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Dogs Peeing On Autobots!! An Early Look At TRANSFORMERS Footage!! And The Verdict Is...??
SPOILER ALERT !!
Merrick here...
Lord Bullington sent in this write-up from Tuesday night's TRANSFORMERS event in New York.
This report contains many details here about the movie & its tone (they screened 20-something minutes of film at the event), and Bullington's perceptions of how the evening (and the footage shown) shook out.
Interestingly, he indicates that humor plays a big part in the film - surprising given THE TRAILER's "mysterious monster/alien attack movie vibe"...but perhaps not so surprising if there's a desire to get kids into theaters (to sell toys?)
This is a pretty well-reasoned, well presented piece & we truly appreciate Lord Bullington's time. With that...
...BE WARNED...
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Hundreds of Hasbro executives, as well as a handful of media representatives, packed the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center in New York on Tuesday evening for a special TRANSFORMERS “event” that featured 25 minutes of footage from the pic, scheduled for release on July 4th.
Both director Michael Bay and Dreamworks production president Adam Goodman were on hand for a rather un-spontaneous pre-screening Q&A, during which they both expressed intense enthusiasm about the movie. Goodman noted that Dreamworks has high hopes for TRANSFORMERS as a long-running franchise, and stated that the effects would as groundbreaking as those seen in JURASSIC PARK and THE MATRIX.
Goodman went on to compare what he’s seen of the movie so far to classic, Spielberg-driven pics like BACK TO THE FUTURE and CET3K. Not surprisingly, all of this talk excited the Hasbro folks a great deal, since the tied-in toyline will likely spur soaring revenues.
When asked about how he became involved in the project, Bay said that he initially turned down the opportunity to make, what he called, a “stupid toy movie.” He reconsidered, however, after reflecting on his early days as an underling at Lucasfilm when, after seeing early production art for RAIDERS, he told his friends that “it would suck.” Bay said he called back, took a meeting and subsequently signed on after seeing “some images,” which one can imagine were early animatics of the ‘transformation’ process.
Prior to the screening, Bay noted that the scenes we would see were the ones that were “the most ready,” effects-wise, but that they would include some temp-music and sound, as well as some incomplete effects-work. He went on to say that the most impressive effects will be seen in the last reel of the movie. He called these effects “mind-blowing.”
SEQUENCE ONE
The first sequence involved an intense nighttime air-traffic control situation wherein an unidentified helicopter approaches a U.S. Air Force base in Qatar. After failing to make contact with the aircraft, the base rallies its reinforcements and waits for the copter to land. Once it does, and nobody gets out, the transformation begins. CGI is very strong here, and the crowd reaction echoed that sentiment. The classic “transforming-sound” from the cartoon is heard, albeit briefly, which garnered a lot of laughter and applause. I have a feeling that this sound effect might exist in the temp-version only, since it didn’t last long and was not as slick-sounding as the ‘new and improved’ Skywalker Sound version of the transforming process that could be heard for the majority of the transformation. The helicopter transforms into a very impressive and complex-looking Decepticon that failed to remind me of anything from the classic comic/series. This is to be expected, however, since all of the characters have undergone such an intensive redesign.
The Decepticon commences to unload its blasters on the confused troops, and the results are rather “mind-blowing” indeed. When the Decepticon fires, a massive shockwave emanates, sending tanks and other vehicles flying through the air. The audio here, although ‘incomplete,’ already makes TRANSFORMERS a serious contender for the 2008 Best Sound Oscar. Scene plays out with continued destruction of the USAF base. Upon fading out, the scene drew the most intense applause of the evening.
SEQUENCE TWO
I’m not really sure why they chose this sequence as one of the handful that to be screened for a group of toy executives, since it contained ZERO special effects shots. I imagine they intended it to convey the human element of the picture, which sadly has the potential to rub the core fanbase the wrong way. The sequence involves the dorky Shia LeBouf character and his quest to impress the ‘hot girl,’ played by Megan Fox. The scene moves into Herbie the Love Bug territory, as LeBouf’s car (I’m assuming it’s Bumblebee) begins to react to the situation, “breaking down” and slowly rolling towards the edge of a cliff overlooking a romantic vista of the city below before automatically playing Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” on the radio. The scene is pure slapstick, and played well with the crowd, who laughed throughout. This will likely happen in the first 30-45 minutes of the movie, before the real fireworks have begun. Shots of Fox leaning over the hood of the car will have fanboys salivating.
SEQUENCE THREE
In the third sequence, the Shia LeBouf character returns to his parents' house and attempts to conceal the three massive Autobots (Prime, Bumblebee and another that I couldn't identify) that have accompanied him. This results in even more slapstick, as the Autobots stomp around in LeBouf's backyard, trampling flower beds and bird baths. It's in this scene where we got to hear the great Peter Cullen as the voice of Prime. It sounded familiar, although Cullen has obviously aged considerably since TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE in 1986. A little more than half of the effects in this sequence were complete -- some of the closeups were still in animatic form. However, the completed effects shots showing the side of Prime's head, which featured a group of continously rotating pistons, were very impressive. A sidenote for TRANSFORMERS fans, Prime's mouth is totally visible in this scene, whereas in the series, it was covered.
