From: (No Email available)

Date: 2004-07-23 23:58:46

Comment:

I?ve been thinking about how they should go about this new Live-Action Transformers film ever since they announced it. Here are my thoughts: They HAVE to be faithful to the original cartoons in some respects so new audiences will understand what Transformers are all about. First and foremost, it?s all about the Transformers, not the human characters (with respect to Spike and his father). Start off by casting no-name actors so they don?t garner any attention. Second, they MUST gather all of the voices responsible for the original transformers. I would also love to hear Vince DiCola responsible for the Soundtrack. I just can?t think of another composer that has brought the Transformers world to life as much as he did. As far as story, they need to come up with a more meaningful way of how and why the Transformers were split into both Autobots and Decepticons. And also, explain how and why they managed to land on Earth. Remember, this should be a serious, well written story that is made believable. In the cartoon it is the Decepticons that chase the Autobots into space before crashing into Earth. I think the following solution is a better one, more suited to a live-action film, and much clearer to the audience.

When they begin to explain this story, they should start off on Cybertron, and quickly explain how these robots once lived with one another, peacefully. They should explain how there once was 1 single race of Robot being, complete with their own language (it would be subtitled to the audience, only in the beginning of the film while on Cybertron). We see how they transform into spacecrafts and such machinery that is ADAPTABLE to their home planet of Cybertron.

My next question is: HOW the Tranformers decided to split and choose between good and evil, becoming both the Autobots and Decepticons, also bearing their famous symbols? I think the back-story and reasoning for this is that the Decepticons chose to abuse their purpose in life (Yes, all Transformers are alive and possess a Spark). The greedy Decepticons planned to consume all Energon (even stealing it from Autobots, leaving them to be powerless, resulting in death), depleting the planet of Cybertron of all of its resources. This was their only means of survival, and it was NOT a plan designed for the future for all Transformers to coexist with one another peacefully.

Energon was important to the Decepticons because it would retain their ?Spark? or ?robot soul? (which shouldn?t be explained, ala midichloreans), thus giving them the ultimate power to rule and live forever ? as long as no one would stand in their way. The Autobots thought of this as a threat to all life in the universe and felt that the Decepticons and their leader, Megatron, must be stopped. The Theme would ultimately be ?The Circle of Life: We are meant to do good in this universe with the time allotted to us, for both humans and robots alike, then we must pass on our knowledge to future generations. We are not meant to live forever, and neither are the Transformers. On a side note, a Transformers? lifespan would last for roughly 3 Million Years, compared to our 70-80 years of life.

So, Prime and his robot followers decided its best to stay on Cybertron and possibly come up with other forms of energy, not as powerful as Energon, but enough to survive. Soon enough the Decepticons go to war with the Autobots. It?s a spectacular showdown between both sides. The more powerful Decepticons decide to leave Cybertron (along with their last remaining sources of Energon) in a starship in search of a new planet to dominate. Leaving the Autobots mauled and their once beloved planet Cybertron in ruins, Optimus Prime and his fellow Autobots decide it?s in their best interest to Preserve life in the Entire Universe and stop the evil Decepticons at all costs. So a chase ensues in space between their 2 Super Starships.

The battle causes both ships to crash-land into Earth, through a mountain at the tip of an island (Hawaii). The crash was so deep, over time it caused the mountain to form into a volcano, which later became known as the (Volcano of Kilauea). Due to the impact, the Transformers suffer an electrical blowout, causing all transformers to automatically shut down. The ruined ships were submerged underwater beneath the volcano, along with the Transformers who were kept deactivated for almost 2 Million years.

Now, 2 Million years later, we?re in modern times on Earth, with humans inhabiting the planet. Back at the crash site, the volcano erupts causing the main controls of the ship to regain power. This releases a small robot which was designed to help ALL transformers ADAPT and BLEND to their surrounding environment when they are first ?Born? by means of ?Transforming?. So it reaches the surface above the water and into the city. It begins scouting for possible devices and machinery as well as the languages used on the planet for communication. This information is scanned and recorded which then is brought back to the ship for the sole purpose of blending and ADAPTING the Transformers to the new environment. Before reactivating the Transformers, the scouting robot then applies these new forms to both Autobots and Decepticons, reshaping their bodies. We see that the Autobots are reactivated first, with Optimus Prime, their leader, awaking form a long slumber, confused and trying to understand what has happened. Prime manages to restart Main Control and plug himself in, in order to gather all information up to the point of impact. When he realizes what has happened, and where he?s located in the universe, he and his fellow Autobots immediately search for any surviving Decepticons that may be harboring nearby. But to their surprise and confusion, the Decepticons have somehow vanished from their ruined Starship submerged under the water.

The Autobots then rise above Sea level in search of the Decepticons. And while doing so, they transform themselves in disguise to blend with this new planet which they now inhabit, while keeping a keen eye for the enemy?..

As far as some great scenes that should be implemented into the story:

Have the Transformers interact with the planet and some humans as well, such as Bumblebee/Spike. A great scene involving Optimus forced to transform and reveal himself to the humans in order to save them from certain doom. A final battle between Megatron and Optimus Prime which leads into the White House, or atop the capital building in Washington DC. I see many anti-war messages thrown into this film. The possibilities are endless. I want to see characters rise and fall. Both robot and human casualties. I want to feel the same sense of loss to some of the characters that we love, like we did in the first film (1984), but also feel that sense of heroism when the Autobots pull through in the end. Or do they?

Back to the different types of machines the Transformers should transform into? I think they should make sense, depending on scale and size. I think they should eliminate the Transformers ability to shrink (Megatron shrinking into a gun for Starscream to hold and shoot) which made lots of fans of the original annoyed; it was something we all had to accept. It?s pointless to try to explain in a Live Action film, so they should throw away that idea all together. Megatron should still keep his evil look that he had in the cartoon, but transform into a tank or some weapon of mass destruction, maybe some super Jet with cannons on each wing, so it?s Megatron and his 3 minions ? Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp. Soundwave should transform into some communication device that houses other smaller devices (ala Ravage, Rumble, Lazerbeak). Optimus and the rest of the Autobots should look as real as the vehicles are supposed to look in real life. Overall, the machines they transform into should make sense. No tape recorders? this is not the 80?s. This is the new millennium with an audience that expects SO much from film. They must be Generation 1 Transformers, but, take the best from Generation 1 and abandon the cheese that also came with it.

These are some of my thoughts. Let me know what you think. We definitely need the film makers to see what us fans want to see in this film. Dreamworks is responsible, and with the Spielberg name, it has great potential to be the next BIG FRANCHISE.