...was the theme of a bizarre dream I had two nights ago.

I watched that super bowl spot right before sleeping, then in my dream I was at a news stand just looking through pages of bad reviews in different magazines.

The dream was strange enough, but the reason i'm still thinking about it is the emotion I felt in the dream, the residue of which hung around for a bit.

Disappointment. The same type of dashed hope disappointment I get when England get knocked out of a World cup, again.

It really highlights to me how despite constantly trashing these films, I, and many others on here i'm sure, do in our hearts really wish these films well, and are constantly dismayed that the films never live up to level we feel personally entitled to, and that they constantly do silly things that put them in the line of fire from critical reproach.

It's not because i really really care what critics say, it's that i find it hard to disagree with them on these movies.

Transformers are very personal to most of us and we all have different ideas about what the movies should be, and what makes a good movie.. but whatever I think, I do look forward to the day the crescendo of review headlines say things like "Bay finally did it!" and "Bay silences critics!'"

Maybe this time?

(then I'd probably be alright with Argentina winning the next cup!)

 

I just want a plot where the Autobots and humans work together. ROTF was a garbage film but the premise the start of the film was EXCELLENT.

This franchise is at its strongest when humans and Autobots work together. Seeing AoE and now TF5 praised for throwing Human Alliance under the bus again is painful. It really is hard to root for anybody because the humans really aren't worth rooting for and you have to keep wondering why the Autobots keep laying down their lives for others who clearly don't give a shit.

 

Kinda reminds me of the WWE attitude era where there everyone was against everyone. No more good vs evil but like Autobot Burnout said these movies worked better when Autobots and humans teamed up to take down decepticon foes like the start of Rotf.
Hopefully by the end of TLK we have some sense of that

 

Critical Opinion was overated

I mean if DC fans don't care why should we

 

I'm already putting my hype level low.... While we have new writers, my concern is on Bay now.

The material he is handling has the potential of depth and all.

18% or lower on RT is a possibility but most likely I think the movie can be 20-40%.

But hey... Miracles can happen if the problem was just Ehren Kruger all along who writes scripts that throw out logic. I'm nervous about the Ghost in The Shell movie now.

 

I never give a shit what critics think, but I can understand where you're coming from. Transformers is incredibly personal to us as a fan community. We care deeply for it.

But for me, when I saw ROTF I was so annoyed about with the sexual humour, but the opening was always my favourite. Just that the rest left a bad taste in my mouth. The other movies afterwards have been so good and it never makes me stop enjoying them.

I definitely look forward to TLK no matter what critics say.

 

I agree. I like when clear-minded factions cooperate logically.

 

AOE and TLK have humans working with Autobots. Cade befriends Optimus and works with Hound and Bumblebee. Now Cade is on the run because he is harboring and repairing Autobots in the TLK.

I actually greatly prefer the current Movieverse to the pre-AOE universe both in terms of the Transformers characters themselves and the relationship between the Autobots and humans. I love that the Autobots don't trust humanity as a hole and are even adverse to them due to the treachery of our species. I love that the Autobots aren't all these dull, "Yes Prime," rank-and-file types but actually very distinct from one another and even don't fully like each other.

Additionally, the current relationship between humanity and Cybertronians actually shows how heroic the Autobots truly are despite their flaws as individuals, and it also shows how noble Cade as a human being is since he's willing to risk his own life and well being to help other sentient beings in need.

Finally, in my opinion having Lennox be involved with TRF and have doubts about what he doing is a good way to bring him back.

Frankly, I'm glad the days of NEST and military alliances are over. As the TFCU progresses I hope the relationship between Cybertronians and humans is different from both the first trilogy and these current films. There really is room in Transformers for a wide variety of potential relationships between Transformers and humans. I don't want Autobots to always be on good terms with humans, nor should they always be enemies.

 

I mean, it's a good point, but you can't tell me DC fans don't wish their hopes and dreams weren't hinging on Ben Affleck!  

 

Not even remotely the same thing. I don't want some humans working with Autobots, I want NEST. I want actual combat people and not civilians which is what AoE and TF5 are shoving too hard in our faces.

Lennox? Yes. Cade? No.

Well, that's something we'll never agree on then.

And yet they'll fucking die for humanity anyway. And humanity won't fucking change.

Until they get killed off screen like the last batch were.

Did you know it's illegal to give first aid to somebody who actively insists they do not want your help, regardless of their condition unless you're an actual licensed doctor?

Because for all the 'heroics' it sure seems kind of stupid the autobots keep trying to defend the humans when at this point humanity as a whole does not want their help anymore. They gonna die without the Autobots to save their asses? THEN LET THEM DIE. Four films in and the ungrateful bastards that are humanity really shouldn't be the hill the last Autobots die on.

Then why is there a debate if TRF is with or against the Autobots? Lennox isn't going to be on the side against the Autobots.

You want them to continue to deteriorate into a District 9 situation? Because that's what's happening.

...but the Autobots are one faction, not a goddamn species. The species is cybertronian, and you know who the bad guy Cybertronians are?

THE GODDAMN DECEPTICONS. Autobots shouldn't be at odds with Humanity at all, that's why THE DECEPTICONS EXIST!

 

Why do I get the feeling that this thread would be....

 

I definitely agree with this.

