Transformers The Reviews Thread

[Figs]

Starscream: Excuse me, Mister Bay, all my lines just say "BLARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!"
Bay: Just stick to the script.

Starscream: How about I improv a little?

Bay: How about no!

Starscream: You let the other cast members do some improv.....

Bay: Yeah, well there human. Shut up before my hairdo eats you alive.

LOL. As you can see im starting to get bored and sleepy. t:

 

[blind_fury]

Megatron/Galvatron did tend to look for magical things, especially in the cartoon. Aztec crystals, Atlantis, the Decepticon Matrix, Ruby Crystals, the Pearl of Bahuddin, The Matrix, Vector Sigma, of and the list goes on and on and on. And in the story he isn't looking for "magical glasses", he inscribed a code on the glasses once he was activated accidentally, and since he is in stasis his Decepticons must find them to find the Allspark. This actually comes straight out of Beast Wars when Megatron (the Decepticon leader, not the Predacon leader) inscribed a map on the Satillite orbiting earth with a message for future Decepticons.

of all those magical concepts "magical glasses" is the silliest. And you should use the strongest concepts from the source material, not the weakest.

And Beast Wars IS Transformers, whether you want to separate them or not, and it's a LOT more influential than G1 was...which essentially now is rewritten off the basis of what Beast Wars laid down. Beast Wars not only is Transformers, it's the most successful and popular incarnation to date...especially among the fanbase. Drawing from that, as far as any fan is concerned, is not only fine, it's necessary. Almost as necessary as minicons have become in toylines.

If it's the most successful they would've called the movie Beast Wars and made movie with talking cheetahs and rats.

That was more or less the first story. Megatron came down to Earth, Buster was trying to get laid at a drive in theatre. A war erupts in the parking lot and he and his "girlfriend" end up in the back seat of Bumblebee. Bob Budinsky had some great stories later on, but unfortunately all the stuff he and Simon Furman did that was really good was unadaptable as it requires some backing first.

In order to adapt something you have to make an honest attempt first.

You couldn't develop much of a mythology in the first film if you wanted to. I haven't seen his movie yet, but one of the smart things Singer did was utillize a very simple and straight forward story for X1. Sure it wasn't great, and in some cases it was just stringing action sequences together...but it was a good setup for the sequel. And the comic adaptation reads well and is satisfying from that angle.

Batman Begins has it flaws but it covers alot of ground without using a weak story that simply serves as filler between the explosions.

Again, cannot comment, haven't seen the film.

He misquoted a review and I corrected him. The review didn't complain about the G1 homages it stressed they weren't handled properly and seemed forced.

But thus far we've seen overwhelmingly positive reviews. You're laching onto a few bad or poor reviews. I would have to say thus far the people giving it bad reviews seem to be the exception not the rule.

I'm not here just to be a Bay cheerleader. I'm a skeptic who demands more from a TF movie than explosions and flashy effects. Of course I'm going to analyze what the movie is lacking and how it can be improved upon.

I highly doubt this. The film will make a TON of money irregardless, and like FF2 it will get a sequel. The thing is most people want to see big giant robots smash eachother and couldn't care less about LOTR mythology. Frankly, I myself would rather the film not delve to much into Unicron or the Matrix and perhaps try to leave the mythology building to the tie-in comics and novels. It's really hard to build a mythology off of a movie franchise, especially one with as much baggage as Transformers.

The Star Wars prequels succeeded based on the strength of the previous movies. Without that solid foundation the Phantom Menace sequel might've been put in limbo like FF3 and the Superman Returns sequel.

 

[Marvin]

Perhaps I read it wrong... but, Marvin, were you questioning whether I've "seen" the movie?

Because I have. And I don't consider myself in some kind of special league for the honour.

Firstly, the film hit cinemas TODAY in Australia... and advance screenings (of which I saw one Monday) have been going on for weeks. I went to free MySpace one.

