But, the movie is not used just to sell the toys like previous shows. I doubt the movie people care how well the toys do. They want ticket and dvd money.

I like Prime more now. BB is ok, but I wish tye changed that head more. Megatron is horrible. Just wrong.

 

Had a hunch. Japanese movie posters are usually more awesome than ours, no matter what the film is. That's just beyond awesome, though.

 

Here is where I got that pal....

http://www.cockrockdisco.com/jpegs/zine-jpegs/Transformers%20big.jpg

 

I think Optimus Prime looks better in CGI than in the art.

 

I swear to God, if they just gave them correct human proportions in bot mode and lost the animal influences and gave them proper hands (well, that's about the best part of Prime right there, Bumbles is missing a finger) and the traditional faces, something like 70%+ fan-bitching would disappear.

I mean, crap, it took Timshinn's awesome Ratchet redesign of the head to get me to consider that the movie designs could work as a natural evolution of what a Transformer's design aesthetic is.

 

In Summation

Heh. Posts #142 and #143 managed to nicely condense this entire zillion-page-anger-fest into exactly 21 words. Why can't the rest of us be this economical?

The rest of you can go home. There's nothing more to say. Thanks, drsyn and PsyckoSama!

 

Well here is the thing about these images and I feel bad to say this who ever the source of these images was they are probably fired by now especially since these look to be specific test renders of the models. You can see quite clearly these images were deleted from the machine they were on and someone used a recovery program to extract the images from a machine they knew at one point had the images. To me it seems pretty easy to identify if the number of people is probably limited and it would have to be a workstation that once had the images and then was to delete all the images it once had.

SOOO once again we have no proof that these are final images except for Bumble bee. If these images were not cut off or showed abrupt ends to the data it could be contested these are recent image but they probably are old.

 

"not final" does not equal "not close". I am sad that there are so many haters. If you can't get past the "past" then stop looking and shut up.

 

Okay, thread is getting long so I'm gonna post a quick opinion from my moderate standpoint. If these points have already been brought up, please ignore me. If you feel the need to prove my opinion is wrong, please ignore me.

1. Someone early on was shocked they hired MB with "lackluster" BO numbers. Personally I think this is a weak argument against MB... other directors (Peter Jackson, for example) have gone from some of the strangest films to smash hits. Sometimes breaking what seems to be negative financial and qualitative trends.

While not a MB fan myself, his films aren't the worst out there... some are enjoyable. He does not have an Uwe Boll track-record.

2. I cannot completely dismiss the movie based on these leaks. I didn't notice any dates, I don't know if the folks rendering these are working with identical models. Until trailers that come out really show what they're going for, I won't completely write off the movie.

3. Personally I like Megs the best out of the three of them. He's an evil guy and his appearance has changed DRASTICALLY from series to series. The head still seems silly... evil, beady eyes and whatnot, but I think taking liberties with him is okay.

BB and OP though... man, they're iconic characters. Despite what people say about how TFs only being just over 20 != iconic, you can ask most 30-somethings to 20 year-olds and they can tell you about Bumblebee. He's more recognized than people think, imo. Prime is also in the same boat, although his constant appearance in TF series has allowed different generations to see him differently.

Also, don't know about you folks, but a lot of older folks I know DO know about TFs. They have kids or grandkids that grew up with this franchise. While they won't care as much the designs can still seem somewhat of an odd choice to them. Show them to your folks if ya haven't  

4. I keep wondering about the marketability of these toys... seems to me in order to make them kid-friendly they'll be very inaccurate. While kids and their parents won't care too much, it'll be a poor choice for me. If the movie has some bots I like I worry I'll find their toys lackluster. This is all just musings in my head, please don't go technical and try to prove me wrong. And yes, I have seen the protos we've all seen so far.

Overall I'm still not sold on this movie. I'm still comfortable with Megs, and we know BB won't be changed for sure... but there are still a lot of characters that could change my mind. I hope Bay-Murphy & Co. plant some leaks of a few of their stars... maybe pique the interest of some of us doubters.

 

Agreed. If only on the autobots just a few of these changes would get me excited, I imagine it would be the same for quite a few of the others.

There are parts of every series I like. I own the G1 movie. I just feel they could still have been creative, still had something new, but still been reminiscent of the past... from Diaclone/microman to now. New and unique is great, but a little bit of throwback to the franchise would have been nice. Just a pinch more respect for the source materials and fans.

(Please don't quote me and then say, "But would you stop there? You'd want it to be more-G1." I'm being honest, pinch more was all I needed.)

Well, hopefully the movie does do well and does spawn sequels. If that happens I can only hope they have a great story to improve the movies and not let it fizzle. Hopefully those future movies could also bring in a few more of the classic aspects a lot of us love.

 

lol ... if these are legit - optimus looks a little better but not much ...

 

In all honesty, I cant seemed to make out where the faces are, except for Prime. The lot just looks like a bunch of wired mess!

These may be good concepts for some but they sure werent for me!  



Should I be glad that I can save some $$$ for Classics, Tits or other stuffs??  

 

I'm gonna have to agree with this one also. This sort of change would go a long ways towards improving my disposition towards this "monster" movie.

 

Ummmm yaaa... if the general audience cared about the Transformers then it would not be a high risk show for television. Right now there isn't a popular television channel crazy enough to waste a high viewer time slot on Transformers because IT DOES NOT GET GOOD RATINGS. If something shows promise for popularity there will ALWAYS ... and I mean ALWAYS be a company to capitalize on it. Are there any companies ready to capitalize on Transformers and RISK an expensive time slot to play the shows on? No? Why not?

