I looked at the film poster for Transmutators and thought, âOkay, a mockbuster of Transformers, probably made by The Asylum.â But this isnât a mockbuster.
In fact, it has nothing to do with Transformers. That poster, which promises something like Optimus Prime? Itâs a lie. And thatâs not the filmâs fault.
In reality, Transmutators is a post-apocalyptic, Filipino-made sci-fi movie about an alien invasion, mutants, and mech suits. There are almost zero robots here. The film was made in 2007 but didnât get a North American release until 2023, whenâfor some unidentified reasonâSamuel Goldwyn Films decided to distribute it on Prime Video and Tubi.
The original title is actually Resiklo, which in Tagalog means ârecycle.â And that makes sense, because the premise is that aliens and the mutated humans theyâve taken over have all but conquered the planet. Whatâs left is a small human outpost in the Philippines, where survivors build mech suits out of recycled parts to fight back.
That has nothing to do with Transformers. There arenât even any transforming abilities in this film. So why did Samuel Goldwyn Films, of all companies, pick this movie for releaseâand market it like an Asylum-style mockbuster? Thatâs the real mystery. They usually distribute arthouse films, but this? Not an arthouse film at all.
Now, if there are bad reviews of this movie, I think we should place less blame on the filmmakers and more on Samuel Goldwynâs marketing department. So letâs break it downâwhat this film actually is, who it was made for, and what its intention was.
It was made in 2007. Itâs a Filipino film. You should never expect a Hollywood production budget from something like this. But for what they had? They made something okay. Is it amazing? No. Is it Tommy Wiseau-level bad? Also no.
If youâre going to watch Transmutators, you have to treat it as a cultural experience. This is a Filipino sci-fi movie. The performances? Weâre not getting the true quality of them, because weâre stuck with dubs. The original Filipino audio isnât available, so you canât judge the actors based on the voices you hear. And the lead actorsâDingdong Dantes (yes, thatâs his real name) and Ramon âBongâ Revilla Jr.âare credible performers. Theyâve starred in solid Filipino films before, and here, they take everything seriously. Theyâre not treating it as a joke.
Visually, for a 2007 film with a minimal budget, the CGI is pretty decent. By 2023 standards, it looks rough, but for its time, it does a solid job. The set design, the settings, the costumesâall respectable. I actually liked the mech suits. And the fight choreography? Itâs all right. Is it on par with Hong Kong action cinema? No. But itâs certainly better than most direct-to-DVD action films.
More importantly, the movie has an original story, interesting characters, and even compelling villains. These characters have motivations and unique abilities, and everything builds toward a crescendo that works.
At times, Transmutators feels too ambitious for its budget. From the opening scenes alone, you can tell the director wished he had a multi-million-dollar budget. He clearly wanted to do a lot, but the filmâs limitations are obvious.
Another issue is that it sometimes tries too hard to be family-friendly. I get itâmech suits and aliens have kid appealâbut the child-focused plot points feel shoehorned in. Then there are the narrative flaws: plot holes, story threads that go nowhere, and missed opportunities. A good love story could have developed, but it didnât. And without spoiling the ending, letâs just say there are some Star Wars-like familial entanglements that donât really go anywhere.
If you were a Filipino teenager in the 2000s, youâd probably be pumped to see a legit sci-fi movie in Tagalog, with action scenes and special effects.
Are there better Filipino sci-fi movies? Yes. Better Filipino action films? Absolutely. But at the time, there werenât many Filipino films with this kind of ambitionâthe ambition to reach for the stars and deliver something that looks like a Hollywood blockbuster, even if it doesnât have the budget to match.
Clearly, the filmmakers did the best they could with what they had, and I canât knock them for that.
If youâre expecting a blockbusterâor even a mockbusterâdonât bother. But if youâre willing to ignore the marketing, ignore the Transmutators title (because this is really Reciklo), and recognize this as a unique cultural experience? Then yes, itâs worth checking out. Itâs an ambitious 2000s sci-fi film that doesnât quite meet its own ambitionsâbut that ambition is still worth appreciating.
Itâs Optimus Shame