I don't mind that optimus killed a guy, what I hate is that hasbro says, oh transformers prime, was not kid friendly, then the new cartoon is lighter for kids. Well hasbro guess who also saw the movie? kids. This is why I hope we get a new director, I want to see what they bring in, I hope they would bring something like beast wars. In the idea that it introduces new characters not the same, re introductions to same ole characters and stories.
The movies are typically racist, homophobic, and they objectify women. There was that creepy as hell bit in AoE about consent laws... who needs that in a movie about robots fighting? C'mon. I get that there's gonna be humans in a live action Transformers movie, but they get all the criticism they deserve. Other than that, I think we've had a pretty decent year for Generations, and the Dinobot knights are fun toys, their origin notwithstanding.
i liked this year because the hype for TFs came back for me after 2 years of nothing for me. now wake me up till TF5 is released so i can have something tf-wise to be excited about *sends himself in stasis*
Stopped reading after the bullshit description of AoE Optimus "gunning down a human". Who is to say the rest of the TLDR isn't equally BS
I really liked the 30th anniversary toys and the continued focus on idw characters as well as other lines. I saw several arcees and chromia's at my local store but passed on arcee as I really didn't like her look and bought chromia as a stand-in until eventually or hopefully a better one comes along (I'm not just talking hasbro here). This was a good year for generations, but not movie generations. You could see the lack of faith they had in the selling power of those things. I think that was an even smaller amount of support than dotm got. It was pretty much two small waves of everything and then done. They spent a lot of time clogging up shelf space until walmart did a rollback, at least in my area. Despite what some of you movie fans might think, there is no denying that aoe for most of the usa was bad as it was the lowest grossing movie in the series so far and by $75 million, so that says something especially considering the first two didn't have the 3d premium going for them. China carried this movie worldwide. I've gone to the theater to see each movie and I never fully regretted it until aoe. I won't be seeing anymore in theaters after that pointlessly three hour long debacle. The writer of this article was actually kind of fair considering how much many others have and would still bash that movie. All in all, though, another good year for transformers. Nice read!
Don't forget the movies also are xenophobic, pro-Hitler and I'm pretty sure they kicked my dog! Bay is literally Stalin and Hitler's love-child!
I agree the toyline for AOE was bad, I only bought like two autobots, Optimus and bumblebee I'll get the rest if I see a good deal somewhere but I thought they were not worth the retail value they were asking for.
I've enjoyed AOE more then I was expecting to at first because it did feel like they've listened to some of the complaints like the toliet humor,robot characters not being there enough to feel like actualy characters and humans that aren't trying to be too funny or unlikeable with the exception of Shane in a way etcand improved on them. Not only that I did like how they weren't hiding the idea of Optimus not being the idialistic person he once was and how Cade tried to help him out of it if a bit brief. That and Lockdown did prove to be a cool villain too and not a red herring like Shockwave was in DOTM. So yeah despite it still having flaws I don't believe for a second that the critics are saying this is on par with ROTF because AOE is far better made then that. As for the AOE toyline I am enjoying the many Dinobot figures and the Evasion Optimus toy is splending and Hound is fun too. Generations also deserve some credit where credit is due. IDW is really bringing it's A game and last year was no exception. Introducing Windblade as a fun,interesting character helps too so it's been a good year for the franchise.
Bias against the movies? Where? All I saw was the usual "not muh Optimus" BS. Seems like you're offended. Why don't you go blog about it?
Critics only bash AOE because they hate Michael Bay. Their old complaints were about the toilet humor and stuff, and with it gone, they make up the stupidest excuses to complain.
Well written recap of the year, thanks! Reading through this it is clear that while the fandom may not love every piece of the brand that has been coming out, certain toys, movies, etc., we have a lot for which to be thankful. 'The brand is very strong in its 30th year, and that is truly remarkable. I hope the brand continues to stay strong for many many years.
That was a pretty good recap. Personally, I think the toys offered as part of the Thrilling 30 were good for the most part, I don't really feel like there was much focus on the 30th Anniversary. I feel like most of those toys were coming out anyway and they just slapped the 30th Anniversary tie ins on the package. And while I feel this was a great year for Transformers, I also think it was the first time I ever looked at toy shelves and most of the Transformers products did not Transform. With all the Hexbugs and Titans cluttering the shelves, and the deluxes being relegated to one or two rows of peg space, it was just odd to see. It was when Shane first picked up Cade and Tessa. As they were trying to get away from Cemetery Wind Shane made some joke about how good Tessa was at handling a stick. It was a little bit before the "Get Away with Statutory Rape" card scene.
Michael Bay could have taken a pen name for the film and AOE would still have been ripped apart by critics. Bad films without Bay's name on them get ripped apart all the time.