Transformers Dark of the Moon Roundtable Review By Sol Fury, Shibamura_Prime, Secretcode, Deefuzz, Shin Densetsu and Kickback On 9 July 2011, six Transformers fans gathered in an AIM chatroom. Their purpose: to talk about Transformers Dark of the Moon, and share what they liked and disliked about the movie. What actually happened was more in line with the usual randomness of Botcon, though sadly without Taco Santa. Anyhow, chronicled herein is a record of their conversation... Sol Fury: Okay, let’s get the TFWe Dark of the Moon review chat going. I'm Sol Fury, British Butcher and all round nice guy, and with me here are: Shibamura_Prime: Shibamura Prime. I draw covers, boobies, and whatever Deefuzz tells me to. Secretcode: Secretcode. If you don't know me... you will. Deefuzz: Deefuzz, resident Beardmaster, has the power of BeardSkull, writes comics for Shibby-Fresh. Sort of likes Transformers and other nifty things too Shibamura_Prime: I wanna change my username to Shibby-Fresh now. Shin Densetsu: SHIN DENSETSU HAS JOINED THE CHAT ROOM Sol Fury: Let's kick off out Dark of the Moon review with some thoughts on the most obvious feature of the movie. I am of course talking about Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's backside. Shibamura_Prime: She's was purdy. Deefuzz: They sure spent enough time showing gratuitous shots of her didn't they? Shibamura_Prime: Gratuitous is an understatement. At times they would over-pad her "assets" as if the wardrobe department were all like "SCREW IT. This is a Bay movie" Sol Fury: Rosie does indeed deliver in the eye-candy department, as well as evidently keeping the boys in makeup busy. Personally I prefer her over Megan Deefuzz: that's because she is British! Secretcode: She also delivered in something that I felt Megan Fox never did: a female character that actually seemed human. Shibamura_Prime: Yeah. She had stuff to actually say and do in this one. Secretcode: And she didn't speak in monotone. Sol Fury: Yeah, the fact she had something to do really helped pull Sam into the plot more. It made the whole thing feel unified Secretcode: Overall, I think she was the human I had the least issues with in the movie. Shibamura_Prime: To be honest, though I'm not completely sold on the runway model looks, I adore the character. Deefuzz: Yeah Megan seemed kind of annoyed/pissed off all the time in ROTF. I am sure it was part of her character or whatever, but it turned me off. Carly was a better character Shin Densetsu: Rosie> Megan Rosie was better than Mikayla, brought more to the table, stronger actress, seemed more important as a character than Mikayla, like actually had substance. Secretcode: Plus "Carly" isn't as ridiculous a name as "Mikaela" Kickback: My tardiness is thanks to tequila. You think I would have learned my lesson oh so many BotCons ago... Transformers Dark of the Moon could stand a shot of tequila or two. Loosen Rosie up a bit. Yeeaaahh. Shin Densetsu: After watching DOTM I felt Mikayla was only in to be Sam's cheerleader Shibamura_Prime: WHY WON'T YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME SAM?! Secretcode: SAM, I'M GLAD I GOT IN THAT CAR Kickback: Megan Fox's character served one purpose - the whore who taught Sam the in's and out's of anatomy so he could go on to please Rosie's character. Deefuzz: Better than Mikayla that's for sure. But that really isn't saying much Shin Densetsu: True Fuzzy. Wonder though...had she not been involved with that Dylan guy, would she bear any relevance in the movie? Sol Fury: She did convince Megatron to get off his backside at the end and fight Sentinel Kickback: I enjoyed the character Carly, more-so than Mikaela/Megan Fox. Neither can really act worth a damn, but it felt like a better on-screen couple. Granted, Megan Fox in the first movie was perfect ... in the second movie, she was just kind of annoying and served no purpose. Random wedding dress scene anyone? Deefuzz: yeah the wedding dress scene was all WTF? Kickback: Carly did manage to change clothes after being kidnapped quite often. I admire that trait in a woman. Sol Fury: Clearly her kidnappers kept her somewhere with a full wardrobe Secretcode: I don't think I would have actually liked this movie if Megan was involved as much as Rosie was. Carly actually felt human, whereas Mikeaikailaliala felt like a glowing orange cardboard cut-out with toe-thumbs