TF4 - Bay's Back

[LadyTevar]

Trans4mers?

Coming out 2014, it's the NEXT in the series of BayFormers. leBeuof is out, Mark Wahlberg will be the man in the can. Cullen will be voicing Prime, of course. Full cast list here. We have photos of Hound (MedTacVec), Prime (updated and streamlined), BumbleBee (black/yellow fade 67 Camaro), Drift ( Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse?), and Slingshot (a C7 Corvette Stingray).

Now, we all know that Slingshot was one of the AerialBots. WTF is he a CAR?
Drift, however, is rumored to be following G1 canon as a former 'Con turned Autobot out of a sense of Bushido.

[MrDakka]

Marky Mark and the Robot Bunch? Looks like Optimus got more flames as part of his paint job, because everyone knows flames make anything go faster

Pics: http://www.motorauthority.com/pictures/ ... #100428856

[Gandalf]

That's a shame. LaBeouf was probably the best thing in those piece of shit films.

[Flagg]

That's a shame. LaBeouf was probably the best thing in those piece of shit films.

Him and the annoying parents.

[Gandalf]

Exactly. They were decently acted, if godawfully written.

Though it's not as though "the dad" is a stretch for Kevin Dunn.

[Scrib]

That's a shame. LaBeouf was probably the best thing in those piece of shit films.

Well, you can only whine about the studio system so much.

[Kojiro]

Now, we all know that Slingshot was one of the AerialBots. WTF is he a CAR?
Drift, however, is rumored to be following G1 canon as a former 'Con turned Autobot out of a sense of Bushido.

Indeed Slingshot was that tiny harrier that everyone I knew seemed to own. I really hope he's a plane at the very least, and I doubt the other Aerialbots will show up. I've never understood why Bay insists on using existing names for new characters when he could just make up new ones. That Hound for example... why not update him to a hummer (or the newest vehicle in that role)? Or why he eschews suitably characters for the roles.

As for Drift, I didn't even know who the fuck that was. Looking him up... yeah ok. I wonder how they'll gel the whole former Decepticon angle. In previous films such a political affiliation is enough to have you hunted down and executed. Then again just because he's called Drift doesn't mean he's anything like his known version.

[SAMAS]

As for Drift, I didn't even know who the fuck that was. Looking him up... yeah ok. I wonder how they'll gel the whole former Decepticon angle. In previous films such a political affiliation is enough to have you hunted down and executed. Then again just because he's called Drift doesn't mean he's anything like his known version.

Hey, it worked for Jetfire...

[Havok]

That's a shame. LaBeouf was probably the best thing in those piece of shit films.

No, that would be Megan Fox and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

[Batman]

Well LaBeouf was the one that was in all three of them and in my personal opinion Rosie was a poor replacement for Megan Fox. And while I don't recall Gandalf swinging that way, there are those to whom LaBeouf is a lot more interesting than Megan or Rosie.

[RogueIce]

If there's no Lennox I will be mad.

Anyway does it really matter if they change the vehicle mode of a Transformer? Seriously? The new movie makes it rather obvious the 'Bots and 'Cons can assume whatever shape they feel like assuming, even changing if they wanted to (Bumblebee going from Old And Busted Camaro to New Hotness). I suspect it's not even Michael Bay so much as Hasbro who decides what each Transformer looks like. Either that or whoever pays the most for product placement so they can get their cars up on the big screen.

[Iroscato]

Whilst I didn't mind LaBeouf in the first two films, I could not stand him in the third one, the character came across as such a whiny little shitbag.
I watched the first two films at the cinema, and the third one on DVD a year after it came out. I'll probably stream this one in 5-10 years time, that's how quickly the series went downhill

[Flagg]

Whilst I didn't mind LaBeouf in the first two films, I could not stand him in the third one, the character came across as such a whiny little shitbag.
I watched the first two films at the cinema, and the third one on DVD a year after it came out. I'll probably stream this one in 5-10 years time, that's how quickly the series went downhill

There was a hill?

[Spekio]

I have yet to see the third one.

Whilst I didn't mind LaBeouf in the first two films, I could not stand him in the third one, the character came across as such a whiny little shitbag.
I watched the first two films at the cinema, and the third one on DVD a year after it came out. I'll probably stream this one in 5-10 years time, that's how quickly the series went downhill

I don't like LaBeouf. People kept saying he was the next Tom Hanks, but I've never seen a movie of his I enjoyed. So maybe that's a plus.

[Borgholio]

He is NOT the next Tom Hanks, any more than he was the next Harrison Ford.

[Gandalf]

Well LaBeouf was the one that was in all three of them and in my personal opinion Rosie was a poor replacement for Megan Fox. And while I don't recall Gandalf swinging that way, there are those to whom LaBeouf is a lot more interesting than Megan or Rosie.

This may come as a shock, but I don't watch films to gawk at the women in them. The reason I said that LaBeouf was the best thing in the films was because the rest of them just sucked.

The plot was dumb and the action was dull. It was like Pearl Harbor, but with giant robots.

[Terralthra]

The plot was dumb and the action was dull. It was like Pearl Harbor, but with giant robots.

In fairness, giant robots would've improved Pearl Harbor quite a bit.

[Batman]

While that is undeniably true that would probably have interfered with the movies 'we're still kinda accurate historically. Somewhat. Sort of.' angle.

[Gandalf]

To be fair, they weren't really trying for accuracy of events. That's why there's an historical costume advisor, but no other ones.

