Transformers The Reviews Thread

[Disclaimer]

Okay... so I saw 'Transformers' last night.

It was loud. It was long. It didn't quite work for me. Most of all, it gave me a headache.

It's not that the film was bad - it wasn't - but it certainly didn't live up to the hype, if you ask me.

The story was non-existent. The visuals were messy and confusing. The characters - for the most part - were unnatural (in a narrative sense - I'm aware they're mostly robots). Only Sam and his comic timing made it worth the ride.

Going in, I felt like one of the few 'old school' fans quite content with the changes to character designs, voices, mythology etc. I knew the old cartoon was - when you really think about it - ridiculous. I knew many of the vehicles would look dumb as real-world characters. I went in with an open mind, expecting only one thing: that the robots were major characters that the audience could truly relate to and love (ala ET).

The makers of the film - the writers in particular - made a big thing about how this 'essence' of the Transformers remained.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only were the Transformers difficult to relate to, with only the occasional clunky dialogue, they were difficult to even see half the time! Honestly, there's a reason these characters were originally put in the sweeping plains of the Southwest USA in early cartoons - so you could differentiate them from the surroundings!

In this new film, it's just metal in front of metal, metal in front of exploding concrete and metal in the dark. The few times you really get to view the robots, the editing cuts away so quick that your efforts are wasted.

As for the dialogue... well, let's just say there are the occasional high points but, generally, it's flatter than 2D animation (when you can even hear it over all the explosions).

Finally, the writers seem to have gone out of their way to provide the Transformers with a new, more believable mythology. In doing so, they've done little more than write themselves into a corner with new stuff that's equally as bad and questionable as the original source material!

Megatron's been on Earth hundreds (or thousands) of years, yet came here to turn Earth's technology into weapons? Um. Okay. We didn't have machines that long ago.

The stupid 'Allspark Cube' can turn Mountain Dew vending machines and Xboxes into Transformers? Righteo. That's just dumb... and raises so many questions about where technology ends and magic begins that the concept of shrinking (as Megatron did in the cartoon) becomes highly believable all of a sudden. So much for 'an advanced, technological civilisation' - why don't we just call it what it is and bring in Harry Potter and Gandalf for the second installment?

I know, I know... I should have known better. It's a blockbuster by Michael Bay, based on action figures.

Still, I had faith in Tom DeSanto that this would be another 'X-Men'... and in Steven Spielberg that it'd be another 'ET'.

Instead, it was just a loud, soulless mess that could have been absolutely awesome with another day or two of the filmmakers thinking about it.

Heck, maybe I do think it was a bad film, after all. It's just that the good bits were really good!

That's always the most depressing thing.

 

[nosebleed.]

The matrix sequels were aweosme wtf are you talking about. To put them in the same league as B&R is just pure insulting. Wtf. Obviously your not a fan or payed the slightest attention to them. You just insulted me and everyone who enjoyed the matrix. I feel like I want to throw up. Seriously. Batman and Robin?! This crap is coming from someone who obbsesses over Transformers dont tell me the matrix sucked!!!! The action scenes in the matrix reloaded and revolutions made perfect sense and if you payed attention to the script its highly deep and in depth. If you pay the slightest attention to this site youll realise that the matrix should not ever be compared to B&R!

http://www.matrix-explained.com

Never, ever, talk down the matrix reloaded again, its one of the best movies ever made in the 21st century and its special effects are the best for its time.

The matrix had class, and thats something transformers probably wont have, im sorry to say. The matrix had fantastic writing, writing from a philosical standpoint of which you must watch the film more then twice to understand whats really going on. The matrix trilogy was more then a summer epic, it was a film series that will forever be known to people who understand science fiction and life. I am deeply insulted by your statement!!!! Dammit, obviously you havent seen past the action in the matrix reloaded and saw what truley lies beneath its flesh. Transformers is a summer blockbuster. The matrix was more then that.

I advise you go back and watch the matrix sequels with more insight, and finally realise that the general public was wrong.

Man, you are truly on some **** aren't you? Calm down and realize this. The Matrix sequels didn't deliver...they just plain didn't. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you will suffer less ulcers.

 

[nosebleed.]

review

Seeing as how you gave this review for FF2, http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=11943444&postcount=925, I don't know if I can totally trust your review here. I've seen FF2 did not have as enjoyable experience as you have...so I think my taste might differ from yours as to what I want in an action movie.

 

[Figs]

Man, you are truly on some **** aren't you? Calm down and realize this. The Matrix sequels didn't deliver...they just plain didn't. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you will suffer less ulcers.

