Dark of the Moon How to make TF3 better than the first 2 movies

[The Lizard]

Yeah, I know -- it's pointless to even think that Michael Bay is going to change any aspect of his money-making formula for Transformers 3.

But just for fun, let's pretend that Bay was actually open to suggestions on how to make TF3 a more coherent, better acted, better plotted, well-paced sci-fi action film in comparison to the first two TF movies.

Getting the obvious out of the way first....

1. Less romantic intrigue between Sam and Mikaela.

Let's face facts - there's absolutely no chemistry between LeBeouf and Fox whatsoever. Now that Sam is the unlikely goofball who actually got the impossibly hot girl, there's not many interesting directions for their relationship to go. So please - no more agonizing subplots like the "say you love me" stupidity in TF:ROTF.

2. More focus on the main TF characters, less on the comedy relief characters.

Yes - I'm talking about the Twins. Whether you hated them or thought they were knee-slappingly hilarious , they still took too much valuable screen time from much more worthy 'bots. Same with John Tuturro's Agent Simmons. Give the character something to do, but enough with the same lame recycled gags.

3. More wide-angle action shots, less choppy, machine-gun editing.

Although Roland Emmerich's 2012 was every bit as mindless and over-the-top as TF:ROTF, I found the action scenes in 2012 to be much more watchable and they even succeeded in building some legitimate tension towards the end of the film. How about some epic Transformer battle scenes that show us a static landscape with several 'bots battling within? Or perhaps a non-slow-motion scene that still manages to make the action perfectly clear? Can Bay let go of some of his his favorite cliche's?


Probably not.

 

[mikey1974]

1) less parents...or none at all....they were a slightly funny distraction in the first movie...that became a full blown unfunny distraction in ROTF...we don't need them anymore...

2) Sam and Mikaela ,either have them completely together,or completely apart...they should be a side note,not one of the main plot threads...

3) need a full-blown Autobot - Decepticon battle...not these little skirmishes,but actual like 20 vs 20 hand to hand and laser battle...

4) Unicron...i think this could work...have Astrotrain arrive,nearly dead,on Earth and inform Megatron that Cybertron has been consumed by Unicron (might as well get rid of it,they never do anything with the planet anyway!)....and it's headed this way...making the Autobot's and Decepticons,with no where else to go (and not enough energon left to really flee anywhere else),have to team up and defeat him...

5) SERIOUSLY cut down or eliminate all sex,bodily function,and racial jokes...

 

[Jake Cassidy]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with you Lizard, to some extent. Although I think that LaBeouf and Fox have much better chemistry than, for example, Maguire and Dunst.

I actually wouldn't mind if Emmerich took over the franchise. He'd keep the same spectacle about TF, but without the immaturity. He's like a more mature Bay. t:

 

[The Lizard]

I actually wouldn't mind if Emmerich took over the franchise. He'd keep the same spectacle about TF, but without the immaturity. He's like a more mature Bay. t:

You know, I agree with you here as well. Although Emmerich has sort of become more and more like Bay with each film since Independence Day, I still think he has the capacity for more range and depth than Bay, if he puts his mind to it.

 

[Jake Cassidy]

Universal Soldier is a personal favourite of mine. Stargate and The Patriot are also pretty good, too.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

- action sequences that are suspenseful not just random explosions in slo-mo.

- feature Cybertron as a fully-realized planet with interesting culture/architechture and various lifeforms the way Cameron did with Avatar. And most of the drama/action should take place on Cybertron with most of the shenanigans taking place between humans and the locals (kind of like Tatooine in Star Wars A New Hope)

- Kill off Megan Fox and bring her back as an andriod. Hear me out. Sam and Mikaela's relationship is boring to add some spice to it change the dynamics completely. Mikaela is killed and Sam is in despair. The Autobots on Cybertron say they can download Mikaela's brain wave patterns and give her a mechanical body. She will be alive but not organic. Sam desperate to connect with her again agrees to the operation. This adds sci-fi elements that Transormers has been desperately missing. It's the Bride of Frankenstien meets The Matrix. You take a character who was simply eye candy and turn her into layered sci-fi canon. Mecha-Mikaela feels out of place and like a freak. She ultimately sacrifices her self to save the Autobot resistance.