Geez...

Oh, and as for my apparent need to only refer to a single group (myself), you're a fool. Appealing to all includes myself, does it not? I never said the film shouldn't appeal to those you listed - I'm saying it should also appeal to those of us (and, believe me, I'm not alone) who value quality from a story.

I can't believe I even wasted the finger energy responding to you when you're clearly missing the point.

ok

 

[Figs]

of all those magical concepts "magical glasses" is the silliest. And you should use the strongest concepts from the source material, not the weakest.


If it's the most successful they would've called the movie Beast Wars and made movie with talking cheetahs and rats.


In order to adapt something you have to make an honest attempt first.


Batman Begins has it flaws but it covers alot of ground without using a weak story that simply serves as filler between the explosions.


He misquoted a review and I corrected him. The review didn't complain about the G1 homages it stressed they weren't handled properly and seemed forced.


I'm not here just to be a Bay cheerleader. I'm a skeptic who demands more from a TF movie than explosions and flashy effects. Of course I'm going to analyze what the movie is lacking and how it can be improved upon.


The Star Wars prequels succeeded based on the strength of the previous movies. Without that solid foundation the Phantom Menace sequel might've been put in limbo like FF3 and the Superman Returns sequel.

Is FF3 really in limbo? Last I heard on those boards it's WW take was around $150,000,000 and rising. I know it's budget wasn't too large.

 

[Marvin]

Scopinok is in it...
just cause it wasn't the most popular(been around the longest if u ask me) doesn't mean it's not the best
-in answer to why it's not called Beast wars

 

[Mr. Socko]

Why's this board so hostile?

 

[Figs]

Why's this board so hostile?

You think this is hostile....believe me you haven't seen anything yet.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

of all those magical concepts "magical glasses" is the silliest. And you should use the strongest concepts from the source material, not the weakest.

I think as we've explained...they aren't "magical" and are pretty well explained.

If it's the most successful they would've called the movie Beast Wars and made movie with talking cheetahs and rats.

They did...they called it Transformers...which, last time anyone checked, Beast Wars is. And also, in case you haven't noticed the movie features a beastie in Scorponok (the NAME of a Beast Wars character who he bears a striking resemblence to), in addition the Prime-Lips is a total Beast Wars nod. The truth is for something to be called Transformers it has to meet to criteria: Be made by Hasbro and feature Transforming robots. Beast Wars, like Fight Super Robot Life, Infiltration, G1 Ongoing (ironically cancelled) is just as much Transformers. Transformers isn't one thing, and if they are going to make a movie off the franchise, which they are...they will call it Transformers, because that is what it is.

And by the way, Beast Wars rewrote G1, G1 didn't write Beast Wars. That alone should show you how much sway the show has.

In order to adapt something you have to make an honest attempt first.

From what I've seen so far, they have.

Batman Begins has it flaws but it covers alot of ground without using a weak story that simply serves as filler between the explosions.

Batman is a different story entirely, and one that is generally known in the public. It's a lot easier to tell, number 1 and number 2 it's grounded in our reality so it can cover more ground without having to go back and explain things.

I'm not here just to be a Bay cheerleader. I'm a skeptic who demands more from a TF movie than explosions and flashy effects. Of course I'm going to analyze what the movie is lacking and how it can be improved upon.

Well you started a G1 Purist Thread, so excuse me if I doubt your skepticism. You've been very vocal about a straight G1 adaptation for a while now, and like CFlash shun every other Transformers series and reboot that's come along. You see, first and foremost, Transformers is a toyline, not a fiction. Hence why it is not like other Universe where the story is somewhat set, or has a central story from which the writers draw from. X-Men will always be 616, and everything else a "what if" or "elseworld". Transformers will always be a toyline first, with a variety of fiction surrounding it, MOST of it unrelated to the G1 cartoon except on an In Name Only basis.

