Is this the start of the Transformers Renaissance? Rise of the Beast

 

I am not going to lie. I am really looking forward to getting back into the cinematic movieverse of the Transformers. In fact I am hopping around like the Energizer Bunny! The trailers, the TV spots and the general direction the story seems to be taking all reeks of G1 goodness. My hope is that they will build on what worked for Travis Knight's Bumblebee. The images from the opening scene is forever seared into my memory. We can already see that they have kept most of the designs from the mentioned movie. Indeed we seem to be veering away from the messy Bayverse of excess everything. For one we have freaking Unicron, and he appears to be the Unicron from our favorite Transformers 1986 movie. He is not the 'core of Earth' Unicron from Bay's time line. I also appreciate how the Maximals and the Terrorcons are the main bot cast as opposed to bringing the Decepticons back. And we get a new antagonist, Scourge, Unicron's herald. It will  also be refreshing to see Optimus Prime in a different light as he learns from the Maximals about the value of human life. It will be a mark departure from the worldly wise Optimus we have grown so accustomed to. Just how good this movie will be, only time will tell. I just felt like getting my thoughts out there before the flick hits the silver screen. Not long more to wait. Movie opens June the 6th. I believe that this is what Hollywood needs to shake off the superhero fatigue. Here's hoping for a Renaissance of the Transformers franchise and a return to a fun filled and woke free summer blockbuster!

So just how good is Andor?

 

I know that I am late to the party and that I reviewed The Mandalorian season 3 ahead of this series. Andor, the prequel to Gareth Edwards Rogue One, easily the best motion picture to come out of Disney owned Lucasfilm follows the exploits of protagonist Cassian Andor as he develops from a scavenger and slowly leans towards becoming a rebellion sympathizer. I figure I might as well share my thoughts about Rogue One, seeing how intertwined the movie and the series are. Andor just completed season 1 and season 2 will debut in  August of 2024.

Rogue One : A Star Wars Story 

I remember watching this movie after watching the main line Skywalker saga movies and really enjoying the freshness and the character development of the main players. They felt more three dimensional and fleshed out in comparison to the other movies. Edwards for one didn't use nostalgia or lighsabre wielding/ force powered jedi or sith, save Darth Vader, as this scene was required to link the movie to episode  IV. We are introduced to every day ' nobody's' playing their roles for the rebellion or empire. For the first time the main characters are not linked to the Skywalker bloodline! Contrary to popular belief , Skywalker's are not required to guarantee success. All we fans need are a well written script!

The story revolves around Jyn Erso, daughter of the architect of the first Death Star, Galen Erso. Jyn is played to perfection by Felicity Jones, while Galen is played by Mads Mikkelsen. Galen is a retired former Imperial engineer who is forced to work on the Death Star by Orson Krennic. Jyn is hidden away from her father to save her. Galen reluctantly builds the deadly battle station, but secretly includes a fatal flaw that would eventually allow Luke Skywalker and the rebels to triumph over the empire and destroy the super weapon. This story is the tale of how a brave squadron of rebels, led by the the titular Andor, portrayed by Diego Luna, the producer and star of Andor meets Jyn and learns about the Death Star. They are aided by his dedicated partner and copilot droid K2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk, a jedi temple guardian of the Whills Chirrut Imwe, played by martial arts extraordinaire Donnie Yen and his enforcer Baze Malbus, and a rag-tag band of  rebels. Their ultimate goal is to secure the schematics to the Death Star. The story focuses on Jyn Erso and her arc from innocent farm girl, to battle hardened thief, and finally rebel. Andor's backstory is explored in the series. The events in this movie lead directly into the intro sequence in episode IV.

Andor

This 13 episode series follows the exploits of Cassian Andor. We see Andor as a child and how he is separated from his tribe after a botched raid on a crashed Imperial ship, and is saved and adopted by Marva. He lives a life of obscurity. That is until Andor's run in with two officers at a local bar, and his subsequent termination of the two. This puts his home planet in the crosshairs, and marks him as a wanted man. He also has in his possession some Imperial technology from the time he raided an Imperial ship in his youth. He gets recruited by the mysterious Luthen, played by Stellen Skaarsgard. They escape from the local authorities and Luthen drops him off for a mission with a band of rebels. We also see how Luthen and Mon Mothma work behind the scenes to orchestrate the genesis of the rebellion. While the first three episodes are a slow burn, Tony Gilroy's great writing, the use of actual locations, as opposed to the excessive use of The Volume, and the focus on character arcs gave this series a different view of the 'background' players in the war between the two factions. We get to see how morally grey a lot of these characters are. This is one of the strengths of this story. Those that work for the empire are not necessarily evil. They are just doing their job, to the best of their abilities. From their point of view, they are the good guys, bringing peace and order to the galaxy. As for the so called ' good' guys. They resort to some really despicable acts to achieve their objectives. If you were to look at this from another point of view, they could even be mistaken as the bad guys. Such is the brilliance of Tony Gilroy's writing. It is such a pity that this series is not more well received. It's obvious that their views have been tainted by more mediocre series such as The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. There are some really outstanding episodes, such as the prison arc of the story involving the highly talented Andy Serkis as Kino Loy, in what seems to George Lucas's THX mini movie. I highly recommend slogging through the first three episodes. You will definitely not be disappointed!

