Transformers

[Asmor]

Oh, I can understand your complaints, for the most part (I can't see how anyone could be dissatisfied with the amount of action in the movie, but that's me). I groaned during that entire scene where the TFs were trampling his yard and trying to hide... I thought it was okay at best, but I could certainly understand someone thinking it was terrible (and I wouldn't entirely disagree with them). OTOH, I loved the part where Bumblebee... lubricated the gentleman from secotr 7, just because it's not something I would ever have expected to see, it was humorous, and they didn't dwell on it like they did the hide-and-go-seek part.

 

[Umbran]

I saw it this afternoon. My wife and I had a rocking good time watching the movie.

'Nuff said.

 

[DonTadow]

Badly made? You're nuts. That thing was pure popcorn entertainment and felt from beginning to end like a Transformers movie.

Does it really matter what they look like in their non vehicle forms? If you are really that interested, try a GIS for some designs, screensots, etc.

Um. If the robots had a problem with it, they would have done something. Like mom, Bubblebee and Prime were probably proud of their new charge.

After all, it's what teenagers do.

Both of you have good points and bad ones.

There was a ton of action in this movie. Not a lot of robot fighting, but a few good car chases and a good battle.

The main action happened in the third act, and the camera makes it unwatchable. Yo ucan't make out anything. Very horrible direction on this part.

That scene with the robots sneaking around was pretty stupid and they were acting far too silly (frat boy like). How much property does that family own that 30ft. large robots are maneuvering around and no one noticed it. Where'd the robots go when the sector 7 people showed up. I live next to a truck depot, someone would have noticed all the commotion. That scene served as comedy but it could have served a far better purpose.

The movie did a good job o establishing the decepticons as dangerious villians in a whole (with that first scene, the iceman references and the thing about megatron) but it didn't establish the decepticons individually.

The object was a bit wierd. It seemed to turn everything into evil robots.

Had better action than spiderman 3 and far less musical numbers. The transformer villians had a motive, though it was a simple one.

 

[John Crichton]

Both of you have good points and bad ones.

There was a ton of action in this movie. Not a lot of robot fighting, but a few good car chases and a good battle.

The main action happened in the third act, and the camera makes it unwatchable. Yo ucan't make out anything. Very horrible direction on this part.

No, you couldn't make out anything. I saw plenty of robots shooting each other and punching each other in the face, as well as protecting young Sam.

That scene with the robots sneaking around was pretty stupid and they were acting far too silly (frat boy like). How much property does that family own that 30ft. large robots are maneuvering around and no one noticed it. Where'd the robots go when the sector 7 people showed up. I live next to a truck depot, someone would have noticed all the commotion. That scene served as comedy but it could have served a far better purpose.

It served as entertainment and dwelling on it is an exercise in futility. Were you looking for deeper meaning? It was a silly moment topped off by a masturbation joke followed by a reveal that was even funnier (the mom's reaction).

If you didn't dig it, that's cool. But don't try and insert meaning or insist that it be replaced by something else. It was a joke scene and ludicrous to boot. Most importantly, it was fun and showed that Prime basically got humanity a little bit, if not all the nuances.

 

[John Crichton]

Seriously though, just because a lot of summer actions flicks aren't any more than that doesn't mean that that's all they CAN be.

Of course. But this one was gonna be cheese (not the so bad is good kinda, either), camp and big explosions from the start. Expecting any more than that is ... well ... I've said it already. You are acting like you have never seen a movie directed by Michael Bay. If so, stay away from the rest as this is his best so far.

Lets set our sights a bit higher here, people.

Higher than transforming robots beating the bolts out of each other and having a few laughs along the way? It's simply that kind of movie. You didn't dig it, that's okay. And the vast majority disagrees with you. And that's okay, too. I'll put you down for not seeing the sequel.

 

[RangerWickett]

Matt, sure there was some robots punching other robots, but no actual scenes of it. Rather than showing a fight with individual characters -- who you could tell apart, instead of being a blur of robotics -- doing actual cool things, they just presented a general sense of 'stuff going on.'

In the last whole segment, about the only cool thing was Starscream, because, he's like, the awesomest robot ever. Why wasn't there more Starscream?

