Transformers Movie - Post Your Reviews!

Discussion in 'Transformers Movie Discussion' started by Tony_Bacala, Jul 2, 2007.

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  1. Tony_Bacala

    Tony_Bacala Car Robots Professional Administrator

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    Well, the time has officially come. Between international early releases last month, special premieres and pre-screenings in the USA, and the official release tomorrow, it's time for the fans to finally sound off AFTER seeing it. Speculation and banter based on leaked images are gone.

    So, use this thread to post your full on reviews. Try to be as detailed as possible, more than just a couple sentences.

    Please note, this is not to comment back and forth, and not for you to comment on each others reviews. We will start another thread for general movie discussion.
     
  2. TransfanTN

    TransfanTN Well-Known Member

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    I thought the movie was GREAT! Bay actually did an awesome job with this movie! Lots of action and humor!! Even though Hugo Weaving did the voice of Megatron, he did an awesome job! Don't have worry about Megatron having an "Agent Smith" voice.. Really couldn't tell it was Hugo doing the voice, had a very "Megatron-esque" voice! Jazz and his "What's crackin bitches" line was freakin hillarious! Also when Sector 7 shows what the cube can do "giving life to earth technology" they brought some nokia phone to life, and the think had like a little missle launcher and a mini gatlin gun. It was cool!



    Things I didn't like!: I did NOT like Bumblebee's voice at the end! To me bumble should have kept his "Youthfull" teenager style voice like in G1, but they gave him more of an Adult, Brainiac, "Cultured" voice, kind of sounded like Kelsey Grammar. YUCK! And I also hated Optimus having a mouth through most of the movie! Shoulda had the face plan on the entire time! Those were the only thing I did not like about the movie.


    You guys will love it!
     
  3. jnmx2000

    jnmx2000 classics

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    i don't know, i guess i'm one of the first. out of 4 stars, i give this a 2 at the most. From what i've read from all the people that have already seen it, i went in expecting to see the most bad ass piece of action cinema there has ever been. That was probably a mistake. I came out of the movie severly disappointed. micheal bay kept on saying that this had the most action out of any movie being released this year, i don't believe that. The only real parts that had action were the blackout quatar scene, the scorponok scene, and the final battle. None of which got a rise out of me, for one main reason. Bays camera work is way over the top, not once do you get a good look at the action, it completely destroyed the experiance for me. all the shots that you saw in the trailers with blackout are pretty much all the shots in the movie with blackout, save for maybe a few. Brawls in the film, but you'd hardly know it was brawl because the camera won't stop moving to give you a good shot of him. The story is fine, i liked the story, but there were to many plots. the hackers were pretty much just fluff and didn't add anything to the movie. they should have been cut from the script and the army should of gotten more screen time. outside of the army scenes in the first hour which probably make up of about 10 mins, there is hardly anything to do with the actual plot of getting the allspark, the war, and anything to do with actual transformers. Frenzy got the most screen time of the decepticons and he was a joke. he kept on making weird goofy noises and kept on acting hyper, he didn't seem slick or cool. the movie didn't really start for me until the autobots show up, and when they do, it was probably the best moment in the entire movie, that ally scene was one of the only scenes in the movie that really made me feel like i was watching a transformers movie. the bonecrusher fight was a joke, total waste of an awesome decepticon design who has all of about 1 min of screen time. optimus and megatron hardly even fight, i really can't remember a moment in the final battle you actually saw the two hit each other. i was expecting megatron and optimus to fight with the chain and axe but that never happened, only see each weapon used once. the times this movie really shines is when the autobots are talking to each other, this movie needed more scenes like that, and a much steadier camera, so i can actually see whats happening, and stop putting the camera behind things in the action shots. i think Bay was the wrong choice to direct this movie. the best parts of the movie probably is the human aspect of the story with sam and mikela. for a sequal the robots need much more screen time, and better camera so we can actually make out the awesome action.
     
  4. Sky Shark

    Sky Shark Well-Known Member

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    Well I've gotten back from the movie. Let me say this movie is awesome. The CGI and robot designs are amazing and look great in animation. Some might think that Transformers wouldn't work in live action but its the exact opposite, everything looks so natural and fits so well in the movie. The action sequences are great and the opening scene with the attack on the military base is very well done and the panic of the soldiers is displayed very well. The humans all acted in a way that would be believable if placed in that situation. All the actors seemed well casted and the interactions between characters seemed natural as well.

    All the Autobots have voices that fit their appearance and function. Ratchet has a very smart and refined voice that fits his character. Optimus has a deeper voice this time to fit him being taller and his more ruff appearance. Brawl(Devastator in the incorrect subtitle), Blackout, Frenzy, and Bonecrusher all lack English voices and only speak in Cybertronian. That's another thing in this movie, we see the Cybertronian letters again but this time we hear their language during the film.

    As for character development, the only ones I seemed to notice were between Sam, Meachela(SP?) and Bumblebee. It was Sam and Meachela becoming closer friends and the same with Bumblebee. Also any humor in the movie is well placed and appropriate. The interactions between all the characters gave the movie an emotional mood that will capture your attention and make you feel for those characters like they were real.

