Transformers Bay's Redemption- The Island?

[CFlash]

OK, so I finally watched The Island... pretty much as a direct result of some of you here (thanks).

And I gotta say it was pretty damn good. Pretty good "sci fi"... not in the "great sci-fi" vein as "Gattaca" or "AI," but pretty good nonetheless. I was impressed.

That movie I think bodes very well for Transformers.... Lots of action but also a good amount of character. It was almost Spielberg-ish.
Of course... it could be a bad thing too... he may be so disappointed with its box-office take that he snaps back to Armageddon mode (I hope not).

The guys who wrote The Island also wrote TF... I think that bodes well also.

 

[GhostPoet]

OK, so I finally watched The Island... pretty much as a direct result of some of you here (thanks).

And I gotta say it was pretty damn good. Pretty good "sci fi"... not in the "great sci-fi" vein as "Gattaca" or "AI," but pretty good nonetheless. I was impressed.

That movie I think bodes very well for Transformers.... Lots of action but also a good amount of character. It was almost Spielberg-ish.
Of course... it could be a bad thing too... he may be so disappointed with its box-office take that he snaps back to Armageddon mode (I hope not).

The guys who wrote The Island also wrote TF... I think that bodes well also.

Get ready for a flaming...most people here don't like anything Bay. :P

I thought the Island was FANTASTIC. I enjoyed it just as much as Minority Report (one of the greatest sci-fi films since Blade runner).

And actually..I loved Armageddon too. Saw it tons of times. It was a fun, action packed film with lots of emotion.

 

[CFlash]

Adapted and re-edited from a different thread to avoid that "flaming"....

Although I've "enjoyed" Bay's movies for the most part, I've always felt a little "dumber" each time I left the theater. Pearl Harbor was an attrocious movie that looked pretty. Armageddon (sorry ghostpoet) is one of the dumbest movies I have ever seen.

He doesn't make "smart" movies... but he does make pretty ones.

The Island, however, was a good breakthrough for him. But I do think he needs to do what Sam Raimi did and make a movie like "A Simple Plan" (which was awesome).... That might teach him basic moviemaking skills (subtext, building suspense, dialog) rather than larger-than-life Music Video skills.
Because, let's face it, he's not a good "movie maker" in the traditional sense. He doesn't know how to build suspense or terror or pretty much any emotion except "awe" and "gee-whiz."

 

[ragdus]

I am not hugely familiar with most of Bay's movies, but I too enjoyed The Island

Yes, it wasn't much of a box office success. As I recall, neither was Amelie, The Usual Suspects or Reservoir Dogs. But each were great in their own way (not saying The Island was great!) Box office numbers don't equal good films. ESPECIALLY in the U.S.

I think a big reason for it's flop was all the people who felt personally jilted by Pearl Harbor. And disliking one film is a stupid reason not to see a completely different one. But maybe that's just me...

 

[CFlash]

I am not hugely familiar with most of Bay's movies, but I too enjoyed The Island

Yes, it wasn't much of a box office success. As I recall, neither was Amelie, The Usual Suspects or Reservoir Dogs. But each were great in their own way (not saying The Island was great!) Box office numbers don't equal good films. ESPECIALLY in the U.S.

I think a big reason for it's flop was all the people who felt personally jilted by Pearl Harbor. And disliking one film is a stupid reason not to see a completely different one. But maybe that's just me...

Wow, an intelligent post from ragdus.

You're right Box office numbers don't always mean much. After all, Armageddon and ID4 made huge numbers and those are some of the worst "sci fi" movies ever made.

But usually a director builds up a "rep." The Island is evidence of that.
Bay has built up a rep for schlock that I'm not so sure plays well post 9/11. Watching the "cartoon" carnage in some of those 90's movies is almost insulting now. It's just weird. I mean people clapped when the Capitol was blown up in ID4 (I know that wasnt Bay but him and Emmeric are practically twins in terms of moviemaking). When something similar happened to the Pentagon in real life... lots of people realized that **** wasn't so funny.

 

[ragdus]

Hey just because I'm tired of your bumblebee fixation doesn't mean I can't converse with you in other threads!

 

[CFlash]

Hey just because I'm tired of your bumblebee fixation doesn't mean I can't converse with you in other threads!

I aint' fixated. Just sad. I loved Bumblebee. Stop lashing out at me.
Somebody's gotta stick up for the little guy.