It was in this sequence that I (a fan of the series and the 1986 movie) began to grow seriously skeptical. In the TRANSFORMERS texts with which we're all familiar, the Autobots are wise and capable of handling themselves in the human world (except for the episode where they wreak havoc in a museum). Here, they were characterized as clumsy, loveable buffoons in the vein of Pete's Dragon.
Also, it seems like the humor is going to be played up big time in Bay's film. This sequence featured some shennanigans involving a dog that inadvertantly urinates on one of the Autobots, causing it to aim its blasters at the pooch (in a DOOM-esque POV shot) until LeBouf intervenes in a humorous plea for the dog's life.
SEQUENCE FOUR
The lights came up after the third scene, but the event moderator asked Michael Bay's permission to show one more clip. He granted it, which excited the Hasbro folks a great deal. The scene in question is the much-ballyhooed Skorpinok attack - the scene being shot when Quint visited the set in the desert a while back. Scene didn't show us much, CGI wise, that we haven't already seen in the trailer. A lot of the additional shots were incomplete and in 2-D. It's a very intense scene but, as a TRANSFORMERS fan, it left me wondering: "Who the hell is Skorpinok?"
As I mentioned, I'm a BIG fan of the 1986 movie. It's highly underrated and sadly not taken seriously by a lot of people, sci-fi/fantasy fans included. Therefore, it worries me when the scenes I've seen of Bay's film, as well as what I've read about it so far, paint it not as an extension of or re-introduction to the mythology of TRANSFORMERS, but rather as an alien-invasion movie that happens to be called TRANSFORMERS (and conveniently so, for the sake of Hasbro).
Bay's comments regarding his connections to the project generate concern over whether or not he truly respects or even knows about what the franchise is truly all about. Sure, Bay might have signed on solely to make a movie about giant, fighting robots, which is fine. It's just that, when the movie features the moniker of one of the most beloved franchises of all time, it would make sense to consider its origins.
I'm still optimistic, however, since I'm a Michael Bay fan. At this point, it will be hard for me to take this movie seriously as an authentic part of TRANSFORMERS lore. Instead, I will be there on July 4th for the "Michael Bay Giant Fighting Robot Movie." And that's fine, as long as Energon Cubes are mentioned at least once.
[[[e-mail Merrick]]]
Merrick at MySpace
Both director Michael Bay and Dreamworks production president Adam Goodman were on hand for a rather un-spontaneous pre-screening Q&A, during which they both expressed intense enthusiasm about the movie. Goodman noted that Dreamworks has high hopes for TRANSFORMERS as a long-running franchise, and stated that the effects would as groundbreaking as those seen in JURASSIC PARK and THE MATRIX.
Goodman went on to compare what he’s seen of the movie so far to classic, Spielberg-driven pics like BACK TO THE FUTURE and CET3K. Not surprisingly, all of this talk excited the Hasbro folks a great deal, since the tied-in toyline will likely spur soaring revenues.
When asked about how he became involved in the project, Bay said that he initially turned down the opportunity to make, what he called, a “stupid toy movie.” He reconsidered, however, after reflecting on his early days as an underling at Lucasfilm when, after seeing early production art for RAIDERS, he told his friends that “it would suck.” Bay said he called back, took a meeting and subsequently signed on after seeing “some images,” which one can imagine were early animatics of the ‘transformation’ process.
Prior to the screening, Bay noted that the scenes we would see were the ones that were “the most ready,” effects-wise, but that they would include some temp-music and sound, as well as some incomplete effects-work. He went on to say that the most impressive effects will be seen in the last reel of the movie. He called these effects “mind-blowing.”
SEQUENCE ONE
The first sequence involved an intense nighttime air-traffic control situation wherein an unidentified helicopter approaches a U.S. Air Force base in Qatar. After failing to make contact with the aircraft, the base rallies its reinforcements and waits for the copter to land. Once it does, and nobody gets out, the transformation begins. CGI is very strong here, and the crowd reaction echoed that sentiment. The classic “transforming-sound” from the cartoon is heard, albeit briefly, which garnered a lot of laughter and applause. I have a feeling that this sound effect might exist in the temp-version only, since it didn’t last long and was not as slick-sounding as the ‘new and improved’ Skywalker Sound version of the transforming process that could be heard for the majority of the transformation. The helicopter transforms into a very impressive and complex-looking Decepticon that failed to remind me of anything from the classic comic/series. This is to be expected, however, since all of the characters have undergone such an intensive redesign.
The Decepticon commences to unload its blasters on the confused troops, and the results are rather “mind-blowing” indeed. When the Decepticon fires, a massive shockwave emanates, sending tanks and other vehicles flying through the air. The audio here, although ‘incomplete,’ already makes TRANSFORMERS a serious contender for the 2008 Best Sound Oscar. Scene plays out with continued destruction of the USAF base. Upon fading out, the scene drew the most intense applause of the evening.