The point of PH was to fuse the masculine militarist appeal of Saving Private Ryan with the feminine romantic appeal of Titanic in an attempt to get the maximum number of seats filled. It just needed to be a romance set against an event which has sufficient recognition and patriotic sentimentality.

[Iroscato]

Whilst I didn't mind LaBeouf in the first two films, I could not stand him in the third one, the character came across as such a whiny little shitbag.
I watched the first two films at the cinema, and the third one on DVD a year after it came out. I'll probably stream this one in 5-10 years time, that's how quickly the series went downhill

There was a hill?

A gentle slope at the bottom of a valley, then. I actually don't mind the first film too much, it didn't try too hard to be all grandiose and pretentious. The second and third almost made me feel physically ill at how insufferable they were.

[Kojiro]

Anyway does it really matter if they change the vehicle mode of a Transformer? Seriously? The new movie makes it rather obvious the 'Bots and 'Cons can assume whatever shape they feel like assuming, even changing if they wanted to (Bumblebee going from Old And Busted Camaro to New Hotness).

I suspect you've misunderstood the complaint, or I wasn't clear. All I want is for characters to be recognisable in their movie depictions. If you'd shown me the first movies line up (vehicles and bots) I would have been able to pick out Prime for sure, Ratchet, Jazz and Starscream probably. I would have guessed at Megatron at best. Worse yet I would have guessed Ironhide was Trailbreaker, Bumblebee was Sunstreaker or Windcharger, Blackout was Vortex and Devastator was Brawl. I would have gotten Barricade completely wrong assuming he was Prowl and being a boom box Frenzy would have been assumed to be Soundwave. Scorponok would have just been confusing. All I want is to be able to look at a character and go 'Oh yeah it's him!'.


"Oh yeah, Deadpool! How could I not have instantly recognised him!"

And that's what Bay does with Transformers.

I suspect it's not even Michael Bay so much as Hasbro who decides what each Transformer looks like. Either that or whoever pays the most for product placement so they can get their cars up on the big screen.

I believe you're right here, and he has limited say in which vehicles are in. But I don't get why he doesn't use characters based on those vehicles or make up new ones. So GM says 'Here's a fuckton of cash, use this big black off road truck!'. Why not call it Trailbreaker? He's big, black off road truck. Better yet he actually has weapons bristling off him. He fits the role perfectly. Of if you absolutely must make it Ironhide give it something that says Ironhide. Use his distinctive voice (you already have Cullen working for you) or at the very least get a red truck.

[RogueIce]

I suspect it's not even Michael Bay so much as Hasbro who decides what each Transformer looks like. Either that or whoever pays the most for product placement so they can get their cars up on the big screen.

I believe you're right here, and he has limited say in which vehicles are in. But I don't get why he doesn't use characters based on those vehicles or make up new ones. So GM says 'Here's a fuckton of cash, use this big black off road truck!'. Why not call it Trailbreaker? He's big, black off road truck. Better yet he actually has weapons bristling off him. He fits the role perfectly. Of if you absolutely must make it Ironhide give it something that says Ironhide. Use his distinctive voice (you already have Cullen working for you) or at the very least get a red truck.

Hasbro may or may not have a say depending on what names they have (or managed to lose) the rights to, what they want to push, etc.

[Kojiro]

Hasbro may or may not have a say depending on what names they have (or managed to lose) the rights to, what they want to push, etc.

Sure, like they can't use Bluestreak or Octane. Making Ironhide red however doesn't seem like too much to ask.

[aieeegrunt]

Lawless was a movie that I really enjoyed that Shia Lebeef played a prominent role in. If you hate the actor for some reason, you really need to see it.

[seanrobertson]

Transformers movies, series or any other related stories are nothing without interesting enemies. When the antagonists blew chunks, you knew a given series was declining (e.g., the Quintessons. The only time they really garnered my interest was when they manipulated the 'Cons into some foolishness, like FFOD, the Dweller in the Depths, and perhaps some of that Quintesson Journal nonsense. "Dark Awakening" was OK but did little for me in light of The Return of Optimus Prime).

More to the point, I don't see TF4 packing seats if Bay goes with a relatively unpopular old enemy or makes one up altogether. Unicron is great and all, but he's simply too friggin' BIG and overwhelming to serve as a believable threat; if something moon or planet-sized encroached on Earth, how will Autobots or Decepticons who can have their asses kicked by modern military forces ever even begin to threaten something of that scale?

Unicron would only "work" through his minions' actions. Megatron's been reborn once already in the Bayverse. Is he to rise yet again as Galvatron? Or, are we to have a hitherto unmentioned but incredibly powerful Decepticon, who's more or less Meg's brother, show up and start raising hell?

Bleh. I favor the reinvention of Megatron as Galvs over that, even though I generally frown on the whole Unicron concept unless they approach it on a much smaller scale, sort of the way Transformers: Prime did.

Concerning Shia: I liked him well enough, but I'm with Havok all the way. If it's regulars you want, look to Fox and Whiteley; I want more of them Wahlberg can satisfy the primary human protagonist role and a good measure of military bad-assery on his own, especially if he decides to keep popping Dianabols and shooting Test Enanthate like he did for that "No Pain No Gain" movie he made with Dwayne Johnson. Shia's character probably had enough of the whole world vs. robots shit anyway. I doubt we'll see Megan or Rosie again, but I'd bet good money Mark's squeeze in the film will be another knockout. I wonder if Doutzen Kroes can "act"?

-Sean