- have gesalts (combining Transformers) battle in a city-leveling fight for ground-level supremacy. They should be not only big but humanoid, unlike Devastator from Bayformers 2. They should have personalities and ear-shattering voices that are god-like.

- If Unicron is included make sure he is the devil behind the scenes like he was in Transformers the animated movie. This adds complexity to a character that should be more than a force of nature. I'm looking at you Fantastic Four sequel.

- add a scientist character who can express how impressive Cybertron is. Possibly a female character to replace Mikaela as Sam's love interest. Maybe she could be a scientific journalist.

- on Cybertron the Autobots are the underdogs. The Decepticons are a military force that control cybertron and the Autobots are a band of workers and scientist forced to fight back. This adds meaning and context to their battle with the Decepticons.

- Grimlock should be a Conan like warrior who is the only Transformer who believes in gods. He should be an outcast but respected as a fierce warrior. The dinobots should be a tribe of autobot warriors who choose dinosaurs as their alt-form because they respect their legendary size and verocity.

- Add headmasters, Transformers piloted by humans. This creates a unique bond between humans and Transformers. It also gives the military characters a purpose on cybertron.

- replace the toilet humor with dark comedy.

- use a script that goes for cyber-punk space opera rather than dumb action movie with robots blowing up stuff.

- Keep the stakes high and the situation desperate for humans and autobots on Cybertron. This keeps the suspense level high.

- Create more drama between Transformers. Shockwave is cold, calculating and conflicts with Starscreams passion and mutinous schemes. Some autobots disagree on the humans role in the war. Autobots are visably shaken by their losses and their chances of winning. There's even double-spys for both sides who bring out the emotions of betrayal and deep seated hatred.

- The mood should be more like a Lord of the Rings movie (charming humor sparsed into a dark war epic) and less like a Mummy movie (goofy forgettable crap).

- Give the Transformers human-like faces so they're more relatable.

 

[polm]

its easy

add dinobots and its gg

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

and don't forget lasers.

"pew pew pew!"

I'm serious btw.

Lasers make the Transformers seem like a much more formidable force with futuristic weaponry.

 

[The Lizard]

- Kill off Megan Fox and bring her back as an andriod. Hear me out...

LOL wut t:

- Grimlock should be a Conan like warrior who is the only Transformer who believes in gods. He should be an outcast but respected as a fierce warrior. The dinobots should be a tribe of autobot warriors who choose dinosaurs as their alt-form because of they respect their legendary size and ferocity.

Hmm... the Dinobots as an Autobot fringe cult group? Interesting.

- Add headmasters, Transformers piloted by humans. This creates a unique bond between humans and Transformers. It also gives the military characters a purpose on cybertron.

I don't know about actual Headmasters, but I agree that the idea of the Autobots helping the humans develop big mecha-robots to fight the Dcons is a cool idea. An idea currently seen in the newest TF comic miniseries from IDW.

- Create more drama between Transformers. Shockwave is cold a calculating and conflicts with Starscreams passion and mutinous schemes. Some autobots disagree on the humans role in the war. Autobots are visibly shaken by their losses and their chances of winning. There's even double-spies for both sides who bring out the emotions of betrayal and deep seated hatred.

- The mood should be more like a Lord of the Rings movie (charming humor sparsed into a dark war epic) and less like a Mummy movie (goofy forgettable crap).

3) need a full-blown Autobot - Decepticon battle...not these little skirmishes,but actual like 20 vs 20 hand to hand and laser battle...

Yes, yes, YES.

 

[Ipodman]

Change the director. No im kidding...well...

Yea more suspensive action scenes

 

[Adrian89]

- No twins;
- No corny jokes;
- NO transformers with balls & d_ _k;
- No more non-sense scenes like in the second half of TFII;
- MORE battles like the one in the forest from TFII between Prime & those decepticons;
- More drama maybe;
- A badass Starscream;
- More screen time for transformers like Ironhide & Ratchet.

That's about all I can think of for now.

 

[mikey1974]

a starscream,who convinces Shockwave that he (Shockwave) should be leader of the Decepticons since Megatron,due to failures at Mission City and Egypt,can't hack it anymore...while ALSO telling Megatron that Shockwave is planning to betray him...setting Starscream up as the possible winner / leader if Megs and Shockwave destroy each other...

we need more conniving to be the Leader Starcream...

