Tag Archives: Autobots

Movie Review – Bumblebee

December 23, 2018 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Over the past 5 live-action Transformer movies we’ve come to expect certain things. From the humans: wacky, half-psychotic characters and overly-sexualized stereotypes. From the robots: zero characterization and dialogue, overly-complex bodies and fight scenes one has no hope of following. Throw in a few convoluted plots and some smutty humour and badda-bing badda-boom, another TF movie pumped out by Hollywood.

However Transformers 6 – Bumblebee, seems to be something different. Something GOOD!

What a delightful breath of fresh air this movie is! It contains none of the issues listed above, and replaces them with relatable characters, great dialogue and a lot of heart!

The Plot (yes, there is one this time!)

The Bumblebee movie is actually a prequel to the last 5 movies, set in 1987. Bumblebee comes to Earth, after a 10 minute opening scene which will have every G1 fan looking for the tissues for their eye ducts (and possibly elsewhere) due to the amount of fan service contained within. The first 10 minutes is based on Cybertron and showcases G1 characters actually looking like G1 characters, still in their Cybertronian modes having a huge battle! They are all there – Soundwave, Shockwave & The Seekers all blasting away at the likes of Wheeljack, Arcee, Brawn, Ratchet and so on. Seeing the battle will be lost, Optimus Prime orders the Autobots to evacuate Cybertron and sends B-127 to prepare a base for them on the aforementioned Earth.

Arriving on Earth, B-127 is almost immediately attacked by the US Army (their involvement one thing that has not changed) and then near killed by Blitzwing, the only character in the movie bearing no resemblance to his G1 incarnation (besides having a jet mode). B-127 loses his voice, loses his memory, and manages to scan a Volkswagen Beetle before going dormant.

We now get introduced to the heroine of the story – Charlie. Just turned 18. But unlike Sam Witwicky she doesn’t seem like a nutjob. And unlike every female character before her, she seems to dress in a way that doesn’t border on the pornographic. In fact, Charlie turns out to be a very endearing character that the viewer comes to care about. This was a very smart move on the part of the new writers and directors, going with a female-teen instead of a male and keeping sexuality completely out of it. It stops them retracing old ground from the TF1 and good on them. In fact all the humans are fairly likeable and all seem to serve a purpose to the plot, rather than being thrown in for the sake of it.

You know what? It IS as sweet as this pic suggests!

At the same time this is happening, the only two completely new robot characters in the movie – the Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick make an appearance. In fact starting off by torturing Cliffjumper on one of Saturn’s moons looking for B-127. They soon find their way to Earth, adopt car alt-modes, (and later secondary flight alt-modes) and search for the missing Autobot in order to find Optimus. They trick the human army into letting them use their equipment and the race is on!

From there it could be said to be the usual. Charlie reactivates B-127, freaks out, he freaks out, they bond, they have some loveable adventures, they get found by the military, he saves her, she saves him, he saves her again, they get found by the Cons, have a huge fight and then save the day. It’s kinda predictable but is an enjoyable ride and very entertaining to watch.

Continuity Errors

Being a prequel, this movie should match up with the previous 5 and set the stage for TF1. It doesn’t. There are multiple continuity errors brought up in this, such as Bumblebee only arriving in 1987 when yet in The Last Knight he was shown to be present during WWII. Optimus arrives on Earth that same year rather than in 2007. The Transformers know English rather than learning it from the world wide web. There are many more but you get the drift. To be honest, this really should have been a reboot rather than a prequel, as this is far better than anything that has come before and I’d rather have the new ideas than the old.

G1 Goodness!

What?! Arcee isn’t a motorcycle that goes around on one wheel and has a face like a smashed in colander?!

For your G1 fans, this is the movie you always wanted. Bumblebee is a VW Bug. Optimus is a short-nosed truck with a big silver trailer. The Seekers on Cybertron are Tetrajets. Everyone looks like everyone hoped they would all the way back in 2007. There are plenty of Easter Eggs, it brought joy to my heart to see my son whoop with joy when Bee started playing ‘You’ve got the Touch’ when encouraging Charlie to dive. It’s… it’s just beautiful!

A PG Rating

Another smart move made by the makers of this film is making it PG rated. A lot of the adult Transformer fans have become pretty jaded from the last four films in particular, so this enabled the producers to open this flick up to a younger audience untarnished by Michael Bay scrotum jokes. And it’s worked. My son turned 6 three days before TF6 was released, so it was perfect to take him and his friends to. And they loved it! Some kids that age might find a few things scary, but most will enjoy it. No blood from the 2 humans that get killed, minimal swearing, zero sexuality. It was a smart way to go.

So worth watching?

Yes. YES. A thousand times yes! This is the movie we hoped for many years ago! So much heart and character and humour and joy! Great for kids, amazing for G1 fans; the only ones disappointed will be those in love with the Bayverse and those folk are hard to find these days. Take the whole family out to see this, you will not be sorry!