    Also to answer some misconseptions. There is an Xbox 360 transformer but he is in the box and never completely comeso ut of it. Also Bumblebee doesn't truely piss on the Sector Seven guy, he just kinda pops his gas cap off and leaks gas/lubricant on him. Frenzy is funny as heck and even though he never speaks in English he is a bag of comedy from his actions and movement alone. Also speaking of comedy there is this one scene where Megatron lands on the ground and is there's a human next to him, before getting up he flicks the human guy into a taxi with his finger and you hear the guy yell. There is no Ipod transfromer though, not even a glimps of one.

    Overall the story was very good and planned out as well. The camera shot types were all good bar a few too fast paced action sequences. The movie is a great action movie and far from a two and half hour toy commercial. Also stay during the credits for post movie clips. Starscream transforming and ripping a Raptor's tail wing off, jumping to another and doing the same all in the air at incredible speed equals win. Although the Decepticons needed more screen time this movie is defiantly a win and gets *****(5 stars) from me. If you want to see a kick ass movie with lots of fighting robots, emotion, action and some humor go see this movie! I'm pretty sure I and many others who have already seen this are egarly awaiting the recently green lighted Transformers 2.
     
  5. DrSpengler

    DrSpengler The Real Ghostbuster

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    STAFF EDIT:

    DrSpengler - please copy paste over here if possible, then the link to yours is ok. Thanks!
     
  6. cms64

    cms64 Active Member

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    Saw it in Digital. We had to wait a couple minutes because they were having trouble downloading it. that's a first. as for the movie, it's fast paced throughout the whole movie and the movie was about 3/8 comedy, 5/8 action, plus some over-the-top stuff sprinkled throughout. Optimus Prime looks like Spock with his mouth-shield down, and he only has it up for a few moments during the movie. Out of all the autobots, Jazz got the least screen-time, which is odd considering what happened at the end. The rest of the autobots were good, and Bumblebee only had one or two lines of actual speech, and it was at the very end. Cybertronian sounds like techno noises, though Frenzy incorporates little shards of english into it. The Decepticons had little to say. Anything Megatron said during the big fight was almost inaudible save for a few lines. The movie feels so long, and the last I-don't-know-how-many minutes or so were pure action, so it was almost too much. In the audience, there weren't a lot of crazy people, so the only reactions were from the jokes, not Optimus Prime or Megatron appearing. Though there were a lot of "oh $#!+" moments.

    <^> <^> <^> <^> <^> 4/5
     
  7. CarafelliusMaximus

    CarafelliusMaximus G1 Junkie

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    Transformers: Corruption of a Legacy

    Transformers The Movie 2007 - TINO

    TINO stands for Transformers In Name Only. Overall, it was a decent comedy/action film. Transformers wise, it was not what Transformers is. To quote Jeff Goldblum in the movie Jurassic Park: "God I hate being right all the time."

    Synopsis: The Allspark, a cube that grants mechanical beings life, has been tracked to Earth. The Decepticons have already landed and started to move against the humans. Tensions are mounting around the world as the Decepticons hack vital United States government computers, downloading classified information and breaching national security. As the government works to combat this new unknown threat, Sam Witwicky, a high school student and a seller on Ebay, purchases his first car. After picking up a girl he likes in it, and having some misadventures with the car that seems to be alive, more attacks are being carried out by the Decepticons. Sam's car, revealed to be a robot, sends a signal ala Batman into the clouds. Shortly after this, his comrades, called the Autobots arrive on Earth, disrupting the lives of the humans. The Autobots gather together, Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Jazz, Ironhide, and Bumblebee, and reveal they need an item of Sam's posted on Ebay, his great grandfather's glasses. A shady government agency called Sector 7 intercedes and takes Sam, his new girlfriend Mikeala, his father and mother into custody. The Autobots attempt to intercept them, but they fail and Bumblebee is captured. Sam and his family are taken to Hoover dam, where it is revealed that they have not only the Allspark, but Megatron, the Decepticon leader in stasis. The Autobots determine the Allspark's location from the coordinates imprinted on the glasses and move to reclaim it. The Decepticons as well have located it. Unfortunately, the Decepticons get to the dam first. There, Frenzy, the Decepticons hacker, manages to free Megatron, but not before Bumblebee himself was released and converted the Allspark to a smaller size. The military agents, Sam Mikeala and Bumblebee evacuate to Mission City. Bonecrusher intercepts them on the highway and fights Optimus Prime. In mission city, Devastator, the tank attacks along with Blackout the helicopter and Starscream, the second in command and prior to Megatron's release, commander of the Decepticon forces on Earth. Barricade, the police car who chased Sam and Mikeala around in Bumblebee also appears. The final battle is set and the Autobots aided by the humans make their stand against the Decepticons.

