Here are pics of the vacuum bot in the latest tv spot. . . .

 

WHERE'S MY TOI HASBRO!!!!?????

*POUTS*

 

Except that the entire cast of robots is like this (and no, Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron don't count because they always get characterization in every series). Take, for example, the rivalry that the advertising built up around Barricade and Bumblebee. They worked the Camaro vs. Mustang aspect into their altmodes and were packaged together in verses sets. There was a lot of potential to portray Barricade as a nemesis to Bumblebee, but most of their battle in the film occurs off screen while Shia and Megan battle the excrescent Frenzy. Barricade doesn't even get off an "I'll get you next time", they just show him damaged, then miraculously healed, and then he just disappears entirely. Even a heavy hitter like Starscream got barely 3 lines and would have disappeared as mysteriously as Barricade if they hadn't added him flying into space after the credits. Even on a mustache twirling, lowest common denominator level the movie missed opportunities to develop the Decepticons.

 

I wish I could read  

 

Eh, bad guys usually don't get much characterization in movies. For example, how many bad guys got characterization in Die Hard? Two? I thought so.

 

First off, why do you suppose McClane's "yippy-ki-yea mutherfucker" is so rousing? It's because the villains have a relationship with McClane beyond the fact that they are the villains and he must stop them. Hans Gruber has been bantering with McClane over the radio and derisively referred to him as a "cowboy", so McClane pushes it in his face and we cheer because the good guy momentarily got under Gruber's suave facade.

In the film, Barricade provides nothing for Bumblebee to play off of, despite the very clear indications of a rivalry in the promotional material. The two characters never taunt each other once, their "chase" is nothing more than a bunch of car commercial shots strung together, and most of their final confrontation happens off screen. At the very least, Barricade could have insulted Bumblebee's choice of altmode, which wouldn't really have been that hard to add and would have prefaced Mikaela's comment later on, but instead we get nothing.

Second, Transformers is special as a toyline and an entertainment property because it tends to give each toy a distinctive character rather than just presenting a bunch of generic toys. This reached its zenith in series like Beast Wars and Animated and its nadir in Energon where you had dozens of characters flying through space yapping non-sequiturs at one another. My point is that, so far, the movie-verse has strayed more to the latter than the former and I'd like to see more of the former where ever possible.

EDIT: As a point of clarification I have no problem with generic cannon fodder characters, or "hand" villains, I'd just like to see somebody developed other than the big three (or four) of Prime, Bumblebee, and Megatron (and Starscream).

 

The problem is your comparing Barricade to Hans Gruber, when that would be Megatron to McClane as Prime/Sam. Barricade is one of the generic baddies with a gun in Die Hard.

 

Perhaps the problem lies more in your comparing it to Die Hard. I just got through explaining that Megatron, Optimus and Bumblebee (or the equivalent young character) always get characterization in ANY Transformer media EVER. They have been done to death (in some cases, literally). Even from the "standing around shooting one another days" (which is a gross oversimplification) of G1, Transformers has lent itself to the ensemble rather than the one and only stand alone hero.

For example: Mirage. He's an aristocrat unlike the other Autobots. He's also a spy. His teammates don't trust him. Especially Brawn, but Prime sticks up for him, even when he appears to be a traitor. It turns out to be a ruse all along meant to fool the Decepticons. Brawn still thinks he's stuck up, but he trusts him from now on.

It's admittedly simplistic, but it's a hell of a lot more substantial than just "I'm the science guy, this kid wants to mate with the supermodel" or "hey, I'm street bitches" or "Mighty Megatron, I've just appeared out of nowhere to receive the one conciliatory line to our leader/traitor relationship in all other depictions of our characters". In a good, dumb ensemble show even allies have disagreements and react to one another in ways that aren't defined solely by their roles.

We saw a little of this in the discussion between Ironhide, Jazz, and Prime of whether or not to rescue Bumblebee, but that was about it. Most of the robot to robot interaction is between Prime and Megatron towards the end, or it's superfluous. Otherwise, it's between the humans and Bumblebee or humans and humans, and I'm sorry but if I want to see humans I can just go see one of the cookie-cutter romantic comedies that are always playing.

 

Are you really doing this? This is a thread about a robot Vaccum cleaner!

 

Decepticons suck! *rimshot*

But yeh, a vacuum 'con could be fun, bring on the toy!

 

and why do they have to look like bionicles?!?!?!

 

Your argument isn't convincing me of anything. The movie simply didn't have the running time to characterize the over abundance of characters in the movie, nor did it need to. The only character that needed more characterization is Jazz and that's only because his death seems like his was supposed to mean something.


Now on a more important note; CHL, the reason they look like Bionicles is so when Hasbro buys Lego they can repaint the Bionicle molds as Transformers for major $$$.

 

I am all over this.

 

*thinks Mikela's boobs needed more characterization since they had so much screen time*

Marketing! :tmyk

 

everyone knows her navel was the real star of the show.

 

fix'd