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The Transformers – The Movie (1986)

Director: Nelson Shin

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From Time Out London

A spin-off from the ’80s promotional cartoon series about alien robots who can transform into earthly vehicles (and weapons, and animals, and electrical goods…), this feature-length battle royale drops you in at the deep end: unless you have perfect recall of the TV show, the opening half-hour is a bewildering barrage of unfamiliar characters and ongoing plot set against an unceasing stream of shoot-outs and explosions. No sooner have the dastardly Decepticons laid waste to the heroic Autobots’ home base than a planet-gobbling colossus – voiced, sadly, by Orson Welles – threatens the whole lot of them. From here the film actually unfolds in a reasonably engaging manner; one dramatically sophisticated sequence contrasting the goodies’ and baddies’ responses to their leaders’ respective demises stands out. The anime-inflected look is generally impressive too, although the power-rock soundtrack is unsalvageable.

Author: Ben Walters 2007-05-01 12:03:11

Time Out London Issue 1915: April 25-May 1 2007

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Cast & crew

Director: Nelson Shin

Producer: Joe Bacal, Tom Griffin

Cast: Eric Idle, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack, Lionel Stander, Orson Welles full cast

Genre(s): Comedy

Duration: 85 mins

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