If you are selling toys, TV is a good place to gage the popularity by the general population. Right now ... the high risk of showing a consistent TF show shows one thing .. GENERALLY ... NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE TRANSFORMERS. The small percentage of us fans are not enough to keep something simple as a television show afloat.

 

Sad thing is there are actually people out there that CAN tell you with a straight face that Transformers are still popular. They will even ask you for a place where you got your statistics because they won't believe it.

The ones that say that don't seem to get how companies work in a capitalist society. If ANY company sees something to capitalize and make money on SOMETHING popular they will do it ... and we will see lots of it so they can sell it. Show me a television channel crazy enough to put Transformers in ANY high viewer time slot because those are the ones that get the most exposer and are most expensive. Show me ANY television channel stupid enough to air a G1 type show on those time slots consistently and I will give you money. Fact is kids and the general population do not care about Transformers. Sad but true IT IS HIGH RISK.

Maybe a reboot will make things more popular. Maybe new shows based on these new designs will look cool to the current youth and make TF popular again. Right now it is mainly a collectors market.

 

When I grew up I enjoyed watching all of the new G1 shows that came on TV. It was a HUGE part of my childhood. Right now im grown with 2 kids in a time where kids in general don't care for Transformers. My son does not talk to any kids about TF. They don't share or trade toys ... nothing. You cannot sit there and tell me that TF is popular with todays youth because you are using your bias to dilude your thinking.

All I want is for my kids to enjoy the same thing I enjoyed growing up. If kids today think the look of the new TF are cool and awesome and it makes the line popular again, then I really don't care if it takes my childhood love and tears it into a million pieces and shoves it in the crapper. All I care about is to see my kids and their friends love and enjoy the Transformers like I did growing up. If this movie is what it takes to make it happen then so be it. It is good for the entire TF franchise. We can still have G1+ TF for the collectors market it doesnt have to change with this movie.

 

I honestly get steamed every time someone says "If you like the designs, you are lying to yourself." I love the designs, every one of them. Do I think they are the best that could have been done? No. Some characters I wish were closer to their original appearance (where applicable). I wish Starscream were sleaker and more seeker-like. Do I hate his movie design? No.

That said, I have to ask something. For those of you who say you hate the Movie designs but aren't hating them because they don't look like G1. Those of you who say you wish they had more nods to the usual Transformers designs. What exactly do you wish was different? I'm not trying to sound insulting, just curious. Bumblebee has a chest formed from the front and hood of the car. He has doors off of his back similar to Prowl and other car-formers. His limbs may be formed a lot differently, but the main Car-bot design seems to be there.

Prime has almost any visual clue that is considered iconic. Mostly red torso. Chest windows. Tires on the sides of his legs (granted they are on his thighs). Blue head with central crest, silver faceplate, and antennae. Red arms and blue legs. Smokestacks.

Granted, Megatron looks a lot different from most of the usual Transformers. But then, he doesn't look that different, IMO, from Beast Machines Jetstorm's show appearance. Just fractured to allow for movement. I actually like the design as a Cybertronian robot. I actually like it as Megatron, and really hope that Frank Welker's voice comes out of it.

I'm a G1 fan. I love the movie so far. I think the designs look like Transformers. In order to make the robots believably realistic looking (not actually realistic), certain changes have to occur. Everybody loves to bring up the Alternators or Citroen as examples, but they aren't perfectly suited for the movie. I'm not saying they couldn't be tweaked enough to work, but I don't have the background for a proper analysis of them. The only thing I liked about the Citroen-bots form a DESIGN standpoint was the car parts. The robot parts were really spindly when compared to the car parts and didn't look like they could support the weight while moving like that.

That said, I run into plenty of people who don't remember G1 at all and are in their 20's to 30's. Most that do, either remember that "Tape Guy with the cool voice" or Leader-1. Some remember Bumblebee, but I've ran into some who thought Bumblebee was the one who became leader in the movie, and who couldn't stand the little yellow guy from early in the series. The only people I have met in person who remember Transformers enough to know what a character looks like would either be a collector or someone who was in their teens when the series started and maybe bought the DVDs.

And I definitely agree that looking a lot less cartoony is what they have to do to appeal to a larger audience. After seeing these designs, and looking at fan-made CG videos featuring G1 designs, I definitely have a really hard time picturing the G1 designs in a realistic environment. Although I do love some really good CG fan movies (Draven, I'm looking at you).

I'm not saying anyone has to like the designs or hate the designs. I just think it would be better to state your opinions a lot more civilized and respectably. Especially towards other peoples opinions.

 

Megatron, Bumblebee  

Optimus Prime 

 

I like the changes to Megs. He went from looking like Robo Hagfish to looking like he should be pointing and saying "Eeeeeeeyyyyyyyy!". Still an improvement. Did anyone else notice that his eyes are red now? I'm sure someone did, but I don't feel like shovelling through the giant pile of crap that is this thread to find the few pearls of sensible conversation.

Bumblebee looks cool, but his face in these renders is far too skull-like to be cute. I still like him. I'm hoping for a larger, more detailed toy version of him. The arm cannon is cool beyond words.

Prime is... Prime. I don't get people saying he's too skinny; he's not as chunky as E. Prime (would anyone want that?) or as beefy as C. Prime, but he's not really what I'd call wiry either. Not my favorite Prime ever, but not the worst. Still don't like the long face.

 

This is all I care about ... If kids think they are cool and TF becomes popular with todays youth. Ive said it before and ill say it again. All I care about is that my son and his friends enjoy some of the same things I did when I was young and the biggest was Transformers. Currently both of them and their friends think Optimus looks cool and megs looks scary cool. If this can get kids into the Transformers then this is all I care about. If it takes the old TF that I grew up and puts them in the grinder to be gone forever then I really don't care as long as my kids and their friends are happy with the new ones.