And the fact is, because of this Transformers has grown considerably over the past 20 years, far past the restrictive and ridiculous G1 cartoon.

The Star Wars prequels succeeded based on the strength of the previous movies. Without that solid foundation the Phantom Menace sequel might've been put in limbo like FF3 and the Superman Returns sequel.

Star Wars, again, is something most people understand, and is a fanbase effort since the movie is made by the ultimate fan. Most movies don't and won't have this luxury so they have to be adapted in such a way to appeal to a general public. And the Phantom Menace was a horrible movie, loathed by most movie goers, even most fans. It was a rocky foundation for the new trilogy which most fans felt was lackluster. So, no, movies that have weaker first movies don't doom themselves.

 

[Marvin]

Why's this board so hostile?

blame it on bay

...just blame everything bay
(it'll keep ur teeth white)

 

[blind_fury]

Is FF3 really in limbo? Last I heard on those boards it's WW take was around $150,000,000 and rising. I know it's budget wasn't too large.

FF2 is heading toward a 100 million dollar profit WW before they give the theaters their share. That is less than half what the first FF movie made.

Usually when a sequel under-performs that badly it means the end of the franchise.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Scopinok is in it...
just cause it wasn't the most popular(been around the longest if u ask me) doesn't mean it's not the best
-in answer to why it's not called Beast wars

It was, and is the most popular. Armada made the most money though, but Beasties got the best ratings. However, you are correct, Beast Wars outlasted Transformers G1 by 2 seasons (Beast Machines is considered part of Beast Wars, sometimes you'll see it referred to as Beast Wars seasons 4 and 5).

 

[Marvin]

It was, and is the most popular. Armada made the most money though, but Beasties got the best ratings. However, you are correct, Beast Wars outlasted Transformers G1 by 2 seasons.

i see
but in all fairness

BW had the support of (some) G1 fans...unfortunately G1 didn't have that luxury.

I do have a question for u

how is it the preds and maximals were human size when compared to the sleeping autobots and Deceps whilst
predMegatron is the size of a T-rex and according to speilberg a T-rex is the size of a bus(almost)
dino-bot a raptor stood pretty much an inch above megatron in roobt mode...

but all are palm size when compared to sleeping G1 Optimus...which is what shia is aswell...

mass shifting?

 

[ShadowBoxing]

i see
but in all fairness

BW had the support of (some) G1 fans...unfortunately G1 didn't have that luxury.

I do have a question for u

how is it the preds and maximals were human size when compared to the sleeping autobots and Deceps whilst
predMegatron is the size of a T-rex and according to speilberg a T-rex is the size of a bus(almost)
dino-bot a raptor stood pretty much an inch above megatron in roobt mode...

but all are palm size when compared to sleeping G1 Optimus...which is what shia is aswell...

mass shifting?

Predacon Megatron never appeared to be a size accurate T-Rex, similarly the spiders on the show were far to large to be actual spiders. In Beast Wars mind you, the alt.modes weren't really chosen for disguish purposes, they were chosen because the planet's energon was so rich that exposure to the atmosphere (before the end of season 1) cause them to go into stasis lock after an extended period of time.

 

[nosebleed.]

How is this board hostile? The Transformer forum is one of the most civil forums on the Hype. Go hang out in The Dark Knight forums for a night and come back here...you'll see the difference.

We stick to the Bill & Ted motto around here.

