Does anyone like Movie Optimus Agressive personality?

Discussion in 'Transformers Movie Discussion' started by eagc7, Jan 26, 2012.

?

like or no?

  1. Yes!

    53.3%
  2. No!, he must be like his G1 (or whatever continuty) personality!

    17.2%
  3. Mixed feelings

    29.6%
  1. JAYSCREAM

    JAYSCREAM CACHOW!

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    all of you shut up and " GIVE ME YOUR FACES" pmsl
    prime needed an edge, bay gave it to him.
     
  2. bellpeppers

    bellpeppers A Meat Popsicle

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    Here's the thing: people like to carp on Prime's "give me your face" line of dialogue, but in all reality he never took a single face.

    Only a face mask.
     
  3. ARCTrooperAlpha

    ARCTrooperAlpha Well-Known Member

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    so why couldn't all this be made clear in the first movie ?
     
  4. bellpeppers

    bellpeppers A Meat Popsicle

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    Unfortunately, I'm too cynical to believe that.

    I've seen too much ideology spouted and have come to realize that people would rather have Prime either kill the 'Cons more nicely or not kill them at all and arrest them instead.

    And they also believe that acts of battlefield brutality completely nullifies every act of honor and attitude of nobility that happened before and since.

    And they also believe that since 'Cons wipe out good guys and innocents, Optimus cannot wipe out 'Cons because he is doing what they do, and therefore makes himself a 'Con who... I guess... no longer believes that freedom is a right to all sentient beings...

    We hold those we call our heroes to impossible standards and are quick to throw them under a bus if they do not live up to them. We do so because we are removed from their reality and are safe. Ideology > lives of others because our ideals are more important.

    We condemn our own when we perceive them to act as like our enemy- yet never once condemn our enemy. Instead we worry about the rights and comforts of our enemies and not those of ourheroes. Again, Ideology > lives.

    If you ask me we harbor too much sympathy for the devil and not enough sympathy for the saviour.
     
  5. Ash from Carolina

    Ash from Carolina Junior Smeghead

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    Transfomers Prime. Millions of years of fighting, millions of Autobots and Decepticons killed in battle, Cybertron reduced to a wasteland that only Insecticons and Scraplets would call home. An Optimus Prime that seems worn down from all the fighting and now he sees the war moving to a new planet.

    Yet on Transformers Prime he's not running around going "give me your face" or "kill them all". When new Decepticons show up like Skyquake Prime has tried to reason with them that fighting doesn't need to continue. Instead of getting humans killed fighting his war on Transformers Prime he goes out of his way to keep the military out of the fight even if they are itching to fight.
     
  6. bellpeppers

    bellpeppers A Meat Popsicle

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    Really?
    I don't seem his standing still and talking to the insecticon:
    Transformers Prime Clip - Smokescreen in Action - YouTube

    As a matter of fact, not only do I see him running around, but he is also firing his weapons at it.
     
  7. WidowMaker91

    WidowMaker91 Well-Known Member

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    And yet people bitch about his character too....
     
  8. Una

    Una Well-Known Member

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    You know, I think it is unfair that Movie Prime be labeled a psychopathic murderer. He doesn't even fit the definition of a psychopath. When he isn't on the battlefield fighting Decepticons, he shows that he is calm, collected, and expresses his regret over Earth's involvement and the losses of human life. Would a psychopath really care? I don't think so.
     
  9. baggzey23

    baggzey23 psn - baggzey23

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    Movie optimus gets the job done which is why I like his personality
     
  10. ARCTrooperAlpha

    ARCTrooperAlpha Well-Known Member

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    good point

    Maybe cause we're looking at a battle that's ALREADY UNDERWAY ? Wait till the ep actually airs, then we'll know if the Cons just showed up blasting or Prime did have a chance to be diplomatic
     
  11. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

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    And he was ready to drop a Spark Extractor, a soul-snatching weapon of mass destruction, on the Decepticons when the Nemesis was brought down.
     
  12. Honorbound

    Honorbound Taking a break.