SEQUENCE TWO
I’m not really sure why they chose this sequence as one of the handful that to be screened for a group of toy executives, since it contained ZERO special effects shots. I imagine they intended it to convey the human element of the picture, which sadly has the potential to rub the core fanbase the wrong way. The sequence involves the dorky Shia LeBouf character and his quest to impress the ‘hot girl,’ played by Megan Fox. The scene moves into Herbie the Love Bug territory, as LeBouf’s car (I’m assuming it’s Bumblebee) begins to react to the situation, “breaking down” and slowly rolling towards the edge of a cliff overlooking a romantic vista of the city below before automatically playing Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” on the radio. The scene is pure slapstick, and played well with the crowd, who laughed throughout. This will likely happen in the first 30-45 minutes of the movie, before the real fireworks have begun. Shots of Fox leaning over the hood of the car will have fanboys salivating.
SEQUENCE THREE
In the third sequence, the Shia LeBouf character returns to his parents' house and attempts to conceal the three massive Autobots (Prime, Bumblebee and another that I couldn't identify) that have accompanied him. This results in even more slapstick, as the Autobots stomp around in LeBouf's backyard, trampling flower beds and bird baths. It's in this scene where we got to hear the great Peter Cullen as the voice of Prime. It sounded familiar, although Cullen has obviously aged considerably since TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE in 1986. A little more than half of the effects in this sequence were complete -- some of the closeups were still in animatic form. However, the completed effects shots showing the side of Prime's head, which featured a group of continously rotating pistons, were very impressive. A sidenote for TRANSFORMERS fans, Prime's mouth is totally visible in this scene, whereas in the series, it was covered.
It was in this sequence that I (a fan of the series and the 1986 movie) began to grow seriously skeptical. In the TRANSFORMERS texts with which we're all familiar, the Autobots are wise and capable of handling themselves in the human world (except for the episode where they wreak havoc in a museum). Here, they were characterized as clumsy, loveable buffoons in the vein of Pete's Dragon.
Also, it seems like the humor is going to be played up big time in Bay's film. This sequence featured some shennanigans involving a dog that inadvertantly urinates on one of the Autobots, causing it to aim its blasters at the pooch (in a DOOM-esque POV shot) until LeBouf intervenes in a humorous plea for the dog's life.
SEQUENCE FOUR
The lights came up after the third scene, but the event moderator asked Michael Bay's permission to show one more clip. He granted it, which excited the Hasbro folks a great deal. The scene in question is the much-ballyhooed Skorpinok attack - the scene being shot when Quint visited the set in the desert a while back. Scene didn't show us much, CGI wise, that we haven't already seen in the trailer. A lot of the additional shots were incomplete and in 2-D. It's a very intense scene but, as a TRANSFORMERS fan, it left me wondering: "Who the hell is Skorpinok?"
As I mentioned, I'm a BIG fan of the 1986 movie. It's highly underrated and sadly not taken seriously by a lot of people, sci-fi/fantasy fans included. Therefore, it worries me when the scenes I've seen of Bay's film, as well as what I've read about it so far, paint it not as an extension of or re-introduction to the mythology of TRANSFORMERS, but rather as an alien-invasion movie that happens to be called TRANSFORMERS (and conveniently so, for the sake of Hasbro).
Bay's comments regarding his connections to the project generate concern over whether or not he truly respects or even knows about what the franchise is truly all about. Sure, Bay might have signed on solely to make a movie about giant, fighting robots, which is fine. It's just that, when the movie features the moniker of one of the most beloved franchises of all time, it would make sense to consider its origins.
I'm still optimistic, however, since I'm a Michael Bay fan. At this point, it will be hard for me to take this movie seriously as an authentic part of TRANSFORMERS lore. Instead, I will be there on July 4th for the "Michael Bay Giant Fighting Robot Movie." And that's fine, as long as Energon Cubes are mentioned at least once.
Merrick at MySpace
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With no talkback???? Hmmmmm
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Is this going to be a PG-13 comedy??? WTF?????!!!! THIS! HAS! TO! BE! R-RATED!!!!!!!!!
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If you have to ask who Scorponok is, then you really shouldnt be calling yourself a huge Transformers fan.
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Let the bitching commence...
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People are geeked up about a Transformer's movie? Really? What's the matter, is the Smurfs live action stuck in turnaround?
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that he has guns for hands
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that's his full name
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Not knowing a shitty Beast Wars character doesn't take any credibility away from your Transformers fan status.
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To laughing at all the corny and dumb ass jokes/situations in this movie
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I remember scorpinok, not so much from the original animted series, though I have vague recollections, but I remember really wanting the toy as a kid. As far as I remember he was a mobile base for the decepticons that turned into a giant scorpion and robot, like the mobile base the autobots had whose name escapes me but was big and white was just a big car park basically. My buddy had the toy.
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I don't mind a few humourous moments in the film, but constant slapstick is never a good thing.
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...or my namesake in the epilogue tot he Tower saga. I know I've been here before, but this time it's different. Anyway, my original thought still stands: This is going to be a visually impressive film. I actually believe about 80% of the character designs are decent adaptations or additions to the look and feel of Transformers (Megs and Starcream still bug me). My only real concerns are what I've heard about the story, but they haven't concerned me enough to break my "no reading an early script" rule. I just don't think that's fair to the movie, to judge it on a piece of paper that may well have been rewritten or thrown out during shooting. As of now, I plan to see this ata matinee on a day after a multi-drink lunch. That way I'll be somewhat anesthetized in case of major disappointment, but also ready to let myself go if the mood of the film really takes me.
