Transformers Reactions Thread - No spoilers until July 4th

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2007-07-06 08:21pm

Kojiro wrote:Did Megatron have some gaping hole in his chest? When Prime revealed his spark it was behind a few plats he had to shift to get at it.

Bad reaction to the Allspark. Did you not see it breaking down and burning through his chest?

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2007-07-06 08:31pm

DPDarkPrimus wrote:You were watching the wrong movie if that's what you think.

I thought he did a fine job: he was a lot more successful than the blank canvas of that chick, even if their relationship didn't really make sense. I was thinking the other day that he did fine in his role, but there was very little chemistry between the two leads. Every time I read a post where the gist is 'zomg I cannot critique this movie it had a girl IN A SKIRT in it', I can't help myself imagining sad, pathetic nerds gaping and cheering at the screen, showing something that is commonplace all over the western world.

I just love 'freedom is the right of all sentient beings... but not lawn ornaments' Prime. Back on Cybertron, they always knew who'd crushed the valuable artwork!

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2007-07-06 08:56pm

God that movie was utterly awesome; they made a transformers movie, not a wasted abortion of one! I was disappointed at how quickly some of them died and how irrelevant a role they played, but overall, yeah, awesome movie. It might have had plenty of clichéd cheesy parts and lines that made you want to tear an ear off… but it’s based off a damn cartoon show so it hardly matters!

NeoGoomba · Post by **NeoGoomba** » 2007-07-06 09:08pm

I kind of wish Turturro channeled some of his Jesus in his role, especially once he had the flame thrower.

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2007-07-06 09:21pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:God that movie was utterly awesome; they made a transformers movie, not a wasted abortion of one! I was disappointed at how quickly some of them died and how irrelevant a role they played, but overall, yeah, awesome movie. It might have had plenty of clichéd cheesy parts and lines that made you want to tear an ear off… but it’s based off a damn cartoon show so it hardly matters!

I also thought it was a bit disappointing that many of the Decepticons had very little screen time (and often a single line), and at the end they summoned more and they got totally raped. I would have liked to see Devastator do something a bit more interesting than 'sit still shooting' and 'turn into a robot shooting', like the cool climbing/swinging/dynamic transforming stuff we saw many of the others do.

Then again, maybe Devastator is just an idiot.

CaptJodan · Post by **CaptJodan** » 2007-07-06 11:20pm

Finished seeing it.

I echo the views of Gandalf and Jack. Not sure if it was the acting or the material (I would tend towards the latter) but the human characters seemed below even X-Men in complexity. I felt a lot of the backstory was fairly shallow, and pacing in spots was rushed. And my suspension of disbelief for the humans flew right out of the window with the insane level of security clearance this kid got, as well as the professional military soldiers putting the fate of the world in his hands instead of someone a bit more trained.

I don't know, just too little substance, too stupid human characters (Section 7), and the ADD issue mentioned earlier drag it down for me. Of course the CGI drags it up, but not enough to compensate fully for the other.

Might watch it again at some point to see if my opinion changes.

Post by **Vympel** » 2007-07-07 12:58am

That movie was fucking awesome. Great effects, good mix of humor and action, and definitely didn't take itself seriously. I don't care about the implausibilities, it's a fricking Transformers movie. Really cool.

The only thing I had trouble with was Megatron's death, I didn't fully get what happened until reading Wikipedia.

I also didn't see where Starscream allegedly shot at Megatron- he was in F-22 form and joined in the attack? If so, why'd he destroy the other F-22s?

One thing I was expecting was why they didn't reactive Bumblebee's voice (not to mention repair him outright) with the Allspark- it completely regenerated Frenzy, after all. I was also hoping maybe they'd use it to bring Jazz back to life, but the Allspark was destroyed except for that fragment.

I hope they bring Megatron, Blackout, Devastator, and Bonecrusher for the sequel. I don't care how. You can't not have Megatron, at the very least.

Did they toss Jazz into the abyss as well?

So which Decepticons survived? Scorponok, Barricade, Starscream and probably Frenzy?

It's too bad they went with machine guns and rockets more than energy weapons for the Transformers, it made them weaker than I'd hoped. Blackout's destroying the base at the start was pretty sweet though. I think he didn't do that in the final battle because he didn't want to injure Megatron.

Lord Revan · Post by **Lord Revan** » 2007-07-07 01:06am

Vympel wrote:I also didn't see where Starscream allegedly shot at Megatron- he was in F-22 form and joined in the attack? If so, why'd he destroy the other F-22s?

who knows, but he did transform into his alt from just before the Raptors attacked Megatron. Maybe he didn't know they were about to attack Megatron.

as from Bumblebee he did see to regain his voice for no apparent reason in the end.

and Starscream is the only one we know for sure survived, the fate from Barricade and Scorpnok is unknown and and Frenzy in actually probably KIA (his head was cut to pieces rather just severed)

SylasGaunt · Post by **SylasGaunt** » 2007-07-07 01:11am

Regarding the Starscream attack on Megatron..

1.) It could just be he saw an opening and decided to take it.

