That's kind of ironic considering that Lockdown is your profile picture.

 

I definitely think TLK is doing much better than the previous movies in the trailer department.

 

I think most of the arguments over things like "alien-like designs vs. human-like designs" are kind of pointless. Why can't there be both in the same universe? Earth's life forms include everything from comb jellies to trees to fungi to insects to squid to dinosaurs to humans. Ditto for traditional transformations vs. KSI transformations, the latter which make sense given the limited engineering knowledge humans undoubtedly have compared to the original creators of the Transformers.

Which leads to my opinion that I think Transformium is the best explanation as to what Cybertronians are made of given many aspects of transformation and scanning for alternate modes.

Sam's parents are nowhere near as annoying as they are made out to be. They actually have plenty of funny moments.

Tessa is a much better character than given credit.

Not sure if this is unpopular, but I hardly ever see it mentioned, so here it goes. Gill Wembley is a fun and hilarious addition to Transformers 4.

The Dinobots as mysterious ancient warriors with feral natures makes sense given that dinosaurs themselves are mysterious beasts in most ways to humans. It's kind of cool that the Dinobots are similarly mysterious in many ways to the other Autobots.

The Allspark origins and Creator origins are not contradictory at all. The former is what gave Cybertronians life, and the other resulted in their physical bodies being created.

 

I know, right? It's weird because the humanoid look works for him (except for his face; that just looked creepy). I don't know, I just liked the sleek look he had. However, at the same time he still had car kibble all over his body. I still prefer this facial look over what we got in the film:


However, Lockdown is the only character that it works for (as it pertains to their body designs; EVERY humanoid face that I've seen so far looks ridiculous). I absolutely HATE OP's new design (looks too much like a giant in a suit of armor), Crosshairs (what's up with the dumb cape? this design below looks WAY better):




Hound's designs looks to ridiculous to even transform into a car; and I actually like Drift's samurai design (it looks enough alien and has car kibble to know that he actually transforms) but his face is just laughable.

 

My problem isn't even so much so with their bodily designs (I like Drift's and Lockdowns, and even Crosshair's if you got rid of the cape; I hate OP's & especially Hound's), it's their faces; each time I see a close up shot, instead of paying attention to the dialogue, all I can think about is "God, they look absolutely ridiculous".

 

Exactly. So why can't the robots be something else, other than humanoid?

We can have some that look human, while another is like a comb jelly, another like a mushroom, another like an insect, another like a squid, and so on. It'd be nice to have diversity and creativity, which I felt, was the case in TF1 and RoTF.

The thing that bugs me is - if Transformers can basically be anything, why must they all be like us?

And since they don't need to breath air to live, why do they have noses?

 

Finally! I thought I was the only one! I feel the human faces look ridiculous and a little creepy, right in the Uncanny Valley - TV Tropes.

To house their olfactory sensors, of course! It's been established the Movieverse bots can smell. Ironhide does so in ROTF and Megatron claims he could smell Sam in TF1.

 

Haha. I would think such sensors do not need a physical nose structure though.

 

The same reason they have human shaped bodies.

 

They need something to pull in airborne particles. Mebbe a nose is just an easy shape for that? I'd take noses over the weird noseless faces that have been popping up since animated.

Yes, the irony that my avatar has no nose itself is not lost on me...

 

I like all of this, especially the parts about Transformium, the Allspark vs Creators, and Tessa.

Edit: Also, I don't mind Ron Witwicky at all - it's his wife that's the annoying one.

 

You're serious? I'm happy with the Lockdown design we got. That one looks goofy as heck. Yes I know this is Transformers and they've had their share of goofy designs in the past, but still. There's just something off putting about the design. I like Crosshair's design not just because it looks cool, but it's pretty unique. Rarely do you see Transformers where their chassis resemble a jacket or cape. The first example of this design I could think of is Alpha Trion from G1.

As for your gripe about Optimus' design resembling too much like a knight's armor, isn't that the point? Optimus is part of a group composed of legendary knights, so it would make sense that he and now Megatron look like knights. In fact I'm wondering if they will reveal that's where King Arthur and his knights got the look from. After all, it is implied that the knights of the roundtable and King Arthur are wearing Cybertronian armor given that you can see the emblem on their armor sometimes glows blue.

Also I don't see what's wrong with Hound. He transforms into a big vehicle, makes sense that he would be a big robot. Besides it helps him stand out in battle which I believe was a constant gripe from people aka "They all look the same, I can't tell who's fighting!"