that didn't know what she was doing on the set. Shibamura_Prime: Well, Rosie's not going to win any awards, but she was a helluvalot better than what I was expecting. She can't emote worth a damn, but at least she tried. Kickback: I'm a sucker for accents too. Shin Densetsu: I'm with you on that Kickback: SHIN DENSETSU LOVES ACCENTS Secretcode: Plus she inexplicably snapped Megatron back to reality Deefuzz: Carly convincing Megatron to fight Sentinel seemed a bit odd as well. A little out of character and out of place. Secretcode: Megatron was a bit odd period, but we'll get to that later on. Shibamura_Prime: That was actually one of my favorite moments. XD Kickback: Deefuzz - I don't see it too much out of character. Unlike Mikayla who would just walk away all butt-hurt from Sam, Carly actually stood up to Sam when he went all fanboy on her. The difference between Mikayla and Carly is pretty simple: Mikayla is portrayed as a girl, while Carly is portrayed as a woman. Sol Fury: Yes, Carly was a much stronger character, perfectly summed up there Kicky Shin Densetsu: I thought her convincing Megatron came off as too easy...Megatron, the being who planned to ENSLAVE the entire population of the Earth, gets convinced to take on the most powerful Autobot of all time by a WOMAN? A HUMAN woman? Shibamura_Prime: Yeah, but Megatron was already going crazy. He just needed a little push to go completely off the edge. Kickback: You'd be surprised what a woman can convince you to do. Deefuzz: I guess that is more what I am getting at Sol Fury: Yes, it's foreshadowed in that earlier conversation Secretcode: Megatron wasn't exactly in full working condition mentally or physically. Shin Densetsu: Oh I know I work with mostly women, but STILL...Megatron was leader of the Decepticons..one would think a human couldn't sway his way Deefuzz: Not exactly out of character, but more like the Decepticons who want to enslave humans and put themselves above them just get told what to do and do it. Kickback: It's poor story-telling yes. It's an 'escape point' from a plot that had become too stagnant, and while it worked as a quick audience pleaser, it failed the story horribly. Deefuzz: Soundwave was still McDreamy's bitch at the end there Secretcode: Still worked better than anything from ROTF. Deefuzz: Megatron was just totally like. "Oh yeah, well screw them! Thanks for telling me to fight Sentinel human chick!" Kickback: I just want to say ... once again, Frank Welker voiced the most characters in a Transformers production. Secretcode: Didn't he do Shockwave? Deefuzz: Soundwave still sounds like Dr. Claw Sol Fury: Fits the character though Kickback: Shockwave, Soundwave, and various sound effects that he's not creditted for. Shin Densetsu: Frank Welker kicks ass Kickback: Like the tenticles. I think he voiced the tenticles. Shibamura_Prime: Did he do any voices for the game? Because the game sucks. Deefuzz: I didn't like the voice, but that's just me Kickback: Shockwave's voice was G1 Megatron. Which confused my inner child. My inner child had that moment of, "Wait Mister, there's no bike in your basement" at that moment. Shibamura_Prime: I didn't know that. But then again, I wasn't listening. Sol Fury: He only got a couple of lines anyway Sol Fury: Since we're moving that way anyway, shall we talk about the returning robots? What were your thoughts on how the guys who carried over from the last movies were handled? Secretcode: I can sum up my thoughts on the carry-over bots: Optimus is a maniac, Bumblebee wants to be just like Daddy Prime, Ironhide is currently getting power-washed off the parking lot at the Department of Human Services, Ratchet was there, Sideswipe seemed to have been Ironhide's student in the gap between movies, Skids/Mudflap were totally in the film and Bay owes me $25k, Megatron is slowly going senile, Scalpel is working in Megatron's head, Starscream had something in his eye, and Soundwave apparently found 4chan while browsing the net. Shin Densetsu: Starscream got reduced to a JOKE and Ironhide's death was pointless. I thought Ironhide and Starscream were carried over for NOTHING! Deefuzz: I liked seeing more of Sideswipe. Ironhide made me cry Sol Fury: Starscream yes, he went out like a girl Kickback: Bumblebee redeemed himself from ROTF I thought. He was much more personal with Sam, and you could really feel that whole "Sam and Bumblebee want to hang out but can't" emotion from both characters. Shin Densetsu: There's something said about deaths in comics and movies where a character is more important dead than alive...well Ironhide's death was pointless Sol Fury: Ironhide though I thought was very effective, after two movies of being invincible seeing him gunned down was shocking and really pushed the "anyone can die this time" angle Shin Densetsu: The only rational I could think of is that Sentinel knew Ironhide would be the biggest threat in proximity but still.. Kickback: Ironhide was given one moment to shine ("Mexican Stand-Off"), and then worked as a plot-device - the iconic character to die by Sentinel Prime to showcase that Sentinel Prime is a traitor. It sucks that his death was never recognized by the other characters (MAYBE HE'S STILL ALIVE?!?!) Shibamura_Prime: I don't know about that. Sentinel NEEDED to kill someone to make his defection real. An autobot needed to die, and it had to be one that the audience remembered from movie 1. Prime and Bee are automatically safe, which left Ironhide and Ratchet. Secretcode: Ironhide being around would have made the final battle a bit too easy. Deefuzz: Nevermind that. Kill Ratchet, no one cares about him Kickback: I agree with Shibby's point - unfortunately I think the movie did a poor job of re-introducing us to Ironhide to really grab our emotional tug-strings. Secretcode: That's not fair Kick. He just wanted to show us his cannons Shin Densetsu: I think it would've been better had Ironhide and Starscream killed each other like Depth Charge and that crab dude Kickback: Did Ratchet's voice actor change? And where was he during t he final battle? Shibamura_Prime: He was in, like, two shots in the Chicago scene. Shin Densetsu: Hey Fuzzy Ratchet rocks *hmph* Deefuzz: I dont even remember Ratchet speaking in the movie. Sol Fury: I think he got a couple of throwaway lines Shibamura_Prime: He says something to a truckload of soldiers at one point. Kickback: He had two lines when he was in the Arc on the moon. And I think one line was a whisper, like "...Optimus...!", showing his experession over the fact they were standing in THE Arc (why do they spell it with a C? WTF) Deefuzz: Oh yeah. See I totally forgot about the Arc scene. So many cut aways, I think there was like 27,000 cut aways or scene changes in the damn movie Kickback: It works as a story-transition scene, it's how they get Sentinel Prime from the moon to Earth, though they only show us Sentinel in his bed and then BAM we're back on Earth. Shibamura_Prime: A lot of cutaways and tangents, yeah. But I'll still take it over "hey! Let's wander around Egypt for an hour!" any day. Secretcode: I don't even remember the Arc. I sorta blurred out because there was nothing exploding. Sol Fury: It's a very short scene Sol Fury: On that note, how about Decepticons? I thought Starscream got reduced to a random background character. Shin Densetsu: I was disappointed at how Starscream was handled. He was a joke Kickback: I forgot Starscream was in the movie. He had the scene in Africa, then he had the scene with Sam and Josh Duhamel. Shin Densetsu: One of my favorite characters, yet he is reduced to some bumbling idiot at the end of the movie. Sol Fury: He also blew up the Xantium Shin Densetsu: Blowing up Xantium and blowing up some of the Ospreys was cool but after that..his death was disappointing. In ROTF he came off as a threat, in TF1 he kicked ass and seemed hard to catch, in DOTM he was nothing Shibamura_Prime: I know I'm in the minority, but I did like the bit with Starscream beating his head on the pavement trying to get the bomb out. Secretcode: Starscream's voice was great. He did a terrific job. Shin Densetsu: I was pissed Sam took out Starscream with that measely bomb Sol Fury: Yes, it was a classic Starscream panic moment Kickback: His entire "flip-out" scene was great, it was a G1 Starscream moment for me. Deefuzz: Starscream's role was small. Got taken out by a grappling hook thing. Didn't really care either way. I know everyone loves Starscream but I was all...uhm...ok. Shin Densetsu: I still think Starscream deserved better Secretcode: While he did die by a human, I am glad it was at least Cybertron tech that blew him up. Deefuzz: Too many people seemed to have a negative reaction to how he got taken down. But I was ok with it