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Bay only makes movies that are absolutely forgettable after you see them one time. Like sometimes your sitting at home flipping channels on the tv and you find a BAY movie on and you then think to yourself..."oh, yeah I remember this movie, it sucks." Then you continue flipping, only to realize that you actually went to go see that movie on opening day when it first came out and that you were actually excited to see it. AND THEN.....it pisses you off even more knowing that you paid ten bucks to see it and that Bay has done this to you EVERY TIME he makes a god dman film! AFTER ADDING UP ALLLLL the shitty Bay movies youve seen over the years you come to find out you could have like an extra 100 bucks in your pocket at this very moment and you vow to yourself never to fall for his CRAZY antics again. NO. NOT NOW. NOT EVER. DAAAAMMMMN YOOOOUUUUU MICHAEL BAY!
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CHANGE THE NAME OF THE MOVIE!!
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I think that lowercase "d" is upside down.And the rumor is he lacks one.
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Give me a damn break...
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That is the most worrying aspect of Transformers. I understand that it is necessary to change Megatron because it would look silly for him to convert into a Walther pistol. However, Bay seems to be tinkering with aspects of the story that DO WORK! The Matrix of Leadership, the concept of Enegon Cubes, and the idea that Cybertronians are a sentient civilization, not retarded versions of Johnny-5, do not need to be re-imagined!
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The only chance that the film public have with surviving any more of BAYS piece of shit films is if Optimus crushes him with his two ton boot as he yells "NO FLAMES MUTHA' FUCKER!" SQUISH. Is it just me or is it actually humorous that he thought Raiders was gonna' suck?
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That is just so sad.
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Seriously Im not even hardcore and I know Scorponok wasnt a Beasts Wars shittiness. I dont even count that as Transformers.
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That's useful. Hopefully, at some point in the future, a new software patch will keep them from shooting dogs and stepping on flowers.
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Because that would be funny, he could beat the crap out of vagina face, then piss on him(doggy style)!
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That doesn't sound good. At all.
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Your mom's a what?
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But what about the Michael Bay Denis Rumors?
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Feb 15, 2007 12:54:07 PM CST
This will be like Highlander II: The Renegade Version
by s-mart shopper
nothing to do with the original story, just a bastardized CGI imposter.
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Scorpinok was actually G1 character who showed up at the end of the series. He was a "Headmaster" (hee) who's head detached become a humanoid-sized robot. In fact, I think they WERE humanoids.
Skorpinok was also a Beast Wars character.
I think this movie is going to be a serious turd sandwich. -
You win
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pay for his insolence
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Really???????
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The movie is going to be good in a 'The Rock'/'ID4' way, but fanboys like myself are going to crucify it. Unless I get to see Soundwave release Laserbeak while Starscream fires Megatron in gun mode at Mirage, Ironhide, and Jazz, this will be a disappointment.
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Fuck Michael Bay and his family. Does he really think he's even in the same league as Spielberg?
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Speaking as someone who had no attachment to the original series, and who isn't blinded by nostalgia, the 1986 animated film is a mess. I saw it for the first time about a month ago, and I found it difficult to sit through. It's poorly animated, and the storyline is nearly incomprehensible.
I appreciate the power of nostalgia as much as anyone, but when I read a phrase like "one of our most beloved franchises," I have to call shenanigans. There are certainly TRANSFORMERS fans. You guys are certainly rabid. But you are a very, very small percentage of the filmgoing public. This was never a cross-over pop phenomenon, and if this film succeeds, it won't be because TRANSFORMERS fans are happy or unhappy. You guys just aren't a big enough audience to make or break anything. -
I wouldn't mind having a monkey
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Because the U.S. military is the REAL evil in the world today, right, Hollywood?
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Flames on Batman
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You've got the touch....You've got the poweeeeeeerrrrrr!!!!! YEAAAAAH!!!!!
P.S. Michael Bay Denis needs to get Stan Bush to do the theme song -
...I need to listen to someone who named his kid "Toshiro Lucas" and didn't have enough sense to legally change his last name.
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That was my favorite as a kid, and the toy was fantastic. I could never remember his city-sized Decepticon counterpart. I've been asking for a while here if he would be in the movie but I never heard one way or another. If it turns out Metroplex saves the day at the end in a twist, it would make the movie completely worthwile. So if that is Scorponok, then wouldn't that mean they had him in the original animated movie? I could swear I remember Metroplex having a huge battle with someone. Couldn't have been Omega Supreme because they would have been on the same side. Yes, I was a lonely child... *sigh*
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... and how could you not take a cartoon about robots from another planet that turn into cars seriously? Philistines!
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First of all, he doesn't know Scorponok. Secondly, he hold's '86's transformers movie as the height of the franchise, when it most certainly isn't. It sucked ass, the first two seasons were way better.
