we don't hate humanity,

Humans just shouldn't be the main characters of TRANSFORMER movies.

 

Don't get me wrong, the movie shouldn't focus on human society - but seeing how Transformers react to human society could actually be done really well. The Transformers could see a lot of their own in us, or they could be absolutely baffled by some of the things we do, which lends itself to great satire. Or hell, the humans could react to Cybertronian society - I feel like if Transformers were real, xenoanthropology would not only be a thing, it would be the most lucrative field ever.

 

I'm of the opinion that humans are important to Transformers due to Transformers being robots in disguise. Would Optimus hiding in Texas or Megatron's survival as a head and infecting Galvatron or Bumblebee in the first film or Barricade hiding as a police car have the same impact if they were shown as living robots on screen initially? No, they would not.

Also, I think the relationship between humans and Transformers and humans is important, whether it's Cade and Optimus or Sam and Bee or Attinger and Lockdown.

 

Hopefully it does not contradict the IDW comics, which are WELL better than the movies.

 

Sure, but...that was the first film. Where the Transformers actually still used their alt. modes to hide in plain sight.

The films seem to have completely forgotten the entire point of transformation is disguise since literally the only Autobot in AoE who isn't going to draw attention for having an unusual alt. mode is Bumblebee since the Camaro rework is now fairly commonplace. But none of the other 'bots would even remotely work as disguises that didn't attract immediate attention in the slightest.

 

I remain convinced that a no-humans TF movie would both tank with general audiences and be prohibitively expensive with the current costs of top notch CGI.

 

Who says it would need to be top-notch CGI? No live actors means the robots don't have to look AS realistic to fit in. A slightly more cartoonish look ala Robots could keep costs down without sacrificing too much gritty realism.

 

An entirely CGI movie with reduced CGI quality may be affordable, but I can't imagine it being a hit with general audiences. You can do a successful "kids" movie like that, but I don't know about a mainline blockbuster.

I genuinely can't think of prescedent: are there past hit movies that feature no humans or "humans"*, other than Disney cartoons (the most successful of which had humans) or other kids' cartoons?

* "humans" includes aliens that are basically humans, a la Han Solo or Luke in Star Wars.

 

That's animated prequel, NOT "Animated prequel." You guys are making it sound like we're getting a prequel to TFA. Stop that. This news is cool, but not that cool.


And I can't believe we're still having the humans/no humans debate. Do some people really still not get why human characters are important for a mainstream movie?

And for the people who want the movies to be like IDW. Those comics reach an audience of under 10,000 people. That is awful, even by American comics standards. Neither notRID or MTMTE even make the top 200. Do you really think a movie studio is going to look at that and think, "There's a model we should try to follow."?

 

Don't forget Optimus Prime's rusty cab alternate mode during the first forty five minutes of the fourth film. Also, I'd argue that Galvatron is a twist on the robots in disguise concept since Megatron's survival and Galvatron's sentience is what's in disguise.

Truthfully, Transformers fiction has always had its share of characters with alternate modes that would attract attention...the Dinobots, Wheeljack, Mirage, Cosmos, etc. Even in the first film it's not like Bonecrusher's or Brawl's alternate modes wouldn't attract attention if they were rolling down most streets. Then again, not all alternate modes are for disguise. Some are for combat. Some are for speedy travel. Other Transformers like to show off their alternate modes. I like a mix of all of the above.

 

On the other hand, "Beast Machines" was the only frame of reference for Human-less TF stories we had for around 15 years. Hard to hold that against it.

 

What's that supposed to mean?

 

So basically more poor excuses for poor movies, right?

 

doesnt mean all will be bad. just because most of you didnt liked 1-4, that doesnt mean the other films will be bad, especially with different writters on board, plus i doubt Bay will direct all film (5 and 6 maybe)

 

THIS. It's very easy to forget that these movies, while they do appeal to the fans, need to hook the mainstream audience first and foremost. THIS is where the majority of the money comes from, and a humanless story wouldn't do well at all.

The article said there was an animated prequel bro. And RID's art design is utter shit. Borderlands was the only thing that ever made cel shading look cool.

 

In some ways the Transformers characters are being treated like the tornado is Twister, the volcano in Dante's Peak or even the aliens in ID4. The robots are the catalyst for the human drama. I think most fans myself included would prefer more drama from the robots themselves. That being said I do like the human element as it helps ground the film and give it a perspective that the general audience can relate to. I find the films fun and I'm looking forward to seeing the next installment.

 

Agreed 100%

 

I'll be honest, I'm still in shock that they're building an entire movie universe around 4 terrible films that have more or less killed most of the franchises popular characters. I would have been completely optimistic if this writers room were working on a reboot to the film franchise, but continuing the current one is a real head scratcher. Especially considering what this writers room could have done without all of that baggage.

All of that money could easily go toward making a sequel to Batman & Robin, because no matter what you say about that movie. At least it understood it was a hokey toy commercial. #ClooneyIsBatman

 

It's been a decade and the films have been steadily decreasing in quality. And they've made boatloads of money for what they are NOW, so it only stands to reason that future films will be modeled on what Hasbro and Paramount makes money. And so far, that's not evidently the same thing as decent plot.

Seriously? Sly Cooper looked amazing for its time and it was cell shaded, years before Borderlands.

Excellent comparison about how the robots exist only as support for the humans and only play second fiddle.

 

What the fuck is Sly Cooper?

*googles Sly Cooper Screenshots*

...


...


Okay aside from Sly Cooper and Borderlands cel shading looks like shit.