Star Wars : A May the 4th Retrospective Review

 

I thought it would be fitting of me to finish reviewing the original three movies by maestro George Lucas since Star Wars day 2023 is fast approaching. This is the flick that started it all, launched a franchise and would forever change the way we would view VFX productions. It was this movie that prompted the visual effects revolution, as George and his production crew would have to develop a lot of the technologies required to bring his fantastical visions to life. This would lead to the formation of George's Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), the premier VFX house that every movie production today uses. George's tale was a simple story of good versus evil that captured the imagination of kids all around the world back in the late 70. This was also the start of a massive merchandising opportunity, that would become the staple for current popular movies of today. To think that at that time period in history, no toy company was willing to work with George. Thanks to a small unassuming Illinois based company, Kenner, the 3.75 inch figures have now become an industry standard.

No one could have envisioned how big the movie would become, or what an influence it would have on the zeitgeist, not even George or Kenner. That Christmas after the premiere, Kenner had to issue a cardboard certificate to appease the thousands of disappointed kids who wanted action figures of their favorite Star Wars heroes. Kenner would only start shipping the first four figures of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, R2D2 and Chewbacca the following year. These early bird figures are highly sought after these days and fetch a princely sum of money. In fact any of the action figures from the original three movies can net you a small fortune, especially if they are mint on card (MOC) and unpunched. The same kids who grew up with the Star Wars are now parents and sharing this experience with their children. This passing of the torch only further cements George Lucas's legacy in pop culture.

Ironically though this was not my favorite entry into the trilogy. As stated in my last post, that would be Return of the Jedi. The movie did leave a lasting impression on me and this would continue to influence my choices well into adulthood. To say that the effects are ahead of its time is a gross understatement. The VFX still hold up to scrutiny, even when compared with the movies of today. George's idea of a used and lived in universe definitely helped. The story itself is pretty straight forward. We get the evil empire chasing and capturing Princess Leia , but not before she manages to hide the schematics of a battle station called the Death Star in the astromech Droid R2D2. The opening sequence to the movie fully immerses the audience in the most indescribable way. From the memorable Star Wars theme by the immortal John Williams, to the scrawl, and finally the thunderous Star Destroyer soaring over the viewers on the silver screen in pursuit of the rebel Blockade Runner, George cast his spell on the audience. If that wasn't enough, we are introduced to the most recognizable villain in cinematic history, Darth Vader. He was made all the more terrifying by his booming voice, courtesy of James Earl Jones, and the mystery surrounding the character, and his mastery over a equally mystical power known as the force!.

The scene switches to the sand planet of Tatooine where the droids R2D2 and C3PO  are picked up by Jawas and sold Luke Skywalker and his uncle, Owen Lars. Luke accidentally activates the message from Leia while cleaning R2D2. This leads to R2 rolling away in the dead of the night in search of his former owner, and Luke having to go after him. This leads to Luke being ambushed by Tusken Raiders and Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi saving him. Ben brings Luke and the droids back to his home and reviews Leia's message. He reveals to Luke that his father was a great Jedi warrior and ask Luke to join him in his quest. He also gives Luke his father's lighsabre. Luke is hesitant as he is worried about his uncle and aunt.

Later that day, they find a ruined Sandcrawler and dead Jawas. When Luke discovers that his uncle and aunt have been murdered by stormtroopers, Luke takes up Ben's offer to learn the ways of the force, and save Princess Leia. We are introduced to the concept of the mystical force, and to a weapon called the lighsabre, another drawcard for impressionable youngsters like myself. Ben travels to the Mos Eisley Cantina where they enlist the help of smuggler Han Solo and his partner Chewbacca, for a small fee. Ben starts training Luke in the ways of the force using Luke's father's lighsabre and a training remote aboard the Millennium Falcon. They travel to Princess Leia's home world of Alderaan, only to discover that the planet has been destroyed. Moff Tarkin has used the Death Star against Leia's home as a demonstration of its power, and to coax Leia to reveal the location of the rebel base. Han and company encounter tie fighters and give chase, only to be caught in a tractor beam and are brought aboard the Death Star. They hide in the Falcons smuggling compartments and evade capture. Han and Luke disguises themselves as stormtroopers and set off to save Princess Leia while Ben attempts to shut down the tractor beam. He is successful, and Han and Luke find the princess , but they are forced to jump into a trash compactor.

Ben encounters Vader while making his way back to the Falcon. They engage in a lightsaber duel. Luke manages to contact C3PO  and R2D2 disables the trash compactor in the nick of time. Our heroes make their way back to the Falcon. Ben buys them time to board the Falcon and sacrifices himself. Luke witnesses this and is saddened. This however further solidifies his resolve to help defeat Vader and the empire. Using the schematics obtained by Leia, they find a weakness in the Death Star, an exhaust port on the surface of the powerful weapon. The rebels launch their assault with a squadron of X Wings and Y Wing bombers. Darth Vader personally leads a squadron of tie fighters as they systematically take out the rebels. It is is now up to Luke to take out the Death Star. Han unexpectedly drops in on Vader just as he is about to take Luke out. Using the force, Luke let's his proton torpedoes fly and the Death Star is finally destroyed. The rebels have won and Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca are rebellion heroes!