Got something to add? Pop it in the comments section below!

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Game App Review – Transformers Bumblebee Overdrive

October 2, 2018 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

There have been a ton of Transformer gaming apps in recent years on both Android and iPhone; a few have retired and several are still chugging along. In anticipation of the new Bumblebee Movie coming out later this year, we have a new game (currently only available through Apple) based on everyone’s favorite little yellow bot in Transformers Bumblebee Overdrive.

Pretty much every app has been based on either the Movieverse or Generation 1. This is most definitely G1 with a bit of Generations thrown in. And like G1, this game is 80’s arcade all the way baby!

You start the game as Bumblebee and work your way through 4 main stages over and over, gathering crystals and coins in order to unlock new characters. Once you reach a certain points level, you then take on a boss character, the defeat of which will unlock new weapons and bonuses within game.

The four main stages consist of Highway, Canyon, another Canyon and Decepticon bases.

Highway

Lots of innofensive traffic which you need to dodge, the only real enemy you encounter and flying Decepticon Drones that fire off missiles, one hit of which can kill. It is during these highway drives that you can try to earn bonuses from completing events, such as destroying a certain amount of Phone Booths or Fire Hydrants.

Canyon – style 1.

*Who takes a sports car that expensive offroading?*

Lots of swerving required here. Surprise spike pits pop up, silver mines are laid about, more flying Missile Drones and as you progress Laser Cannons. Ironically the main thing you need to avoid are rock columns, crashing into one kills you instantly.

Canyon – style 2.

Nothing to crash into here, but you are being pursued! Here we get some G1 goodness with you being chased by Stunticons Dead End & Breakdown as well as other G1 Cons Ruckus and Ground Hog. There is also the Stunticon Offroad from Combiner Wars and Slice(r) from Timelines thrown in. Taking out these other cars is probably the easiest of the levels, though as it gets harder sometimes you find ones parked in your way as you fight the others.

Decepticon Bases

Here is the only part of the game where you get to fight as robot mode and a plethora of different dangers get in your way. Laser Canons in different configurations, barriers both physical and electric and purple flying Conheads who resemble the same ones found in Transformers: Devestation. These levels are also the ones were you get to test out the different weapons you have unlocked by defeating bosses, in particular I like the laser beam you get for defeating Acid Storm.

Bosses

Nearly all G1 based (apart from Generations Battleslash) and they are a lot of fun! You only get to fight these when you have reached a certain amount of points. In the classic 80’s arcade style, these bosses throw different energy weapon patterns at you and as long as you avoid the obvious patterns the bosses are easy to defeat. Quite an enjoyable part of the game, it’s a shame that they come along so rarely.

Character Unlocks

You start as Bumblebee and, much like any toy isle you go down, the easiest other character to get is another version of Bumblebee, this one resembling in part his look from TF: AOE. The other characters to get at this stage are Sideswipe, Arcee and Optimus – Optimus requiring a whopping 500 crystals! When you obtain a character you use your coins to increase their armor and firepower, then use crystals to ungrade them to the next level to start all over again. I just got Arcee this morning and she is quite fun in robot mode since she has two guns, which means double the firepower when you use the upgrades like lasers and homing missiles.

*‘Freedom is the right of all sentient beings – as long as they pay through the nose with crystally goodness’*

In-Game Purchases

*Guess the game companies need to make their money somehow*

What app doesn’t have these. Personally I’d never buy even the cheap ones but maybe there is someone out there willing to spend over a hundred bucks on the big pack.

Is the game worth playing?

In short doses yes. It’s lots of fun! In big doses no. Your finger gets tired after a while and to be honest when I was most of the way to the points total for Battleslash I was hoping I would crash as I had had my fill. Also despite the minor variations you get each run through, having only 4 stages to work through over and over again gets understandingly repetitive.

Will I still be playing this game in a months time?

I doubt it. I’ll unlocked Arcee a few hours ago but no way could I be bothered saving enough crystals for Optimus. Also as mentioned before, the amount of points you need to gain increases exponentially to reach bosses. The first three (Tracer, Quake and Acid Storm) are not too onerous but then suddenly you find Battlelslash to be a whopping 256,000 points and that takes forever to reach.

So should you download it?

If you are a TF fan sure, why not! It’s a bit of cheesy 80’s arcade fun but it really doesn’t have anything to keep you there for the long haul.

Got something to say about this App? Put it in the comments section below!

Transformer Toy Reviews

Toys Review – Titans Return Kup, Perceptor & Topspin

February 27, 2017 Big Angry Trev 1 Comment

Here we are – up to Wave 4 of the Titans Return toys already! Today we will be looking the Autobot Deluxe figures from that wave; three figures which featured heavily in the IDW comic ‘Last Stand of the Wreckers’ – namely Perceptor, Kup and Topspin. The two former will be known to fans of the original 86’ move and associated cartoon but for those not in the know, this is a Topspin based on the 1985 G1 toy rather than the DOTM movie version. As you will see, he is awesome!