    My Opinion:
    In this situation the bad outweighs the good so I'm going to start with the good. Plenty of comedy, which was well done and very good. It kept things light hearted. Awesome musical score. I can not express how well done the music was on this, it was simply superb. Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, the only bone the hardcore fans got thrown to them but it was good to hear him again. Now for the bad. There was no character development outside Sam Witwicky and Mikeala. I know on the IMDB, the official character names are Sam "Spike" Witwicky and Ronald "Sparkplug" Witwicky, but these nicknames are never mentioned on screen ever. Sam's grandfather, actually had some development surprisingly, and it's sad to think that they spent that much time on the humans and not the Transformers themselves. The only development for the Autobot side is in their roll call and thats not much, Ratchet is an advanced medical officer, Ironhide is a weapons specialist, Jazz is a basic warrior, and Bumblebee is Sam and Mikeala's guardian. Thats it. We know nothing of who the Decepticons are except their the bad guys from the same place as Optimus. The Decepticons are nothing more than cannon fodder. The humans actually shoot more than the Autobots do. I can't tell who killed Devastator, it looked like Ironhide or Bumblebee I'm not sure. Blackout was killed by Josh Duamel's character. Bonecrusher had his head severed by Prime, Scorponok survived, but his tail was cut off in the desert. Starscream also survived, being who he is. Frenzy did not, he was killed by his own weapon. It's unclear what happened to Barricade, I'm pretty sure he did not survive as well. Thanks to the choppy final battle, it was impossible to tell who was who. Also the other voice actors were not the best choices. Ratchet and Ironhide sounded almost exactly alike. Jazz was different, but it could have been the same person doing all three. Bumblebee finally spoke at the very end of the movie, after having his feet cut off, he had a very distinct British accent, which Ratchet also seemed to have. Megatron's lines were pretty accurate to the character but they had the wrong person for his voice. Hugo Weaving was too subtle and not strong enough for Megatron, there was no venom in his voice. At one point he reminded me of Leonard Nimoy's performance as Galvatron fro the original movie. They could have done a lot better with this, but they could have gone worse as well, I don't want to try and imagine that. This movie did not live up to the hype and the glory and I hate to say it, but it's just another Micheal Bay movie.
     
  8. wannabeGeorge

    wannabeGeorge Art Mercenary

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    My Movie Review

    The movie has a lot going for it, all things considered, but it's not perfect. It does what it aims to do, even if that's not what I wanted it to do.

    Pros:
    -Sam and Mikaela (along with Sam's parents) are pretty well developed. Their deadpan-goofy deliveries make the characters enjoyable and they seem like complete individuals. Their relationships and interactions are, for the most part, engaging and amusing. The soldiers and Secretary of Defense are also decent, although they see much less screen time and don't make as much of an impression.
    -SFX. The movie design-haters can relax. These designs borrow from the very basic elements of their predecessors (colors, character features) and develop them in a modern, alien way that is undeniably cool. The Transformers look believable and hardcore; their transformations are pretty amazing to watch. And incidental SFX were well handled too - explosions and weapon discharges look great. Obviously the TFM team knew they couldn't drop the ball in the effects department. They got the job done.
    -Establishing Sam's family history was well-done. Everytime they cut to a scene of his great-grandfather I was entertained.

    Cons:
    -There are too many unnecessary or unfunctional characters. While these incidental humans collectively hog screentime, the Transformers get relatively few dramatic opportunities. They toss around a few charicatured character-based lines but mostly just fight. All the while, several of the humans come to no satisfying story or character conclusion. The two hackers, and the Sector 7 representative in particular could have been completely cut or majorly scaled back. What happened to the hackers and the Secretary of Defense in the bunker?
    -Sometimes the tongue-in-cheeck humor works. Other times it feels inappropriate. The Transformers themselves often feel like a joke. (With the exception of Optimus Prime) their voice deliveries are over-the-top goofy. In my opinion, that's just not appropriate. They should be scary, cool or alien, but never a joke. Even Barricade's voice performance seems silly as he slams the ground, asking Sam about his eBay account. Overall, in my opinion, the voice performances for the Transformers were bad.
    -I want to see more of the Decepticon-Autobot conflict. I want to see the Autobots interacting and discussing the situation, establishing more of the shallow backstory. I want to see the Decepticons interact too. I want to know about their character traits and motivations. But I understand time simply does not permit this. I would have traded some fighting and some human characters for more Transformer character development (provided we could break free from the dorky voice performances/characters). Starscream and the rest of the Decepticons deserved much more screentime. And what was the story with the Allspark and Optimus' spark/chest? I would like to see more of an explanation in general with the Allspark.


    Nitpicky things:
    -Why cast Hugo Weaving if they were going to process his voice beyond recognition?
    -Why do the Decepticons speak an alien language up until the point that they speak aloud?

    Bottom line: It could've bene a LOT worse, but it wasn't great. I'd give it a solid +C
    A thin plot and poor characterization hurt this otherwise entertaining action flick. But Michael Bay was going for a special effects bonanza with some blockbuster humor. He hit the mark. Like I said in the opening, it's just not what I would have liked to see from the movie.
     
  9. Numlock

    Numlock Starving Artist

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    Optimus Prime for President

    Just got back from the 8pm showing... hell yeh!

    So this is the review thread then right?
    Well the movie was AWESOME! I just felt IT WAS MADE FOR ME! Haha! There's so much to say, I don't know where to begin...