 

Truth be told, this is also why the presence of human-like Transformers shouldn't be a problem. In fact, for the main characters I actually greatly prefer human-like appearances for visual expression. More alien designs work better for more feral, stoic, or mysterious robots

Also, it's not like DOTM and AOE don't have their share of robots that are alien or not human-looking. Laserbeak, the Dreads, the Driller, Grimlock, Shockwave, Lockdown's Steeljaws, and Stupid Drones are all great examples. Sure, Q and Sentinel and Lockdown and the AOE Autobots are human-looking, but that's perfect for the way they show their emotions.

People complained for three films that the robots and Decepticons especially were too spiky and alien, and now people complain about how the AOE Autobots, Lockdown, TLK Barricade, etc are not enough like the earlier designs. I have no problem either way and think there is room for both.

Back to unpopular opinions though, I think ROTF is the best of the films from looking at it as a casual watch.

The problem with Devastator's assets is that they were not used enough. He should have wrecked some Autobots by using them as a Cybertronian mace.

AOE's plot is not convoluted. It logically follows DOTM, it fits the movie timeline well, and the subplots are tied together narratively and thematically.

 

I agree that there is room for both humanoid and non-humanoid looking Transformers. However, the issue I have (which I think some others do too), is that from AoE, and from what we know of TLK, all characters seem to be predominantly human-like.

Why can't there be another Bonecrusher type who skates rather than walks, or a Demolishor who is two big rotating wheels, or a Rampage who bounces around, or a Hightower who rolls on treads? The possibilities are endless, so why be confined to just one general appearance?

Like I said in the previous post - if the Transformers can configure themselves into almost anything, why do they all now have to be bipedal, metal humans?

Wouldn't more creative designs like below, add some diversity to the line up?




I'll also have to disagree that a character needs to have a human face and body characteristics for viewers to relate or feel their emotions. There's been many without noses, mouths, arms or legs, and we still loved them - Wall-E, Chappie and R2D2 being some examples. Or even the flying saucers in Batteries Not Included.

 

That's true for many of the main cast members like Optimus, Lockdown, Hound, Drift, Crosshairs, Galvatron, TLK Megatron, and Cogman, but it's not true for everyone. Sqweeks is cutesy, but he's not particularly human in design. Onslaught uses Long Haul's design with new vehicle kibble. Barricade has nowhere near as many jagged edges, but he's not 100% human-looking either. The Stupid Drones are cartoon-like creatures. Grimlock's face is nothing like a human. The Dinobots in AOE and Knights in TLK have robot modes that resemble human knights but not humans themselves. Hooligan does not look human at all. We haven't even seen the submarine Transformer yet.

Which isn't what I was saying at all. I was simply saying I greatly prefer more human-like faces because for certain characters because I greatly prefer to see their emotions in their faces in addition to their voices. Lockdown and Hound and AOE Optimus and Crosshairs and Drift and Galvatron and Sentinel and TLK Megatron being great examples of visually expressive facial designs.

I do love the ROTF Constructicons and Shockwave and the like, but I'm also glad we're getting the newer designs, too.

Anyway, I'll tackle TLK given I haven't said an unpopular opinion specifically about it yet.

I like Hot Rod's voice. It isn't particularly youthful, but it sounds playful and fun. His design has grown on me.

I really love Sqweeks' design.

 

To each their own I guess, but Crosshairs design makes it nearly impossible for him to actually transform on screen or to make a good toy, because his cape is just too malleable. And why would Lockdown, someone who has absolutely no affection for the human race, and actually thinks we're too self centered, make his face look like ours? It makes absolutely no sense! At least that Lockdown concept art looks unique. Lockdown having lips, a nose (though he doesn't breathe), and even a nasolabial fold looks unsetting and absolutely ridiculous. I'm sorry but for me it's just laughable to look at. Also, something can be unique and still look ridiculous.

Again, it's not merely the armor look; it's the lack of kibble and robotic parts that makes him literally look like a giant human in armor. Even when he transforms on screen, his robot parts literally disappear into his body, because in robot mode they aren't even visible.

Something more similar to this would have been okay, but even then, he could use some touch ups. His body is disproportionate as hell. He retains the long legs, but adds ridiculously skinny arms, boot like legs, tiny torso (which they fixed in the concept art above, but not in the actual film), and female like hips (Which, again, they fixed in the concept art by making his torso bigger).

And if he is supposedly apart of this group of "legendary knights", why in the hell didn't he look like that for the first 3 movies (because it was shoe horned into the plot). Also, you can still have a knight like design while retaining a more alien like look. Shoot, look at Sentinel.



He looks exactly like a knight while retaining the very alien like look. I doubt they were going for a knight design with him, but they unintentionally gave him the best "knight" look in the franchise.

Because:

1. Just as with Crosshairs, his ridiculous design makes it very hard, if not impossible to transform on screen OR make a decent toy out of.
2. His face.
3. He has LITERAL cloth in his robot mode, and the lack of anything resembling a vehicle (except for the front lights on his shoulders and wheels as toes).