Kickback: Starscream was probably the most mis-used Transformer in this entire movie franchise. Shin Densetsu: It's not like he got messed up at the end of ROTF like Megatron did, he could've been running things if he wanted to Shibamura_Prime: Well, he was a victim of character development, good or bad. Sam needed to take out at least one of them because of his whole "I want to be important" character arc. Kickback: Sam took out Megatron in the first movie. I don't think you can top that. Shin Densetsu: He could've taken out one of the hatchlings Secretcode: He took out Megatron in Movie 1, Brought back Prime in Movie 2, and killed Laserbeak. How could he not feel important? Kickback: Megatron was made out to be the "ultimate bad guy" in the first movie, and was reduced to 'speaking roles' in ROTF and even most of DOTM. Shibamura_Prime: ILM did a bang up job on his performance animation, though. The little things like his panicked jump-boosting and his fingers walking when he has his "insect" line. Sol Fury: I thought Bumblebee got Laserbeak? Secretcode: It was that drone thing that the military had. Shibamura_Prime: Sam put Laserbeak's head infront of the cannon and bumblebee fired. Shin Densetsu: I thought Laserbeak got taken out on accident by bumping into something which decapitated him? Either way, Starscream: mishandled Kickback: Why do Autobots have a fascination with pulling out spines? Shin Densetsu: Because Decepticons are spineless, HUH HUH Shibamura_Prime: They play a lot of Mortal Kombat. Hey, if I could de-spine giant robits I'd do it all the time. Kickback: Bumblebee has done it ... twice now? Sol Fury: He also did the awesome cannon uppercut on Soundwave Deefuzz: Yeah that cannon uppercut actually made me go "hell yes!" Sol Fury: Speaking of Soundwave, what did we think of how he was handled? I liked seeing him in action on Earth, and getting more to do Kickback: I felt Soundwave filled the role of Barricade from movie 1. In the whole "omg, creepy car" vibe. Shibamura_Prime: I miss Barricade. Bumblebee should've off'ed him. Just saying. Sol Fury: Yes, that was a missed opportunity really to show them settling the score Shin Densetsu: I'm disappointed with Soundwave, he barely did ANYTHING in this film! Sol Fury: True, but he got a very creepy scene "NO PRISONERS, ONLY TROPHIES" Shin Densetsu: All he did was perch Laserbeak, coo him, then get killed by Bumblebee Kickback: That's Soundwave's MO yo. Secretcode: He did more than in the last movie. For instance, he transformed! Deefuzz: I was honestly surprised to see the Mercedes Transform and find out it was Soundwave...I totally forgotten that he was supposed to be the Mercedes Kickback: Michael Bay told us he wasn't a Mercedes. Michael Bay lied :-( Sol Fury: I guess that is why the toy was kept so secret Kickback: And has yet to be revealed. (Secretcode had to leave at this point due to a minor crisis of a bovine nature - SF) Shin Densetsu: Heh wonder if the driver for the Human Alliance toy is Carly Deefuzz: Interesting. Didn't even think about that Sol Fury: I still think it'll be Dylan Deefuzz: Could be Carly or McDreamy I guess Shin Densetsu: Could be, so that kids won't get confused Kickback: What was up with the tone of the language in this movie? The first movie was the typical teenager now a hero type movie. Second movie was ... just lost. And this movie we have Sam telling another human "I will kill you" ... Optimus Prime shouting "WE WILL KILL THEM ALL!" ... just seemed out of character for all of them. Sol Fury: In fairness, the world was ending around them Shibamura_Prime: It's Bay and Kruger trying to be uber dramatic. Kickback: It took Sam two movies to tell Mikayla he loved her, and it took half of a movie for him to threaten someone's life over a new chick. Shibamura_Prime: It's a cheap and fast way to show how high the stakes are. Kickback: I wanted a McDreamy vs. Sam battle more than an Optimus Prime vs. Megatron battle. Just sayin'. Sol Fury: I think the movie delivered in that regard, Optimus and Megatron got shorted on their showdown bigtime Shin Densetsu: With movie Prime I never saw him as a sadistic killer but one who knew the Decepticons had to die to protect Earth. Never really came off like the type who enjoyed kiling them, just pissed there were still more left alive Deefuzz: Oh yeah. Throughout a good part of the movie I was thinking