    Michael Bay and ILM really brought there A-game... THANK YOU! Action AND Humor in spades! It COMPLETELY captures the spirit of what Transformers are all about, you really feel for the characters... Bumblebee is just so damn heroic, but when Prime is on screen... holy @#$á²... squared! That IS TFTM'86 Prime! Cullen was PERFECT. OPs look and lines and actions... PERFECT. He just owns the screen whenever he's on it. And Shia and Fox were phenominal. They just had really good chemistry.

    Megatron... well, he's solid too. He's like oldschool Megatron in many ways... just single minded, eye on the goal, "get the hell outta my way I'll kill you" like... and his design really fit... but I'll admit that while Weaving did him really good, I couldn't see a reason why Welker couldn't have done him. Hopefully it's because he's inked to do Soundwave in the sequel (WISHFUL THINKING) I dunno... the rest of the Transformers didn't really get as much development...

    Save Frenzy who was HYSTERICAL yet wickedly dangerous and also could've been VA'ed by Welker or maybe even Michael Winslow from Police Academy fame... Frenzy sounded really good, don't get me wrong, but he reminded me of being too StarWars droid-ish...

    The movie was fast paced... it really never let up... if the action slowed down it was only for a small handful of minutes at a time (the secondary human story with the hackers and secrarty of def. was the weakest link) ... and because the main human story was solid, I felt the human to TF ratio of screen time was really well balanced. Kudos there.

    Each TF kinda appeared for a sequence... and in retrospect you have to wonder a bit why and what they were doing in the meantime... guess it's a time constraint issue... they do their scene, they disappear 'til the end... except for Barricade who just disappears... he's beat by Bumblebee off camera in his first scene, then appears again briefly with Bonecrusher... but then just... I dunno... is forgotten.

    Starscream... needed... more... screentime.... or at least development off camera. He gets away at the end, hopefully for the sequel, which is great... but his relationship with Megatron, his thirst to lead himself... just not explored. In the IDW Prequel comic, he has like 5 lines and they're GOOD lines... they give him character... in the movie, he has like 2... and they're throw away lines for the most part.

    There were several scenes they could've used him in... when it was down to just him and Megatron left I was Soooooo waiting for him to do something classic... betray Megatron... kick him when he's down... something. It didn't happen, and that's maybe the one greatest waste if Megatron isn't in TFTM #2... that Megatron/Starscream interaction...

    Nitpicking is easy for the die-hard TF fan in me... but my brother and fiancee, more casual TF fans ignored a lot of those things and saw the movie with I guess a more open mind, and I'll definatly see it at least 2 more times... this week! Haha. Those issues though were things like "why did OP use a classic TFTM line but be offscreen?" (that felt like an afterthought), or "why did Scorponok even bother with hunting and fighting those soldiers, what's the point... and when he got beat, where did he go?"and "What was Starscream doing when he showed up outside the Hoover Dam? I mean, HE knocks out the power to free Megs... no way... not Starscream freeing Megs!" and "Why did Frenzy bother with the Secritary and hacker people? He killed like 5 people on Air-Force 1, why couldn't he take down two old men with obsolete weapons?" Etc... nit-picky... I dunno, can't help it... a few dozen, "why didn't X or Y instead of Z happen" moments that I felt could've made the movie go from "Freakin' Awesome" to "OMGLazers Better then 300 Awesome!" But whatever... non-hardcore fans won't mind or over think it one bit.

    I COMPLETELY understand why Bay was in this film... after seeing "The Island" and "Armageddon" (which I enjoy but found forgettable) and "The Rock", I admit I WAS WORRIED like any human being would be when a man like that touches your childhood. But he did really well. He made the Military and humans looks like a real force dealing with a real threat... things for them went, you know, wacky... but they kept trying to stay in the game and yeh... it was a giant GMC Commerical and Pro-US Army thing (although the President and end movie snippits were political jabs at Ol' W.) but it was handled really well and if the sequel happens I'd like to see him (and well, the ENTIRE primary cast) attached to it.

    Guess this is typing too long, lemme give others a chance... there is just so much AWESOME in this movie, I'm actually sad that the anticipation is over... the chase is always better then the catch... but the catch... this movie... damn fine. I eagerly await a sequel... (said for 10th time) but in the meantime I'll send my THANKS Hasbro & Michael Bay & Dreamworks & Paramount in the form of $10 movie tickets and $30 SE DVDs and $15 TPB's and dollars upon dollars in TOYS! I open my wallet to you, and nod my black hat...

    I have O+ Blood. I would give it to have more of your Transformers Movie.

    So, yeh closing statement:
    Support the movie... it is FRIGGIN' GOOD, watch it 'til your eyes bleed and SPREAD THE WORD. This is our time... this is our movie.
     
  10. Op_Prime

    Op_Prime One With The Matrix TFW2005 Supporter

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    I watched it 4 times last week, and it was great each time.

    I had high expectations for this movie, reading alot of positive reviews from fellow Transfans overseas, and the movie met those expectations, and even surpassed them.