Be excellent to each other

 

[Bapman]

OK I just came back from watching the movie... and you know what !?
Screw all the naysayers... if you didn't like it !?... fine... I get that it was not your cup of tea but don't just say it was BAD or wasn't worth the money you spent and all that.
If you wanted to see dramatic emotional "why are you baD MEGATRON"... "Because I am what I am" oscar worthy performance... rent Moulin Rouge or some other stuff... TFs were never about that. its about heart pounding, jaw dropping action.
THIS Transformers was a straight out cool action movie with robots who are aliens and is here on a mission.
Yes they used the "Cube" story which is actually good if you think about it 'cause this is how they explained how these Robots got life but also kept good enough mystery as to "Who made the cube and where did it come from".
Also yes, the movie focused the story telling from more "human" perspective than the robots which you know what was actually cooler. I'm a TF geek but I seriously did not want the movie to start off the same way the animation did which looking back now was quite horrible. The new one gave that entire cool mystery feeling... you know a you are living normal day suddenly its completelty shattered. You couldn't have done that by directly showing Iacon.
Then yes, the Decepticons really didn't have much lines but why would they even need to !?... Does any of us talk to ants before we squash them !?
That's pretty much how we were portrayed, humans were just stupid ants who accidentally got hold of their prescious cube. The less talking actually made the depecticons very menacing... specially Starscream 'cause here you actually SEE him as the 2nd in command and you DO take him wayyy seriously unlike in the cartoon where his typical line was "Foolish humans" and "I will have my day MEGATRON". None of those.
Yes... the movie DOES have its share of flaws like the rest, I'll admit the whole "Loser Teenager in love" thing really did not sit well with me, and I mean REALLY !!! If you cut it out the movie will actually be better but that was pretty much it.
And the moment we movie into the action part of the movie well, that's the main even of the TF movie isn't it !?... huge over the top kicka$$ robot fights.
That's one place the movie does not fall... and we all did watch the cartoons 'cause of the transformations and the robot actions.
Same here... except here the story actually mattered unlike the cartoons.
Oh yeah... about the MEGATRON issues.... yyyeaahhh... I know most people realised how they were handling it from the trailer and yes... they did handle it "Independence Day... we had him for ages" style. Which I guess is another thing I didn't like much but at the same time was impressed with 'cause it enabled us to see Starscream's leadership skills.
Also yeah... the robot lips... god I hated the lips... those weren't even LIP... they looked like big teeth.
But see that's it... there are way and I mean WAY more good stuff there than some silly bad stuff. In the cartoon Prime's mouthpiece would shirk n get bigger n move when he's talking... they can't really do that here so I understand why they did that and you should too. If they did it like the cartoon people would complain "bahh it looks so silly". If it was just mouthpiece then ppl would be like "Mehhh... no emtion"
See where I'm going with this ?!

Lasltly, was the movie bad IMO !?... not at all...
Was the movie oscar worthy !?... only in effect department
Were the actions as good as a TF would like !?... Hell YEAH !!!
Was there room improvement!?... Ofcourse
Was it a good action movie !?... DEAFINITELY
Was it a good TF movie !?... depends on your perspective... for me it really was.

On a final note... I'd say to those who haven't seen it yet, watch it with this mentality.
Autobots and Decepticon teams are 2 commando units in foreign soil with their own mission objectives while the humans just got involved 'cause we found them out.
Here the humans are not as important as they made them out to be in the cartoons.
So go, enjoy the movie and form your own opinion and screw what the others say.
Remember... There ARE a lot of people out there who didn't like 'Lord of Rings" and there are people out there who loves "Desperate Housewives" sooo as you see opinions are like A$$holes... everyone's got one.

 

[nosebleed.]

Are you going to watch it more than once?

 

[spideyo]

