Transformers The User Review Thread [SPOILERS IN ABUNDANCE!]

[Shot Gun Shy]

The day the earth stood still ??

 

[DorkyFresh]

just came back from it....definitely not perfect but it's a far cry from all the negative reviews. i definitely would've loved to see more of the Transformers but considering it took about 3 days to render one frame of these suckers i can understand why they held back. there's still plenty of TF eye candy here...

cons: corny/forced dialogue, too much comedy, not enough Transformer character development (especially the Decepticons), semi-weak story (strong foundation, bad execution), unneeded side-story lines (the soldiers and the hackers) and over-the-top acting.

pros: EVERYTHING ELSE!!! awesome effects, spectacular action, history making imagery, and lots and lots of "holy $#!+" moments that made me feel like a 10 year old again. Shia definitely carried the film well and Megan Fox didn't act as bad or bland as i thought she would...i actually found her kinda interesting. i was surprisingly genuinely scared of the Decepticons...and not just because they blew up everything in site. the voice acting was top knotch imo. Cullen was great as Prime of course and didn't sound at all as cartoony as he used to. Weaving as Megatron was pretty good...of course i couldn't tell it was Weaving but i fully believed that he was Megatron. i could hear the thirst for power and the overblown ego in the way Weaving executed what little lines he had. it would've been interesting to hear Welker as Megs but there were several lines where Weaving had me totally believing that it was Megatron saying those lines.


all in all i'd say not a bad start. it's not a revolutionary movie in the sense that the story, acting, or dialogue are things we've never seen before but the action and the effects are leagues beyond anything i've ever seen. there are things that Bay did that didn't sit right with me but i must now proclaim him king of action movies. he did justice to the Transformers franchise (as a whole, not JUST exclusively g1) imo. i can guarantee that if this movie were unleashed to the world back in 87 it would've made each and every TF fan piss their pants with joy.

 

[bumblebear]

i just got out of the theatre from seeing this.

i hated this movie. it is the definition of awful. it is stupid useless drek that furthers the concept big blockbusters do not require scripts which function. the story barely works even with a suspended imagination and boy let me tell you i can suspend mine and often. here, i was treated to the idea that somehow, somewhere there's robots that can transform. from what i don't know OR do we ever learn but they can transform and they do! once on earth they assimilate EVERY GMC vehicle out there to proudly display that america does indeed make good looking cars. buy one now. and shop on ebay. use a mac and more product placement to help you clearly understand where the producers culled the cash to produce this giant flaming turd. least there's Shia who's watchable in everything...
-megatron nowhere NEAR this film til' it's nearly done. he gets venom'd and maul'd all at once.
-optimus dialogue has him reflecting like a child.
-the balance between serious tone, comedy, action, drama was so bi polar i couldn't keep up. i ended up feeling the love in comedy scenes, being afraid in the drama and laughing at the action.
-apparently the autobots is a military designate as each autobot needs permission to speak.
-some of the autobots speak with the candor of a 14 yr. old in a playground'yo optimus what's kraka-lacking?' optimus: some scriptwriters would be nice !'
-here's the rub; if studying the 'net has enabled the good bots to be 'cool' then why would bumblebee choose to look like a beat up camaro? then change up & modernize to please sam and his girl? hunh?! oh yeah, i forgot! GMC makes cool looking cars...
-WTF was the movie about?
-the so-called-awesomesauce SPFX were NOT all that. i loved Batman Begins for a variety of reasons and OFTEN have to defend the 'blur' of the action sequences. Neeson' Ras character even explains early in the film 'this is not a dance...' but michael bay never has his script explain why the action or transformations are blurry. in fact the script explains little. most of the action is blurred out.

i could go on. no really. i hated this film.
1/10

ya garbage man!

movie so freak good movie i never see it best !
10/10

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Saw it tonight, i'll just use the same as I said on another forum.

The plot is virtually non-existent.

I don't agree with this. It had a plot, it was just very basic and straightforward. They weren't trying to create a movie like Crash where you have an intricate plot or Memento which has a derivative plot. They just needed something straightforward and easy to understand. And the plot is easy to understand and makes sense within the confines of an action movie. It was no more plotless than Terminator or Terminator 2.

 

[San Starko]

The JJ Abrams movie is called Cloverfield. It's meant to be like a big monster movie but told through peoples viewpoint with camcorders and stuff. I'd been dying to see the trailer since I heard about it, looking forward to seeing the finished thing.

 

[Shot Gun Shy]

I don't agree with this. It had a plot, it was just very basic and straightforward. They weren't trying to create a movie like Crash where you have an intricate plot or Memento which has a derivative plot. They just needed something straightforward and easy to understand. And the plot is easy to understand and makes sense within the confines of an action movie. It was no more plotless than Terminator or Terminator 2.

