Optimal viewing
Battling robots seem to be a hit in streaming world
The Transformers may be robots in disguise, but there’s no hiding the fact that this franchise has morphed into a big pile of metallic dung. And it may have reached rock bottom with its latest outing, the just-released Transformers: The Last Knight.
The fifth Michael Bay-directed Transformers film has been savaged by many critics — Postmedia’s own Liz Braun called it “an incomprehensible pile of scrap” — and with Bay vowing that this is his last turn at directing Autobots and Decepticons, we may not see the Transformers again for a while. If we’re lucky.
Fear not, though. Just because Optimus Prime and pals have stank up the screen with their live-action outings doesn’t mean we can’t get our fix of giant fighting metal machines.
Here’s a roundup of movies and TV shows featuring big, battlin’ robots, and where you can stream or rent them.
PACIFIC RIM (2013)
Director Guillermo del Toro paid homage to Japanese giant robot comics and movies with this spectacular-looking tale of humanpiloted mechas battling an invasion of equally massive monsters emerging from the ocean. A sequel is in the works, starring The Force Awakens’ John Boyega.
TRANSFORMERS (2007)
Michael Bay’s first Transformers movie isn’t exactly what we’d call good, but at the time it was super cool to see our Autobot heroes come to life in a big-budget, liveaction spectacle. Every film since the first has been worse — much worse in some cases. Let us never again speak the names Skids and Mudflap.
ROBOTECH (1985)
Japan’s long fascination with giant robots predates this classic sci-fi anime series, but for many viewers here in North America, this was our first TV introduction to Japanese animation that tried to retain the complexity of the source material. Considering its age, it still holds up pretty well.
BATTLESHIP (2012)
If you go into this movie with the right mindset — expecting a silly, cheese ball, action-packed tale of earthlings staving off an alien menace — you might just enjoy it. And the fights between the battleships and the massive, robot-like alien warcraft are super-cool to watch. Bonus: Rihanna, “acting”!
TRANSFORMERS: BEAST MACHINES (1999)
OK, the robots might not exactly be giant — and they turn into animals instead of cars, tanks and fighter jets — but this series is actually one of the more watchable of the endless Transformers spinoffs, if you can look past the dated CGI. It also alerted us to the existence of Tubi TV, a free streaming service we’d never heard of before.
GODZILLA AGAINST MECHAGODZILLA (2002)
Godzilla’s mechanical nemesis has always been one of his fan-favourite opponents, and this movie — the 26th in the Godzilla saga — brings him back in fine form. It’s a lot of fun, the story is better than many flicks in the genre, and the battle scenes capture a perfect mix of rubber monster cheese and thrilling action.
THE IRON GIANT (1999)
Before we came to associate Vin Diesel with automotive superheroics, he loaned his gravelly pipes to the title character in this animated tale of a boy who makes a massive mechanical friend. It was the first film by director Brad Bird (The Incredibles), and is surprisingly — or maybe not surprisingly — emotional. No, YOU’RE crying!