OK I just came back from watching the movie... and you know what !?
Screw all the naysayers... if you didn't like it !?... fine... I get that it was not your cup of tea but don't just say it was BAD or wasn't worth the money you spent and all that.
If you wanted to see dramatic emotional "why are you baD MEGATRON"... "Because I am what I am" oscar worthy performance... rent Moulin Rouge or some other stuff... TFs were never about that. its about heart pounding, jaw dropping action.
THIS Transformers was a straight out cool action movie with robots who are aliens and is here on a mission.
Yes they used the "Cube" story which is actually good if you think about it 'cause this is how they explained how these Robots got life but also kept good enough mystery as to "Who made the cube and where did it come from".
Also yes, the movie focused the story telling from more "human" perspective than the robots which you know what was actually cooler. I'm a TF geek but I seriously did not want the movie to start off the same way the animation did which looking back now was quite horrible. The new one gave that entire cool mystery feeling... you know a you are living normal day suddenly its completelty shattered. You couldn't have done that by directly showing Iacon.
Then yes, the Decepticons really didn't have much lines but why would they even need to !?... Does any of us talk to ants before we squash them !?
That's pretty much how we were portrayed, humans were just stupid ants who accidentally got hold of their prescious cube. The less talking actually made the depecticons very menacing... specially Starscream 'cause here you actually SEE him as the 2nd in command and you DO take him wayyy seriously unlike in the cartoon where his typical line was "Foolish humans" and "I will have my day MEGATRON". None of those.
Yes... the movie DOES have its share of flaws like the rest, I'll admit the whole "Loser Teenager in love" thing really did not sit well with me, and I mean REALLY !!! If you cut it out the movie will actually be better but that was pretty much it.
And the moment we movie into the action part of the movie well, that's the main even of the TF movie isn't it !?... huge over the top kicka$$ robot fights.
That's one place the movie does not fall... and we all did watch the cartoons 'cause of the transformations and the robot actions.
Same here... except here the story actually mattered unlike the cartoons.
Oh yeah... about the MEGATRON issues.... yyyeaahhh... I know most people realised how they were handling it from the trailer and yes... they did handle it "Independence Day... we had him for ages" style. Which I guess is another thing I didn't like much but at the same time was impressed with 'cause it enabled us to see Starscream's leadership skills.
Also yeah... the robot lips... god I hated the lips... those weren't even LIP... they looked like big teeth.
But see that's it... there are way and I mean WAY more good stuff there than some silly bad stuff. In the cartoon Prime's mouthpiece would shirk n get bigger n move when he's talking... they can't really do that here so I understand why they did that and you should too. If they did it like the cartoon people would complain "bahh it looks so silly". If it was just mouthpiece then ppl would be like "Mehhh... no emtion"
See where I'm going with this ?!

Lasltly, was the movie bad IMO !?... not at all...
Was the movie oscar worthy !?... only in effect department
Were the actions as good as a TF would like !?... Hell YEAH !!!
Was there room improvement!?... Ofcourse
Was it a good action movie !?... DEAFINITELY
Was it a good TF movie !?... depends on your perspective... for me it really was.

On a final note... I'd say to those who haven't seen it yet, watch it with this mentality.
Autobots and Decepticon teams are 2 commando units in foreign soil with their own mission objectives while the humans just got involved 'cause we found them out.
Here the humans are not as important as they made them out to be in the cartoons.
So go, enjoy the movie and form your own opinion and screw what the others say.
Remember... There ARE a lot of people out there who didn't like 'Lord of Rings" and there are people out there who loves "Desperate Housewives" sooo as you see opinions are like A$$holes... everyone's got one.

I completely agree where you are going with this. I hope everyone can take the same approach as you did. Thanks

 

[shigsy2003]