Seriously, the Matrix sequels were weak compared to the first which should have been a stand alone film. Only good thing was watching the effects but after a couple of times I lost interest. They were overrated.

 

[XXTBWCXX]

Okay... so I saw 'Transformers' last night.

It was loud. It was long. It didn't quite work for me. Most of all, it gave me a headache.

It's not that the film was bad - it wasn't - but it certainly didn't live up to the hype, if you ask me.

The story was non-existent. The visuals were messy and confusing. The characters - for the most part - were unnatural (in a narrative sense - I'm aware they're mostly robots). Only Sam and his comic timing made it worth the ride.

Going in, I felt like one of the few 'old school' fans quite content with the changes to character designs, voices, mythology etc. I knew the old cartoon was - when you really think about it - ridiculous. I knew many of the vehicles would look dumb as real-world characters. I went in with an open mind, expecting only one thing: that the robots were major characters that the audience could truly relate to and love (ala ET).

The makers of the film - the writers in particular - made a big thing about how this 'essence' of the Transformers remained.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only were the Transformers difficult to relate to, with only the occasional clunky dialogue, they were difficult to even see half the time! Honestly, there's a reason these characters were originally put in the sweeping plains of the Southwest USA in early cartoons - so you could differentiate them from the surroundings!

In this new film, it's just metal in front of metal, metal in front of exploding concrete and metal in the dark. The few times you really get to view the robots, the editing cuts away so quick that your efforts are wasted.

As for the dialogue... well, let's just say there are the occasional high points but, generally, it's flatter than 2D animation (when you can even hear it over all the explosions).

Finally, the writers seem to have gone out of their way to provide the Transformers with a new, more believable mythology. In doing so, they've done little more than write themselves into a corner with new stuff that's equally as bad and questionable as the original source material!

Megatron's been on Earth hundreds (or thousands) of years, yet came here to turn Earth's technology into weapons? Um. Okay. We didn't have machines that long ago.

The stupid 'Allspark Cube' can turn Mountain Dew vending machines and Xboxes into Transformers? Righteo. That's just dumb... and raises so many questions about where technology ends and magic begins that the concept of shrinking (as Megatron did in the cartoon) becomes highly believable all of a sudden. So much for 'an advanced, technological civilisation' - why don't we just call it what it is and bring in Harry Potter and Gandalf for the second installment?

I know, I know... I should have known better. It's a blockbuster by Michael Bay, based on action figures.

Still, I had faith in Tom DeSanto that this would be another 'X-Men'... and in Steven Spielberg that it'd be another 'ET'.

Instead, it was just a loud, soulless mess that could have been absolutely awesome with another day or two of the filmmakers thinking about it.

Heck, maybe I do think it was a bad film, after all. It's just that the good bits were really good!

That's always the most depressing thing.

By far, the worst review I have read...

We all knew this movie will be nothing like the TF cartoons, comics and such except for the G1 names.

But, for something new a fresh for this movie, I can't see how it's a 'bad' movie.

 

[CFlash]

By far, the worst review I have read...

We all knew this movie will be nothing like the TF cartoons, comics and such except for the G1 names.

But, for something new a fresh for this movie, I can't see how it's a 'bad' movie.

I could understand what you mean if the guy didn't state exactly why he thought so.

 

[Rac]

My friend saw Transfrormers at a press screening. He didn't like it. He sad it focused too much on Spike and the Transformers were only supporting characters.

 

[XXTBWCXX]

I could understand what you mean if the guy didn't state exactly why he thought so.

Didn't state much on his thoughts...only things we knew what was gonna be. We knew about how different this movie is from the cartoons and comics, we knew the Allspark would be able to turn other electronics, toasters, etc. into "transformers", and his whole complaint about Megatron didn't make sense to me...did he not like the fact that Megatron wanted to turn Earth into another Cybertron or did he think that was a dumb idea?

 

[Avangarde]

Arrgh only two days until I see this, cant imagine what I'm gunna write for this.

 

[XXTBWCXX]

My friend saw Transfrormers at a press screening. He didn't like it. He sad it focused too much on Spike and the Transformers were only supporting characters.

Most Autobts take a back seat except for Bumblebee and Optimus Prime...and most Decepticons take a backseat except for Barricade, Frenzy and Scorponok.

 

[nosebleed.]

I could understand what you mean if the guy didn't state exactly why he thought so.

I dunno...I just don't know if I could trust that review seeing as how he called FF2 "one of the most enjoyable, solid comic-to-film adaptations yet!"

 

[Arcturus]

I dunno...I just don't know if I could trust that review seeing as how he called FF2 "one of the most enjoyable, solid comic-to-film adaptations yet!"

