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Transformers
Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 18:19 -0700
by Space Wolf
Has anyone seen Transformers yet?
Posted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 10:39 -0700
by Kenshiroh
I just saw it yesterday. It was okay. But I didn't like the character designs for the Transformers though because they looked too similar to each other. They also spent too much time on humans and not enough on the Transformers
Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:48 -0700
by Ben
Wow.
This is a
STUUUUUUUPID movie. I mean,
really. I'm kind of in awe, to be honest. Horrible, horrible dialogue, crater-sized plot holes, sloppy editing, disturbing uber-patriotic subtexts...you name it, TRANSFORMERS has it.
I know, I know...what else was I expecting from a Michael Bay film? The guy is more hyperactive than the freaky, spastic mini-robot in the movie. (Think R2-D2 on crack). But there's a few good things to be found here. The arrival of the Autobots on Earth was a beautiful, spectacular scene, reaching a cresecendo when Optimus Prime speaks for the first time. The no-holds-barred, hell-on-earth, take-no-prisoners final battle in Los Angeles was unbelievable. I'm not kidding...the last twenty minutes are
INSANE. You'll walk out of the theatre feeling like you've just competed in the Olympics. It's
that exhilarating. The robots themselves look incredible, especially Prime. Peter Cullen is a blast (reprising his voice from the old cartoon show). The man was, is, and always WILL be Optimus Prime.
The bad? Well, most of the human characters range from annoying to loathsome. A good portion of the film plays like a really weird U.S. army recruitment ad. There's a subplot about computer hackers that's completely worthless. Hugo Weaving's take on Megatron is a big disappointment. For the most part, you'll feel as if 30% of your IQ has been sliced off.
But as far as summer '07 goes, this is probably the best of the lot. Take what you can get, I guess.

Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 9:34 -0700
by Todd Shogun
SPOILERS FOLLOW
I saw it and was disappointed. I was a HUGE Transformers fan back in the day. Started with the Marvel comics in elementary school, then the cartoon series, movie, and of course the toys. So I had high expectations for this film.
As far as the bad goes....I agree a lot with Ben. Frenzy was LAME. A lot of the human characters, especially that Section 7 guy, were annoyingly retarded....The Chevrolet commercials throughout were tiresome and frustrating. The plot was brainless and uninteresting...heck the plot from the first Transformers movie was 10X better. [Imagine THAT as a live action movie...woulda kicked this one all the way back to Cybertron]. They reinvented a lot, which was also annoying. The references to the Internet, World Wide Web, and eBay were like nails on a chalkboard. They did spend too much time on the humans. Big mistake there. This left little character development for the Transformers themselves. The "all-spark" thing was a lame idea. I mean come on. Sheesh. To tell you the truth, I almost fell asleep during this movie, about 3/4 the way through, just before the big battle finale.
The good...Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime. It's almost as if someone knew what they were doing. They messed up though by not getting a few more of the original voice actors. The special effects were great, but then again this is expected. Anthony Anderson was hilarious and was probably the best human character there, albeit an odd fit for a Transformers movie...he did provide an excursion from all the disappointments being thrown all over the place. I did like the few homages they paid to the original Transformers...like the transforming sound they made (while not completely prevalent). Optimus's quote "One shall stand, one shall fall" was great but seemed too gratuitous, rushed, and not very well timed for that scene. I also liked that Megatron transformed into his "native" self, as opposed to an earthly vehicle. He wouldn't have had an opportunity to obtain an Earth form...again, it was like someone in production actually knew what they were doing. I actually liked the character designs of the Transformers. I'm a big Shoji Kawamori fan... an obvious take on his designs, but a welcome one.
That last battle scene wasn't all that great. It was cool and all, but a bit messy and confusing at times. It did serve to wake me up a little. Why wasn't I sad when Jazz was killed though? Like I was when Optimus died in the first movie? Maybe it was because this wasn't really Jazz, just someone else's reinvented version that simply I didn't care about...he's a Porsche, not a Pontiac Soltice for crying out loud! But then GM doesn't own Porsche, so they couldn't make him one.
The worst scene was when Spike (Sam? COME ON PEOPLE!! SHEESH) defeats Megatron himself accidentally with that lame all-spark thing that can create Transformers out of cell phones (MEGA-SHEESH). That was the last nail in the coffin for me.
Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 19:01 -0700
by Space Wolf
I think I'll skip this film. A lot of friends have had the same issues you guys did and warned me against it. I think I'll go see Harry Potter instead.
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 19:01 -0700
by Kenshiroh
Why wasn't I sad when Jazz was killed though? Like I was when Optimus died in the first movie? Maybe it was because this wasn't really Jazz, just someone else's reinvented version that simply I didn't care about...he's a Porsche, not a Pontiac Soltice for crying out loud! But then GM doesn't own Porsche, so they couldn't make him one.
And they didn't give any of the TFs personalities. My brother commented that Jazz is just the "token black guy" that gets killed in the movie.
The bad? Well, most of the human characters range from annoying to loathsome. A good portion of the film plays like a really weird U.S. army recruitment ad. There's a subplot about computer hackers that's completely worthless.
If they have to focus on humans, at least they could have used ones from the show. Why not have Chip Chase as one of the computer hackers? Why not use G.I. Joe characters instead of generic army guys?
I bought the video game before I had seen the movie, and the game is actually better. It actually focuses on THE TRANSFORMERS! (What a novel idea!) Frank Welker reprises his role as Megatron! You can also play as the original versions of Optimus and Megatron (but you have to unlock them first).
Here's an article you might enjoy:
Why the original Transformers movie is better than the new one
Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 11:45 -0700
by Usagi