100 % AGREE.

The plot is THERE.
These characters have goals and priorities, it is the reason they are all fighting in the first place.

 

[San Starko]

I don't agree with this. It had a plot, it was just very basic and straightforward. They weren't trying to create a movie like Crash where you have an intricate plot or Memento which has a derivative plot. They just needed something straightforward and easy to understand. And the plot is easy to understand and makes sense within the confines of an action movie. It was no more plotless than Terminator or Terminator 2.

Ok, so there was a very simple plot. But hell who cares...I was only there to see giant robots beat the crap out of each other t:

 

[Shot Gun Shy]

The JJ Abrams movie is called Cloverfield. It's meant to be like a big monster movie but told through peoples viewpoint with camcorders and stuff. I'd been dying to see the trailer since I heard about it, looking forward to seeing the finished thing.

NICE thank you !

 

[SuperJediHero]

Holy ****!!! 8.8

 

[Watson]

*Edit* OOOoo great thanks for the info. Cloverfield looks awesome.

But oops, don't want to hijack the thread. Word to the person who said it made them feel like a little kid...I totally squealed like a little 'un when Optimus Prime said his first couple lines.

 

[Marvin]

Transformers (2007)

"This is not your father's Autobot"

Movie Score: 10/10

For those of you who don't catch the tagline, it's an old quote from the first issue cover to Generation 2. The tagline featured a booklet cover with Optimus Prime, who apparently had a huge rifle and a shotgun shell in his head. The message was clear: this is a badass Prime for the ninties. Unfortunately that comic was subpar, excessively violent and never once delivered a decent story: that was then, this is now.

Transformers has been through a number of reboots, and while Beast Wars and Beast Machines may be still on top when it comes to novelty and creativity, Transformers (2007) blows everything away that has ever come before it. Simon Furman can take his melodramatic space opera and shove it right up his rear exhaust, because their is a new sheriff in town and his name is Michael Bay.

This is odd considering Bay turned down the film, often mocked the original concept, balked at fans, and has been somewhat of an arrogant aloof snob at times. But he delivered (at least I think he did).

The movie was excellent from beginning to end, not hesitating to throw you into the action, but knowing also when to pull you out. While some may say the Transformers don't get enough screen time, or don't have enough of a roll, I say this is not the case. The humans and the robots interact and share screentime. And the Autobots are the same jovial bunch I remember not just from G1, but also from subsequent incarnations (Ironhide, for example, very much resembles Rhinox).

The movie draws not just from one, but all franchises. Optimus shares both his stoic and heroic natured from the G1 series, mixed in with some Beast Wars style acrobatic manuevers. Ratchet seems just as much the medic as he ever was, however this time he also has a warriors spirit, making him much more assertive (like his comic counterpart). Jazz is Jazz, however sadly his time is cut short. Ironhide is very much the battle tough bot he always was, although his voice is slightly annoying and ill fits his characters. It also makes his "leaking lubricant" line sound off. And finally little, or I should say beefy, Bumblebee is the human sympathizer we remember him to be.

Yes the lines said by the Autobots can be corny at times, but nothing a G1 fan couldn't deal with, or an average movie goer for that matter. They aren't cringe worthy like some of the fair we've been getting in movies these days. And Optimus has about three or four long monologues. These fit his character like a T. One even concluding with his famous motto: "freedom is the right to all sentient beings".

The Decepticons are another story. They are far more monsterous, and speak with action not with words. While they lack the scheming presence they had in the cartoon, they are far better organized than the lackeys of G1. They are ruthless to say the least. They are silent, deadly, killers. Perhaps something the Decepticons really ought to be. Megatron, however is their attempt at personality. Unfortunately Megatron, while ruthless, cunning and an adept fighter, doesn't truly get enough screen time. His banter with Optimus is his highlight however, and almost redeems his absence, even including the line "One shall stand, one shall fall".

Starscream was indeed underused, but definitely far more capable than his former cartoon counterpart. The skill with which he dispatched the humans was something worthy of the character. Sadly the two surviving Decepticons, Barricade and Starscream, get no closure. A scene of them together yelling "retreat" would have been nice. However I look forward to seeing his character again, perhaps he can team up with the evil Dr Arcaville next time.

And of course who could forget the human, specifically Sam. I see why the Autobots want to stay with him, he is entertaining as hell. Shia acts as if he ad libs every scene, and does so brillantly. His interaction with his parents and Mikhaela often had me in stitches. Mikhaela herself has potential. But Megan Fox still has to get past being simply eye candy, she has trouble emoting and often delivers line blanky. Most of the supporting cast like Turturro, Voight, and even Anderson are fun to watch. Unfortunately the military, while logically consistent and necessary to the plot, add little character wise to the ensemble cast.

