Friday, December 19, 2008

a blog on quotes.

Every movie go-ers haven: International Movie Data Base, IMDB. Here they list, all the characters, the actors, the summary and even movie quotes. This snow day, I saw the movie transformers twice. Once at dinner and the second time when my dad got home. However, this isn't the first time I watched it. The first time I saw the movie was the summer that it came out. But, this is my first time watching it ever since. The one thing I noticed this time was how important the dialog was in this action packed movie. Sure. the epic battles were exciting and the graphics were AMAZING, but, I believe that there was probably a lot of different underlying subtext messages in all of this action.

You can find the quotes at www.imdb.com/title/tt0418279/quotes

The first lines of the movie:
Optimus Prime: Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war. A war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space. We scattered across the galaxy, hoping to find it and rebuild our home. Searching every star, every world. And just when all hope seemed lost, message of a new discovery drew us to an unknown planet called... Earth.
[later in the movie]
Optimus Prime: Our planet was once a powerful empire, peaceful and just, until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. All who defied them were destroyed. Our war finally consumed the planet, and the All Spark was lost to the stars.

I think that starting with these lines were very smart and needed. It gives background information and a foreshadow of things to come. I think that the script writer wanted to explain what the Cube means to the universe - it means power. This opening ultimately explains that with power, anything is possible. It can create war or it could be used to rebuild. Later in the movie, the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, again talks about the how power could affect something. In this case, Prime says that power caused a rebellion and destroyed a planet until all power was lost. I feel like this movie is so revel ant to the world today. There are so many countries fighting within itself and with other countries. From my perspective, this movie is saying how eventually, all this fighting will only cause more fighting and the whole world will become dead.


One theme in this movie is sacrifice.
Mikaela: "I have a juvi record because I didn't tell what my dad did. If you had to sacrifice anything in your perfect life, would you do it?"
Sam Whitwicky: "Fifty years from now, when you're looking back at your life, don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?"
Mikaela: No matter what happens, I'm really glad I got in that car with you.
Captain Witwicky: No sacrifice, no victory.
Optimus Prime: "You risked your life for the Cube" Sam: "It was sacrifice for victory" Optimus Prime: "Then I will risk mines also."

Optimus Prime: A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet. We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes

Optimus Prime: Oh, Jazz... We lost a great comrade, but gained new ones. Thank you, all of you. You honor us with your bravery.
In this movie, there was a lot of sacrifices. Most of this movie is about expecting the unexpected and along the way you need to make some sacrifices. One thing that was nice about this movie was that by the end of the movie, everything you heard tied back together. For example, how Mikaela (Megan Fox) saw what would have happened if she didn't get in the car. Another example would be when Sam (Shia Labeouf) repeated his grandfathers words. In this quote, the repetition shows how much you need to sacrifice if you want to achieve something. And tying in with the previous theme, Optimus Prime also states how when they had a mistake, they needed to sacrifice for the future generations. I really liked this quote because of how applicable it was to me. You need to sacrifice your time, energry and life for your family. However, Prime is saying that to prevent more mistakes happening he will sacrifice himself. These kind of geniune "people" arent really found these days - it would be nice to find someone like that.

Another theme is Good vs Evil.
Optimus Prime: Were we so different? They're a young species. They have much to learn. But I've seen goodness in them. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. You all know there's only one way to end this war: we must destroy the Cube.
Megatron: You still fight for the weak! That is why you lose!
[Closing Statement]
Optimus Prime: With the All Spark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight, but watching over them in secret, waiting, protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye.

Obviously, this theme is probably the most obvious theme out of all. Again, the wise one, Optimus Primse states how all of us were primiative and violent at a time, waging war on each other. And as However, because he saw the goodness of two kids, he thinks that Earth is worth fighting for. On the other side, to Megatron, to be defenseless and primative is to weak. Optimus Prime wants the world to be a better place because he can fix their mistakes. He believes how much man and the Autobots are alike. All of these themes can be tied to together with how you need to be brave and courageous to stand up for what you believe in. This movie was pretty good because I saw this movie for the action. But I got out of it so much more.

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