First, it's pretty clear we will be seeing the Creators and their minions and allies in future films. It would be pointless and beyond annoying to bring them up in AOE and then drop them completely out of the picture.

Second, Transformers does not only mean Autobots vs Decepticons. As long as it has Transformers in it, then it doesn't matter if it includes Autobots, Decepticons, Maximals, Predacons, Lockdown, Quintessons(not technically Transformers, but still), Sharkticons, human-built Transformers, or Shrekformers. The Beast Era, Rescue Bots, and Age of Extinction are just as much Transformers as the first three films, G1, and Prime.

Third, Megatron/Galvatron's manipulation is what allowed KSI to build their own Transformers in the first place and who manipulated them into wanting the Seed to build more of them. KSI, Cemetery Wind, and even Lockdown all unknowingly helped Megatron's plan come along. Megatron is a huge driver in AOE's plot even if Lockdown is the main antagonist.

Don't get me wrong. I actually do hope Galvatron plays a huge role in future films and that he brings about a Decepticon resurgence, but I also want there to be the Creators and Transformers villains that are neither Autobot or Decepticon. The Transformers films should not all be limited to the Autobot-Decepticon war.

 

Also, there's nothing wrong with preferring the films to focus on the Autobot-Decepticon war, but a film with Lockdown as the main antagonist is just as much a Transformers film as a film where all antagonists are Decepticons.

 

The idea that every robot isn't team Prime or team Megatron can be an interesting idea. Sometimes a cartoon will explore the idea and sometimes a comic book will explore the idea, so it doesn't seem odd that the films would go with the idea that all Transformers will not fit nicely into follow one of the two leaders.

If they want to spin off an expanded universe then having a conflict more complicated than just Prime's Autobots vs Megatron's Decepticons could be a useful concept. A bit like how World War II movies can be very different depending on if the heroes are the Americans, Brits, Soviets, French Resistance, or the other people fighting the Axis powers.

 

I think you may have misunderstood me. I was referring to the spotlight being on more Transformers, ie more robots and not just the good ones but also the bad ones.

The human factor can never be removed from these films, but I felt that the first two films had a better balance with an equally divided look at the humans, the Autobots and the Decepticons.

DOTM and AOE put a stronger, darker emphasis on the human angle and how it was affected by the war (human traitors/enslavement in DOTM, a witchhunt conspiracy in AOE). The human villains, in my view, ended up obscuring the Decepticons and getting more screentime than them in those films.

When the people the Autobots are defending give them more trouble than the Decepticons, to the point where a fed-up Optimus Prime gives up on them, then the human factor has definitely overshadowed the main angle of a robot war on Earth. Now that the Decepticons have been revived, we need to see them hard at work again.

Now here we have a difference of opinion.


Firstly, I believe that TF is at its core a war story, an epic story of good vs evil. “Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons!”

Don’t get me wrong, a TF story with a non-war setting can be refreshing (TF Animated, the IDW comics), but eventually good and evil are bound to lock swords again. It happened in TFA and it’s going to happen in the IDW comics. It’s the classic “good vs evil” concept: even in Star Wars, the Empire was broken but reformed and thus the Resistance had to rise up again.

We had an Animated-style story with AOE, and that was... okay. Probably, no, definitely should have been better. Anyway, it proved its point: without the Decepticons to fight the Autobots were being targeted and melted down, so it needed them to make the Autobots worthy and heroic again. (They were already heroic with the past three films, but they got ignored…)


Secondly, I feel that the TF universe/saga hosts a wide variety of robot characters: heroic and villainous in various degrees (not necessarily bound by faction), that can apply to different themes of stories (mystic, crime, racing, etc) and that this variety would be wonderful to see on screen. Even if it’s just applied to conflict – a battle, a car race, cops vs criminals – there is a great amount of potential in this diversity.

ROTF gave a glimpse at this variety with the Primes, the Constructicons and the Seekers. And while DOTM gave us the Dreads and the Wreckers and AOE gave us the Dinobots, they didn’t really have as much time/scenes as the other factions in ROTF. And I hope TF5 will provide this same variety again.

I’m glad you don’t have a problem with my preference.

Lockdown is traditionally a bounty hunter Transformer who operates independently, that’s fine. I can even accept the fact that his clients are non-Transformer aliens, it’s a big universe out there. I just feel that Lockdown should have gotten equal screentime to Attinger.

I ideally want to see as many Transformers in a Transformers film as possible, within reason, rather than more humans or aliens. And I hope TF5 can enable that with an equal look at both the good and bad robots.

 

Wait, was Hazekiah's post directed towards me? I have him on block.

Oh, it was. The thing is, Galvatross stating she's sticking to her opinion after just one post form me makes me think she's (is Galvatross a woman? I'm just going off the character in her/his avatar) already decided any future argument could never convince her. I dunno. Maybe I'm just overreacting. I got tired of arguing with close minded people a long time ago, maybe I'm becoming too overly cautious.

 

I think you explain your opinion well QLRformer. However, I still see things a little differently.

