HD DVD Review: Transformers

Transformers is an important release for HD DVD. It is the first mega blockbuster movie to appear on the format since the Paramount/HD DVD exclusivity deal, and all eyes are on it to set sales records and give the HD DVD folks something to crow over the Blu-ray camp. At the time of writing they certainly have something to clink champagne glasses about, as the movie sold 100,000 copies on its first day at retail in North America and then went on to sell a further 90,000 over the course of the next six days. That makes it the fastest selling HD movie so far (on either format) and certainly the best selling HD DVD movie.
But is it any good? Just because something sells well doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s worthy of your money (hello Spider-Man 3 on any console format). The good news is, yes it is good. Very good in fact, a showcase for the format and the technology. Let’s get down to business.

The Movie
I originally reviewed Transformers upon its theatrical release earlier this year, you can read that review HERE. Since that initial review I have seen the movie a further three times, once theatrically and twice on HD DVD and I haven’t changed my opinion at all. Yes the movie is a little slow in pace to begin with, but once it all kicks off it’s worth the wait.
This is the kind of movie that was made for an HD format, and it is a testament to the work done by Digital Domain and ILM that everything blends perfectly and never stands out are being a CG effect pasted into live action.

Without a doubt Transformers is HD geek porn at its very finest. It remains a full on assault on the senses that leaves you with a smile on your face, and frowns from the neighbours. I fear the old lady next door may have had some wartime flashbacks thanks to the rumbling subwoofer.

Audio Visual
Transformers is a movie that lives and dies by its visuals. Mixing live action and CG on any scale is difficult and throwing in multiple CG characters on screen at one, fighting and destroying anything in their path is even trickier.

Fortunately, everything blends and looks simply jaw-dropping. Michael Bay has chosen a rather dirty and grimy look and feel for the movie, plenty of rich colours blending in with inky blacks to form a varied but never muted colour palette. The movie is presented in 1080p and is encoded in MPEG4 as opposed to the now almost defacto HD DVD choice of VC1.

Initial scene setters including introducing the major characters and the purchase of Bumblebee appear to all be filmed at late afternoon, giving everything a sun drenched look that shines despite the lack of any real CG effects. Then the action switches to night, and the introduction of the Autobots and some of the Decepticons. These scenes work especially well, black levels are rock solid and there is never any evidence of colour bleeding or artefacting of any kind.
The light sourcing on the robots really stands out here as well, especially in the scene where the Autobots try to sneak around outside Sam’s house as he attempts to retrieve the eyeglasses for Optimus Prime.

But all of these scenes are just one big tease for the final act of the movie, and the one everyone wants to see. Autobots fighting Decepticons during the daytime over the Hoover dam and on the streets of LA. This final 45 minutes contains the finest special effects I have ever seen in a movie, it really is just nonstop carnage, and from a visual standpoint you can never “spot the joins”. Visually Transformers is an incredible movie, the picture is rock solid and if I gave star ratings it would be a sure-fire 5 out of 5. Simply put, this joins the Matrix collection as the finest looking movie I have seen in HD so far. Absolutely stunning.

From a sound perspective things are great, but could be better. Rather than providing an uncompressed soundtrack for Transformers, Paramount have opted for a Dolby Digital Plus one. Hardly the end of the world, but for such a showcase title why isn’t there at least a DD HD track? The reason according to Paramount is one that is going to haunt the HD DVD format until they make larger discs a reality. Space.
On a dual layer HD DVD Paramount say there just isn’t enough space to add an uncompressed soundtrack to a movie that is two and a half hours in length and contains this much visual fidelity. It’s not a deal breaker, but does point a slightly worrying finger towards the format.
Audio formats aside, your surround system will get the workout it craves with this disc. As with all Michael Bay explosionfests, the sound plays nearly as important a part as the visuals. The subwoofer is constantly rumbling away during the battle sequences. The sound field comes alive when there is action on screen with a perfect wall of sound feel that really adds to the overall experience.

The sound mix is nigh-on perfect, with the typically rousing score never drowning out dialogue or ambient effects. Just put the disc in, turn it up loud and enjoy!

Bonus Features
Transformers comes on two HD DVD discs, the first containing the movie and the second houses all the special features. Comprehensive without being exhausting, it’s a pretty decent set, and they are all presented in MPEG4 encoded 1080p, bonus points to Paramount.

Michael Bay provides a solo commentary that is actually pretty engaging. Watching the other extras on this disc I did find him rather big headed and obnoxious, but they guy knows how to deliver so if it works for him! Fortunately that doesn’t come across in this commentary which covers all aspects of the production right from the outset. If you enjoy all aspects of the movie making process, give this one a listen.

Getting into the main course of the extras is a documentary that runs for roughly two hours that is split up into two main sections, Our World and Their War. This comprehensive documentary covers almost every aspect of production and gives a fair amount of time to the technical aspects of the robot creations.
For me the documentary didn’t start off particularly well, there is a lot of actor back-slapping and “this guy was great to work with” type stuff that grates with me after a while. But then you get some great behind the scenes stuff at Hasbro, plenty of old toy commercials that I haven’t seen for over twenty years that really took me back to my childhood so it was a good nostalgia trip.
Executive producer Spielberg chips in a few comments and then you have plenty of on-set pieces going through the effects creation process, shooting on location, the stunts, the cars and your obligatory Bay-esque flag waving “I love the military” section. I must confess that this section while interesting got on my nerves after a while, so I skipped past the extended commercial for the US armed forces. Don’t get me wrong, they do a fantastic job but does it really have to go on for over half an hour?

All told this is a very comprehensive documentary that will appeal to movie buffs and Transformers fans alike. Altogether a very well produced package.

There is also a couple of photo galleries and a “from script to screen” piece (or script to sand) for the Skorponok desert attack. Three theatrical trailers are also included, and there is also an Easter Egg to find a fourth trailer as well as a teaser for the upcoming Iron Man movie from Marvel/Paramount (found on disc one).

In fact, there are several Easter Eggs on both of these discs, for those of you who are interested in that kind of thing, check out HD Digest’s review of the disc, it has details of them all.

Summing Up
Loud, proud and stupid is a great way to describe Transformers. It’s a pure summer movie, an almost throwaway plot that gives way to a special effects rampage that will sell games, t-shirts, posters toys and anything else you can slap a logo on. Regardless of whether or not the subject matter floats your particular boat, this HD DVD delivers on every level. The lack of uncompressed audio grates with me slightly, but the rest of the package is right up there with the best either format has to offer. Demo material from start to finish, Transformers is a must buy.

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