The vast number of core TF characters that have been untapped. I see no reason to introduce entirely new characters and then not develop them at all. Skids, Mudflap, Blackout, etc... who are they? And who cares, really?

Throw in guys like Wheeljack, Trailbreaker, Hound, Mirage, Sunstreaker, Bluestreak, Prowl, etc... even if they didn't have time to DEVELOP them in the film, at least we already know them and can mentally fill in the blanks. Hound could have ONE line about how beautiful the Earth is, Sunstreaker could have ONE LINE about not scratching his paint, Mirage has ONE LINE voicing his uncertainty about the Autobot's mission, etc... minimal effort, with the perception that the characters are being developed... because they already have been.

And yeah, script.

 

No, he said the movieverse not th e 86 one.



Its missing a bit of Decepticon Characterization.

 

Needs more transformation sounds.

 

More awesomeness.

 

This.

When I heard that the Decepticons would be getting more characterization in ROTF, I was really happy. But in reality, the only ones who got characterization were Megatron, Starscream, The Fallen and maybe Scalpel. I'd like to see more "all-round" characterization for the Decepticons.

Like, some lines for the Constructicons would've been nice.

 

-Good storywriting.
-Actors who can act.
-Characterization on the Transformers themselves, other than "THEY ARE AUTOBOTS AND THEY ARE DECEPTICONS".
-A better director.
-Better writers.
-Better continuity.
-Editors.
-Coherent sense.

To name a few.

 

A coherent script.

 

To be fair, we never got to see the completed script so we don't know what Bay cut out or changed to fit his own needs/desires. Though judging by the final film I can't imagine that the script was stellar anyawy.


So my top three "missing bits" are:

A decent script
Comic relief that's restricted to 1-2 characters, not everyone.
Characterisation of any Transformer

 

I understood the plot.

 

A cohesive script and plausible motivations for the characters' actions.

Wait, that's the movies THEMSELVES, not the movieverse. My bad.

I dunno, the movieverse could use a visit from Shockwave.

 

I remember being particularly miffed by the absence of The Ark and Teletraan One. I have talked about those in a few threads here, but I do think at least Teletraan One would be a plus - in some form.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-movie-discussion/258907-do-we-miss-teletraan-movies.html

 

Have a cookie.

 

What it didn't need was a Writer's Strike and a director saying "I'll make my own script! With wangstas! And hookers! Y'know what; forget the script!"

 

movieverse needs more time. i'm satisfied that tf3 might be coming out in '12 because that means more time for writers to come up with ideas instead of beng locked in a hotel room with a deadline.
it is also missing strong decepticons.

 

Agreed. I always thought that two years between the two movies wasn't enough time, and I think the rushed aspects of ROTF are evidence of that.

Also...

Autobots that aren't human babysitters. It would be good to see a plot involving Autobots where they were fighting the 'Cons over something OTHER THAN Sam and what he's carrying (matrix, allspark, brains, yadda yadda). Less humans, more bots.

Mythology: The attempt to bring Transformers into earth pre-history was a good idea, but poorly executed. I'd like to see more mythology of the movieverse, but after ROTF I'm not sure if Bay and Co. can make it coherent.

Like everyone said here: more dialog for the bots. How about a conversation between bots that lasts more than two sentences? Yeah.

 

As much as I enjoyed ROTF, I agree with all of this. BUT, people will argue that talking bots cannot hold a movie without humans as the key focal point...blah, blah, blah...  

 

Ehh...

The humans are already present to a large degree. To remove them entirely (or relegate them to background characters) with little reason would be silly.

And besides, I actually like the interesting team up of the Army with the Autobots. I kinda wish the Bots took out more Cons, but the basic idea behind the team up appeals to me  

 

More banter among the robots, to give them at least a little character. The only reason any deaths of non-Prime/Bumblebee characters annoys me is 1. I like the robot design/alt. mode and 2. they killed them off before giving the robot a chance to show any character with some lines. I don't mind if a ton of new characters show up and a bunch don't get lines; not every character had a line in every cartoon episode (or even showed up). I mostly want new characters just so I can buy the toys. Reserving characterization to Prime, Bumblebee, and maybe a few others, however, can be a bit disappointing. Most Decepticon "lines" amount to "fill in screaming noise/growl/squeal here."

Along those lines, throw some conflict into things among the Decepticons. Megatron can have his hardcore backers, Starscream can have his sympathizers, and Decepticons in the middle basically throw in their lot with who's on top at the moment. Something like that could be fun to watch. You could even mix in humor with some of them sniping at each other (Starscream talking behind Megatron's back saying "Yeah I remember when you thought it was a great idea to transform into a gigantic gun once. Obviously, you're full of great ideas.")

Less Michael Bay humor too. It didn't distract me from the film, but I admit it can get a bit old. Deadpanning, cutesy stuff and smartass humor can work just as well as the somewhat cruder things that come up.

 

I agree. The Mcguffin was good for the first movie because it gave the Autobots and Decepticons a reason to come to Earth. Now that they are here there really isn't a need for a Mcguffin any more. Since the Autobots are heroes it's not like they are just going to fly off to some other planet and leave the Earth in the hands of the Decepticons.

It might also add a nice bit of tension to the films if it was war between the Autobots and Decepticons instead of whoever gets the Mcguffin wins.