Look, there are many degrees of fans. I accept this. But most transformers fans have moved on from G1. We've accept Prime as not a flat-nosed truck, (we've even accepted him as a fire truck.) The last 20 years, Megatron has been anything BUT a gun, including tanks, dragons, and my personal favorite, an ALIEN JET, (Engergon, circa 2004.) And there are WAY MORE transformers in the universe than were ever featured in that sucky '86 movie. And Scorponok is a BIG DEAL in several series, including the original and Energon.
Look, I'm just getting sick of these guys commenting that they're "huge fans," when all they seem to know is that god-awful movie and have vague memories of the first season of the show. WAY MORE has happened since, pricks, and REAL DIE HARD Transformer fans know that. -
He's making the Autobots into giant mechanized ewoks. Nice characters, but they just don't know how to adapt to new things...like dogs.
Also, Scorponok was a Decepticon battle station form the original G1 series. His enemy was Fortress Maximus. Jizzlemon is thinking of Metroplex (whose Decepticon counterpart was Trypticon). -
RIGHT, LANDA?
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Wow, it just so happens we have one more clip, printed on film that we could show...you know just sitting around...who knows how it got here?
Then Sabastian Bach yelled, 'Are you ready to Rock?...I saaaaaaaiiiid, are YOU ready to ROOOOOOOOCCCCKKKKK'. I love it when rock talk crosses over. -
Can'T wait to see it!!
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And very flawed, in the vein of FLASH GORDON or EXPLORERS. Not much else though. The Transformer toy line, mind you, sold assloads of variant-painted Datsun Z-28s back in the day. This sounds like SMALL SOLDIERS meets INDEPENDENCE DAY. And that, dellow felegates, does not bode well. But it gets a matinee's chance from me, I s'pose.
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Paradoxacropolis.
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In what alternate reality? The one where crap animation rules? The one where the only notable thing about the movie WASN't that they said "shit?" Transformers animation sucked, the movie sucked. It's easy to do the "transformation" whe you're using crayons on napkins at 12 or 6 frames per second. Bay sucks, but he can't suck enough to make this movie suck more than the TV show or the previous film.
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...from the Christian community for depicting Jesus as a white man? No. Because the important thing for them was that a movie about Jesus was getting serious attention. It's kind of a sad day for Transformers fans (of which I'm one) when the Christians seem reasonable by comparison.
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Thank sir, for the kind words and advice. You win round 1.
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Humor in the series as a way to get kids to see it? God, you've lost touch with reality. Strike one, that implies in order for something to appeal to "adults" (you're probably not thinking of real adults but rather teen and twenty something whiny internet fanboys, but anyway) it has to be "serious," and "devoid of humor." Last I checked, adults liked humor too. hang out with some sometime. They LOVE action movies that can still have a sense of fun. You know, there was this one, years ago, called "Raiders of the Lost Ark" that was a success. It was "serious," but it was also pretty damn funny too. Check it out sometime, I think they may have it on Netflix.
Strike Two: That implies that transformers never was or shouldn't be funny. Certain modern comics try to play a totally straight, unfunny, no humans transformers. and it's insufferable. Transformers was so fun because it was hilarious.
Strike Three: it implies Transformers would otherwise have trouble attracting a child audience. Have you ever looked at a typical transformer toy? It's 3 fucking toys in one! It's a cool toy car, and little boys LOVE toy cars, (and so do lot of big boys toy.) Then there's the act of transforming it, moving all the right parts in the right order to get to the robot. That's a puzzle box aspect, and the brainy kids love that. Then, there's the robot itself, which, WHOO-HOO Is a giant fucking robot from another planet!!! Sci-fi kids love that! All three for ten bucks is quite a bargin. Transformers is little boy Crack-cocaine.
You're out! -
You forgot to mention my favorite part I read about from the footage, the bee shaped air freshener inside bumblebee that had the word "bee-otch" on it. Now that's entertainment! But I do have to say, I'm a big fan of the Transformers TOYS... they sure were neat to play with. But I never watched the cartoon series because the Autobots were consistently getting their asses handed to them and saving the day by accidentally falling into a solution. So it sounds like the lovable bumblers of this movie might have it right on the money from the cartoons.
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You're being awful hard on the Asian animators of TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE. I mean, they were working for bread crusts and rain water. Luckily, most of them moved on to work for Nike, where they received a pay increase to tap water.
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I'm pretty sure the Christian community thinks Jesus was a white man. Can you imagine the backlash if he was middle eastern looking.
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Crash and Burn, Achilles!!!
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just ask the ladyboys in Thailand
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If they thing they have a big hit and a franchise on their hands, they're going to be unpleasently suprised when this drops into oblivion two weeks after opening.
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...Guns, but it's funnier if you pretend that everyone understands a man born in the Middle East to Middle Eastern parents is going to be Middle Eastern. The ultimate point being that the hardest of dying G1 Transformer fans are making htmeselves sound eerily like a fundamentalist religous group and what we're really talking about here is a movie about toys that turned from robots into vehicles and back. It's kind of scary.
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I Love Transformers. Plain and simple. In EVERY incarnation. I even endured "Robots In Disguise" I love the comics. I love Beast Wars, I Love G1, and G2, I have the damn Japanese imports with the awful dubs. I liked Armada, Energon, I have the PS2 game even, it was great.
