Wednesday (HD-)DVD Review™

Well, it will be no surprise what movie comes to us in this week's DVD review - or in this case HD-DVD review.  Yesterday saw one of the more highly anticipated releases for the HD-DVD format...one that really put the spur to sides of Blu-Ray - Transformers.  Having missed the movie in the theaters, and hearing that it was actually pretty good, a trip to Best Buy was in order first thing in the morning.  One quick word of warning first:  I am not writing this as a Transformers purist.  Yes, I watched the cartoons growing up and all, but my memory doesn't go back that far anymore, so anything missed, glossed over, or blatantly fucked up won't bother me at all. 

For those unaware, Transformers was directed by Michael Bay with executive producer Steven Spielberg working along side him.  The movies comes as a thrilling battle between the heroic Autobots® and the evil Decepticons® over a mythical power source that has made its way to Earth after their planet was destroyed after untold years of war.  The fate of the Earth falls into the most unlikely canidate, a high school nerd played by Shia LaBeouf (channelling the early days of John Cusack) and flanked by hottie Megan Fox.  Mix in the youngsters new car shopping landing him Bumblebee in his lap, and you have for one hell of a ride.  The story, while a bit hokey at times during Optimus Prime's little speeches, still clips along at a good pace, and is always racing towards another increadible fight sequence between the robots.  In short, you never really feel wanting for action, or looking at the clock to wonder how much longer the movie has.

Visually the movie is increadble.  The picture clairty on the HD-DVD was spectacular, with bright colors and great details from start to finish.  The transformation of robot to vehicle and back happens routinely through the movie, and gives a "whoa" feeling each time you see it.  The fight sequences are done exceptionally well, without too much detial being lost to the frantic pace of the battles.  On the other side of the equation is the sound.  Just as with the visuals, the sound comes through in spades with some great deep bass during various parts of the movie, and solid use of the surround channels during the battles.  When the Transformers are moving around the city, you can hear the crunch of the concrete under their feet, and almost feel the missle as it flies past your ear on its way to some unintended building to be destroyed.

Finally, the movie in this format seems to be absolutely chocked full of extras, all the way to be web-enabled with additional downloads that are, and will be, avialable.  I haven't dived too far into the extras, but just the idea that the studio needed another HD-DVD to get it out makes me giddy thinking about what must be there.  However, I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

All in all, it was just what I was expecting going into it - a great thrill ride and one of the best action movies of 2007, hands down.