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    Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have outlined the problem perfectly, especially in those last three paragraphs, and especially in that last sentence. Too many people have too much sympathy for the devil while ignoring the devil's victims.
     
  13. ARCTrooperAlpha

    ARCTrooperAlpha Well-Known Member

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    Alright ladies and gents, help me out here.

    Most of ppl here find Movie Optimus to be fine the way he is. More than one have justified his actions and mentality to the practically-infinite robot war. Perhaps you're right, anyone fighting that long would probably scarred for life, experience battle fatigue, or have their views shifted from it's original position.

    If Optimus is very well snapped or nearing the breaking point due to the war, why don't we see that in his men ? Guys like Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, and Jazz have been with Optimus for a long time if not since the beginning of the war.

    So if the Transformers movies were actually consistent and realistic with real-life army aspects, would you think when Optimus declares "We will kill them all" no one is going to cheer or scream in agreement ? Since Optimus is no different from an average soldier in this continuity, surely his men feel the same as he does.

    Assuming my points are valid, if we look at it from an outsider's eye, if we apply this scenario to any army of today, will you not be shocked if you see on footage a soldier or soldiers moving like Optimus ? Giving "mercy shots" to the enemy who may or may not be dying or being plain injured, tearing heads apart, beheading and any other bodily mutilations you can think of. What would you think if a squad or battalion did that, just because their commanding officer said to them "we will kill them all" due to the actions of the enemy?

    Sure, you could say the enemy deserved it. But what if they were coerced somehow, like conscript at gunpoint ? families being threatened ? Or it was a strong cultural hatred (like how the Jews were targeted in WWII) ? Or misguided sense of patriotism ?

    I'm gonna stop here for now cause I've got class. So some final words,

    You can argue because what I've said couldn't possibly apply to aliens like the Transformers. You're right.

    1 ) The Decepticons are presented as relentless beings of mass destruction. They are devoid of any value we'd recognize as redeeming. Just like the military in Avatar, the only people who we can sympathize completely are the protagonists and the N'avi. And it's movies like these, logic and realism we know in our lives are thrown out the window.

    Michael Bay really can't get any kind of consistency to stay put if he threw in actual money.
     
  14. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

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    If the enemies were coerced, threatened or otherwise forced to, than yes, I would disagree with ruthless measures to deal with them.

    The Decepticons are not coerced, threatened or otherwise forced to. They do so because they agree with Megatron's reasoning of tyranny and domination. Wheelie and Jetfire are the only Decepticons, two out of an entire faction, who display resentment to the 'Cons.

    As for Optimus' soldiers, no-one really seems to care. Sideswipe bisected someone, Bumblebee blew Soundwave's head out his chest and Ratchet shot someone into pieces. It's only when Optimus brutally kills a 'Con the shitstorm is unleashed.
     
  15. Silverwing

    Silverwing Havocon

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    I kind of like the Bayformers incarnation of Optimus. He still appears to value, respect and care for his soldiers; yet when it comes to battle, he channels the millions of years of grief, rage and loss that he must have been forced to contain if he was to keep his ranks in line and be viewed as a stable and respectable figurehead for the Autobots.
     
  16. ThatOddGuy

    ThatOddGuy That Odd Guy's title

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    I think the main problem is that everyone sees Optimus as a being of Justice, order, and compassion. Like a big robotic policeman. And he's ALWAYS killed cons, in G1 he just mowed them down, like Rambo, but in the movies, the ways he ends their lives go beyond just shooting them. Ripping faces apart, spinal cords, ETC....it's very sadistic and violent. I don't remember even Megatron ever doing anything that....vengeful. And yeah, it's a million year way, but screaming "GIVE ME YOUR FACE" Isn't exactly something a virtuous hero usually shouts....
     
  17. Ash from Carolina

    Ash from Carolina Junior Smeghead

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    And exactly where in the movies do we get to find out anything about any of the Decepticons that aren't Megatron, Starscream, the Fallen, Wheelie or Jetfire? When we saw Sideways in Revenge of the Fallen we know nothing at all about the character except that he's running from a pack of Autobots. In Dark of the Moon Prime is cutting down Decepticons so quickly the movie doesn't even bother to name them.