What can I say, this is what Transformers should have been twenty years ago. No, it's not brillant, but it's not stupid either. I may not know art, but I know what I like...and I love this. It's over the top, high octane action that is new, refreshing and every bit as fun as anything in the original

Nods to the show/comic/toyline
(More than you think)

- On the military base a jet is preparing to take off, and it clearly is painted to look like Skywarp.
- "Probably Japanese" is a reference to the original toyline, Diaclone.
- Optimus retains monkey like agility a la Beast Wars
- "Leaking Lubricant" is said by Ironhide
- Optimus says "freedom is the right to all Sentinent beings"
- When Megatron and Optimus square off Optimus says "One shall stand, one shall fall"
- Ironhide has turret weapons like Rhinox in Beast Wars
- "I'm not getting you a Porsche" as Jazz was a Porsche
- Bobby Boliva tries to sell him a 1982 Volkswagon Beetle
- "You fail me yet again Starscream"
- "I shall shove the Allspark into my chest" (allusion to the Matrix).
- Jazz swings on the turret of Brawl/Devestator a la Kup in TFTM.

Other notes

- All the Autobots possess human faces except for Ironhide somewhat.
- Brawl speaks english (in background)
- Frenzy has a very weird voice and he loses his head twice.
- The truck driven by Mikhaela is a toy in the upcoming toyline.

very insightful

I'm glad theirs beastwars in there somewhere

what would u do differently as Producer?

 

[ShadowBoxing]

100 % AGREE.

The plot is THERE.
These characters have goals and priorities, it is the reason they are all fighting in the first place.

I can see why people would hate on this movie. But to claim it didn't have a plot is just Negatron ranting (not in San Starko's case...but obviously he gave it a good review, so he doesn't mean it in a negative way). And the material is not Shakespeare, it's action movie fodder. I'd say if you go expecting good cinema, you probably shouldn't go to the movie called Transformers, you should probably wait for Oscar season.

 

[CFlash]

<snip>
-the balance between serious tone, comedy, action, drama was so bi polar i couldn't keep up. i ended up feeling the love in comedy scenes, being afraid in the drama and laughing at the action.
<snip>
i could go on. no really. i hated this film.
1/10

Sorry to snip the rest of your review. I just found this line funny.
Maybe that was the director's intention? I dunno. But, I couldn't help but think I felt the same during Pearl Harbor.

 

[Warhammer]

I'll type up a review tomorrow or something, but the film was very good.
There were plenty of cons, but I don't feel like going into detail right now.

 

[Marvin]

can someone define what plot is?

 

[The Lizard]

Action/FX : 9/10 - Great stuff, but a bit too chaotic and shaky in parts and there are a couple scenes where you don't know which robots you're looking at. An almost fetishistic attention to US military machinery as well, but that's Bay for you. For the most part, the action scenes are jaw-dropping and worth the price of admission. I still say the robot designs are too "busy" and when two robots would wrestle it was hard to tell what was happening. However, this film had more "fun" and heart-pounding action FX money-shots than anything else we've seen this summer, hands down.

Plot: 7/10 - Not as bad as I thought it would be, but there are plot holes and loose ends aplenty. What was the point of the Allspark starting out as a ginormous cube when it could miraculously shrink down to shoebox size? Why did the 30-foot tall Autobots give a 5'10" human the task of running the Allspark to a safe place when the robots were about 100 times faster? What happened to those 3 or 4 earth-machine TFs created by the Allspark? What happened to Scorponok? Why was Sector 7 run by such pathetic comedy-relief nitwits? Etc etc.

Character interaction and "humor": 4/10 - Yeah, most of the acting is only servicable at best and the attempts at humor are strictly aimed at the "Bad Boys 2" crowd (no offense if that's you, but it's not me). I lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes after about 20 times, but at least I was expecting it. The chihuahua jokes, Sam lusting after Mikaela jokes and broad racial stereotype gags were every bit as painful as I expected, but at least they all came and went quickly. Did there really have to be a *********ion joke in a Transformers movie? That's just wrong!

OVERALL: a decent 7.5/10 movie experience for me. Yeah, you pretty much HAVE to see this one in the theater folks. When the action alone can compensate for so much ridiculousness you just have to go with it. I'd recommend it.

 

[nightcrawler01]

I got the untitled movie teaser as well. I think the whole point was to get people to ask(what was that movie?) haha

anways, Transformers!!!

IT FREAKIN' ROCKED!!!

Seriously, the only way you'll think this movie sucked is by hoping to see the original characters. I didn't expect that. It's cool to get something new and this is a movie adaptation. I can say one thing for sure is I think the new cartoons, like Cybertron, is corny and cheesy and I'm pleased to say the movie wasn't.

With that said, Michael Bay made this movie more realistic and you couldn't get that if you got the originals.