OK I just came back from watching the movie... and you know what !?
Screw all the naysayers... if you didn't like it !?... fine... I get that it was not your cup of tea but don't just say it was BAD or wasn't worth the money you spent and all that.
If you wanted to see dramatic emotional "why are you baD MEGATRON"... "Because I am what I am" oscar worthy performance... rent Moulin Rouge or some other stuff... TFs were never about that. its about heart pounding, jaw dropping action.
THIS Transformers was a straight out cool action movie with robots who are aliens and is here on a mission.
Yes they used the "Cube" story which is actually good if you think about it 'cause this is how they explained how these Robots got life but also kept good enough mystery as to "Who made the cube and where did it come from".
Also yes, the movie focused the story telling from more "human" perspective than the robots which you know what was actually cooler. I'm a TF geek but I seriously did not want the movie to start off the same way the animation did which looking back now was quite horrible. The new one gave that entire cool mystery feeling... you know a you are living normal day suddenly its completelty shattered. You couldn't have done that by directly showing Iacon.
Then yes, the Decepticons really didn't have much lines but why would they even need to !?... Does any of us talk to ants before we squash them !?
That's pretty much how we were portrayed, humans were just stupid ants who accidentally got hold of their prescious cube. The less talking actually made the depecticons very menacing... specially Starscream 'cause here you actually SEE him as the 2nd in command and you DO take him wayyy seriously unlike in the cartoon where his typical line was "Foolish humans" and "I will have my day MEGATRON". None of those.
Yes... the movie DOES have its share of flaws like the rest, I'll admit the whole "Loser Teenager in love" thing really did not sit well with me, and I mean REALLY !!! If you cut it out the movie will actually be better but that was pretty much it.
And the moment we movie into the action part of the movie well, that's the main even of the TF movie isn't it !?... huge over the top kicka$$ robot fights.
That's one place the movie does not fall... and we all did watch the cartoons 'cause of the transformations and the robot actions.
Same here... except here the story actually mattered unlike the cartoons.
Oh yeah... about the MEGATRON issues.... yyyeaahhh... I know most people realised how they were handling it from the trailer and yes... they did handle it "Independence Day... we had him for ages" style. Which I guess is another thing I didn't like much but at the same time was impressed with 'cause it enabled us to see Starscream's leadership skills.
Also yeah... the robot lips... god I hated the lips... those weren't even LIP... they looked like big teeth.
But see that's it... there are way and I mean WAY more good stuff there than some silly bad stuff. In the cartoon Prime's mouthpiece would shirk n get bigger n move when he's talking... they can't really do that here so I understand why they did that and you should too. If they did it like the cartoon people would complain "bahh it looks so silly". If it was just mouthpiece then ppl would be like "Mehhh... no emtion"
See where I'm going with this ?!

Lasltly, was the movie bad IMO !?... not at all...
Was the movie oscar worthy !?... only in effect department
Were the actions as good as a TF would like !?... Hell YEAH !!!
Was there room improvement!?... Ofcourse
Was it a good action movie !?... DEAFINITELY
Was it a good TF movie !?... depends on your perspective... for me it really was.

On a final note... I'd say to those who haven't seen it yet, watch it with this mentality.
Autobots and Decepticon teams are 2 commando units in foreign soil with their own mission objectives while the humans just got involved 'cause we found them out.
Here the humans are not as important as they made them out to be in the cartoons.
So go, enjoy the movie and form your own opinion and screw what the others say.
Remember... There ARE a lot of people out there who didn't like 'Lord of Rings" and there are people out there who loves "Desperate Housewives" sooo as you see opinions are like A$$holes... everyone's got one.

Oookayyy...a little scary but a well rounded review. You made some good points and managed to see flaws. Cool, thanks for the review.

 

[Shockdingo]

Hmm, I may have to change my opinions, I may check this out.

 

[Bug-Eyes]

just saw the film. Without doubt. The best film I have ever seen.................No questions asked. I am 30 and seen a lot of films but Transformers was the best.....................Action, humour, explosions and freaking huge robots.......what more can i say

 

[Kap]

just saw the film. Without doubt. The best film I have ever seen.................No questions asked. I am 30 and seen a lot of films but Transformers was the best.....................Action, humour, explosions and freaking huge robots.......what more can i say

Heavy stuff, I sure hope i'll feel the same way. Hopefully the full experience of action, humor and epic'ness is worth more than some eyesore details.

 

[The Kid]

I want to know about star scream. spill the beans

 

[Kap]

I want to know about star scream. spill the beans

What beans jack?

 

[Avangarde]

 

[Raiden]

Please keep the reviews coming. I do plan to see it on July 4th, and I'll be going with my wife and in-laws. Can't hardly wait...