    We don't know if other Decepticons are coerced, threatened, or other wise forced into the Decepticon army because they are killed so brutally and quickly there is no time to know anything about them. Other than what their insides look like because the films need more and more robot gore since you can't show flesh and blood gore in a PG-13 movie.
     
  18. TylerMirage

    TylerMirage I vawnt my berdt.

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    I really think it IS clear. At least, in the context of the entire trilogy it's clear. The first movie definitely hints at it.

    "Before time began, there was…The Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That was how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony, but like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war - a war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space. We scattered across the galaxy, hoping to find it and rebuild our home, searching every star, every world. And just when all hope seemed lost, message of a new discovery drew us to an unknown planet called...Earth. … But we were already too late." - Optimus

    "Our planet was once a powerful empire; peaceful and just. Until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. All who defied him were destroyed. The war finally consumed the planet, and the AllSpark was lost to the stars." - Optimus *cue lingering shot of a decimated planet, smoke and smog filling the air, explosions, dead bodies, apocalyptic feel*

    "And the human race will be extinguished. Sam Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth’s survival." - Optimus

    "Were we so different? They’re a young species, they have much to learn. But I’ve seen goodness in them. Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. You all know there’s only one way to end this war, we must destroy The Cube. If all else fails, I will unite it with the spark in my chest." - Optimus

    "A necessary sacrifice to bring peace to this planet. We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes." - Optimus

    "With the All Spark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call... home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight... but watching over them in secret... waiting... protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's more to them than meets the eye." - Optimus

    And then of course there's the several lines and several scenes dedicated to basically reiterating that fact in RotF and DotM.

    "Not yet, but I fear it soon will be. Your world must not share the same fate as Cybertron: whole generations lost." - Optimus

    "If the Decepticons had their way they’d destroy the whole universe." - Jetfire

    "We were once a peaceful race of intelligent mechanical beings. But then came the war, between the Autobots who fought for freedom, and the Decepticons who dreamt of tyranny. Overmatched and outnumbered, our defeat was all but certain. But in the war’s final days, one Autobot ship escaped the battle. It was carrying a secret cargo which would have changed our planet’s fate. A desperate mission. Our final hope. A hope...that vanished." - Optimus *cue visuals of a war-torn, battle-damaged planet*

    "The war was lost. Cybertron is now but a barren wasteland." - Optimus

    "So majestic and peaceful, this planet. Unlike the final days of Cybertron." - Sentinel

    "For Cybertron! For our home! What war destroyed we can rebuild, but only if we join with the Decepticons!" - Sentinel

    "No, it’s not the only way! This is our home! We must defend the humans!" - Optimus

    "Defenders of Earth, we have come for your natural resources to rebuild our damaged planet. When we have transported all we need we will leave your world in peace. For such peace to exist, you must immediately exile the Autobots rebels you have harboured. Non-negotiable. Renounce the rebels. We await your reply." - Sentinel

    I would say that both Cybertron's fate and Optimus' reasoning for protecting Earth are clear. Save for making the ENTIRE movie dedicated to revealing Cybertron's fate and having every single line of dialogue devoted to mentioning their dead planet, what more would you want? It's a lose-lose situation. If the filmmakers did focus on Cybertron's fate even more than they did, they'd get criticized for "spoon-feeding us information" or "beating us over the head with an idea that we obviously get". But if they don't do that, and we're only given a few scenes and a several lines to imply Cybertron's fate, then suddenly it's too ambiguous.
     
  19. roccondil5

    roccondil5 sculptor

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    This precisely. In fact, the only thing we know about decepticon motives for fighting, is when wheelie is told by jetfire that he can CHOOSE to not be a decepticon, which hint's that decepticons are ordered to fight and not given a choice, knowingly or otherwise. They do not know that they can choose NOT to be decepticons, at least it doens't seem to be a very common belief, which to me sugest they are just brainwashed into following megatron's rule.
     
  20. bellpeppers

    bellpeppers A Meat Popsicle

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    Because it was always a cartoon.
    And we shouldn't base morality from a cartoon.