Agreed!

FF2 was quite horrendous.

 

[Nivek]

I dunno...I just don't know if I could trust that review seeing as how he called FF2 "one of the most enjoyable, solid comic-to-film adaptations yet!"

Yeah, the Chrome Plated turd. Avoided that flick withn it had hairy upper lip herpies, knew nothing good would come of it.

 

[Shmoil]

Hmmm, I enjoyed Fantastic Four 2 a lot, although I never expected it to be any good.

As for his complaints, it seems his main complaint is that the robots weren't featured enough; that they weren't the main characters like they were in the cartoon. I had been expecting that, so I don't think it'll be much of a problem. That's so that the biggest audience can relate to the characters. Most can't relate to giant kickass alien robots. I would've liked to have seen them in a desert, but an urban setting is cool too. And I can see them just fine in the trailers, how different can the movie look?
I'm not going to let this review get me down, I've read too many good ones. And it seems the movie just rubbed this guy the wrong way. Doesn't mean it will happen to all of us. So I'm still psyched.

 

[Anti-Moderator]

Yeah, the Chrome Plated turd. Avoided that flick withn it had hairy upper lip herpies, knew nothing good would come of it.

Well...let's hope you don't get any open sores from Transformers.

 

[Disclaimer]

I judge films based on what they put themselves out there as... and, on that level, as a popcorn flick about a family of superheroes, FF2 delivered. Transformers didn't deliver as a film about a technological race befriending humankind, nor as one where the stakes of the universe are very high.

It's my opinion and it's one that comes from context and the inability to be blinded by hype and fancy special effects. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually possible to have both and a solid story.

What good is a Transformers film that's just pure, unadulterated action if you can't even see what the hell just got blown up... or what part of a robot you're even looking at? You might as well just watch a montage of explosions, 'cus you certainly don't get a feel of what's happening here anyway.

I make it extremely clear that I wasn't expecting the cartoon. I was one of the few who didn't. I certainly wasn't expecting the robots to outshine Sam, either, for that matter. But, by the same token, I had faith that what we'd been told about the robot characterisation was true. It wasn't. Even a certain character's 'death' is dealt with as a sidenote, with exposition coming from a throwaway line after the fact instead of making us care when it happens.

Sorry, guys, you can pile me with all the people who go in wanting to hate the film but that ain't me, so you'd be dead wrong.

I wanted change - in fact, I respected what I heard over the last year - but much was said about maintaining a certain 'essence' of the characters we know and love and that promise was not fulfilled. The Autobots were cookie-cutter, reasonably unintelligent slapstick characters. The Decepticons were almost non-existent and, when they did feature, they were cliched monsters. Frenzy has the most screen time of all them and - of all the potential 'characterisation' - we're lucky to get a single moment, which is (thankfully) between Megatron and Starscream.

Perhaps I was stupid for expecting Spielberg's presence on the film to add a little '80s charm.

I truly believe this film will be universally loved in the coming year, only to be remembered like Independence Day in another ten.

 

[The Kid]

Hmmm, I enjoyed Fantastic Four 2 a lot, although I never expected it to be any good.

As for his complaints, it seems his main complaint is that the robots weren't featured enough; that they weren't the main characters like they were in the cartoon. I had been expecting that, so I don't think it'll be much of a problem. That's so that the biggest audience can relate to the characters. Most can't relate to giant kickass alien robots. I would've liked to have seen them in a desert, but an urban setting is cool too. And I can see them just fine in the trailers, how different can the movie look?
I'm not going to let this review get me down, I've read too many good ones. And it seems the movie just rubbed this guy the wrong way. Doesn't mean it will happen to all of us. So I'm still psyched.

well a cartoon has hours of tv to flesh out its characters wheras a movie only has so much time.

that said, I never really cared much about any of teh bots in the old show besides the big 3, megatron, starscream, and optimus prime. I don't remember any notables from the autobot crew myself.

Beast wars was really the show that gave me an insight into the personalities of the transformers crew but of course they weren't the original bots.

also yeah, bay edits are rapid cuts in his films so I can definitely understand that complaint though I too have seen the slow mo and stuff in the trailers tv spots etc so the whole idea of not being able to see the bots well is suspects since we can clearly see the bots in those clips.

 

[PWN3R]

I dunno...I just don't know if I could trust that review seeing as how he called FF2 "one of the most enjoyable, solid comic-to-film adaptations yet!"