that I hope McDreamy gets killed real good. Hated that dude. So he did a good job in his part Kickback: Patrick Dempsey was the best actor in this flick. He played his role PERFECTLY. Shibamura_Prime: Yeah. He played a really good Douche with a capital "bag." Kickback: I just wanted some Batman The Dark Knight pwnage between Sam and Dylan. Maybe even a Christian Bale cameo. Shin Densetsu: That Frances Mcdormand chick did a good job acting too Sol Fury: Yes, I liked her a lot more than Galloway Shibamura_Prime: Yeah, Galloway was a cookie cutter throwaway Shin Densetsu: Frances Mcdormond FOR THE WIN Shin Densetsu: Okay I think we're all in agreement that Rosie, Dempsey and Mcormond actually did well in the movie Kickback: Hey I have a question. Don Murphy, producer of the live-action movies, states that he doesn't think a "reboot" is necessary for the next movie. Do you agree, yes/no and why? Shin Densetsu: Agree, but who the hell are they going to fight? Kickback: Humans. Sol Fury: I agree, simply because there are plenty more robots out there and the story of DOTM leaves some interesting questions for how human Transformer relations would go Shin Densetsu: Is anyone going to have as much hype as Megatron? Maybe him returning as Galvatron but that what, makes it three times he's returned now? Shibamura_Prime: They can always come up with a half-baked reason for more decepticons being around in the universe. Deefuzz: Reboot. Kickback: I think a reboot is needed too. Sol Fury: There's always the possibility of a Decepticon coming to earth to get revenge for Megatron Shin Densetsu: Yes but who would be as epic as Megatron? Scorponok is out, he was turned into some Animorph or something in TF1 and killed again in ROTF. No one in the mass audience knows who the heck Dezaurus is, et al Kickback: Storywise, it makes sense. Toy wise, Hasbro can't keep releasing the same figurse every 2 years. Sol Fury: True Shibamura_Prime: I'm going to be cryptically neutral for now. Even though Batman succeeded, I'd be interested in seeing how upcoming reboots like Superman and Fantastic 4 will fare with audiences. TF has been around for a while, but not near as iconic as Superman or Spider-man. Most of the general public knows the Bay movies when it comes to Transformers. I wonder if throwing all of that out and rebooting would really be the best course of action right now. Kickback: Giving Optimus Prime his trailer is a neat way to add to the toy. But Bumblebee, Ironhide, Starscream ... they're all the same. Just transforms differently. Shin Densetsu: Eh, Shibby, Batman is going to get rebooted for the Justice League movie...so that's another reboot right there Sol Fury: Well, two out of the three won't be in the next toyline regardless Shin Densetsu: Well Ironhide and Starscream would be out for the next movie, so that kind of works out, no new toys for them Kickback: Hence why you have to reboot. Megatron, Starscream, and Ironhide are dead. Hall of Fame characters, staple characters in almost every Transformers series since the first movie. You want toys of them. You want those characters alive. Shin Densetsu: Do you guys really think a reboot is more likely though? Deefuzz: I don't think a reboot is likely at this point. But yes agreed. Not only because I am just done with the movie universe, but yes it makes more sense to do it. Anything else will feel forced I think. Kickback: You can even sneak by a reboot and just have a different core group with a cameo from Optimus Prime. Kickback: Different human characters, etc. Deefuzz: There's no major Decepticons left. Unless its something like a rogue Decepticon ship happens upon Earth and in it is Galvatron, Scourge, Cyclonus and a few others. Shin Densetsu: That's what I think too. Would the public accept a reboot a few years after DOTM? I doubt it because DOTM was a trilogy..maybe 10 years away yea Kickback: Spider-Man disagrees with you. As does Superman. Sol Fury: I think with the money Dark of the Moon is making, 10 years is a long time to wait Deefuzz: Do it animated movie style. Set it in the future. Have Hot Rod, Magnus, Springer, etc in it Sol Fury: But back on subject, new robots, what did you think and who did you like? Kickback: Igor. Shin Densetsu: Hmm, the DREADS were awesome Deefuzz: Roadbuster for sure. The Wreckers were great but sorely under utilized Shin Densetsu: The Wreckers