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Transformers: The Movie

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  • Ghostscape
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    [ QUOTE ]
    Where the fuck was Prime for the first 5 minutes of the Downtown battle?

    [/ QUOTE ]
    Fighting Barricade in a scene that got cut but is in the film novelization (which I haven't read but people on the internet have).

    I'm hoping I fall into the A category as to why I missed the plot holes.

    [ QUOTE ]

    Screw all that, Transformers for a lot of people has always been about one thing: TOYS!!

    [/ QUOTE ]
    Honestly this is where my fandom rests mostly. I love the hell out of the toys.

    Here's an interesting interview with one of the designers for some of the Classics line toys, which were mostly awesome.
    http://pingmag.jp/2007/06/29/transformers/
    [ QUOTE ]

    What would you like to design that hasn’t been designed yet?

    Just an odd object that transforms into another odd object for no reason. Just so because it looks interesting as it transforms. It is not so much about what it is in a and b - but the path itself is c. The transformation itself is the interesting thing!

    [/ QUOTE ]
    That's pretty much exactly why I love them so much.
  • BRUTICUS(CW)
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    [ QUOTE ]

    Take this example when Ang Lee released the Hulk. The majority hated it because they wanted to see the Hulk destroy things, (mind you, I enjoyed the movie), but Ang Lee was all about 'art', 'presentation of character', and characterization. What he failed to realize is that people just wanted to see an action movie with the Hulk beating stuff up. How would this be any different? The movie could have spent over an hour before the first sight of any bot, or have drawn out scenes with the bots talking, but in the end, the mass populace would not have enjoyed it as much as they have now. Is that not the truth? People watched this movie because they wanted to see robots blowing stuff up and fighting.

    So, in G1, Prime was a deep character? I argue against that. He was a cowboy from episode 1 until the end. He never had any inner conflict that would evolve his character. He was a cowboy at the beginning of the episode, and by the end, he was still a cowboy. How is that a deep character?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    First of all, Prime was a cowboy in the cartoons, in the movie he became a wise elder, a mystic.

    As to your Ang Lee argument. That is a good way of putting it. I know most people hate that movie, but I enjoyed it and thought it introduced the character well. (except the end father scene was quite ridiculous)

    And yes, the cartoon was silly in many respects.....BECAUSE it was a cartoon. The underlying ideas were not self ridiculing as we could argue they are in this movie. You'd hope the movie would pick the better parts of the cartoon and expand on them. Much of that was lost on the director or more, the writers.
  • skankerzero
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    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]

    Take this example when Ang Lee released the Hulk. The majority hated it because they wanted to see the Hulk destroy things, (mind you, I enjoyed the movie), but Ang Lee was all about 'art', 'presentation of character', and characterization. What he failed to realize is that people just wanted to see an action movie with the Hulk beating stuff up. How would this be any different? The movie could have spent over an hour before the first sight of any bot, or have drawn out scenes with the bots talking, but in the end, the mass populace would not have enjoyed it as much as they have now. Is that not the truth? People watched this movie because they wanted to see robots blowing stuff up and fighting.

    So, in G1, Prime was a deep character? I argue against that. He was a cowboy from episode 1 until the end. He never had any inner conflict that would evolve his character. He was a cowboy at the beginning of the episode, and by the end, he was still a cowboy. How is that a deep character?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    First of all, Prime was a cowboy in the cartoons, in the movie he became a wise elder, a mystic.

    As to your Ang Lee argument. That is a good way of putting it. I know most people hate that movie, but I enjoyed it and thought it introduced the character well. (except the end father scene was quite ridiculous)

    And yes, the cartoon was silly in many respects.....BECAUSE it was a cartoon. The underlying ideas were not self ridiculing as we could argue they are in this movie. You'd hope the movie would pick the better parts of the cartoon and expand on them. Much of that was lost on the director or more, the writers.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    I can agree with what you posted. Good post.

