Big Effing Robots.

Lately, I've been getting really psyched about the new live-action Transformers movie. Every geek has that one thing, that one franchise he or she obsesses over. For the majority, the word “star” is generally found somewhere in the title, but for me it was giant robots from another planet.

It was huge when I was in elementary school. Kids had the toys and discussed the cartoon with the gravest sincerity. I had friends who brought back toys from Japan before they were available here, and friends whose drawing skills blossomed with robots and through competition inspired me to be an artist. I collected all the comic books, and generally they were the gateway to all other geeky things in my life. Cutting a girlfriend off for phoning me during an episode cost me a friendship, and even after my peers outgrew it and the show stopped airing, it was still a part of my life. I didn't dress up in costumes or attend conventions, but I maintained an encyclopedic knowledge, and gained motivation just from listening to music from the show and movie.

Eventually the comic book ended, but by then I'd moved on to other comics and other obsessions. When the line enjoyed a revival with the computer animated Beast Wars, I wasn't drawn in initially. I was too old by then, out of college and starting my first job. I even had a serious, steady girlfriend at that point in my life. At some point I tuned in to the second season of Beast Wars, caught an ingenious plot device that linked it to the original series, and the excitement was re-ignited. The show had one spinoff, after which badly dubbed episodes of Japanese series were imported. Once again, I stopped paying attention.

As news of the new movie trickled out, I rode the roller coaster like any other fan. Would they get all the original voice actors? How much would the robots resemble the cartoon? Would every robot retain their original vehicular mode? Would licensing issues result in changes that ruined the franchise? Through it all, one constant kept my interest: giant ****ing robots were coming, something I've wanted to see since I was 10 years old. I had heard stories of live action shows in Japan, but later learned they were guys in bad costumes tooling around in a miniature city set. Technology has caught up with the needs of the franchise, and giant ****ing robots can be brought to life. It says so on this awesome, awesome t-shirt.

Lately, when I see the trailers I get that sense of youthful energy back. I want to go out and do stuff. I crave action. Maybe I'm just a loser, but I can't help what excites me. I've heard a new theme song on the MySpace page of the band performing it. It's not bad, though not exactly my taste, but I do like the nod to the original theme song. That along with the classic transformation sound effect and the inclusion of Peter Cullen piqued my nostalgia. And B13 sent me an article revealing a very cool video hidden on the viral marketing site Sector Seven that hints and some old favorite characters who could show up in a sequel.

My car gets me to work during the week and to gigs during the weekend, but it never changes into a robot and fights other robots. Life would be so much more interesting if it did, though. I'll leave you with the latest trailer and a fan-made trailer and theme song.





Is it July yet?