I liked it. Not a fan of "Tranceformers"-- but the Movie was Funny.....but i dident like all the advertisements, but I looked past that.
Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:34 -0700
by Todd Shogun
That guy hits it right on the mark. Great article! And I agree, Orson Welles played an awesome role as Unicron. He did neglect to mention Leonard Nimoy's involvement as Galvatron. He was spot-on by referring to Optimus as a stand-up guy though. That is too true, unfortunately..."My bad"...GROAN
The podcast ripping apart Micheal Bay's version was GREAT and definitely recommended to fans. I agreed with everything Slate stated. I guess it isn't so amazing to think others got the exact same impression of the movie as I did.
Micheal Bay's Transformers was a real let down. I'm so glad I'm not the only Transformers fan out there who thinks that. Maybe for the sequel they'll get it right!
Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 19:59 -0700
by VikingSpawn
I thought this movie owned!!!! Nobody here liked it???
It's definitely one of Michael Bay's best movies!!!!!
The movie was funny and not in a cheesy way and the action sequences were incredible!
Plus part 2 should be better! When they include Cybertron and the Dinobots....maybe even Unicron....
Another good this about Transformers, it should influence the production of the live action Evangellion movie in terms of the storytelling, style/look of the picture and the visual effects. Those guys can learn alot from Transformers and make a decent Neon Genesis movie....
I say thumbs up!!! 2 paws up!!!

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 8:06 -0700
by MikeM
A neon genesis movie? Wow, they would have to change a lot. My friends and I watched the whole series one Saturday and at the end most of us thought the same thing. "WHAT?" We were so confused.
As for Transformers, I enjoyed it for what it was. But if I was expecting it to be true to the original I would have been disappointed. However it did open the doors for a live action Robotech movie and that's just awesome!
MikeM
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2007 19:14 -0700
by Andy
Your enjoyment of this movie may depend on your age. I have friends who were kids when the cartoon came out. For them it's a thrill to see their favorite childhood stories in live action. I was an adult with no kids at the time, so it had no special affinity for me. For me it was okay, but I can imagine for others it would be similar to me seeing the FF as live action. There's a special thrill just seeing Johnny flame on that can outweigh any weaknesses in the script. But that's just me!
Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2007 17:36 -0700
by Kenshiroh