Not only that, he stated:

I honestly couldn't pick a true fault in the film

 

[DorkyFresh]

I judge films based on what they put themselves out there as... and, on that level, as a popcorn flick about a family of superheroes, FF2 delivered. Transformers didn't deliver as a film about a technological race befriending humankind, nor as one where the stakes of the universe are very high.

Transformers isn't being advertised as anything but a popcorn, summer action flick right now...so was Fantastic Four...yet you hold Transformers to a higher standard. imo....a double standard.

 

[cosmicherosa]

This board is about to EXPLODE!

/pulls up lawn chair

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Transformers isn't being advertised as anything but a popcorn, summer action flick right now...so was Fantastic Four...yet you hold Transformers to a higher standard. imo....a double standard.

So okay, here is was what I don't get he says "Transformers didn't deliver as a film about a technological race befriending a teenaged boy"....but the movie is about that, so by definition it delivered just that

 

[Anti-Moderator]

Okay... so I saw 'Transformers' last night.

It was loud. It was long. It didn't quite work for me. Most of all, it gave me a headache.

It's not that the film was bad - it wasn't - but it certainly didn't live up to the hype, if you ask me.

The story was non-existent. The visuals were messy and confusing. The characters - for the most part - were unnatural (in a narrative sense - I'm aware they're mostly robots). Only Sam and his comic timing made it worth the ride.

Going in, I felt like one of the few 'old school' fans quite content with the changes to character designs, voices, mythology etc. I knew the old cartoon was - when you really think about it - ridiculous. I knew many of the vehicles would look dumb as real-world characters. I went in with an open mind, expecting only one thing: that the robots were major characters that the audience could truly relate to and love (ala ET).

The makers of the film - the writers in particular - made a big thing about how this 'essence' of the Transformers remained.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only were the Transformers difficult to relate to, with only the occasional clunky dialogue, they were difficult to even see half the time! Honestly, there's a reason these characters were originally put in the sweeping plains of the Southwest USA in early cartoons - so you could differentiate them from the surroundings!

In this new film, it's just metal in front of metal, metal in front of exploding concrete and metal in the dark. The few times you really get to view the robots, the editing cuts away so quick that your efforts are wasted.

As for the dialogue... well, let's just say there are the occasional high points but, generally, it's flatter than 2D animation (when you can even hear it over all the explosions).

Finally, the writers seem to have gone out of their way to provide the Transformers with a new, more believable mythology. In doing so, they've done little more than write themselves into a corner with new stuff that's equally as bad and questionable as the original source material!

Megatron's been on Earth hundreds (or thousands) of years, yet came here to turn Earth's technology into weapons? Um. Okay. We didn't have machines that long ago.

The stupid 'Allspark Cube' can turn Mountain Dew vending machines and Xboxes into Transformers? Righteo. That's just dumb... and raises so many questions about where technology ends and magic begins that the concept of shrinking (as Megatron did in the cartoon) becomes highly believable all of a sudden. So much for 'an advanced, technological civilisation' - why don't we just call it what it is and bring in Harry Potter and Gandalf for the second installment?

I know, I know... I should have known better. It's a blockbuster by Michael Bay, based on action figures.

Still, I had faith in Tom DeSanto that this would be another 'X-Men'... and in Steven Spielberg that it'd be another 'ET'.

Instead, it was just a loud, soulless mess that could have been absolutely awesome with another day or two of the filmmakers thinking about it.

Heck, maybe I do think it was a bad film, after all. It's just that the good bits were really good!

That's always the most depressing thing.

Ugh....you are suppose to LOVE this movie. Did you not get the memo???

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Okay... so I saw 'Transformers' last night.

It was loud. It was long. It didn't quite work for me. Most of all, it gave me a headache.

It's not that the film was bad - it wasn't - but it certainly didn't live up to the hype, if you ask me.

The story was non-existent. The visuals were messy and confusing. The characters - for the most part - were unnatural (in a narrative sense - I'm aware they're mostly robots). Only Sam and his comic timing made it worth the ride.

Going in, I felt like one of the few 'old school' fans quite content with the changes to character designs, voices, mythology etc. I knew the old cartoon was - when you really think about it - ridiculous. I knew many of the vehicles would look dumb as real-world characters. I went in with an open mind, expecting only one thing: that the robots were major characters that the audience could truly relate to and love (ala ET).

The makers of the film - the writers in particular - made a big thing about how this 'essence' of the Transformers remained.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only were the Transformers difficult to relate to, with only the occasional clunky dialogue, they were difficult to even see half the time! Honestly, there's a reason these characters were originally put in the sweeping plains of the Southwest USA in early cartoons - so you could differentiate them from the surroundings!