I dont care what this movie brings. I will enjoy it because I LOVE Transformers. EVERY incarnation has been different to some extent. The fact that Cullen is voicing Optimus is great I'll admit. I love the movie intensely because I was 6 and crying when Optimus "died".
You dont need to hate this for its differences. Just like any TRANSFORMERS series.. its hitting reset. Thats the way it is, and has been for 20 years now. -
As Moriarty noted it will not be made for fans. It will be made to sell toys and whatever fast food picks up on the marketing. It will be made for 12 year old kids and let's be honest; their taste in movies blows, which is exactly why the 86 film rocked in 1986 when we were all 9 to 12 and sucks now because we are smarter, better people than we were as kids. Well, some of us anyway.
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This one isn't mean. Don't worry about the 1986 movie. It's a crass toy line house cleaning. Yeah, Prime's last stand and death was kinda cool, but it should have (1.) been at the end of the movie, and (2.) actually meant something. Optimus should have been the one to kill Unicron.
Transformers "fans" who try to espouse the virtues of the '86 movie have their heads totally in the wrong place. It's a mess, and we as a fanbase should own up to it.
I've been a fan since 1991, and I've seen how the franchise grew and evolved. I'm seriously looking forward to the movie, it might give the Transformers mainstream appeal. I just ask it to be fun, is all. As for the originals, I much prefer the first season of the original show to the movies. Yes, it too was terribly animated and very hokey, and quite messy in it's own right. But at least it had humor and a sense of fun, occasionally flirted with big ideas, (the episode where Skyfire, a Decepticon, went to the autobots side because he realized that plundering another planet's energy resources was wrong) and at the core, you saw in the show that there's a pretty good premise and concept here, that could have potential in the right hands.
Most of these "fans" don't really speak for me, and I'd consider myself as true a fan as there could be. -
As long as there is some kinda chase through a chasm and/ or a junkyard, Bay should throw some props to Weird Al and use "Dare to be Stupid" on the the soundtrack...wouldn't that be AWESOME!!!!!COME On..YOU KNOW IT!!!!!
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Dog's pissing on the film? That's too good for this pile of shit.
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Transformers fans clutch their decepticons in abject suffering. Good job, Mori.
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Where is my old comment? Anyway Transformers was never great, it was a shitty TV show to sell decent toys...the 1986 movie was dreadful and the fact that the reviewer mentioned this as a positive completely nullifies his argument. Transformers was just about things blowing up and silly comedy...it seems Michael Bay may have done the best with the little material he had to begin with. Don't confuse nostalgi with quality.
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Yack, you start that Church, you've got one follower right here. Go-go dancers and chimps in tuxedos. It's Macauley Culkin's bachelor party all over again!
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Did you mean "surfer" movie, or "Smurfs" movie? Heh, how about Smurfs--that surf. Cowabunga, Gargamel.
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which means there will be a football flashback in the movie, and Maggie's screen time will be painful to watch too. But 3 cheers for the toyline, which is what this be all about. wa-hoo.
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Lucas has set the stage for humor in today's sci-fi franchises!
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He thought Raiders would suck. That is our window into his ability to evaluate material. Add that to the artistic "flair" of a Bennigan's waiter and you have the makings of this generation's greatest cinematic cancer. He is the American Idol of filmakers.
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Please use the Dirk Diggler rendition of "You've Got The Touch". Seems appropriate.
Yeah, it's true how we wax nostalgic over the movies of our childhood and then watch them again and realize how crappy they really were. Time Bandits anyone? -
Dear GOD this sounds like the worst movie ever made. Sexual Healing? I think I just swallowed vomit. I expect this bullshit from Bay but what in the ever livign fuck has gotten into Spielberg? Boycott this shit people.
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especially mixed with exploding shrooms.
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I wouldn't say it was crappy, it wasn't great but it was entertaining.
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"We kick your ass, we kick your face, we kick your balls into outer space!"
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ha-ha-ha...oh boy, after I wrote that...can't stop laughing...that would be so great in the movie too.Yes, dog pee on robot is comedy at its finest.
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with Go-Bots as Transformers and the plot lifted from "Robot Jox".But it's an HOMAAAAGE.
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is making this movie a potential pain in the ass, is all the hardcore bitching...what is this world war3? Amsterdam: "your not a fan"Guy#2: " AM SO!"Amsterdam: " ARE NOT!!" Guy#2: "Your a poopoo HEAD!!"Amsterdam: "AM NOT!!" *sobs and runs away*
Oh and hey yack!! i missed you! I was dam sure you would be in here whining! Good to see that you are consistent =P You have not been checking your messages on myspace, i sent you one!This movie is going to kick ass!! Bay is the best director since UWE Boll....I LOVED alone in the dark!*giggles like japanese school girl with bad english dub*Hey Mori...good to see you out and about, you sexy humourless stud!
*gives peace sign*
Makiko. -
that's "Dos Locos kick your ass...etc etc." for your information.
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Now there is a thought that curdles my ovaries! I would love to see optimus go on a killing spree.And in another part of town bumble bee gags and ties megan fox to a chair torturing her to NIN playing on his radio. *gags* I will take my chances with Bay.
