Being top grossing movie is a double edged sword. It guarantees more movies and more toys and helps strengthen the Transformers toy brands, but not the quality of the writing or storyline. One would hope with the success they might put more time and money into the story but I'm not holding my breath on that one. I think the movie was on par with Guardians, Apes was better but some of the CGI was questionable.

Also, I think you underestimate how many fans there are in Asia of Transformers. We get a lot of extra releases of toys, limited editions, third party toys and first release stuff in this part of the world for a reason... that may not be reflected on these boards, but Transformers, like Gundam is HUGE here and thus the movies will always be successful. Did you witness two grown men fighting over Combiner Wars figures this holidays? I did! Do you see people lining up for pre-orders of Transformers at stores the minute the pre-order hit the market? I do, all the time! Transformers is an INTERNATIONAL brand, and as such it is always going to be popular with all ages. Sure, AoE panders to both the US and Chinese markets... and given the title of this thread, that strategy worked.

BTW: I'm not Chinese, I just live here.

 

I know we haven't met in real life, but Bay's movies introduced me to a franchise that saved my life. I'm definitely a "deep fan" and I'm sure many other "deep fans" became fans through Bay's movies.

 

There are lots of folks on TFW who have become major fans of the franchise through the Bay Movies.

 

I think the movies made me a "deep" fan. I got in at Armada, but I kinda lost in during Cybertron, but the movies always bring me back.

 

Bay should be thanked for elevating TF into a global spotlight and creating new fans etc.

But to think that TF4 made more money than Guardians of the Galaxy which (saying this as a genuine TF fan) is many times better than any TF movie to date is a mockery of justice.

 

I thank the movies for being able to keep making CHUG possible, as well as the new shows and comics... after Cybertron, I could see the franchise dying a slow death, so I think the movies reguvinated the brand and elevated it to a level it had never been on before. With that said, I think with that there comes a bunch of shit merchendise, but I just ignore it... I only focus on the things I like, which probably wouldn't be happening if not for the movies.

I thought GotG was awful... better than AoE, but still terrible IMHO

 

If box office was the only way to judge the quality of a film then the award season wouldn't have to bother with voting for awards they would just hand out awards based on the box office returns.

With the Razzies the award just doesn't go to who had the smallest box office of the year. The Worst Film of the Year of the Award might go to a movie that bombed at the box office or it might go to a film that topped the box office.

Sometimes Oscars to films to that made lots and lots of money and sometimes the Oscars go to films that some people haven't heard of much less watched.

Heck even awards like The People's Choice Awards or MTV Teen Choice Awards have voting instead of well just look up the top film at Box Office Mojo for this year.

But that will never stop some people from telling us why we must all love the live Transformers with every fiber of our being because the films made money at the box office. That the films are the greatest cinematic achievements humanity will ever known so success at the box office in no way shape or form can have even the slightest hint of marketing being involved in that success.

 

Remember guys... no movies, no chance of all your Arcee toys from Animated to Generations.

 

I don't think that's what he was implying at all...

it was more like this.

 

Employees at Takara have also gone on record as saying that thanks to the live action movies, it was much easier to secure licenses from auto manufacturers for the "real car" Masterpiece figure line. The Official Masterpiece Guide book (with English translations from fellow TFW member SydneyY) confirms this.

Would we have seen an officially licensed figure of MP Wheeljack (Lancia) or MP Bumblebee (Volkswagen) without the success of the Bay movies? I personally don't think so. It was specifically because of the live action films that Transformers has become popular as well as bankable, so much so that previously reluctant auto companies like VW and Lambo are now playing ball with Takara Tomy. This is a good thing, wouldn't everyone agree?

All this talk about what makes a true TF fan is ridiculous. Who appointed any one person to decide who is and isn't a true fan?

Your anecdotal experiences are just that, anecdotal, and they hardly tell the entire picture of the franchise's popularity.