    The Transformers designs. Yeah, they're messy, and sometimes make things hard to make out in certain action sequences, but ultimately, they work, they totally fit in the movie and the action. Their highly detailed bodies allow them execute great action moves that would not have worked as well if they had their blocky G1 bodies. It helps that the action is quite well choreagraphed and the direction during the sequences is impeccable. Indeeed with have alot to thank Bay for that. They move and transform convincinglyy, with realistic movement physics giving us a real feel of how Giant Robots should move, something that is not done well most of the times in other movies or shows. Suprisingly, the Transformer's faces are really emotive and convey their character's personality well. Even Prime's mouth is not as jarring as I though it would be.

    Unfortunately, I think Bay's direction in those non-action scenes needs a little tightening up. He does not build up dramatic tension in the right scenes (The Autobot's introduction, and the last battle) and sometimes overuses slow motion sequences which really does not help.

    The story itself is rather simplistic, and everything falls into place into a rather predictable manner. Cliches are rather rampant in the film. But the film remains rather enjoyable despite it. The simple story makes it easier for a wider audience to understand what's going on, and the cliches are refined and used in all the right spots making them blend together rather well. There are some corny lines, especially the interjection of the "More than meets the eye" line in all sorts of places (even Sam Witwicky mentions it was a dumb line) Humour, however is used really well, ranging from simple slapstick humour, to innuendo.

    You have to go in to the movie knowing and expecting it to be told from the human perepsective of the war, not from the Transformer's perspective as it has always been before. As such, you won't get much characterization from the transformers themselves. Even then, most of the humans just fall into specific stereotypes. Among the humans, I think only Shia LaBeouf really stands out in his potrayal of Sam Witwicky. He's really convincing and pulls of alot of jokes well. Even though the humans are stuck with alot of cheesy and corny dialogue, most of them can cover how bad the lines are with some good acting. However, not so for Megan Fox, she's a pretty face, but not that great an actress. She delivers some cringe-worthy lines but is unable to hide them.

    The Autobots get what passes off as somewhat decent characterization, and out of all of them,only Bumblebee gets his character properly developed, followed closely by Prime (By the way, Peter Cullen IS Optimus Prime, period, the role really is meant for him). The other Autobots just follow and display traits of quirks of tried and true character archetypes.

    The bulk of the Decepticons however are mostly there to spread mechanized carnage, and other than the fact they're violent and hellbent on their mission, you don't see them really displaying any other emotion. Most of the time they don't even bother to speak English (understandable since they view the earth's populace as insects) and are just there to fight and be forgetten (as Barricade and Scorponok seems to have been). Megatron does get alot of presence though, despite his short screen appearance. Hugo Weaving manages to make the character very threatening and though he uses English, his contempt for the Human race can be clearly conveyed with every line he speaks. Just try to imagine BW Meagtron's voice only deeper and more menacing, that's Hugo Weaving. Only Barricade and Starscream get English lines, other than Megatron and Frenzy, and I feel their voices suit their characters well, for what little English dialogue they had.

    Frenzy has alot of parts in the movie. He gets alot of scenes and steals everyone he's in. While he has a rather unconventional Transformer design, that allows him leeway to pull out alot of suprises and is always full of energy like some viscious little runt. He speaks in a combination of Cybertronian and English. You can make out some the words among all the clicks he emits from his mouth.

    While the human perspective thing might not be exactly what longtime fans want (I too wanted the Transformers to be better fleshed out) I think it actually helps the movie. It makes it feel rather fresh compared to other Transformers series and makes the franchise more easily accessible to non-fans for a more mass-appeal approach. In the end, The show had lots of great action, a little bit more violent and edgy than what we might expect, but balanced with a bit of a humanising touch and some great comedy, it is a definitely very enjoyable and totally FUN Transformers experience. Kudos to Michael Bay! You really pulled it off. I'll be looking forward to a next movie. My rating (possibly biased) 4.5 / 5
     
  11. Deceptigtar

    Deceptigtar Sworn Decepticon Assassin

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    Just got back from the movie, and must say, that I really enjoyed it. There were just a few things that I would have liked to see....

    1. More Decepticon screen time.
    2. Fights are too short....Bonecrusher-awesome entrance, gone before you even know it.
    3. Camera angles-way certain action scenes were shot
    4.We are told all Decepticons are tossed into the water, wouldn't the Autobots do a head count first? Starscream heads home, Scorponok goes back underground, Frenzy does do him self in from his own blade, but if his head can get knocked off and comeback, he should be able to do it again. Barricade is shown on the freeway towards the end but then that's it.
    5. Don't get the analyst kids. Kind of a filler in my eyes, probably could have done with out.

    Overall though, the movie is really great. If you are expecting something major, then you will not get what you want. Good action and story, lots of humor, most people will enjoy it, and others will not like it. Regardless a new or old trans fan, one should go see it and decide for yourself, don't let what you hear make the decisions for you or how much you want it to be G1.
     
  12. nm156

    nm156 Member

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    Just got back from the 8:00 screening.

    Wooooooooowwww!!!!! Awesome on all levels!!!! It delivered.

    Got goosebumps when OP and the gang descended.
    Loved it when BB lubed up Turturro.
    Giggled like a 10 yo when Megatron responded 'you failed me again Starscream'.

    10 / 10
     
  13. Gadfly

    Gadfly Member

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    Now, I don't mean to be a naysayer or troll or anything like that.