 

[Superhero 101]

New Autobot Design Make them Upgrades and here are the concepts i liked from the New Transformer Video Game coming Soon

 

[Jochimus]

What I'd do:
* Kick Bay and his writers to the curb (not gonna happen, obviously).
* Do away with the odious comic-relief robots and robo-potty humor.
* Streamline the robot designs a bit - NOT necessarily make them more G1ish, mind you, but rather make them more distinctive so that you can actually tell who's who during the fight scenes. I would also not be averse to further upgrading some of the vehicle modes for the "established" TFs.
* Give the robots a little more characterization.
* Do something to explore the history of the TFs WITHOUT resorting to the typical 'the aliens were on Earth long before civilized man' trope.
* No more resurrections for the time being. In ROTF no less than THREE characters return from the great beyond (OK, one was dead for a grand total of 10 seconds, but it still counts IMO). And that said, with the exemption of those three characters from further demises, if you're gonna kill more characters, then kill'em good.
* Get Bumblebee talking already...like he did at the end of the first movie.
* Keep exploring the different kinds of TFs that there are, but gradually - Pretenders and Combiners were a nice first step; I wouldn't mind seeing Targetmasters or even a variation on the Japanese Transtector concept (smaller robot plugs into what's basically a transforming power suit to become a larger robot). Oh, and Sharkticons. t:
* A big Optimus vs. Megatron blade-and-mace duel.

 

[Chris B]

My recommendations would be:

- Lose the toilet/sex/drug humor
- Tighten up the story
- Improve the characterization of the TF's which can easily be done by giving both sides a fair share of non-human scenes

 

[NickNitro]

I agree with all of you, and to think I thought I was the only one lol.

1. Less humans + more robots = Good movie

2. Better Character archs especially Starscream. You get a hint that he wants to take over the Decepticons as leader in TRF 2 but I want more of it! I want Megatron bossing him around and Starscream talking under his breathe. I want him talking to the other Decepticons about how he cant stand Megatrons decisions in battle.

3. When Bumblebee FINALLY decides to talk for more then 2 seconds without his radio voice, I want him to be the badass that thinks he can lead the team and goes out and does stupid yet brave acts to try and prove himself.

4. I believe Unicron can be done but very carefully not like Galactus in FF2.

5. The introduction of Minicons . I think the only good way Sam can be implemented anymore in these movies is to help seek out Minicons.

 

[Brother Jack]

Fire Michael Bay, hire someone better. All problems solved.

 

[SuperFerret]

Less is more approach. Focus on the main Transformers, make the humans more bearable (more military, less Sam), have the action have more purpose.

 

[sandmjuggalos]

New Autobot Design Make them Upgrades and here are the concepts i liked from the New Transformer Video Game coming Soon

Those seem to be concept art from TF: Animated. My son has Megs and Optimus and they look exactly like that. Hmm...a TF: Animated game huh? That could be cool....

 

[AnorexicBatman]

Blue cat people and everything should glow like a neon sign.
Yes I liked Avatar.

 

[[A]]

How to make TF3 better than the first 2 movies

It's easy. You kidnap Bay, LaBeouf, Fox, Orci, Kurtzman, the entire Fail Gang, lock them and throw the key. You should kill yourself, because you know where they're locked and we don't want you to chicken out and release them..

 

[weezerspider]

Make it more about the Autobots and Decepticons. The humans need to ALWAYS come 2nd to the bots.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

-No humans.
-More Transformers, Autobots and Decepticons.
-No twins.
-Give Iron Hide and Rachet they're much overdue screen time. Throw in Sideswipe because the three together are awesome.
-Starscream and Megaton actually fight.
-No Wheelie.
-The Autobots actually win something without human help.
-Cybertronian vehicle modes.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Less humans is a must, it seems the humans have basically won all the major battles so far and its just not what we want to see, I would honestly restrict the humans in TF3 to Sam, Mikaela, Lennox and Epps, with a cameo from the parents.

All the rest should be bot time and let us get to know some of them better.

 

[Mr. Earle]

A nude scene with Megan Fox.