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Sorry, I don't come equipped with a romantic vista.j/k ;)))Man, there's gonna be some shit flying at the next toy con I go to - can smell it already. You think the SW prequels polarized a fanbase? Just wait.
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i spent the day/evening being swamped with work,talking on the phone over seas to the states, good times, i have no life that involves boyfriends, or romantic involvment....romance and love are for sissies!...we are NERDS! comon duder, the only thing we love is movies,video games, and unwrapped toys!....oh and some enjoy bitching about transformers like it makes a difference. But if it makes you feel better my children...VENT AWAY! it amuses. I actually agree with Mori for once, it never did a huge pop cross over and is limited mostly to our generation in terms of fan base. It is a movie! and that means "the powers that be" are thinking about a huge cash in nd revamping something that appeals to more then just a bunch of dudes in glasses snorting and playing with themselves to pictures of "Deana troy". =P
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...and petition for membership in Yackbacker's church. The chimps were intriguing, but it's the Oompa Loompas that sold me. You know I was being only half serious about the fundamentalist Christian thing, right? If anything, my attitude toward the movie is probably a little more blindly faith based in that there is evidence out there I could read to raise my "oh shit" meter (the script you cite), but I'd rather just let nature take its course and go see the thing. If it sucks, then I was apparently meant to endure some suckage. Come to think of it, it was Valentine's Day last night and my wife went to bed early after I made her dinner. I think I'm owed some suckage at this point. Seriously, though, someone above inadvertently hit the nail on the head when typing: "It will be made to sell toys and whatever fast food picks up on the marketing. It will be made for 12 year old kids and let's be honest; their taste in movies blows," In this way alone, this movie is truer to the legacy of the Transformers than any movie adaptation of anything to date. The Transformers cartoon was designed to sell toys to 8-to-14-year-old kids, essentially. The stories and characters were written with that resonance. The 1986 movie reflects that in spades (being written for those same kids as they broke into full-on adolescence, hence the gratuitous and totally out-of-character "shit" dialogue). This is Transformers as sure as anything that's ever borne the name. It's just not specifically your transformers (speaking here not to you, Yack, so much as anyone still holding up the "it's not G1" whine sign). Your reservations about the movie seem totally reasonable to me. But I maintain that the finished film could surprise you (just as it could surprise me). Still very much looking forward to the talkback after opening weekend.
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But, why must the comedy be so moronic? Like scenes from Herbie? Ugh. I don't need it to match the old G1 stuff perfectly. Just don't make it stupid!!! *weep*
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the Hill's Angels, ohh la la!!
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Because Michael Bay hates us and thinks we're idiots.
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Probably images of Megan Fox wearing nothing but baby oil and on her knees.Bay:"Yeah - I'll direct *that*!"
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Its either Ironhide or Jazz, Ironhide is the F-550 pick-Up Truck... and Jazz is a Corvette I think.
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there are others (Yack, ginrei724) who cite the crap that it really is. Childe, I understand what you are saying about the cartoon and all that, but it's not how they changed the way the 'bots look, but all the human scenes that will suck something fierce. I'm sure the action scenes will be great. But it is for the kids...shudder
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Mori is just voicing an opinion ~like the rest of us~ seems like you cannot handle anyones opinion unless it follows your own? In my opinion you sounded like an ass with your last statement, why is okay for people to come in here saying "this movie is going to chew" and then when someone speaks up and says " i think i might give it a chance and regardless of who directs it or how much its changed....i might still enjoy it" They are blasted as "non fans" or told they obviously do not care about the original series. I happen to dig nostalgia just like mori, but there is nostalgic fuzziness ,then there is "reality" and the truth of reality is....transformers was a subpar cartoon, that we are all fond of because it represents a part of our lives that we no longer have *or ever will*.... "our childhood" I suggest you start "manning up" If your opinion involves bitching..cool, but dont start pissing vinegar on someone else for stating their opinionMakes you look like a jackass."Notice Moriarty sounds like a suit every day" If you are trying to involve everyone else in your sandbox antics..dont bother, we can form our own opinions of Mori thank you! We do not need you to point it out for us. I do think he is humourless and needs to take that huge stick out of his rear, but i also have some respect for the name calling and shit he puts up with on here. If i were him i personally would have booted alot of people from this site that he has not....including me =PGrow up.
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and here at AICN is where that "dark side" is meant to be let loose, if for nothing more than the entertainment for those who participate in the TB's, I think...maybe.
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Michael Bay is in dire need of a massive cocaine seizure. And Mori, what the hell is wrong with you anyway? That poster above is right. Everyday you get more and more cynical. What happened to you? Our ass used to be beautiful!
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good grief, I give up
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This has nothing to do with nostalgia. It has to do with quality. Barring the animated movie, the first 2 seasons of the animated show were very good. Even for a long form commercial (which is what it was guys, let's not kid ourselves) it was still very good stuff with lots of gravity and was handled very seriously. Anyone remember the episode in which Megatron was trying to bring Cybertron into the Earth's atmosphere? This movie looks like a joke, and is being handled by someone who had no idea what the hell the franchise was about in the first place! And a moron who thought Raiders would suck! Come on! Why even admit that? It's not nostalgia, it's quality control.