ruled but needed more screentime Shibamura_Prime: Wreck and Rule. Sol Fury: Definitely, they got a lot of press and stuff, for surprisingly little screentime. And why didn't they say that! Shin Densetsu: Also I hate how the toys are inconsistent...not all armored or clean, it's mix and match WTF Kickback: The Wreckers ... the best parts are when they're bickering off-sceen at Epps when he's talking to Sam. Shibamura_Prime: Hell yeah. Deefuzz: Loved Brains too surprisingly. Didn't think I would but he was great Kickback: I thought Brains and Wheelie were the perfect "toned-down" comedy relief in this movie. Shibamura_Prime: His "we are family" bit was awesome Shin Densetsu: Haha yea Deefuzz: I loved Brains saying that too Shin Densetsu: I thought Q was barely relevant to the movie and his death didn't matter due to that. Dino was cool but VERY underused Sol Fury: agreed, Q could easily have been Ratchet Kickback: Or Wheeljack. *ba dum ching* Shin Densetsu: I dunno about you guys, but I got more excitement from READING about the new characters than actually seeing them onscreen. They had so little screentime. Deefuzz: Q was useless, his death was meaningless yet was obviously an attempt to provoke some sort of emotion from the audience Sol Fury: His death scene was well done though. At least Bumblebee reacted to it Shin Densetsu: Did Q have a sword? Could not get a good look at his weapon(s) Shibamura_Prime: All Q was there for was to give Sam those stupid weapons. That and to be like "we-sa gonna die!" Deefuzz: Everyone loved Laserbeak, but I don't get why. The fact that he spoke was a bit jarring to me as well. Shin Densetsu: Laserbeak was cool but I think was overhyped Sol Fury: Yes, Laserbeak speaking threw me off, but he was perfectly creepy Shin Densetsu: Not only that but Laserbeak's head looked ugly as hell Sol Fury: Assassination sequence was brilliant Kickback: Laserbeak, when he turned in to a "female Bumblebee" to play with the little girl and asked when her daddy was coming home ... CREEPY. F'ING CREEPY. Shin Densetsu: I DID like how he was not only a spy, but assassin. That pink bumblebee thing was funny too Shibamura_Prime: Dual Model Kit Pink Bumblebee. NEEDS TO HAPPEN. Deefuzz: oh I forgot about the pink bumblebee thing...that bit WAS brilliant. I would buy a pink bumblebee Shin Densetsu: I was like "wait...what the heck?!" Sol Fury: And you know this movie is serious when they throw the comic relief human out of the window Shin Densetsu: Legion Bumblebee repaint in pink...makes sense...kind of in scale with Human Alliance humans Shin Densetsu: Hey, technically Shockwave and Sentinel are new Kickback: Sentinel Prime played his role great. Leonard Nimoy was perfect. Shin Densetsu: Sentinel I liked, he was like Magneto Sol Fury: Agreed 100% Shin Densetsu: I wish he came off more misguided though...like more firm in his belief that what he was doing was for the greater good...instead it was like "hey Optimus screw humans we're taking their crap so we can live long and prosper" Shin Densetsu: I thought Shockwave was beast, but again, little screentime Deefuzz: Shockwave was the Darth Maul of the movie Sol Fury: Yes, he was hyped up as a big bad but he did so little Deefuzz: You see him in the promos, get excited for a badass villain, and he is barely in the movie and barely does anything Sol Fury: And he died way too easy Shibamura_Prime: Welcome to a scifi action movie. XD Kickback: I think Shockwave was the "We need a character to drive even MORE tenticles ... who should we pick? Oh hey, the fans want Shockwave, let's put him in there. What's he turn in to? Who cares, let Hasbro do that, he's just going to drive the giant tenticle in the movie." Sol Fury: That, and he's a bait and switch villain. He was even solicited as "new villain" Shin Densetsu: I do admit, the way Shockwave went out...at least it took: multiple special ops teams, surviving Autobots all firing at him and finally Optimus Prime ripping his eye out. He didn't stand a chance but at least did not go out like a bitch Kickback: I don't remember that part. I think I fell asleep. (NOTE: I had been up for 27 hours at that point) ? Shin Densetsu: The part where he died? I'm at least happy he kind of went out like Brawl and Blackout in TF1 where it took combined forces to take them down. Sol Fury: On that note, time to move along to looking at our