But c'mon, you really don't think the scenes would've been more interesting if they'd actually let you see a given character for more than 5 seconds, do you? (Oh wait, they did, but it was always in Michael-Bay-motion, where sun beams down from above, everything slows down, a character looks really bad-ass, and a choir sings with amazingly dramatic music, before cutting back to the same tripe as before.)

Bumblebee vs. the evil copcar bot? Yeah, we see about 5 seconds, and then we go to the kids running away and dealing with the Salacious Crumb wannabe.

Optimus vs. Megatron? Badly framed shots with too much panning to get a sense of how the characters are moving.

Really, I want to rewatch the old cartoon movie. I think, even without nostalgia making me love it, at least I could tell who the characters are, and what they're doing.



Oh, and my personal least favorite moment in the movie: when Optimus is telling the other Autobots about where the cube is, and they're just chilling some place in the middle of the day, talking to each other. And what does the cameraman decide to do? Zoom and pan. Pan and zoom, and have a wide tracking shot. Holy bleeping bleep. Do people just not sit cameras down and record characters doing stuff anymore?

It was entertaining, but if the people who'd made it had been less in love with all the awesome stuff you can do nowadays, it could've actually been good.

 

[Shayuri]

I'm just calling it like I saw it, man. I'm not sure where the, "Well, what were you THINKING it was going to be" mentality is coming from here. Or the odd notion that there must be something wrong with my perceptions because I wasn't expecting all these problems (and here's the kicker), and that if I -had- been expecting them, that would somehow make them not problems anymore.

That seems to be the implicit argument I'm seeing repeated over and over. If I had only been EXPECTING the movie to be bad going in, I would have magically realized on seeing it that it was NOT bad? All these issues and failures, I would just completely change my mind about, because I should have known already they'd be there?

No. That's really not how I watch movies. I don't go, "Well, this is a Bay movie, therefore it will have this laundry list of problems...which I will now ignore." I at least -try- to judge each movie, regardless of its origins, on its own merits or lack therof.

Now I have no problem with people liking the movie. That's cool! That's fine! I'm GLAD you feel good about what you saw! I'm in no way trying to intimate, in any way, that you all have something wrong with you that causes you to overlook its deep flaws. All I ask is the fans of this movie please stop trying to suggest that my dislike of the movie is due somehow to my flawed perception. I'm confused too, ya know. I sort of figured that the more someone liked the Transformers, the more they'd hate this movie...because it seems to me to be a long insult to fans and source material alike.

But if not, -that's cool-. You're still a healthy human being. I love and respect you unconditionally. Namaste! *holds hands up* I surrender!

I'd like to think we can just agree to disagree on this subject without being forced to believe that we actually live in alternate universes, just because of our respective reactions to a movie.

(PS - and to those of you who had a more moderate reaction, yes you, and didn't make any such accusation and don't fit at all the subject of this plea...well, you're not who I'm talking to. In fact, if there's any question at all if this post is directed to you...it's probably not. Rejoice with me, brothers and sisters!)

 

[Jeysie]

I sort of figured that the more someone liked the Transformers, the more they'd hate this movie...because it seems to me to be a long insult to fans and source material alike.

Heh. I hate to add to the contrariness, but... I have a friend who *loves* the Transformers... has seen all the series, collects the figures, knows all the details in and out... and he thought the movie was awesome. In fact, it was his gushing that pushed me into going, since I'd been rather dubious about the idea of a live-action version being any good.

Peace & Luv, Liz

 

[Shayuri]

Yar, that's one thing that confuses me. I don't pretend to understand it, but I accept it.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Heh. I hate to add to the contrariness, but... I have a friend who *loves* the Transformers... has seen all the series, collects the figures, knows all the details in and out... and he thought the movie was awesome. In fact, it was his gushing that pushed me into going, since I'd been rather dubious about the idea of a live-action version being any good.

Peace & Luv, Liz

I'm another that loves Transformers and loved the movie.

The movie pays a LOT of homage to the old stuff, and even keeps a lot of the charm/cheesiness that was always there. In fact, a lot of the reasons I see people not liking the movie are things that were always in the show to one degree or another.

Shakycam isn't one, of course, but I didn't have a problem identifying things through it. Obviously there are others that didn't, either, so its not a universal thing that shakycam causes problems for people.

"One shall stand, one shall fall."

Weeeee.