2.) I kept count. There were three F-22s left when Starscream was done with them and later we see 2 pairs of F-22s launching the strikes so the numbers fit at least.

Bug-Eyed Earl · Post by **Bug-Eyed Earl** » 2007-07-07 01:59am

Vympel wrote:That movie was fucking awesome. Great effects, good mix of humor and action, and definitely didn't take itself seriously. I don't care about the implausibilities, it's a fricking Transformers movie. Really cool.

The only thing I had trouble with was Megatron's death, I didn't fully get what happened until reading Wikipedia.

I also didn't see where Starscream allegedly shot at Megatron- he was in F-22 form and joined in the attack? If so, why'd he destroy the other F-22s?

One thing I was expecting was why they didn't reactive Bumblebee's voice (not to mention repair him outright) with the Allspark- it completely regenerated Frenzy, after all. I was also hoping maybe they'd use it to bring Jazz back to life, but the Allspark was destroyed except for that fragment.

I hope they bring Megatron, Blackout, Devastator, and Bonecrusher for the sequel. I don't care how. You can't not have Megatron, at the very least.

Did they toss Jazz into the abyss as well?

So which Decepticons survived? Scorponok, Barricade, Starscream and probably Frenzy?

It's too bad they went with machine guns and rockets more than energy weapons for the Transformers, it made them weaker than I'd hoped. Blackout's destroying the base at the start was pretty sweet though. I think he didn't do that in the final battle because he didn't want to injure Megatron.

One of the screenwriters said that BB was able to speak at the end because of when Ratcher shined the laser on him earlier in the movie, and it just took time to finish. It was pretty much a last minute thing- the guy who did the voice said as much (he's also the guy who read the TF lines on set) .

I'd like to think they at least buried a piece of Jazz in Arlington.

So, people- what did you all think of the voices? Cullen was awesome. I always knew that his moments in the cartoon where he sounded kind of wooden were because of the script- but he exceeded my expectations regardless, especially in the scene where he was talking with the other Autobots. Weaving was cool because even with the electronic modulation you could still tell he was doing a very different voice than his own. I'm a big Jess Harnell fan (Wakko Warner/Captain Hero), so I enjoyed him as Ironhide ("The parents are irritating- let me take them out!") and his few lines as Barricade. Ratchet had a good voice (Dr. Emil Hamilton from the Timm/Dini DCU). Charlie Adler (Starscream- also Buster Bunny and Silverbolt) is great- just wish he had more dialogue. The guy who did the voice of Frenzy was a pleasant surprise. Darius McCrary was pretty good as Jazz- I always figured that since Scatman Crothers was one of a kind, the new voice would probably be completely different.

I kind of accepted all of the human stuff- the movie cost a ton of money as it is, and Michael Bay, by all reports squeezed everything he could out of that budget. I think Roberto Orci said that constructing a CGI model is more expensive than animating it, so we should get more screen time from the existing bots in the next movie.

Shroom Man 777 · Post by **Shroom Man 777** » 2007-07-07 02:04am

Prime's voice was great.

Kojiro · Post by **Kojiro** » 2007-07-07 02:35am

Matt Huang wrote:
Kojiro wrote:Did Megatron have some gaping hole in his chest? When Prime revealed his spark it was behind a few plats he had to shift to get at it.
Bad reaction to the Allspark. Did you not see it breaking down and burning through his chest?

An item of that complexity that self destructs killing it's creation and itself if it gets too close to it's chest. That seems exceptionally weak, especially given Prime's dialog about pushing it 'into the spark in his chest'.

Post by **Vympel** » 2007-07-07 02:40am

According to Wikipedia, Jazz might be back in a new, Allspark-fragment possible, rebuilt form in the sequel.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-07-07 02:46am

Just saw it today. The kids loved it, I thought it was great popcorn fun, and Rebecca said it was "pretty good for a summer action movie". Oh well, it's obviously not a chick flick.

tim31 · Post by **tim31** » 2007-07-07 02:52am

Vympel wrote:According to Wikipedia, Jazz might be back in a new, Allspark-fragment possible, rebuilt form in the sequel.

Pontiac GTO

Fire Fly · Post by **Fire Fly** » 2007-07-07 05:16am

I saw it a second time and a third time. The second time around, I think I started to warm up to Hugo Weaving as Megatron's voice. I also, as others have pointed out, found the end battle scenes to be more understandable. The comedy still hasn't worn off yet and the lines continue to remain fresh. I do hope that some of the characters return by some sort of magic plot device. I think the Sam/Bumblebee relationship will become a central part of the next two movies; thank goodness he wasn't turned into a beetle in the movie. In the next movies, I do hope that the Autobots and Decepticons have a more integral role but at the same time, I don't want the human elements to disappear as they really do add an extra layer of enjoyment.

Post by **Vympel** » 2007-07-07 05:50am

They'd probably be more inclined to focus on the Autobots and Decepticons primarily in the next movies because this film did the job of the audience getting used to the whole talking giant transforming robots thing in a live-action setting. The sequels will have a solid audience and pre-established credbility, allowing them to be more adventurous.