favourite moments. What scenes did you think were particularly awesome? Shibamura_Prime: I think my favorite part has to be a draw between the highway chase, Carly standing up to Megatron, and Prime's trailer transforming in Moscow. The latter had me in the theater cheering "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Shin Densetsu: Oooo that trailer part was cool. WE NEED A TOY OF THAT...and earth mode voyager Prime...I dunno if you guys are collecting DOTM but I sure am Shibamura_Prime: Malkovich was awesome. I want those pictures of him on my desk at work. Sol Fury: Yes, I think the Highway chase was my favourite moment too Shin Densetsu: I thought the Dreads were WAY better than I thought they were going to be onscreen. Sol Fury: Dino grinding along the rails attached to Hatchet and the Mexican standoff were standout moments Deefuzz, what moments did you enjoy? Deefuzz: Still thinking about it honestly. I guess I want to say the Mexican Standoff part. But there were lots of good scenes: Pink Bumblebee, the flying squirrel bit, anything with John Malkovich Kickback: Only a couple of scenes really stand out to me. 1) Loved the beginning with the Sam/Carly flashbacks to how they meet. Laughed my ass off on that entire thing. Deefuzz: Best picture was Sam getting his award from the president Shin Densetsu: That part was hilarious "yeah great job man" Kickback: 2) The Dreads fight scene was pretty cool, can't deny that. 3) And the scene with Bumblebee transforming from car to robot back to car with Sam with him the entire time. Audience cheered and clapped for that one. Everything else was cool, but when I tell people about the movie, those 3 stand out the most. I guess 3 is part of 2, but whatevs. Shin Densetsu: The scene where Lenox's team jumps out of the V-22's and glides down to the city was epic, as was the driller taking out the building and Sam with everyone else sliding down..kept wondering, "how the hell did Bay even film that?" The scene where the Dreads make their appearance, Bumblebee transforms in mid air and transforms back into car mode, while catching Sam while he's screaming Optimus' entrance with his jetwings Optimus VS Sentinel The part where Deep Wang revealed that his code name was DEEP WANG and the parts where he was stalking Sam Shibamura_Prime: To be honest. I don't have any real beef with the movie in the end. It wasn't perfect, but I was entertained the whole time. Shin Densetsu: I think the movie is the best of the 3 honestly. Humor was well timed and not over done, the action scenes were AMAZING, and there was a definite conclusion even if the decision is made to make another sequel. Deefuzz: I still think the first movie was the best Shin Densetsu: What I thought was cool too is the fact that it showed that Optimus, though great, is not invincible, as Sentinel almost killed his ass and he begged him to stop Sol Fury: Yes, I've got to admit, I was going to ask "any things we did not like" but there's not really anything to complain about on my side, other than a couple of robots getting less screentime Deefuzz: There's alot I didn't like. But nothing I really want to get into Shin Densetsu: I didn't like Ironhide and Starscream's deaths, as noted earlier, and the severe lack of screentime for nearly all the new characters aside from Brains Shibamura_Prime: Nothing comes to mind that I didn’t like, but there are a few things that confuse me. Like when Prime says "Sentinel Please!" Is he saying "please, stop this plan of yours!" or "please stop beating the crap out of me!" The latter seems REALLY un-Prime like. Deefuzz: lol Kickback: Cuz "WE WILL KILL THEM ALL" is? Shibamura_Prime: Well, "KILL THEM ALL!" I can buy more than "SENTINEL PLEASE DONT KILL ME!" Shin Densetsu: I think it was for both...I mean Sentinel cut the dude's armed off and almost killed his ass, if it weren't for Megatron's intervention with his HOBO shotgun. In a way..maybe he still had hope that Sentinel would turn good again Deefuzz: like a Jedi Sol Fury: Yes, he's Optimus' mentor after all Shin Densetsu: I got a question...is Cybertron pretty much destroyed then? Deefuzz: Well apparently Spacebridge technology is kinda of like an FTP transfer. You can start downloading something, cut the connection, and resume later without issue. They cut off the Spacebridge and part of the planet is just chilling there in Earth's