    Next year we get the new Hulk movie too! Hope we see him busting crap up! smile.gif
  • BRUTICUS(CW)
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    [ QUOTE ]

    I can agree with what you posted. Good post.

    Next year we get the new Hulk movie too! Hope we see him busting crap up! smile.gif

    [/ QUOTE ]
    I look forward to that, honestly I still want to see what happens in that jungle in latin america where the movie left off.
  • Sage
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    I remember when watching the Hulk I thought, good update to Banner's origen, these villans are all lame, all the super villans are lame as fuck just like the cartoons check. I liked the Hulk CG a lot and enjoyed the movie because it felt true to the character. Hulk fighting giant poodles, I think that was done in the comics and in the toons. wink.gif

    Shanker I think most people have a problem with the Transfomermers movie because they were not enough robot battles, and when they were there they seemed rushed as hell. It might be a 3 series or what ever, don't know and don't care, if that is the case I would say that they did a good job at setting up the sequels. As far as plot holes in the Transformers movie, well, you can't really call something a plot hole if the movie is not meant to end when the credits role at the end. We all know that the Decepticons will regenerate and come online again. How do I know cause it happened in the cartoons all the time. smile.gif As far as seeing a movie where there would be a bunch of bots fighting, it was more like a bunch of humans talking, and 30 mins of fighting at the end. smile.gif Looking foward to the next one.

    I think 3D Artist and Animators will bitch more about these things because this is what they do, and when they see something done poorly it pisses them off especially if they paid money for it, or cared for it to begin with. I really didn't see why they redesigned all the bots, especially since most of them looked worse than the original designs, so I can relate to Gauss a lot and with his comments. That said most people I have meet that are outside the industry are impressed with shit moving when it comes to CG and those were the people that Bay and the suits he was trying to please, was targeting, and not the artist here, just something to remember. wink.gif In the last battle it seemed Bay or one of the writers was trying to make a political comment on how was is not cool or pretty just utter chaos. Maybe I'm reading to much into it, it might just be that they can't make a could battle scene.

    Alex
  • Emil Mujanovic
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    It took me pretty much most of today going back and forth reading this entire thread. I wanted to wait until I had seen the film before I started reading it. Oh man! What an experience it has been.
    I laughed, I cried, but mostly I sighed. Some of the comments made in this thread are the best the internet has to offer.
    Honestly, I enjoyed the film for what it was. I've already seen it twice and would see it again. Sure, there are bits in the film that were questionable. But I expected that while walking into the theater and its what I got.
    I'm glad the Transformers themselves got a re-design, though I will agree with gauss about some of them being poorly designed. I really disliked the look of Starscream (being one of my favourite Transformers), but Bumblebee was definitely one of the nicest looking Transformers in the film and will be getting the toy for my desk at work.

    -caseyjones
  • oXYnary
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    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]
    The 60's Batman show was campy, but the first film didn't try to reflect that.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    I must have watched a different Batman than you did. It was campy, but in a Tim Burton way. The second one, which he also directed, HAS PENGUINS WITH MISSILES STRAPPED TO THEIR BACK. Tim Burton said in numerous interviews that he didn't read the comics, and was mostly familiar with Batman through the 60s show and movie.

    If you go back and watch these movies and shows that you loved during your childhood, you'll realize they're not the masterpieces you thought they were. What works on small children doesn't work for adults, and we're adults now.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Your right, and I really did need to be more specific. In fact I thought of that same idea before you posted, but I thought people would understand what I meant when I said campy. Burton was campy in Burtons style, which still was able to keep the Batman character serious and brooding unlike the 60's. Versus that followup director who made it into a glitz of depthless figure heads.

    As far as movies from childhood, I still get a kick out of Goonies, and Batman is entertaining (though Begins rocks). The original TMNT movie is still fun. Transformers still has it moments (going through Beast Wars/Machines now.. Those had more character development and subplots than this entire movie combines).

