I gotta shoot this bullsh** down...
As I've been going through rants and raves about this movie, I've noticed a lot of self proclaimed fans whine and ***** about how this movie is ruining their childhood. Think about it, you're an adult crying over a toy and cartoon. There's nothing wrong with being a fan, but you have to know the difference between being a fan and being a fanatic. Fanatics do not think logically. I am a huge TF fan, grew up watching the G1 cartoons, had the toys with authentic TF insignias you rub to see if it's an official Hasbro toy. At first I wasn't sure about the direction the movie was going w/ the designs. But being a fan means supporting the product, to help introduce future generations to something we've all grown and love.
The toys did not match the show about 70% of the time.
If the show's producers did attempt to do such, the show would have looked really crappy. (No heads for Ironhide or Ratchet, Blaster is twice the size of Prime, etc...)
The show/movie, and to an extent the comic books, brought us a world where the characters took center stage. THOSE characters are what most of the fanbase are attached to...
1. What's up with Optimus Prime's design? First it was the complaint about his long nose and flames from AICN's leak. Quint recently talked to Bay about it and says, "The reason I went with the flames was to be able to define Prime's mid-section when he's a robot." Apparently, the flames are set sort of like ribs on the robot Prime, giving his mid-section more than just a monotone look. He also said that the only reason he picked a long-nose truck instead of a flat-nose truck was purely for the additional mass." This comparison image shows the differences between a G1 Prime and the new movie Prime.
Prime's midsection was defined quite well in his G1 appearance.
I do agree with needing more mass to make Prime a larger robot, but it could have been achieved more creatively.
Traditional Prime - Bay's Prime
I think using the traditional color scheme for Prime is a bit aesthetically boring. Robot mode looks fine but alt mode is just too uninteresting. So Prime looks more interesting and detailed with flames, so Bay decided to go that way. It doesn't mean Bay has gone his own way apart from the TF. The truck is almost identical to the G2 Laser Rod Optimus Prime. And it's a very common practice for semi owners to put decal on their trucks, be it flames or not. It's nothing new or surprising if you've driven on any US highway.
Those flames look like crap, especially when they are totally opposite of Prime's character.
Flames scream "bad-ass anti-hero", like a biker or something to that effect.
Adding flames also draws attention to the vehicle, instead of letting the vehicle blend in: one of the main principles of the transforming concept.
2. Why isn't Bumblebee a VW Bug? So people are crying that BB is not a vw bug but a camaro. So forget that Hasbro has been trying to get a VW out for some time, and Hasbro designer Aaron Archer stated, "Volkswagen had refused to license an Alternator BB. Volkswagen refused to license the car, however, supposedly due to the warlike nature of the Transformers. Since VW was hit hard in 2002 by a lawsuit by holocaust victims for their involvement in WWII (as a German manufacturer), VW is understandably reluctant to have its name tied to anything that could be considered a war machine." So yes, legally, they can't make BB like his G1 counterpart. But is his counterpart partically the best way to go? A yellow Camaro with black stripes look a lot more like a bumblebee than a yellow VW Bug. The Bug looks a lot more like a yellow dung beetle to me.
Camaro - VW Bug
Writers Bob and Alex stated that they wanted BB to be cool. As dorky as we see the VW Bug, in the 80's, it was considered a cool thing. Now, the Bug is everything but cool. I'm sure you played that game where when you saw a Slug Bug, you punched your friends. The car's a joke. Wouldn't you rather see Sam, as a leading character, drive the Camaro. He's not Lindsay Lohan and BB is not Herbie.
Bumblebee was/is NOT a "cool" character. He was the little runt that had to prove himself amongst the other Autobots. Making him a muscle car totally disrespects the original character. They could have easily used one of the sub-compact dars that are so popular these days. (Scion xA, Yaris, Aveo, Vibe, Matrix... the list goes on...)
3. Why do the decepticons look like insects while the autobots look humanoid? Well, I'm surprised I haven't seen any one post this, but have you noticed the design for the TF resemble their insignias? Well, isn't that a shocker. The design team did use the most recognizable identification as a starting point in the design of the autobots and decepticons.
Transformers Insignias
Both factions originate from the same species/brand, according to the original story. This is yet another example of Bay and crew's creative erections going limp mid-stroke.
4. The TF are too so complicated? It's gonna take forever to transform my toys. How many times are the producers/writers going to have to explain they're making a movie here, not a toyline. A movie design shouldn't be influenced by its merchandising. I want to see giant ****ing robots on screen transforming and destroying as cool and awestrucking as possible. If you're watching this movie just for the toy, you're watching it for the wrong reason. I'm watching a movie about characters I grew up with, separate from the G1 cartoons and toys. If I wanted it exactly like the cartoon, I would just watch them. If I wanted TF toys, than I would buy more TF Alternators. My Nemesis Prime is kicking *** on my shelf right now (and he's a Dodge Ram not a Semi). Transformers The Movie, is exactly what it says it is in the title. A movie.
With Hasbro involved, a toyline was a GIVEN. Why they saw fit to totally ignore the excellent "Alternators" line in search of something more "realistic" is yet another leadership blunder at Hasbro. I'm amazed these dudes still have jobs...
5. The writers don't know anything about the G1 cartoon. The cartoon is perfect as is. Have you seen the cartoons lately? Episode 1, doesn't make sense that all the transformers in Cybertronian form look like their alt mode on Earth, before they even arrive there. Bumblebee is a VW Bug in robot mode and a flying saucer in his alt mode.
Bumblebee, the flying saucer.
