenomenal show but the Transformers really stuck with me. So much so that I’m still slightly obsessed with it to this day.

I was in middle school when I first saw Transformers: The Movie and it absolutely gutted me. Watching my favorite Transformers die was gutwrenching but I still loved the movie. I bought the DVD when it was released and still toss it in on occasion. When Shout Factory announced the UHD release of the movie I had to jump on it to revisit. I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send a copy my way. Thanks guys!

**Spoiler Alert** The film follows the Autobots who are waging a war with the evil Decepticons for control of the planet Cybertron. As their war wages on they find themselves outnumbers and outgunned. To make matters worse, a giant planet eating robot names Unicron has set it’s sight on Cybertron and the keeper of the Matrix of Leadership. The last surviving Autobots flee Cybertron to regroup while Unicron transformers dying Decepticons, including Megatron, into heralds of his own chaos to hunt down the Autobots. **Spoiler Alert**

Transformers: The Movie crushed the childhood of so many children when it was released. I was late to the party by sometime when I finally watched it but the impact was still the same. It’s a phenomenal film but that story line really hits viewers, especially Transformer fans, extremely hard. The 80’s was the decade for Saturday morning cartoons and a lot of those cartoons founds themselves landing several movies like My Little Ponys: The Movie, Masters of the Universe, and so on but Transformers: The Movie has everything fans of the cartoons of the time could ask for.

The voice acting in this is leagues above the animated series. We have Orson Welles voicing one of the biggest animated villains in cartoon history along with Leonard Nimoy knocking it out as Megatron’s upgrade Galvatron. Robert Stack tackles Prime’s replacement Ultra Magnus while Judd Nelson voices my favorite of the G2 Transformers, Hot Rod. We get some familiar voices returning for the original run of Transformers but the new additions are what sticks out the most.

The story for this one brings out a wide range of emotions. The point of the film was to transition American audiences from the first generation of Transformers and the toy line to the second generation. This G2 run included Unicron, Hot Rod, Galvatron, Kup, and others while ending fan favorites like Starscream, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, and so on. While this made sense from a marketing standpoint it was crushing to many fans as they watched their favorite characters die. Aside from that, the film is an absolute blast. We have so many new characters with memorable personalities along with a lot of action on a much bigger scale than the show.

Finally, the animation is better in some aspects than the show. This is the UHD release so you can expect to see some great imagery as colors pop and a lot of the more darker scenes are much more enjoyable with this release. I know the DVD release I’ve had for some time had some dark scenes that forced me to adjust the brightness a few times during my many viewings. Overall, Transformers: The Movie is one that has stuck with me for many years and still delivers. I wasn’t around during the film’s initial release but I can only imagine how hard it hit fans. This is a must own release from Shout Factory that I highly recommend you grab. It’s essential for fans of Transformers.

Special Features:
NEW 4K Transfer Of Original Film Elements
NEW Feature-Length Storyboards, Including Deleted, Alternate And Extended Sequences
NEW Fathom Events 30th Anniversary Featurette, Including Stan Bush’s Acoustic Performances Of “The Touch” And “Dare”
‘Til All Are One – A Comprehensive Documentary Looking Back At The Transformers: The Movie With Members Of The Cast And Crew, Including Story Consultant Flint Dille, Cast Members Gregg Berger, Susan Blu, Neil Ross, Dan Gilvezan, Singer/Songwriter Stan Bush, Composer Vince DiCola And Others!
Audio Commentary With Director Nelson Shin, Story Consultant Flint Dille And Star Susan Blu
Archival Featurettes – “The Death Of Optimus Prime,” “The Cast & Characters,” And “Transformers Q&A”
Animated Storyboards
Original Theatrical Trailers
TV Spots

Blacktooth

(Staff Writer) Lover of all things horror and metal. Also likes boobs and booze.

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