    What failed to get beyond Childhood was He-Man. Looking back at those now... Speaking of which didn't I hear a rumor Ang Lee wanted to use He-Man or something? He wanted a character that wasn't that well developed he could create a whole epic with.

    BTW: Hulk failed, not because the lack of Action scenes to me Skank. It was the lack of believability in the character. Bruce Banners whining with his Pa wasn't believable. Versus in the comics where Bruce Banners father killed his mother and beat Bruce as a kid calling him a little monster. That tension was missing, and so the whole Hulk/Angst which is a key part of the Frankenstein Tragedy of Hulk was missing. So like this movie, it was hard to get into the it because the characters weren't believable. Not because one had to leave their minds at the door which I have stated is a Narcissistic Excuse.

    This whole defense reminds me of SW: Episode 1. I was like you all once, saying it was good while others just smiled at me while shaking their heads and let me blab. Then I went back later on without the hype of "Star Wars" and really watched the film realizing what a boring piece of crap it was.

    I have a very strong suspicion many of you claiming that the film was good and noting you will purchase the DVD. By the second or third time watching at home will be skipping entire chapters just to watch the ADD ILM fight scenes.
  • BRUTICUS(CW)
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    [ QUOTE ]


    Shanker I think most people have a problem with the Transfomermers movie because they were not enough robot battles, and when they were there they seemed rushed as hell. It might be a 3 series or what ever, don't know and don't care, if that is the case I would say that they did a good job at setting up the sequels. As far as plot holes in the Transformers movie, well, you can't really call something a plot hole if the movie is not meant to end when the credits role at the end. We all know that the Decepticons will regenerate and come online again. How do I know cause it happened in the cartoons all the time. smile.gif As far as seeing a movie where there would be a bunch of bots fighting, it was more like a bunch of humans talking, and 30 mins of fighting at the end. smile.gif Looking foward to the next one.


    [/ QUOTE ]

    In regards to this paragraph I should point out that Bob Orci and Kurtzman have stated that they wrote this movie with no sequel in mind. It was written as a movie to stand on it's own.

    This movie however is the introduction to some very unique characters and part of their reasoning in not fleshing them out was that they wanted to ease the audience into the introduction. Unfortunately to me they could have done a much better job of introducing the characters as believable characters. In the movie i'm hoping there will be more faith in the subject matter. In this movie, it was all a gamble.
  • skankerzero
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    [ QUOTE ]
    [ QUOTE ]


    Shanker I think most people have a problem with the Transfomermers movie because they were not enough robot battles, and when they were there they seemed rushed as hell. It might be a 3 series or what ever, don't know and don't care, if that is the case I would say that they did a good job at setting up the sequels. As far as plot holes in the Transformers movie, well, you can't really call something a plot hole if the movie is not meant to end when the credits role at the end. We all know that the Decepticons will regenerate and come online again. How do I know cause it happened in the cartoons all the time. smile.gif As far as seeing a movie where there would be a bunch of bots fighting, it was more like a bunch of humans talking, and 30 mins of fighting at the end. smile.gif Looking foward to the next one.


    [/ QUOTE ]

    In regards to this paragraph I should point out that Bob Orci and Kurtzman have stated that they wrote this movie with no sequel in mind. It was written as a movie to stand on it's own.

    This movie however is the introduction to some very unique characters and part of their reasoning in not fleshing them out was that they wanted to ease the audience into the introduction. Unfortunately to me they could have done a much better job of introducing the characters as believable characters. In the movie i'm hoping there will be more faith in the subject matter. In this movie, it was all a gamble.

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Going along with this post, They are following the typical 'trilogy equation'. The first one is usually a gamble, thus, it's pretty much a stand alone movie. The second one is usually the darker of the three and show the good guys get beat down. The third is always the most intense one that follows the good guys overcoming huge odds to beat the bad guys.
  • conte
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  • StrangeFate
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    I SAW IT NOW TOO OMG!!!

    I realized at the end of the movie that i had completely forgotten about the CG, which is a good thing, very well done.

