Review of Transmorphers (2007) by Todd P — 16 Jun 2009

Surprisingly good film from the masters of mockbusters The Asylum. Many of the earlier reviewers' criticisms of this are valid -- most of the acting isn't very good, the story is confusing and random (the hero conveniently turns out to be an android), and the special effects aren't Hollywood-standard (though better than The Asylum usually whips up).

Then there's the issue of the title itself -- the link to "Transformers" is pretty tenuous, since the bad guy robots are more akin to Terminators than Transformers (not to mention that the entire film feels more like a rejected Battlestar Galactica episode than anything else).

That said, the effects and the plot are decent enough and the entire film is pretty engaging. At no point did I feel like just turning the DVD off (which is more than I can say about certain other Asylum mockbusters [not to mention certain regular Hollywood films]).

I think that some negativity towards "Transmorphers" stems from its earnest BSG tone -- despite some B-movie plot elements (a bunkfight between half-naked women crew members, a lesbian subplot, and a "mad" scientist who eagerly builds android girlfriends), the filmmakers did not set out to make a deliberately cheesy B-movie knockoff and play things pretty straight.

Anyone who wants to see REALLY bad Asylum films should check out "Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls" or "Pirates of Treasure Island" (the studio's respective knockoffs of the Indiana Jones and Pirates of Caribbean franchises and both of which have NO redeeming qualities whatsoever).

That said, if one doesn't like "Transmorphers" then I doubt that they'd like any other Asylum mockbuster. (And those who DO like "Transmorphers" are no doubt looking forward to its upcoming sequel, "Fall of Man").