 

I don't think it would be completely outrageous to think the reception will be the same this time.

The changes seem like more band-aid fixes and they have already tried band-aid fixes over and over only to still end up with bad critical reviews and an ever sliding domestic box office. It's also the second film in a row where they are throwing around the term soft reboot. If little fixes haven't been enough and soft reboots haven't been enough I don't think that everything is going to magically turn around this time with more timid changes. It seems like they need something really bold, but the studio doesn't do bold change.

It's also looking like a really crowded year for the big movies and while all of those big movies will not be good some of them will be good. It just makes the not so good and bad big movies look worse when there are big good movies still fresh in people's memories. If other big movies amaze and other big movies astound then eh more of the same with Transformers isn't likely to be greeted very well if you already super happy with the Transformers exactly like they are already.

Not going to be shocked if all the current trends around the Transformers movies continue.

 

AOE and TLK shoving civilians in our faces? You mean like the previous films did, too.

By the way, I don't mind NEST either, but it was time to move on after a few films. If every film was a military group working with the Autobots against Decepticons it would get boring fast, which is why I indicated in my post that I think there is room for a wide variety of Transformer-human dynamics. I didn't want NEST to last forever. I don't want Cemetery Wind/TRF to last forever. I want the relationship between Cybertronians to evolve over time, and I want to see different kinds of Transformer-human relationships.

Also, the reason I prefer Cade is because I prefer for the Autobots to be the main action heroes and not NEST. NEST to me seemed to hog a lot of the spotlight from the Autobots. Cade is more support with his alien guns. I don't mind NEST's presence, but I want there to be a balance.

However, it's all personal preferences, no biggie either way.

But you have to understand that we simply have different preferences. It's not like one of use is dead wrong and the other dead right for having different opinions in this regard.

Welcome to the world of heroes and humanity. Developments in technology and science may change, but humans never will. No good deed goes unpunished.

Which is something the Autobots seriously consider doing, but you know what changes them, or at least some of them? Their interactions with the Yaegers. Cade showed Optimus that there was still good in humanity worth protecting. The same goes for Hound. At first he hates humans and threatens to splatter Joshua Joyce in KSI, but over time he actually stands up for Tessa as well as Prime in Lockdown's ship and encourages Cade in Hong Kong.

Oh TRF is definitely against the Autobots. However, Duhammel indicated in an interview that his character is not sure about the group he works for to the point that he actually disappoints his superiors during certain missions. Lennox himself is not certain whether the group he is working for is hunting Decepticons or fighting all Transformers, and it's something his character will struggle with.

But who's to say that's what will definitely happen? Right now Transformers and humans are at war. That doesn't mean there will be this Cybertronian ghetto.

On the contrary, given some details during interviews I think some TRF guys will finally realize that they have been on the wrong side and start to work with the Autobots, or at least allow the Autobots to do their thing.

The antagonists in Transformers can be anyone. They can be Decepticons. They can be Quintessons, or Predacons, or Vehicons, or the Cybertronian Empire, or Lockdown, or Star Seekers, or human paramilitary organizations, or something else entirely. They can be rogue Transformers that have allegiance to nobody. They can be turncoats among the Autobots or Maximals. Truth be told, I want a variety of antagonistic factions and races.

I am going to tell you something about me as a Transformers movie fan that I've told few people if anyone. After DOTM ended I actually wanted the fourth film to be more NEST and Autobots hunting down Decepticons. As more details about AOE were released it was abundantly clear it was going in a different direction, and some of the changes I wasn't sure about. I was admittedly a little worried going into the theater, but I went in with an open mind and ended up enjoying it a lot because I loved it for it was and not for the film that I wanted it to be. In fact, I probably liked it considerably more than the film I had wanted. It's not the film I would have made, but I love it for what it is. Now, I am open to a range of possibilities as to how the Transformers films can go.

Different preferences are perfectly fine, but let's remember that we are fans of a brand where the possibilities are nearly limitless.

 

I've been let down before, but stick around to watch the robots again. I always imagined Transformers to be on par with Star Wars. The opening scene from TF3 gave me some of that hope.
It's hard for me to support the films because I'm a Decepticon fan, and we all know how they've been treated.
We are now five movies in and I can't truthfully say it will be perfect, but it may be as good as TF3. The only concern I have now are the mini dinobots.

 

I personally dislike how shallow Humans have been in AoE onward. They get their collective sorry hides saved and what do they do? Turn on their saviors and attempt to wipe them off the face of the Earth. It's as if Humans can't actually deal with the fact that they aren't the only intelligent species in the cosmos.

 

Since when are many humans, if not the majority, not shallow? Do you think real life humans would do any better in encountering an intelligent extraterrestrial species? I don't. I think at the very least there would be some level of distrust between the two species. I think humans are so egotistical and selfish that the best plausible situation would be something similar to Dark of the Moon where most of the public would rather have the Autobots gone and some humans work with the not-so-nice Cybertronians. The even less ideal situations of AOE and TLK are even more likely I think. Even Lockdown, who was an antagonist allied with some humans, marveled at the selfishness of Earthlings and other species he encountered in the wider universe.

 

Not Unrealistic

 

Take it this is the hate thread!? Some people just don't realise they're born sometimes not coming back to this one

 

I had a dream we could all form are own opinions when the movie comes out and then decide from there