    Things i didn't like, like others i guess :
    Fight scenes, shaky BS. Unless you know Brawl from the movie toy, you'll have no idea how he looks as a robot at the end of the movie. I truely hated the camera in action scenes.

    The backyard stuff where all the autobots hide around the house... that kinda was too much and way too long... and they talk out loud but Sam's parents can't hear them outside.

    Eyelids on bloody robots. We have eyelids to protect our eyes and keep them wet... They had just wires as eyelids that served absolutely no practical purpose and imo didn't do anything to show they emotions or whatever crap.
    I also thought that optimus mouth made him look like a chimp.

    The movie completely died for me for a few minutes when Optimus introduced the autobots to Sam... they all transformed, walked and posed around him like bloody Rap stars... that was so lame.


    Other than that, i really enjoyed it and would watch it again, and again.
    I liked how they made the introduction of the transformers to the humans something special... and rather extented with Sam.
    For me, Transformers was always not only about robots kicking eachother's ass, but also about the impact of giant robots on puny common humans.
    Spielberg is rather good at that stuff, it felt very E.T.ish during those moments. Some Spielbergish moments were almost too much on the cheesy side, but to be expected so it was all good in the end tongue.gif


    Did i stress enough how i hated the camera during fights ? frown.giffrown.gif
    I hear that's a michael Bay thing... lets hope someone else does the other movies :/
  • TomDunne
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    ^
    Pre-"King of the World" James Cameron would rock a Transformers film.
  • Sage
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    The way the action was presented in this movie at the end was kind of like a texture or how music is sometimes used to make the audience feel whats going on instead of seeing it or that kind of what I gathered from seeing this film. Sometimes directors want the audience to fill in the blanks of some tragic or gory moment, like when someone is about to lose their head in a horror flick, it usually has a bigger impact if the gore is implied. That assumption made, which may be a huge jump, I still ask myself why the hell was this done for this movie? Why was a very wide shot of Megatron ripping apart an Autobot in half used, especially when both looked like ants? Crap like that made the ending in general lame. Simply put where was the close up of this, showing the victims dispair ? When close ups were needed the shot was sooooo damn wide it destroyed the moment, when wide shots were needed there were sooo damn close all you could see were color, or worse and ass here and there.

    Alex
  • BRUTICUS(CW)
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    i agree on the cinematography..

    probably the best shot in the movie of a robot is the ones of megatron swinging his flail around and taunting Sam. However that scene is just ridiculous in many aspects. the helicopters naunchalantly cruising by, the fact that megatron doesn't just go and grab the cube from him instead getting into dialogue? ANYWAY...... I think over all should have been more medium long shots that showed from a human perspective looking up. Definitely should have been the first time spike sees bumblebee. instead of bumblebee flashing the batsignal from a distance. Sam should have been in front of him and taken it all in at once. Would have made for a better scene in their introduction. I just can't get over how bad the story was in this movie. The cartoon had a cool story. I never wanted a direct translation of the cartoon but in all honesty the first 3 episodes with a bit of an overhaul would have made a better movie.
  • BRUTICUS(CW)
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    im back hahaaa they really needed a great establishing shot of a transformer the first time you see him. like the first time you see bumblebee FUCK that would have been so much better if they made it believable. remember the feeling you get the first time you saw a brachiosaurus in jurassic park? needed something like that. remember the scene they tried to rip from jurassic park with them gathered around looking at the eggs in the incubator? you dont get the same feeling at all.
  • Jesse Moody
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    Yeah a good establishing shot would have been really cool. I mean Sam could have been chasing Bumble Bee and when he turned a corner stopped in his tracks and go to his view and pan up to see Bumble Bee
  • Rhinokey
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    saw it yesterday, expected to hate it, but i really enjoyed it, i have verry few complaints. great movie a lot of fun
  • Irritant
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    Loved it.