atmosphere, then resume later and everything is ok Shibamura_Prime: Deefuzz wins. XD Shin Densetsu: Kick ass answer Fuzzy Sol Fury: Of course, if you blow up a computer while it's doing an FTP transfer... Sol Fury: okay, so one last area to think about, what did everyone think of the 3D? Shibamura_Prime: Pretty damn awesome. Especially in IMAX. Shin Densetsu: 3D I thought was awesome but I did not see Imax...went to a theater passing out 3d glasses Deefuzz: I liked the 3D better at the preview event at BotCon. This was the first 3D movie I saw where my eyes and head hurt by the end of the movie. Might have just been where I was sitting, or completely unrelated though Kickback: Best action movie in 3D hands down. Avatar still takes top honor in my opinion. Shibamura_Prime: My only beef with IMAX is since the refract rate is different you need different glasses and my cinemask wouldn't work. T_T Sol Fury: I thought the 3D was spectacular and really made some sequences stand out, like the one of Bumblebee Kicky mentioned earlier, and Optimus flying through the building in the Driller battle Shibamura_Prime: When the camera first tilts up over the Paramount logo and the starfield actually simulated depth, I knew I was in for an awesome ride. Sol Fury: Okay, Shin just reminded me of something else that I thought was interesting. We got a lot of random background bots, like the four legged walker in the last battle. Are there any you want to see as toys? Shin Densetsu: YES Shin Densetsu: That one you spoke of, the big ass Decepticon who scanned a firetruck or ambulance, and Prime's trailer weapons rack, swords, guns and shield Deefuzz: I could do without them I suppose Shibamura_Prime: Garbage truck Decepticon would be awesome. Deefuzz: I stand corrected that would be awesome Decepticon Wreck Gar Sol Fury: How would a Decepticon garbage truck even work? Would he go around flytipping or something? Shibamura_Prime: Deluxe Class Decepticon Dump-Stor. Sol Fury: Right, final thoughts on DOTM guys? Shin Densetsu: Best movie of the trilogy, toyline could be better, great way for Bay to end his trilogy on a good note. Ups the ante from the previous 2 movies without the humor of the 2nd Shibamura_Prime: It was a lot of fun. NO complaints here. Also gave us a bunch pretty toys. Kickback: Second best of the trilogy. Nothing can capture the magic of the first movie, but this one came close. Cohesive story, amazing special effects, an overall great popcorn flick and an instant-buy as 3D Blu-Ray. Recommend seeing it if you like big summer flicks, do not recommend if you're looking for some special magical story that contends for oscars. Deefuzz: I think the first movie is the best, but the dark tone of this movie definitely strikes a chord with me. Sol Fury: Yes, seeing humans get killed - and reduced to bones in that one scene - was a real shocker Deefuzz: As far as DOTM goes. I think it somewhat missed the mark with me. I was hoping for something different, but it just didn't work as well for me as I would have hoped. That's not to say that it wasn't a success. Several people I know that are unfamiliar with Transformers enjoyed the movie quite a bit. As well as several fans I know. Lots of people are claiming this to be the best one yet. Sol Fury: Agreed. I went with my Dad, my brother and his girlfriend and they loved it. We all loved it. Dad loved the Spock references. My brother and his girlfriend loved the action. I loved pretty much everything about it. It’s a great ensemble package. Like shibamura_prime said, it wasn’t perfect but it was great entertainment. Kickback: I saw the movie at 9pm on Tuesday night. My audience was mostly teenagers. There was one father/son duo there, and it was really special to see him just glued to the screen kind of like I was in 1986, eating popcorn and just fixated. Sol Fury: That’s a great point actually, and a perfect point to end on. For TFWe, this is Sol Fury and the team signing off!
I think this actually makes some sense...he was wishy-washy with his feelings toward Mikaela, and he ended up losing her. So he doesn't want to make the same mistake with the next girl. Relationships have a learning curve sometimes. That's a heck of an anti-piracy message there...I'm sure if the MPAA/RIAA could send Murderus Prime after file sharers, they would do it in a heartbeat. YOU WOULDN'T STEAL A PLANET, WOULD YOU?!