 

And do they really need noses? Especially large prominent ones like sentinel? Jazz, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Starscream, Megatron, all worked fine without them.

 

Hmm... looking back at my post, I meant to say Crosshairs rather than Lockdown. That was a goof on my part that I hadn't been able to realize till now.

I don't have much to say about Lockdown's look except that I prefer the movie version more. I guess it might be because I'm used to his Animated design that also had a humanlike face. As for why he would have a face similar to beings he despise, perhaps it's the same reason why G1 Megatron stayed as a gun despite him claiming that he despised the form. So you got me there.

Moving onto Crosshairs, I can see what you mean but the same can be said for any transformers that had a cape or tailcoat. Only exception I would say is Sentinel from the movieverse since he cape appears to be composed of the firetruck's ladders. But I understand your point about the toy being hard to make.

Moving onto Optimus, I can't explain why he would have his previous design. Heck I'm trying to figure out how he would even forget that he had been on the Earth before. There's no telling until the movie reveals it. They did say they would cover Optimus' and Megatron's backstory. I find the design in the movie fine but I understand your complaint of the lack of car kibble. He does have some but admittedly it's hard to spot.

Finally there's Hound. I don't see how his design makes him difficult to transform. Worked out for Bulkhead and he's a big Transformer like Movie Hound. As for point two, I would say that's up to personal opinion. I have a few friends that liked his face and even they disliked the humanlike faces. It was mainly the beard that sold it for them. Finally for the last point, I don't see the problem with a cloth. Megatron had a cloth on him when he transformed in the third film and Lockdown originally was going to have one like his Animated counterpart.

 

But Megatron's cloak was an actual cloth tarp, while Crosshair's was formed out of metal, and the result was a nearly kibble-less robot and a shell former toy. The only vehicle kibbles I remember seeing on him were the gauges on his forearms. I think the concept art looked a bit better, the one where he had a Corinthian/Punk Rocker type crest and didn't have the silly cape. What purpose would a cape even serve in combat? It would get snagged, flutter about (possibly getting in the way of his vision or guns) and would provide an easy "handle" that an opponent could grasp in close quarters. Megatron's cloak at least served a purpose (keeping sand and grit out of his wound in Africa) and he ditched it before fighting, Crosshairs is stuck with needless extra weight and a handicap in battle.

On a similar note, why would Bulkhound need a belly? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to have all that extra mass distributed to give him a larger form, rather than have it as a "beer gut"?

 

Why don't fat people just redistribute that mass to get buff?

I'm sorry but we don't really know how this kind of thing works amongst bots. It could be something simple as choosing that form... or may have to to with his innate programming, how he was built, age, or some other process. I don't think they'll ever address the fatness thing on film (that would be rude.) It's no less probable than him looking buff and probably more likely overall; why do giant alien robots have forms resembling ideal human forms, anyway?

In a meta sense, why must designs always be an athletic build? They don't necessarily work like humans, so they don't need to look tough by human standards but be tough by their own. Designing them with different body types can only be a good thing, as it adds an extra option in details, allowing the cast to stand out more from each other. For a while, I had to distinguish Hound as "the fat one" to those not in the know, as they would take "the big one" for Optimus or "the green one" for Crosshairs.

This might seem off color from someone who said they prefer humanoid designs. Yes, that's true because not only are they more expressive (which helps me a ton) but they make it easier to talk with other people about by relating features to that of humans—

Me: "Remember that green one with the goggles?"

Other: "Oh, yeah! Nice car, but he was an asshole."
vs.
Me: "Remember that big guy?"

Other: "Optimus is the only one I remember, except for green guy, samurai, fat guy and Bumblebee..."

Me: "Not Optimus. He was green and had a round face."

Other: "Er, yah talking about Hound?"

Me: "No, he has beady eyes and a round face and you can't see his mouth."

Other: "I was able to see the fat guy's mouth through his beard."

Me: *Gives up* (I was trying to talk about Long Haul.)

But this doesn't mean that I am against the non-human designs at all. They do have their merits. They make the designs visually diverse, just like fatter/skinnier/motif-based/different vehicle based designs. I do wish the Autobots and Decepticons looked like the same species, however, with better distribution of funky bug-like features and human-like features.

Now, the long coat thing, I am not sure. While many things can be explained by alien anatomy, this seems to be an outside feature but, he may have been built and/or programmed to have that as a physical feature he can't shake off. My theory here would be that Transformers can't reprogram anything that might dramatically effect their height and overall build with some mass redistribution allowed, but this is all speculation (that may have been contradicted) and probably will never be addressed on film.