Kup – Robot Mode

*“Did I ever tell ya about the time someone turned my head into a little robot?”*

No backpack, hollow arms and his colour scheme is too light. He is a lot more G1 accurate than the previous Generations Kup toy but looks inferior in every way. His Titan Master (Flintlock – originally a name given to one of G1 Landfill’s Targetmasters) partner is sculpted well to look like a grizzly old coot and the cockpit on the chest and proportions aren’t bad. It’s just had to get past those awful arms and the substandard colours. He is just… just too plain. That said, if the arms were grey he would be an almost perfect representation of how Kup looked in the old Marvel comics!

Kup – Vehicle Mode

Very faithful in shape and style to the G1 concept. It’s a shout out to your nostalgic membrane to see Kup done like this, much in the same way that TR Blurr gave us that same tingly feeling (for a review of Blurr see HERE). His guns can be placed in the tray of his Cybertronian-ute mode (that’s what I’m calling it anyway) much like the 87’ Targetmaster version of the toy did. His Titan Master partner fits snugly inside the cab. I would have liked the cab to be a whiteish-opaque rather than clear but what can ya do – at least the cab seems to be on the requisite angle.

Perceptor – Robot Mode

*I may speak softly, but I carry a BIG sniper rifle!*

Nicely proportioned and well articulated. The microscope cannon on his shoulder is a tad big but t’was the same with the original toy and for the required alt-mode there is nothing much you can do about it. The colour scheme is spot on as is the transparent plastic on his chest. He has the hollow forearms which is a shame but what I really like is that he comes with his sniper gun that he toted for a while in the IDW All Hail Megatron comics – very cool! One minor flaw I found with mine was the socet to attach his Titan Master was very stiff – quite hard to connect and disconnect.

Perceptor – Microscope Mode

*You don’t need a funny caption – you just need to appreciate that this is cool!*

Yeah maybe the Generations version had a bit more playability with a firing missile and a vehicle mode, but for those purists it’s great to get another Perceptor that turns into a microscope! The proportions are great but a real letdown is that the the microscope lenses barely work in comparison to the original toy and it’s a shame that its 32 years later and the new toy actually has less functionality than the original, though at least the knob is useable. Still, a nice looking Perceptor for the purists.

Perceptor – Cybertronian Tank Mode

*I’m not in the instructions – that’s because I shot the editor!*

Was never shown in the cartoon and rarely in any comic but the original Perceptor could turn into a weird tank (hence the tank tracks on the back of his calves) and this one is no different. Though it’s not listed in the instructions, if one examines the toy you will find some black tank tracks that serve no purpose in his microscope or robot modes. It looks kinda cool and you can attach his sniper rifles on the side as well as giving Convex somewhere to sit, rather than him just being a specimen for study in the microscope mode.

Topspin – Robot Mode

Bloody excellent! What a great looking robot! Colour scheme and proportions are a big shout out to the original toy whilst making him look as cool as he did in the comics. The Titan Master head is great – everything about this toy is great, including his two guns (though they could have stood to not be hollow).

Topspin – Cybertronian Hovercraft Mode

*Who knows what vehicle this is – and to be honest if you like bitchin’ alt-modes you just wont care!*

There are not many Generations characters where you think ‘this is all the original toy should have been’ but Topspin encapsulates this sentiment. They have taken the essence of the original toy and expanded it to be a brilliant looking alien vehicle repleat with guns, cockpit and a bunch of huge thrusters on the back. This is to my mind the definitive Topspin – certainly makes me glad I skipped that awful FOC version of him released a few years ago.

Flintlock, Freezeout and Convex

*“Three Headmasters are better than one. Wait… we are TITAN Masters? OK, disregard”*

All do their job well as Headmasters (sorry – Titan Masters). Each looks sufficiently like the heads of their counterpart robots to complete their assigned task. Convex looks like Perceptors cartoon model rather than his toy model, Flintlock looks old and grizzled for Kup and Freezeout has a great sneer going on for Topspin. Like the three main toys, I find Freezeout to be my favorite the same as Topspin is. I would put up photos of their robot modes but its not worth it – very little detail and the faces are the same colour as the rest of the body so you can’t even see any definition.

Overall

Not a bad wave at all. I haven’t touched on the Titan Master component of these figures much as it’s all par for the course now – you can swap their heads. I will say that Kup is worth getting if you want a new version of his G1 alt-mode. Perceptor is worth getting for pretty much the same reason but Topspin is an absolute must have!

Got an opinion about these three Autobots? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Big Angry Trev!

Tag Archives: Autobots

Movie Review – Bumblebee

Game App Review – Transformers Bumblebee Overdrive

Toys Review – Titans Return Kup, Perceptor & Topspin

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