The movie is a bunch of action and comedy to. The comedy is very funny but definately is not cheesy. I think we saw too many cheesy movies we forgot what real comedy is. The comedy definately gave the Autobots a more human edge to them like they were alive.

The plot took a little getting used to but it eventually made sense. A lot of cool movies has a crappy plot but this one didn't and the way they introduced the plot was well written. It'll definately transform ya

Since spoilers are allowed, I gave the movie 10/10, but I didn't like the sector 7 guy and I did not like the fact that the tank was devestator. Wasn't he supposed to be Brawl?

 

[Tempest19]

I entered with high expectations and I was somewhat terrified that the film would not reach them... luckily, I had nothing to fear. The movie turned out just as good as I had earlier anticipated and maybe a better than what I had anticipated. My expectations, as I said, were very high... and all I have to say is this is the best summer film, since, well- Batman Begins. It met all of my high expectations and exceeded them.

I will probably go to this five, hopefully more, times!!! I fckin loved this movie and there is only two words that I can saying that sum up my review of the film:

FCKING AWESOME!!!

10/10

Watch out Potter, because Transformers just created a box office black hole. Everything in it's path will be crushed and terminated.

 

[CFlash]

I can see why people would hate on this movie. But to claim it didn't have a plot is just Negatron ranting (not in San Starko's case...but obviously he gave it a good review, so he doesn't mean it in a negative way). And the material is not Shakespeare, it's action movie fodder. I'd say if you go expecting good cinema, you probably shouldn't go to the movie called Transformers, you should probably wait for Oscar season.

Obviously it's got "a Plot" but you said it's as good as Terminator 1 or 2? Is it? That's a bold statement... I mean, those movies are held up in pretty high "sci-fi" esteem.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

very insightful

I'm glad theirs beastwars in there somewhere

what would u do differently as Producer?

Well, I definitely am not married to the cast of characters they chose. I don't know that the Decepticons really felt like a group to me, that's my biggest problem. It's not that they all need to come together, I don't mind some of the lone wolf tactics. But it would've been nice to see Starscream and Blackout working together or Frenzy and Barricade interacting more. The problem this created was Megatron never felt like their leader, he just felt like the big giant Robot the Decepticons needed to free. With Optimus the team really deferred to him, and he called the shots. With Megatron he simply wreaked carnage along with the other Decepticons. His interaction with Starscream was a highlight, but it was the only highlight for him in regards to his Decepticons.

The Decepticons definitely need to coalesce more. And the Autobots need one or two more super serious characters. Ironhide, Jazz and Bumblebee weren't out of character, but it would've been nice to see a Prowl there to bust some of their heads in line.

 

[SuperJediHero]

Holy ****!!! 8.8

Well, I might down it a bit, and say 8... My review later!

 

[San Starko]

Ok, so I shouldn't have said the plot was non-existent. It wasn't mean to be me having a go, it was more a over the top comment on the things that were wrong with the movie.

What I was trying to get across is that, yes, there's a lot of things wrong with the movie....but it doesn't matter, because it delivers exactly what I, and i'm sure many others, wanted it to. That is it made me feel like a kid again. Which is the biggest compliment I could pay to the movie.

Since I was a little kid playing with my Transformer toys i've always wanted to see a proper movie with them. This movie finally gave me what i've been wanting for the last 20 odd years....and I loved it, despite any flaws that it has.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Obviously it's got "a Plot" but you said it's as good as Terminator 1 or 2? Is it? That's a bold statement... I mean, those movies are held up in pretty high "sci-fi" esteem.

Well James Cameron isn't known for intricate plots. Great characters and derivative concepts and also having typically good casts. But all his action movies are very straightforward. He doesn't attempt to hide what his story is in some intricate plot. In fact both Terminator 1 and 2 don't ever address the logically inconsistencies of John Conner, they allow almost as a way to bask in their own hokey-ness. I think that's in part what makes his movies so great, he isn't afraid to do something over the top. His movies might have better dialogue than Transformers, or even more novel and interesting content, but plot wise they are all pretty basic and straightfoward.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Ok, so I shouldn't have said the plot was non-existent. It wasn't mean to be me having a go, it was more a over the top comment on the things that were wrong with the movie.

I wasn't calling you out. I said you didn't mean it in a negative way.

 

[nightcrawler01]

I don't agree with this. It had a plot, it was just very basic and straightforward. They weren't trying to create a movie like Crash where you have an intricate plot or Memento which has a derivative plot. They just needed something straightforward and easy to understand. And the plot is easy to understand and makes sense within the confines of an action movie. It was no more plotless than Terminator or Terminator 2.

The plot was definately straightforward. That's one of the reasons I gave it a 10/10. I'll post my pros tomorrow maybe. I'm going to go see it again. I really enjoy having the plot straightforward and the way it was delivered was awesome in it's own.