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 Reel Life with Jane!Get the latest scoop on family-friendly movies at the theatre and on DVD! TRANSFORMERS 2-Disc Special Edition DVD
Reel Rating: 3 out of 4 Reels PLOT SYNOPSIS:Robocop on steroids. An alien civil war between the good Autobots and the evil Decepticons has spilled onto Earth, and young Sam Witwicky is caught in the middle with his newly purchased Camaro. Turns out it’s not really a Camero – it’s a noble-warrior robot named Bumblebee, and it needs Sam’s help to battle the enemy. Sex/Nudity: Mikaela shows cleavage in a tight top; bikini posters in Sam’s bedroom; Glen admits he’s still a virgin; Sam’s mom asks him if he was masturbating in his room (yeah – cringe-worthy if you’re taking kids to this movie); “Sexual Healing” plays on the car radio. Violence/Gore: Many fiery explosions, bodies flying, monster robot battles, and smaller robots that terrorize people and infiltrate Air Force One. In one scene, an evil bot transforms into a plane and flies into a skyscraper, reminiscent of 9/11. Profanity: Incomplete f—ks; also damn, crap, bitch, s—t, and other expletives. Too racy for 13-year-olds. Which Kids Will Like It? Kids 14 and older who love robots and sci-fi action flicks, or who liked the original Transformers TV series (I realize these kids weren’t around then, but it’s available on DVD). Will Parents Like It? It’s a fun action-flick, but the above notes about Sex/Nudity make it unsuitable for younger teens and tweens. The MPAA needs another rating for 16- to 18-year-olds. Special Features: Commentary by director Michael Bay, a chat with Steven Spielberg, early concept art, the casting process, interviews with the film’s military advisors, and much more. EXPERT REVIEW: If you had kids – or were a kid – in the 1980s, you might remember the Transformers cartoon show about two dueling groups of robots — the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. These huge hunks of metal had the power to transform into cars, jets, helicopters, and motorcycles.
Still, that's nothing compared to the night the car drives away, morphs into a giant robot, and uses a light beam to communicate with a UFO. That really freaks Sam out! Meanwhile, U.S. soldiers in Qatar, an emerite in the Persian Gulf, have been attacked by a helicopter that transforms itself into one ruthless robot. It destroys everything in its path while an offshoot downloads super-secret files from computers. Secretary of Defense John Keller (Jon Voight) calls an emergency meeting to analyze the data, but one of the small bots has already hacked into Air Force One's computer. Turns out the evil robots are after Sam -- or rather, a discovery made by Sam's ancestor, an Arctic explorer. Thanks to an introductory narration by good Transformer Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen), we know that the two factions of robots – the good Autobots and the evil Decepticons – battled it out on the planet Cybertron. While searching for an all-powerful cube called the Allspark, both sides learn that the uber-evil Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving) crashed in the Arctic a thousand years ago, taking the Allspark with him. Sam's great-great-grandfather held the key to its location. Sam's car – the yellow Camero -- is Bumblebee, one of the good guys. He and fellow Autobots get chummy with Sam, who vows to help them out. Also in the good-guy camp are a group of soldiers led by Capt. Lennox (Josh Duhamel) and Sgt. Epps (Tyrese Gibson). John Turturro plays Agent Simmons, an over-the-top fed who might have ulterior motives in the good-vs-evil fight. This movie is Robocop on steroids. Few things are as terrifying as giant robots in hand-to-hand combat, especially when accompanied by ear-splitting sound effects. While it would be nice if this movie was appropriate for grade-schoolers – since most of the accompanying action figures, comic books, videogames and other products are aimed at this age group – that's not the case. The storyline includes lots of action violence, weapons, fight sequences, massive explosions, flying wreckage, and a few sexual innuendoes. A lighter option for grade-schoolers is 2005's Robots, about a young robot named Rodney Copperbottom who saves an entire generation of bots from extinction. Also check out: 1) Megas XLR, a cartoon about a giant robot and a teen hero; 2) Transformers Cybertron, a 2005 series based on the original from the 1980s; and 3) The Jetsons, that classic cartoon about a beloved space family. All of these shows are currently airing on the Boomerang network. JANE’S REEL RATING SYSTEM : One Reel: Pathetic. Even The Force can’t save it. Two Reels: Tolerable. Coulda been a contender. Three Reels: Pleasant. Something to talk about. Four Reels: Wow! The stuff dreams are made of. Jane Louise Boursaw is a freelance journalist specializing in the movie and television industries. Visit her online at www.ReelLifeWithJane.com or email jboursaw@charter.net
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by Jane Louise Boursaw
The story centers on Sam "Spike" Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), a smarty-pants teenager who's psyched about getting his first car – a beat-up yellow Camaro that lot owner Bobby Bolivia (Bernie Mac) has never seen before. Hmmm…very mysterious. Not only that, the car has a habit of playing just the right song at the right time, as Sam tries to impress cool girl Mikaela (Megan Fox).