I am one of the biggest G1 fans around, but I feel that people don't understand that the Bay movies are not, and never will be G1. People need to stop hoping that the movies will somehow deviate from the current course, and somehow become more G1. The movies take place in their own alternate Transformers universe, and there for, don't have to conform to any pre-established story lines.

So, if they want to create new characters, or change a characters gender or ethnicity, I'm fine with it.

Paramount will never make a G1 movie, so lets stop hoping that they ever will, and just enjoy the sensless crap they put out now.  

 

We're not mad the films aren't G1. We're mad they're not about Transformers.

 

Yeah, and it's also less that the movies are not G1 and more that they are horrendous in storytelling. I mean, I recognized that the films were a distinct continuity a long while back and even kind of enjoyed them as something that I watch with a group of people who enjoy them, while I get to make fun of the films. The latest one was so incoherent, so lacking in Transformers, so sloppily edited that I couldn't even think of a joke. Not being G1 was the last of its problems.

The Bumblebee movie and the others after it have a lot to do in the eve of TLK.

 

I agree with these points.

 

Hopefully he does good.

I see him as a best bud rather than a romantic interest, but that's me.

 

Aye I bet you do.

 

Well, I thought he was funny in Homecoming. I can't believe I'm looking forward to the Bumblebee movie, I really haven't liked the Transformers movies and seeing the little yellow bugger on shelves while I couldn't find other toys I wanted annoyed me. But we have Travis Knight, and I love his work as an animator and really liked Kubo. I think he will be able to make the Transformers movements and actions sensible for the first time since the first movie (here's hoping he goes beyond that, if he gives the bots real weight it would be a huge improvement). I also think it's interesting that the writer has done two thrillers before, to me that implies they know how to pace a story. We'll see what the two lead actors have in store for us but I'm hopeful we'll have a good, small story with a good cast that doesn't try to be epic and instead let's us get to know Bumblebee as a character more than we have before (and if we can get a cherry on top with one or two more bots/cons I'd be super happy).

 

How exactly does one diversify by adding *more* white people?

 

So wait. Why can't the Bumblebee movie have a side love story?
I'd like it to have a more platonic friends aspect, but it is true also that people that go through hell together often enough can relate to each other and grow romantic feelings. Plus it's really normal for teens to have crushes and date.

But if we're talking about direct romance sub plots, only TF1 and TF5 had that.
TF1, Sam got his car to get a girlfriend, and Bumblebee helped him woo the girl. Actual romance sub plot.
TF2, they were already dating. No romance subplot.
TF3, Sam and Carly were already dating. No romance sub plot.
TF4, the daughter was already dating the guy. No romance sub plot, though it did have a father meets the boyfriend for the first time sub plot.
TF5, not really a romance sub plot, but Vivian and Cade kind of ended up together anyway because of this mutual shared adventure. So it half counts as a romance sub plot.

It'd be more fun if he was pulled into the story through accident by being an auto maintenance student with her and not directly because of a crush, but where the story goes after that organically, I'm fine with that.

But let's be real here for a second. A romance sub plot isn't as common to the movies as people would make you think. Really, only 2 out of the 5 movies had one. People date. People have feelings. It seems like more of an issue here for other reasons. And we're hearing complaints of it here where an actor is cast but has no clear description of his character yet? Not even stated as being cast as her love interest and already people are crying "NO ROMANCE!" Yeah, that seems fishy af.

 

It's just that the romance angle has been done to death across all 5 movies already. Platonic friendship can and does work (Finn and Rey in TFA). There's also the danger of the romance once again bogging down the story's pace and taking center stage overshadowing the focus on the actual robots.

 

Except it didn't bog any of them down. In every movie it was organic to the plot, and out of the movies, only TF1 had an actual thorough romance sub plot to the story. The rest were extensions of the main plot and weren't really romance sub plots either.

 

I like a *good* romance sub-plot, but lately a lot of movies have really ham-handed it in there; like part of a directive from marketing.

 

I'm just saying that for me, it's all about the toys. I don't believe the movies will ever get better, and like wise, only a handful of the TV shows have been watchable. Even now, I can barely watch RID without cringing, but then I remind myself that it's made for kids.

 

All the movies had romance, you just stated it. It's a general cliché in film that the leads end up getting together, so it doesn't take much to think that with a male and female lead, there will be a romance.

All five movies, again, have a romance plugged in. Already dating? Romance. Boyfriend meeting dad? Key word here: boyfriend. These tend to effect the film by diverting from the main plot and putting in scenes that are unneeded. The plots are unneeded, and if anything they should at least be a burned out trope.

It's lovely whenever people love each other. Doesn't matter who these people are so long as they are capable of consent and there's no unbalance of power. It's just that when on adventure, any kind of camaraderie can take place. It can be a romance, sure, but it can also be a friendship. Friendship is awesome too, and that's not something movies these days seem to enjoy emphasising. It would be nice to take a break from the usual tropes and see people grow close in a different way. (I always find it quite weird that media ignores the possibility of a man and woman having a healthy, platonic relationship — all my relationships with people of the opposite sex are platonic and I am quite happy about it.)

 

Studio notes are the worst.

 

You don't remember where the Military said they were using tactical nukes on that piece of wreckage right near everyone?

 

.....I don't even know where to begin with how wrong this is, and how badly this continuity holds together.

 

I literally forgot some parts in TLK. I was too excited for other parts.

 

TF1 was straightforward guy tries to win and eventually gets the girl. Arguably the most organic of the movies.

ROTF had the bit with Pretender Alice trying to get friendly with Sam, and Mikaela basically holds it against him the rest of the movie, again necessitating Sam having to win her over yet again. Not to mention his parents interfering every step of the way. Unnecessary.

DOTM had Gould as a rival trying to drive a wedge between Sam and Carly, and Sam having to prove himself worthy to win her over.

AOE had Tessa and whatever her driver boyfriend's name was, though this time it was him trying to win over her dad Cade's approval. Still bogged the story down, especially with the statutory card scene and the needless bickering between the three characters.

TLK had Cade and Vivian getting into each other's past love lives and the silly scene involving her mom and aunts. More bickering and forced exposition.

There was forced romance in every film thus far. Just because characters are dating, or one wins over the other, doesn't mean that the romance suddenly stops. The romance had to be maintained or threatened at every turn.

If anything, it was annoying how the writers felt the need to try to "reset" the romantic chase by trying to break up Sam and Mikaela with Alice's scene, and again with Sam and Carly with Dylan Gould being the cock-blocking douche (him being a villain and working as a Decepticon agent was incidental as his role as Sam's romantic rival). Was approaching near Sam and Diane from Cheers level of annoying.

This. My wife has had male platonic friends, and I've had a few female platonic friends. It's not so strange a thing.

Also you bring up another good point about equals. Too often the girl is nothing more than eye candy or a prize to be won. In TFA, Finn initially had some romantic inklings for Rey, I believe, but Rey was content to just let their newfound friendship be and stay platonic. She isn't a prize to be won, and she had a say over her own agency (Mary Sue story problems aside).

 

I think Bumblebee should be the lead male character in his own movie myself. Nothing against this guy,but it seems to me that the Transformers should be the major characters in their movies.