    I want a 2009 Camaro SO FREAKING BAD now laugh.gif
  • Wells
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    you know they don't all transform, right?
  • Mark Dygert
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    I saw it on Friday the 13th, work took us to go as a moral event. It was a great flick I look forward to seeing how it evolves. I have a bunch of nit-picky stuff that bugged me but it didn't spoil the movie, I still liked it and would see it again.

    Things that bugged me:
    - Too organic and overly complicated. I knew this going into it, but I was still left wondering what the hell I was looking for too much of the movie. The great thing about transformers is that when they are in robot form you have always been able to tell what they where before, with the direction the movie went you have no clue except you might catch a glimpse of a tire. I read an interview with the Alex Jaeger the AD for Transformers and I think he realized this too late in the game. I think he did most of his concepts on a blank canvas and forgot to think about the silhouettes being muddied up but other robots and the background noise. You also don't get good establishing shots of each robot so it makes it even harder to recognize shapes. He said they tried to make them more solid but he was really gun-ho on keeping a billion whirling parts. Bay said he didn't want moving metal like T2, but that's exactly what he got. I understand from a technical stand point why so much moving metal but honestly why so much? In just about every scene they where moving I was left having to try and figure out what part I was looking at, and if it contained more than one robot or not.

    - Oh the faces... From primes bendy metal lips to Bumble bee's pacifier mouth, I was really put off by the faces.

    - If they can scan and turn into any vehicle, as seen when bumble bee changes car types in the tunnel on the fly. Why didn't the autobots change to more lethal machines?

    - Jaz the only black transformer gets red shirt'd.
  • Hito
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    [ QUOTE ]
    - If they can scan and turn into any vehicle, as seen when bumble bee changes car types in the tunnel on the fly. Why didn't the autobots change to more lethal machines?


    [/ QUOTE ]

    Probably because civilians can't purchase purely military vehicles.
  • Mark Dygert
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    True, but it doesn't mean they didn't come into contact with some heavier hardware. After all they could have matched another transformer.

    "How do we stop this unstoppable tank!?"
    "err scan it and beat it at its own game. Only now it has to best 4 other tanks of the same design."

    "How do we get from point A to point B quickly?"
    "Lets not scan faster moving vehicles, lets pick the slowest cars possible and never change"

    "How do we blend in after they have spotted us?"
    "We stay as the same make and flashy paint job and never change"
  • Rhinokey
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    i think someones over analyzing the car robot movie.
  • Mark Dygert
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    yeah I am and it's not somewhere I wanted to go, since I enjoyed it a lot. I wouldn't mind seeing it again before it leaves the theaters. We all know it has huge holes but they didn't ruin it for me and I shouldn't chip away at the iceberg because it could ruin it for someone else. ok, I'll button it now =P
  • Irritant
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    [ QUOTE ]
    you know they don't all transform, right?

    [/ QUOTE ]

    Haha, yes I know that smile.gif

    Actually I've been wanting one of those new Camaros since I saw the first concepts of them a couple years ago. I love how, like the new Mustangs they really captured the classic look in a modern design. 69 Z-28 was probably my favorite car of all time, so this new one really gets my blood flowing when I see it. Plus from the track tests I've seen, these things are complete beasts smile.gif
  • Rhinokey
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    on a side note, wonder what Ford thought of the camero beating the mustangs ass in a fistfight
  • indian_boy
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    just saw it. camera was messy, transformations were too fast, and i didn't feel connected to the bots. I just knew a few names so..... that's it! where were the emotions i was supposed to feel when the bumblebee was hurt etc. etc.

    oh, and ur willing to cast an indian in a call centre [one phone call and it happens to be an indian, okay more than likely] but in a whole team of code-breakers and techies, u don't even show a single indian? whats up with that?! admit it... indians are spearheading all this 'code' and 'programming' stuff. [no offense to anybody else is intended really!]

    it was an okay movie. i didn't enjoy it as much as i woulda' hoped. the main bummer was that i couldn't enjoy the transformations happening.
  • 3DRT
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    Nice movie indeed. Really liked every bit of it.
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