The cartoon is not exactly the perfect source material. And fans complain about exposing parts in a movie that hasn't even come out yet. I'm thinking people are just looking for things to nitpick at now. Change it up to make it more acceptable. They are living beings. They need a complicated body not just balljoints. Fear of change has given fans this mindset that what a person grew up with as perfect.
Change was indeed needed, but not a total desecration of the old property. Once again, I bring up the "Alternators" line as an example of updating the old characters into new forms and still retaining classic features. Maybe they should have hired Takara's design team? NOPE. Not American enough...
6. They got Spider-man and X-men right, why can't they get Transformers right? SM was far from perfect. Dunst made a horrible MJ which should've been Gwen Stacey. Green Goblin looked like a power ranger. Organic webbing, genetically altered spider, changes continue. But no matter the changes, it was still a fun movie. X-men had Halle Berry's disappearing/reappearing African accent. Wolverine is a foot taller than he's suppose to be. Rogue can't fly, Jean Grey evolved into the phoenix, etc. Singer took a lot of creative liberties with XM, but the spirit of the XM was there, so the movie succeeded. So what the fans should be so adamant about are the personalities of each character not the design.
Spider-Man and X-Men changed roughly 20% of the visuals, and kept most of the characters' personalities intact. Mind you, these are human characters, so there was a need to stick to some sort of realism as well as respect the old stuff...
Bay is retaining about 12% of the old source material.
7. We absolutely hate Starscream! I have to agree, he's just ugly. No arguments. The toy prototype does resemble Waspinator. But remember, it's just an early toy prototype. It's not even colored. Wouldn't surprise me if they changed Starscream's design. Being vocal, yet logical, does help when you can give constructive criticisms.
"Masterpiece Starscream" says it all. Once again, this is a result of a horrible creative team. Hell, using the word "creative" is being generous...
8. Megatron should be a gun! I've always hated megatron as a gun. So ignore the fact that the 1988 Federal Toy Gun Law forbids the sale of toy guns, Megatron's alt mode is a mass shifting pistol that doesn't have mobility and requires Starscream to fire. So I welcome the change of Megatron to be more like Galvatron. So he looks hideous. But remember, in the leaked script, Megatron appears on Earth and gets discovered in the late 19th century, before tanks and jets. He has to look not from this Earth as much as possible. I wouldn't be surprised if Megatron adapts to a more modern alt mode as the story progresses.
Megatron should be a tank or another war vehicle comparable to Prime's size... WITH a big black cannon on his right arm. There are concept designs out there (Prowler974, I see you! haha) that prove it COULD have been done nicely... but they didn't care to.
9. Jazz should be a porsche! Well, I agree there too but considering Porsche owns a large share of VW, they might follow the same views on war machines being associated with them. I saw a white 2006 Pontiac Solstice yesterday, and it doesn't look bad. Passible as Jazz even though he's gray in the movie, shows up better on screen? Who knows. Those who complain about the value of the car, low production of the Solstice makes it a bit more rare. I'm curious about why there are so many American cars. I'm hoping a way to can get more imports in Transformers is by supporting the movie to make it a success so car manufacturers will compete for a chance to have a concept in the upcoming sequels.
If Porsche doesn't want their cars int he film, by all means it's their right.
Jazz was remade NICELY as a Mazda RX8 for the "Alternators" line. (Google for "Meister")
10. Bay as a director? What more do you want? Bay's directing, Speilberg producing, ILM doing effects. Bay knows action ie. Bad Boys 2, the Rock, though critics say his stories are usually lacking. But as least his dialogs aren't as wooden as Lucas'. Padme's dead? NOOO! Bay specializes in fast action, low angle shots with lots of panning. That's perfect for the TF. You want Michael Mann's shaky cam shots? Singer? Superman didn't throw one punch in the whole movie, just stalked Lois the whole 3 hours. Peter Jackson would have had a 20 minute slow motion scene. Raimi would do his Evil Dead sped up style. There's no one better than Bay for this project.
As far as a director, Bay does a great job... of blowing things up and shooting things up. His character interaction leaves A LOT to be desired, as evidenced by the leaked script where the TFs hardly speak.
There's no pleasing some fans. Be happy a movie is even being made. If you don't like it, you have the 20th Anniversary Movie coming to DVD. But I think the reason everyone keeps coming back to the boards, ranting or raving, is because we're all excited about this movie. So like any other origin stories told on the big screen, support it so they can make a sequel even better than the first.
20 years from now, "TF:TM 2007" won't come close to being as loved and respected as "TF:TM 1986".
Before I read comments that I'm a plant from the studio or a single 40 year old virgin fanboy who lives in his mother's basement, I'm 27. I own my home and my gf is standing next to me yelling at me for looking at Transformers way too damn much. Studied film in school, 2 degrees from the Univ. of Texas. Worked for the government doing satellite surveillance and texture maps for game companies. Hung out with Kevin Spacey when he filmed "Life of David Gale" and my car was used in Linklater's "Fast Food Nation". I have a big love for cinema and Transformers. Looking forward to seeing it as I'm sure most of you are.
Great. You're a grown man. I'd say around 70% of us are posting from our jobs during the day, and might even log on at night after we put our children to bed and f*** the hell out of our hot wives/GFs.
F*** your life, though...
This is about Michael Bay and crew taking a property that needed rejuvenation and totally trashing it to fit THEIR personal desires.
This is "Bad Filmmaking 101" we're witnessing here.
Damned shame it had to be Transformers...
A true Transformers fan.
Paramount plant, more like it...
You could read a few articles about directing (and movies in general), and confirm what I'm saying...
500 posts, lol took me over 2 yrs.