    I really was hoping for a lot from this film. Much of what I was hoping for was realized. As some have noted, and as someone who is visually impaired, the "action" was a major turnoff for me. I'm not a big fan of "action," in the movie sense, and this film left me with a bit of a migraine.

    Loved all sorts of inside jokes and references, such as how they dissed VW and Porsche at the beginning (for those who don't know, the reason why Alternators, Classics and Movie versions of Jazz and Bumblebee did not match their classic versions was that VW and Porsche refused to be associated with "war toys").

    There were various little things like "Col. Sharp," the vehicles that looked like AWE Strikers, and so forth. They may as well have called the three main military guys "Duke," "Roadblock" and "Gung Ho" (that would have been cool).

    Optimus Prime as "ALF" ("oops! My bad!" and so on)-funny.

    All of that said, I am, as a whole, disappointed, and there is one main reason.

    This is not a kids' movie *at all*. I could not in good conscience let my children watch this movie.

    Spielberg supposedly argued the MPAA down from "R" to "PG-13". There are some things that would get an "R" rating in a film that I'd feel safer showing my children than some of the scenes in this film.

    Bay and others kept talking about "not being a toy movie." Some in the fan community have wanted an "adult" take or whatever.

    Especially with the parallel ("but in a different universe") Animated line coming, I kept hoping for something along the lines of _Star Wars_ or _Ghostbusters_: a film with some intense scenes that still didn't cross any lines of acceptability for kids. A film where the "adult" stuff would just go over kids' heads, they'd enjoy the good guy/bad guy concepts and adventure, and get more out of the toys and cartoons. . . . .

    But there are a few key points, particularly the scene in Sam's bedroom with his parents after the "earthquake" that take that all away, and made me feel ashamed to be in the theater, or even continue watching the film.

    The action sequences didn't bother me so much for violence as for frenetic energy.

    And whatever else I thought of it, those "negatives" drag the whole thing down.

    What was really weird, though, was that, when I left the theater, near my car was a big red semi cab, a small yellow coupe of some sort, and a blue convertible, all of which seemed exceptionally clean and brightly colored. . . . I'll never t
     
  14. Toonces

    Toonces Domo

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    I'm not going to go into an indepth review, because frankly it's late, and there will be 100+ of those by tommorow.

    I dug it. Michael Bay did not "ruin my childhood"tm

    Some lighthearted stuff for the kids, and a few homages to G1 fans like myself. Overall a very positive experence. I feared the worst, and got probably the best I would have expected. I had tiny nitpicks, but they barely detracted from my enjoyment at all.
     
  15. Smasher

    Smasher HUNKY BEATS

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    Well, what can I say? I wrote my own Transformers movie in my head two decades ago so any movie that comes out now is bound to disappoint, right?
    Wrong.
    This movie went beyond my expectations.
    For everyone that complained about the designs and the things that were changed from the original property; there are a surprising number of references to the original comics and cartoons.

    I think the story moved at a brisk pace. There was a nice balance of characterization and action. The humans had their place in the conflict and it didn't seem forced.

    It's rated PG-13, but I have no trouble taking my six-year-old to see it on Wednesday morning. The heroes are noble and just -they are good characters to look up to.

    And finally, take the Transformer fan out of me and I still say that it is one incredible action movie. There were some scenes that just blew me away.

    If you ask me, Paramount, Dreamworks and ILM totally got it right.
     
  16. Kaijumaster

    Kaijumaster 335

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    “The humans Hormone Level suggests he desires to Mate with the Female”

    That line uttered by Ratchet about sums up what was wrong with this film. For a film entitled “Transformers” there was very little emphasis on them. Let me say first and foremost this. Street Fighter, Super Mario Brothers, Godzilla….. The Transformers is NOT one of those films. In fact it is a good film. But Considering the amount of effort the producers put into listening to the Fan-base I feel it is my duty as one of many to “Go forth and Blog” to help them reach a consensus on what was wrong so they can learn from the mistakes with Transformers II. I can keep the list short, things aside from someone uttering “This is gonna be 100 times better than Armageddon” the film had very few flaws for the most of the Film.

    • If I lived to be Ten thousand years old I don’t think I ever wanted to hear the word “Masturbate” in a Transformers setting.

    • I also don’t think I ever would have wanted to see Bumblebees groin spring off and him “urinate” gasoline on a human.

    • Agent Simmons was a cliché of a cliché

    Those things aside my real grip was towards the end of the film. When the Script leaked a year ago Michael Bay swore up and down that what was seen was not the Script and that concerns such as “The Decepticons not appearing until the end of the film” & “Starscream only has one line” were completely false. He was not telling the exact truth. Starscream DOES only have one line (Most of the Decepticons speak in a computer generated Cybertronian language) and some of the Decepticons are not introduced until it is time for the final battle to begin (Bonecrusher and Brawl). So while the Autobots certainly get plenty of lines and characterization the Decepticons with the exception of Frenzy (Who clearly breaks the no “Mass change” rule and is created by someone who has seen MIB too many times) get none.