 

Not him, but there have been attempts by other people in the past to say that box office was the one and only measuring stick of a film's quality. Of course that line of reasoning often gets shot down when someone says does that mean that Avatar is the greatest film ever made.

 

If someone wants to say Transformers AOE is the greatest movie ever made, then to them it is. There are people out there who believe Avatar is the greatest movie. Everyone has different criteria for what makes a great film.

I'm sure if you list what you think are the greatest films, there would be plenty who disagree with you.

 

I imagine he knows the difference between fact and opinion... some people really do argue that Avatar is the greatest movie ever simply based on the box office

 

I'm surprised a movie like Avatar would be #1 based on hype alone. You'd think an established franchise like Avengers would do better

 

I agree, the movies have done wonders for Hasbro and Takara.

 

Bays films have definitely brought in new fans. Take me, for example. I'm an 80s kid and loved G1 Transformers, owned tons of TF toys, etc. But around 1989 I stopped caring about Transformers and I didn't care about them until around 2006 when I learned about the first live action movie.

The movies brought me back to the franchise and made me remember how much I loved it. Between me and my two sons, my family has purchased 200-300 figures since Bay's first TF movie came out. Am I a completely "new" fan? No, but I would've never given Transformers another thought without Bay's movies. And I'm guessing there are a ton of people out there like me.

 

I have a couple friends who were at least interested by the Transformers movie. That interest led to an Archieve Binge on TV Tropes and TF Wiki. To think they haven't brought in new fans is just silly in my opinion.

 

I was pretty much the same way. I'm a G1/80's kid; loved the Sunbow cartoon and the G1 toys. After the 1986 animated movie killed off about 95% of the season 1 and 2 characters I knew and loved as a kid, I began to simply stop caring about Transformers as I didn't like the new Season 3 characters nearly as much. I watched Beast Wars (but not religiously) and it was a decent show. I didn't buy any of the toys though. Armada/Cybertron/Energon I skipped entirely.

Fast forward to TF Animated. I loved the show (after my then-girlfriend/now-wife turned me on to it). Still didn't buy any of the toys. The first Bay movie was released. It was pretty decent and reignited my interest in the franchise again. I started to get back into collecting around 08-09 when ROTF rolled around. Although ROTF was a huge disappointment as a film, the toys (especially with Human Alliance and the follow-up Hunt For The Decepticons line) had some of the most impressive engineering and accuracy of any figures thus far. When I bought MP-M01 Starscream (and MP-03 Takara white Starscream), I was hooked again.

I can safely say it was the Bay movies that brought me back around to the franchise, and in that regard, the films were a success by bringing old fans like me back to the fold and making new fans alike worldwide. There is more than just box office take, I agree, but there is also more than poo-poo'ing a franchise simply because the movies aren't freakin' Shakespeare.

Could the Bay films be better? Of course, but I never forget that much like my beloved G1 (rewatching the old eps as an adult, much of it is laughably bad to me now in all honesty) or critically acclaimed standalone shows like Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime, they're all basically commercial media vehicles to get fans to buy merch while giving us entertainment value. None of this is Citizen Cane level high art, guys, not when the whole premise of Transformers is good guy alien robots that transform into stuff punch/shoot bad guy alien robots that transform into stuff, with hapless humans caught in the middle.

I look at the grand picture and support what HasTak is doing because it benefits all of their other endeavors like video games, comic books, Classics/Generations toys, and Masterpiece figures. And to deny that the Bay movies have any benefit to the franchise as a whole is just mind boggling when all the evidence says otherwise.

 

Was introduced to TransFormers during season 3 of Beast Wars and stayed a hardcore fan through Universe 2003... hated the Unicron Trilogy (barely watched or bought any of the figures), Classics, and the first movie, but got back into it with Animated. Enjoyed Prime, the BotCon/Club stories, and MTMTE/RID. With Generations, there's still something left for me to enjoy  

 

i think most critics would settle for them being simply coherent.
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