To me, the core of Transformers is that they are transforming alien robots that think and feel like we do. Who exactly the protagonists and antagonists are isn't that important to me as long as it shows off that aspect of their existence. One of the main reasons I liked AOE the best of all is because it showed their thoughts and feelings more than the other films. The Autobots were pissed about what happened to their colleagues. Optimus loses faith in humanity, and he ends up gaining it back due to his friendship with Cade. Lockdown is very cynical, and he shares his employer's worldview that the Autobot-Decepticon war is a blight on the universe. Megatron secretly survives as a head, and he manipulates the humans into building him a new body. Then he becomes Galvatron all while masquerading as a drone. It shows how resilient the Decepticon leader really is. I also like how Sentinel and Megatron are characterized in DOTM, too, and the relationship between Sentinel and Optimus.

Also, I felt the last film actually balanced human and Transformer screen time better than its predecessors. They certainly got a lot more screen time than the first film. Humans are always going to appear on screen longer because the Transformers are complex CGI creations, and the humans aren't, and despite that I still felt it balanced them out fairly well. Additionally, I think Galvatron actually needed to be seen less in AOE than Lockdown because 1) his identity as Megatron was a secret and b) he needed to be shown as competent (which he very much was so in my opinion) but not as taking away from Lockdown as the big bad. And yet, Megatron is still one of the major driving points in AOE's plots since KSI, Cemetery Wind, and even Lockdown and the Creators unknowingly (so far as is known for the latter two) help Megatron's plan go along.

I loved AOE because it explores the possibility of what would happen after the events in Chicago. I find it to be a far more interesting universe. I think Lockdown having a different view on the war was very important.

Also, I think there should be non-Transformer aliens in some Transformers fiction. I loved the scenes on Lockdown's ship, and I loved the diversity of Lockdown's crew. Sure, the Stupid Drones and mercenaries that sort of resemble Lockdown weren't the toughest or most competent, but those Steeljaws were actually really tough for their size. If you notice when Cade shoots them with his alien gun they are not killed by him shooting them. The shots fired simply knock them off balance.

Also, the Dinobots actually get a lot more screen time than many of the Transformers in the previous films, especially many Decepticons in the first two and many Autobots in ROTF and DOTM. They don't appear on screen anywhere near as long as the main Autobots in AOE, but compared to the likes of Jolt, Sideswipe, Dino, the Arcee triplets, many Constructicons, Sideways, Starscream in 2007, Bonecrusher, etc their screen time is not too shabby. They are gigantic CGI creations that dwarf everyone not named Devastator or the Driller, so they were never going to be on screen for most of the film.

Like I said, I do actually want Galvatron to bring about a Decepticon resurgence, but I also want the plot of the Creators to be advanced as well, and I do want there to be Transformers characters in future films that are neither Autobot nor Decepticon. In fact, I hope the Autobots and Decepticons remain enemies for the near future, but I hope eventually Galvatron's forces and the Autobots team together to fight a greater foe.

Like I said, it's fine to want Transformers to be entirely focused on the Autobot-Decepticon war, but that's not what others always want, myself included. Which is why creating a film that pleases all or even a large majority of fans is really, really difficult. Add to that the fact that Transformers in robot mode are always CGI, so their screen time is naturally limited and has to be split up between a number of characters even if screen time has gone up a lot since the early films.

We all have different preferences for live-action Transformers films, and that is perfectly fine. That's not going to change either.

 

I'm a dude. I know it can be hard to tell on here.

And it's not that future arguments couldn't convince me. It's just that your point of view (which isn't poorly presented mind you, I just don't agree with it) is one I have seen dozens of times before, and it has never convinced me based on me personally watching the films multiple times. I'm definitely not close-minded. I just am not suddenly going to be convinced by an argument that's already been used if I wasn't convinced by it in the past. Which isn't your fault by any stretch. It's just that I have seen the points presented in similar ways before. I have a different opinion from you and probably from most of the people here. I can see where you are coming from even if our specific opinions are different. Let's accept it and move on.

 

OK, I understand. Sorry for making a fuss.

 

The Decepticons in TF1 were the most memorable to me, but were still treated like mindless beasts. A combination of both brute and brains would suffice.

I have mixed feelings how Decepticons were treated in DOTM and AOE. In DOTM, there were good opportunities to strengthen the threat levels and characterization for Decepticons like Shockwave, Starscream, Soundwave and Barricade. I don't feel I need to point them out anymore.

The Decepticons/KSI's in AOE were not that bad but dropped like flies when the Dinobots showed up. That's understandable considered how big the Dinobots were. However I would have appreciated a little more fight from the KSI bots.
Lockdown was great, and like Soundwave he made a deal with the humans. Now this may seem unrealistic for a PG-13 film, but once Soundwave got what he wanted from the humans he should've killed them off along with Laserbeak.

I don't mind the human and Decepticon interactions too much, but when the Decepticons respect human life that becomes strange.

With Lockdown at least it was a clever move to use the humans to help hunt Optimus.

It's rather challenging to keep the transformers as the primary focus of the movies if they keep staying on earth. It's a good chance we can get less of humans and more of Transformers and alien planets in TF5.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK8sxngSWaU