    The Action is very intense but exceptionally short lived at the end.Fight scenes at the start are well drawn out but feature only one Decepticon Vs. Humans. When Bumbleebee and Barricade first fight we are treated to Frenzy chasing after humans watching the Bee win off camera. Optimus Crushes Bonecrusher in short order (you don’t send a grunt after a leader) and the humans seem to have little trouble sending Brawl and Blackout into Stasis Lock (yeah right their dead) Megatron is quit vicious and says some great lines but suffers from a problem that I’ll talk about in a moment. The real star of the fight was Starscream jumping in and over and between F-22’s in the air Transforming to and fro. This was the highlight of the climax and was not nearly focused on enough.

    Another huge problem was the Prequel Comic, Was it good? You betcha! Was the movie easy to follow and relatable if you hadn’t read it? NOPE! The film makes it sound like the Allspark simply drifted off into space during the fighting and that Bumblebees voice was just randomly damaged. The comic fleshes out what happened to BB, why the Allspark left Cybertron (which was unfortunately barely shown or talked about) How Megatron came to Earth and what his Motivations are (aside from random evil in the film) and how Sector Seven set up (which makes them seem far more competent than the film does).

    Less Sam, like I said when I opened there was far too much of him and Mikeala, I’m very glad they didn’t kiss during the fight as that would have been very cliché, but he doesn’t seem to mind making out on the hood of Bumblebee with all the other Autobots standing there later on, guess their exhibitionists. The military characters were far less intrusive and complimentary to the plot with the exception of the afor-mentioned Agent Simmons. Sams presence was important but Mikealas was redundant and only upped the “Teen-Drama” aspect of the film, something that can definetly be done without later on.

    So was Transformers The Movie good? Yes it was. What can make it better in the Sequel?
    • Less shock value statements (Are you Masturbating?) Less toilet Humor (Bumblebee peeing?) Less Cliché characters (agent Simmons and the Cop from the station)

    • More Transformers, their title characters but the film featured hardly any Decepticons. Of course the Black guy will be the first to get killed off. But the Film Did set up nicely the arrival of More Transformers on either side of the war to earth, and Set up Galvatron for Transformers II (Although I would have preferred the Autobot Matrix instead)
     
  17. Phorpus

    Phorpus RHco.

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    Transformers had incredible potential and it could be seen on the screen, but there were so many issues with the film along with the incredible.

    For one the camera was far too close to the action throughout the entire movie, during the big action sequences you could barely see what was going on because all that you could see was a tornado of metal parts smashing and making sounds. And if the camera wasn't too close then it was upside down at the most ridiculous of times, making the action thoroughly drained.

    Then there was the underwhelming score that acted as orchestral muzak. I challenge anybody here to hum a tune from the score that is related to the Autobots. There isn't a theme for anything it's just pounding generic brass without soul.

    But I liked that the Autobots were given some form of characterization, you really felt them as a team. Even Sam, fairly new to the 'Bots, was able to remember that Ratchet was the medical officer. The only point of awkwardness was when Ironhide came forward with the dead body of one of their own, and it felt more like an "Oh well, that sucks" more than an emotional poignancy at a fallen comrade.

    But the Decepticons were just thrown in as nameless villains, Starscream having practically no character at all...in fact, the only sort of defined Decepticon we have is Frenzy: The robot who has great pleasure in hacking...great pleasure. Megatron could have been a layered and understandable warlord but he's made out as a powerhungry rhino.

    Another small gripe is that there don't seem to be many memorable scenes. I know, I know, "The whole movie is memorable" and it probably is but so many great movies have that one great line or that one unforgettable scene. The closest here is either the Autobots finding their forms or when the Autobots try to stay out of sight in Sam's backyard.

    The human storylines were juggled around with, I guess, the most attention they could have received from us and I can't see how they could have been edited together more understandably without changing the story, which could have been a good idea. And, speaking of the story, it isn't exactly 100% foolproof but the action and characters are enough that we're willing to let the small glaring details go by. Like why the president knows of Sector 7 and sics them but at the end decides to just shut them down, completely by his own power and without anyone else's consent. Also where do Sam's parents go when he's off adventuring? What happened to Barricade? Hell, what happened at the end with the hackers? What happened to the vending machine and Xbox transformers? Did they just run off? Whose side are they on?

    But, overall, I'm more than willing to tell people they should see this movie. It's just so much fun if you just turn your brain off for the 2 and half some-odd hours. The laughs are roars, the mannerisms are neat, the CGI is immaculate (Even Ironhide's wax is gleeming after slamming onto the ground), and if you go with your friends you're assured to have a great time. It's not going to please our brains but I'll say it'll please everything else.

    Oh, and Julie White, Sam's mom, just steals the movie.
     
  18. soundwavempl

    soundwavempl Toy Addict TFW2005 Supporter

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    From my LiveJournal: http://soundwavempl.livejournal.com/

    So what did I think of Michael Bay's Transformer movie? Well, I will say it is a good action-comedy movie, especially if you are just a casual fan or a movie-goer who doesn't know that much about the Transformers property. But as a Transformers movie, it fell flat to this hardcore Transfan. At times it seems the movie was making fun of the Transformers (especially the scene when the Autobots are first introduced and the scene where they are hiding from Sam's parents). Below is my review of the movie (SPOILERS AHEAD).