In this new film, it's just metal in front of metal, metal in front of exploding concrete and metal in the dark. The few times you really get to view the robots, the editing cuts away so quick that your efforts are wasted.

As for the dialogue... well, let's just say there are the occasional high points but, generally, it's flatter than 2D animation (when you can even hear it over all the explosions).

Finally, the writers seem to have gone out of their way to provide the Transformers with a new, more believable mythology. In doing so, they've done little more than write themselves into a corner with new stuff that's equally as bad and questionable as the original source material!

Megatron's been on Earth hundreds (or thousands) of years, yet came here to turn Earth's technology into weapons? Um. Okay. We didn't have machines that long ago.

The stupid 'Allspark Cube' can turn Mountain Dew vending machines and Xboxes into Transformers? Righteo. That's just dumb... and raises so many questions about where technology ends and magic begins that the concept of shrinking (as Megatron did in the cartoon) becomes highly believable all of a sudden. So much for 'an advanced, technological civilisation' - why don't we just call it what it is and bring in Harry Potter and Gandalf for the second installment?

I know, I know... I should have known better. It's a blockbuster by Michael Bay, based on action figures.

Still, I had faith in Tom DeSanto that this would be another 'X-Men'... and in Steven Spielberg that it'd be another 'ET'.

Instead, it was just a loud, soulless mess that could have been absolutely awesome with another day or two of the filmmakers thinking about it.

Heck, maybe I do think it was a bad film, after all. It's just that the good bits were really good!

That's always the most depressing thing.

Interesting review which does highlight some of my concerns. Specifically the Transformers themselves.

I guess the only part where I feel your review is a bit harsh is here:

Not only were the Transformers difficult to relate to, with only the occasional clunky dialogue, they were difficult to even see half the time! Honestly, there's a reason these characters were originally put in the sweeping plains of the Southwest USA in early cartoons - so you could differentiate them from the surroundings!

Not only were the Transformers in cities, often they were depicted in the soulless, metal plains of Cybertron. But I digress. The Transformers probably were hard to see because honestly they are expensive to film. I can kind of sympathize with the producers and director having to show them as sparingly as possible while trying to give them a lot of screentime. It honestly must be hard to really make such creatures believable on screen let along have them interacting with humans.

And to be fair the Southwest plains of the United States aren't all that interesting.

 

[Shmoil]

I judge films based on what they put themselves out there as... and, on that level, as a popcorn flick about a family of superheroes, FF2 delivered. Transformers didn't deliver as a film about a technological race befriending humankind, nor as one where the stakes of the universe are very high.

It's my opinion and it's one that comes from context and the inability to be blinded by hype and fancy special effects. Contrary to popular belief, it is actually possible to have both and a solid story.

What good is a Transformers film that's just pure, unadulterated action if you can't even see what the hell just got blown up... or what part of a robot you're even looking at? You might as well just watch a montage of explosions, 'cus you certainly don't get a feel of what's happening here anyway.

I make it extremely clear that I wasn't expecting the cartoon. I was one of the few who didn't. I certainly wasn't expecting the robots to outshine Sam, either, for that matter. But, by the same token, I had faith that what we'd been told about the robot characterisation was true. It wasn't. Even a certain character's 'death' is dealt with as a sidenote, with exposition coming from a throwaway line after the fact instead of making us care when it happens.

Sorry, guys, you can pile me with all the people who go in wanting to hate the film but that ain't me, so you'd be dead wrong.

I wanted change - in fact, I respected what I heard over the last year - but much was said about maintaining a certain 'essence' of the characters we know and love and that promise was not fulfilled. The Autobots were cookie-cutter, reasonably unintelligent slapstick characters. The Decepticons were almost non-existent and, when they did feature, they were cliched monsters. Frenzy has the most screen time of all them and - of all the potential 'characterisation' - we're lucky to get a single moment, which is (thankfully) between Megatron and Starscream.

Perhaps I was stupid for expecting Spielberg's presence on the film to add a little '80s charm.

I truly believe this film will be universally loved in the coming year, only to be remembered like Independence Day in another ten.

Nonono, I wasn't trying to argue or anything. I'm sorry if I came off that way. I was just saying that this was your opinion, and I respect that. I only hope mine will be different. I see that you were all for the changes, as am I, and what you have to say worries me. I was hoping for some of Spielberg to rub off of the movie, and I'm sorry that you didn't feel it. I just hope I don't share that sentiment.

 

[DACrowe]

Thread's funny. A guy gives a bad review with some real critique among personal disappointments and half the board attacks him for not liking the movie....classic.