Transformers - Der Kampf um Cybertron

Well, I agree that the appeal of this movie is mostly to fans, but I was never a big fan of the series, and I loved it. It's definitely not mainstream, but for anyone who can appreciate robots voiced by some big names (even Orson Welles!) thrashing each other with a very cool, hugely 80s soundtrack, this is where it's at. The main plot, although not exactly inspired, is at least compelling. Any of the scenes with Unicron (Welles) or Galvatron (Leonard Nimoy) easily make the movie worth watching, and there are a few scenes that actually have heart. If you don't like 80s cartoon action, stay away. But if you'll always be a Megaman-playing, Ninja-Turtle-watching kid at heart, check it out.

Transformers the movie is a retro 80's cult classic that not only took the original series forward in the animation department but also took the story forward in to the future with the next generation of Transformers. The plot is a recreation of the King Arthur legend of a young man trying to find his way with out knowing that he is destine to rule his tribe one day. All the fan favorites are here with new ones to be cherishing, and the soundtrack to this movie is probably one of the best sounding albums to come out of the 80's. This movie still holds up as one of the best TV to Movie translations of all time, and it still kicks major league butt as well. The only drawback that it has that they did not make a sequel to this classic in animation.

a must own for all animation fans.

The Transformers: The Movie is a surprisingly cruel film that hides its desire to get rid of the old toys and market a new wave of Transformers toys in a briskly paced adventure that's one of the most 80s movies ever made and a lot of fun. A film that definitely doesn't play it safe and properly moves the story forward.

Peter Cullen will always be perfect as Optimus Prime, a stern but gentle presence who always feel like the ideal leader because of his kindness rather than his stoicism. Judd Nelson as Hot Rod is a worthy successor, he has the ideals and heart of Prime but the maturity isn't there yet, a perfect contrast.

The biggest downside to the film is the few comic relief characters who mostly consist of talking nonsense at a very fast pace, usually in a high pitched voice to make them even more grating. Eric Idle is probably the best and definitely the least annoying but still a real waste of talent on what could've been a genuine scene stealer.

Nelson Shin's direction is really good, it peaks early on with a first 30 mins that's one extended battle sequence with genuine stakes and the transformations are so satisfying and comprehensible. The animation looks good overall, maintaining the look of the show with a bigger budget but struggles in a few places.

The soundtrack is amazing, the most 80s songs ever created will just randomly play whenever action happens and it enhances rather than detracts. The Touch and Dare appear twice simply because they're the best and the Transformers theme itself is just beautiful.

In 2005, years after series 2, the Decepticons rule Cybertron. The Autobots are limited to bases on Cybertron's moons and Autobot City on Earth. Optimus Prime is planning a massive assault on Cybertron, but Megatron has similar ideas, and launches an attack on Autobot City, nearly decimating the entire Autbot force before retreating. Of course, this being a movie, things get complicated: Unicron, the devourer of worlds turns up, and is heading for Cybertron. Now the Autobots have to reclaim a relic from the Decepticons while defending Cybertron from a giant transforming planet that eats other planets.

Simple, no? Couldn't follow that? Stop reading now, this movie is only for fans.

Essentially, this a feature-length toy commercial. The story is cool. After all, its about giant robots that transform into cars. Awesome. The movie just follows these robots along as they spend most of the 84-minutes fighting. All the new characters are introduced by having an established character say to the new character "Hey! (new guy) Blow up that thing!" or, "Hey! (new guy), attack those bad guys!". Awesome. I love movies where fights aren't disrupted by petty things such as plot details or character introductions, it makes things much more fun.

The animation is generally better than it was in the TV series. Add to that an 80s soundtrack, consisting of only 80s pop and hair-metal. Awesome. Of course, not everyone is going to like the soundtrack. In fact, I'm willing the bet that a majority of people would loathe the soundtrack, but that is not important, because the soundtrack is awesome. Plus there are some really cool quotes. Yay.

9/10 - Only for fans (of either Transformers or 80s music)

I thought it was perfect for its time. I recently acquired a VHS and enjoyed the movie all over again. The over rocked song, extra dramatic statements, the whole bit sent chills up my spine when I first saw it in 1986 and again in 2004. The animation wasn't the best, even for then, but that was not important. At the time I was a teenager and I enjoyed every bit of it. Transformers was my favorite cartoon, right after Voltron (the lion one). I liked the new characters, it didn't matter. It was a perfect 80's over sentimental, over rock tracked, bravado of a male ego movie aimed at little boys, even down to the vehicles, Semis, race cars, dump trucks, construction vehicles. Nowadays it wouldn't wash, with the violence and destruction (Unicron) but those were the 80's. Now everything is sanitized.

They should, however do a 2004 or 05 version revisiting OptPrime and MegaT - Imagine Pixar or whoever doing this movie it would look serious. Dinobots forever, (I dislike with a passion that stupid animal transformer series where Optimus Primal has to twist his whole body to transform. He looks rather stupid.