    Michael Bay's Transformers: The Good

    The Transformers voices were fantastic. The original Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen, really brought Prime to life with his voice and emotion. There were also a lot of nice nods to famous Optimus Prime and Transformer quotes as well. Hugo Weaving as Megatron, was very well done - you can't even recognize Weaving's voice. Starscream's 2 lines were spot on as well.

    The acting was amazing. Shia Lebouf really stands out in this movie. His portrayal of Sam really makes the movie. Megan Fox also does well for her first major role. Jon Voight is most impressive as well.

    The action and special effects were superb. The robot action was well executed and very enjoyable to watch.

    The movie had a lot of comedy, and when the Transformers weren't part of the joke, the scenes were hilarious.

    The music was cool, especially during the Barricade/Bumblebee car chase. There was also music that sounded like it was imitating the Terminator theme during some of the fight scenes. However, the famous Transformers theme music was completely absent.

    Michael Bay's Transformers: The Bad

    You really can tell this movie was made by a non-fan for the general public. Too much of the Transformers mythos was changed (All Spark instead of the Matrix, the Transformers being meteors instead of having their own ship (where the hell did the Autobots come from all of a sudden anyways? I doubt they make the long trip from Cybertron in a such short period). At times, the movie seemed to be making fun of Transformers. There were many WTF? moments -Jazz's introduction, Frenzy being a comicly wild minibot, Sam's and Mikeala's making out on Bumblebee's hood with the other Autobots just sitting by, and especially the silly scene with the Autobots hiding/running around Sam's house. The Autobots were used as props for comedic scenes at times. These scenes just make the bots less serious - almost in a disrespectful way even.

    Michael Bay's Transformers: The Ugly

    From the get go, the Transformers looks/designs just did not sit well with me. Personally, I think the changes were a bit too radical when compared to the simplistic traditional look of Transformers (and I'm not just referring to G1, but RID, Armada, Energon, Cybertron, and Alternators designs as well).

    The transformations were fluid but overly complex. Although the G1 transforming sound was great to hear, it did not fit with the transformations, which I found to be too long and somewhat annoying. There were just too many damn moving parts to really enjoy the transformation. It's also nearly impossible to follow what robot parts convert from the alternate mode.

    Michael Bay's Transformers: Overall Impressions

    I think Transformers is a good action-comedy movie in general. But as a Transformers movie, it's not so good. It will be a hit with casual Transformer fans and the general public, but for this old school hardcore fan, it lacks the heart and soul of the Transformer franchise, something the original Transformers animated movie had plenty of.
     
  19. rickrocwell

    rickrocwell RickRodimus Major

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    weird movie, its fun to watch but its really a bad movie, and not bad meaning good but bad meaning bad

    plot? where is it...how did they get to earth and why cant they leave?

    frenzy can mass shift, i thought that was no-no...

    so every transformer has a hole to fit the all spark that kills them exposed...

    why did megatron turn to godzilla/t-rex at the end, he has guns and cannons, he doesnt have to chase spike

    the tryin to tie in technology with megatron...stupid

    allspark makes technology into violent transformers with guns and missles, stupid, so every transformer is a violent killer, and prime said they were a peaceful race at the start

    thats how they reformat, its that simple, so when they were on the run why not reformat, why not reformat at the end when primes giving his speech

    megatron knows english when hes been frozing for 1000 yrs

    we're barricade and starscream at the end?

    how are big ass robots in a backyard and no one sees this, c'mon...seriously prime is huge

    so many other problems with the story, most have been said, very little screentime, etc...

    but it was fun to watch, but its only because its transformers and had robots fighting humans, hard to not enjoy seeing that in any form
     
  20. dorfsquest

    dorfsquest Cybertron EHS Specialist

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    Alright, here goes.

    I walked into the theater expecting an awesome robots-beating-the-crap-out-of-each-other movie, and I was not at all disappointed. Also, I expected the human characters and side stories to be boring which actually, they are NOT. Surprisingly good acting accompanied with great state-of-the-art CGI effects. Even the Autobots displayed separate and distinct characteristics. They aren't just random robots, you actually get to CARE about them.

    Bumblebee and Ratchet were probably my fave Autobots. Ironhide was as badass as they could get, and Optimus lived up to his original character. Even the lines in this movie trip you back to G1.

    As for the Decepticons, Starscream was another badass, though I would have liked to see him be his smartass self a little bit more. Frenzy was a little spaz, but really added a sense of weird alien tech to the whole thing. Same thing goes for Blackout, because he doesn't really say anything that substantial, and you hardly get a good look at his evil face.

    That's my only gripe with this film. The shakey camera makes it a little hard sometimes to see what's really going on. I understand that it adds a sense of urgency, but I would like to get a better look at the action. Whatever, I'm not too disappointed.

    Best scenes in my opinion are....
    -The chase between Bumblebee and Barricade
    -Starscream playing with the other F22s
    -Bumblebee riding on the back of the pickup and blasting crap
    -The Autobot introductions
    -Everything Megatron says

    I just can't wait until the next flick. I'm gonna see it again tomorrow.

    One shall stand, One shall fall!!!
     
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