I fully expect Megatron to be back, and it'll be a shame if Jazz stays dead. Oh well, all the transformers could've used more screentime.

Apparently in the novel and comic adaptation of the film, Optimus killed Barricade - hopefully he'll be in the next movie all the same since it wasn't shown.

Skylon · Post by **Skylon** » 2007-07-07 09:47am

Fire Fly wrote: I think the Sam/Bumblebee relationship will become a central part of the next two movies; thank goodness he wasn't turned into a beetle in the movie.

Hey! What's wrong with Bumblebee being a VW Beetle?

I thought he shoulda been a modern Beetle, but the producers/studio/whatever apparently went to Detroit for all the Autobots alt modes.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2007-07-07 10:14am

Bumblebee wasn't a Beetle because Bay didn't want the character associated with Herbie the Love Bug, and felt a Camaro fit Bumblebee's personality better.

Additionally, in recent years Volkswagen has steadfastly refused to grant permission to Hasbro to use the Beetle design for Transformers characters, because they don't want their brand associated with "war toys." It's the same reason Jazz can't be a Porsche anymore except in the comics.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2007-07-07 12:12pm

Saw it opening day with one of my associates, a fellow TF fan. Overall, I liked it and keep in mind, I'm primarily a Beast Wars fan rather than a G1 fan. My main problems are pretty much limited to the Decepticons getting the short end of the stick in regards to screentime and Megatron (Hugo Weaving was miscast and while I understand the reasons for his cinematic design, I still hate it). We then decided to take a page from TMNT and so, after seeing it, we popped the '86 film into the DVD player. Forgot how bad it was after the first 20 minutes, but overall, it was a fun night.

4.5/5

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2007-07-07 12:13pm

Darth Wong wrote:Just saw it today. The kids loved it, I thought it was great popcorn fun, and Rebecca said it was "pretty good for a summer action movie". Oh well, it's obviously not a chick flick.

*Looks to LadyTev* Well, unless the chick is a bigger Transformers fan than me.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2007-07-07 12:16pm

SirNitram wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:Just saw it today. The kids loved it, I thought it was great popcorn fun, and Rebecca said it was "pretty good for a summer action movie". Oh well, it's obviously not a chick flick.
*Looks to LadyTev* Well, unless the chick is a bigger Transformers fan than me.

.... Just because I squeeee-d when seeing StarScream get away does not mean I'm a StarScream fangirl.

Jack Bauer · Post by **Jack Bauer** » 2007-07-07 07:05pm

On a side note...what was the movie that was being previewed before Transformers? You know, the one where the guy walks into a surprise party being thrown for him and suddenly asteroids or flaming debris starts raining from the sky? The preview marks the release date as 1/8/2008.

Looks pretty damn cool.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2007-07-07 08:04pm

Jack Bauer wrote:On a side note...what was the movie that was being previewed before Transformers?

A project codenamed "Cloverfield."

Metatwaddle · Post by **Metatwaddle** » 2007-07-07 10:30pm

RedImperator and I agree that this is the worst movie either of us have ever paid money to see.

I went in thinking it was going to be REALLY COOL ROBOTS who were BLOWING SHIT UP. But we stayed for the better part of two hours, and past the first gratifying battle, hardly any action happened. 90% of it was kids yammering about nothing at all. Every single one of the characters was irritating, especially the two useless teenage protagonists. There was this idiotic and formulaic plot about "dorky guy wins picture-perfect girl from asshole jock on account of his winning personality and intelligence and sense of humor". If I never see another movie with that subplot again, it'll be too soon.

Once Optimus Prime showed up, I figured it was ass-kicking time. But no! They gave us more fucking exposition and had a completely useless scenewhere the hapless protagonist tries to find the Magic Glasses (tm). Shortly after that, we gave up and left.

RedImperator adds: "I can't begin to express how profoundly disappointed I was by this horrible piece of shit. The movie's listed start time was 7:30 PM. By the time we walked out (something, incidentally, I've only ever come close to once before, when I blundered into the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) at around 9:30, there had been exactly one fight between giant robots and one scene of general mayhem. Even taking the previews into account, that's way too fucking long for a movie that is very obviously incapable of standing on the strength of its dialog, characters, or acting. So let me cut off any 'But RedImperator! How can you call the movie a piece of shit when you didn't stay for the WAY COOL AWESOME ACTION SCENE AT THE END?!?!' arguments at the pass: if the movie can't hold my ass in a seat for long enough for me to get there, then I don't care if what's-her-name actually comes out of the screen and gives the audience a blowjob at the end. It's still a shitty movie.

'But RedImperator, it was a mindless action movie!' I came in fully prepared for a mindless action movie. I wanted a mindless action movie. I'm in Saratoga Springs at the moment; I'm sure I could find some art house theater somewhere if I didn't want a mindless action movie. What I was not prepared for was an overlong, immensely boring action movie with the most annoying characters I've seen on screen in years. Maybe when it comes out on DVD, I'll skip the entire first, second, and third acts and turn it into a good movie."