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are you kidding me. I liked the cartoon too Manchild but come on. The animation was terrible, the kid wore that stupid construction hat all the time...Bay's movie will be far better than the toon...and I am a fan.
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Bumblebee would be an ex-wrestler and transform into a Camaro with no wheels and be parked in front of Optimus Prime who is now a doublewide.Megatron is still a gun and graphically blows someones brains out 30 seconds after the Slim Whitman song on the soundtrack stops playing.
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My bad.Montag, Bay did have a massive seizure, just not sure if it was the result of a cocaine overdose.
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I'm a TF fan. I'm going to see the movie because I'm not overly critical about flicks. Movies for me are a brief getaway, if I want serious cranial stimulation I pick up a book. There are lots of things to be pissed off about in this world, no doubt, but a movie? I just don't see it. Goto Hollywood and make films if you're disappointed in current film, everyone starts somewhere right?
I guess I just look at movies as if it's good, good, if not, it's a bit of coin out of my pocket, no big deal. I would've preferred a nicely done animated film personally, but no one in Hollywood ever asks me shit.
Now all this being said I want to shag Megan Fox badly. -
a real one not the Sideshow collectable, that would be super tits! Yack, your knowledge of the film is what makes your points more valid than the rest of us raving lunatics. Remember, you are the alpha male! Now, where's the Jager?
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...with sauteed mushrooms, baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon/suger, and red wine. She seemed to really be digging the meal and I was gleefully refilling her wine glass any time it dipped below the 1/4 mark - which may have proven my ultimate undoing. I had to carry her upstairs after dessert (dark chocolate mousse with blackberries) and her snoring was already loud enough to wake the cat.
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Yay crab cakes!!
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The movie takes a decidedly wacky turn when Prime humps a Dodge Caravan and Bumblebee, after stroking his driveshaft, shoots oil all over the garage. What a bunch of smashed assholes this movie's going to turn out to be. Also - I love the "even though they haven't correctly recorded a fart for this movie it'll be in the running for an Oscar for Best Sound." Simmer down and get the boner you have for Transformers out of the way of your common sense.
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come to myspace and chat.
Makiko -
...I think of this as just the next spin off of the transformers franchise. We've had G1,G2..beastwars..cybertron, and others, they all have similar if not the same names and many different looks..but all had there own unique style and story. no one ever said this was going to be a G1 movie, but just a transformers movie and thats what we are going to get.
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My wife and I have sex all the time and are total dorks. No, that is another "cheap shot" everyone falls back on in order to stereotype. So, telling a nerd to go get laid is somehow more "right" than calling someone out because of their race?Usually, the people throwing that "go get laid" shit around are people who themselves place such a high priority and magic importance to getting laid. This is just getting tiring in this day and age.For those who call Mori out on being a studio shill need to read some fellow TBers comments. Apologists for both sides always pop up and spout from on high.Tonight, I will have sex yet again. And I will still be pissed off that Hollywood continues to treat every concept/property as pure objective property, to be manhandled and molested by the highest bidder.At least this has transforming autos/giant robots. Underdog has a dog in a cape and calls itself an updated treatment. Crap.
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true story
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It seems every other talkbacker is getting on the "raping my franchise" line. Well, a franchise is there to make money, which this did in the 80's and beyond. There's no doubt, that with this re-invention, it'll continue to make money.
I just hope that they build the characters up enough to give the sequal the attention it warrants. -
is this Transformers TB strong enough to take the #1 spot before tonights prime time shows start and can it hold on to #1 through the weekend, barring any news on DNA results from AnnaN.Smiths corpse revealing who the baby daddy is...
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As someone who agreed with you in a previous talkback about the mess that was the 1986 movie but also pointed out the power of nostalgia, I feel like I should remind you that there were years and years of TV shows and comic books to feed the fanbase. Those are the things that Bay seems to be chucking out the window here, and that's what has a lot of people, including me, concerned. A lot of young people, and I mean A LOT, had Transformers when they were kids, and while it's true that they're a small percentage of the filmgoing public it seems the height of foolishness for Bay to disregard their memories so completely. Would it have been that hard to make things more faithful to the source material? What's the reason for making the movie if not for the fond feelings many have for the original material?
Coleman Francis, Night Train to Mundo Fine -
Raiders Of The Lost Ark did suck.
Discuss. -
Feb 15, 2007 3:12:14 PM CST
The guy who is posting under the name "Mr. Mean Gaius"
by mr. nice gaius
has never had sex.Fact.
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well kinda
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I don't think Michael Bay's movies are bad at all, in fact I'd let him have me if he wanted.
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...dork who married a pretty nerdy chick (female engineer), I've got to say for the record that getting laid is a pretty high priority and pretty darned magical. Hence my frustration over feeding the wife too much wine last night. I would say that dorks, who tend to be creative types, probably don't need to get laid as badly as some of the tightly wound adolescent asshats that pop up in here and call everyone else gay. Dorks can usually find a healthy way to relieve all that frustration, whereas guys like that think masturbation makes them gay because their hand is male.
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Sure, by today's standards, the Transformers animation sucked, but it was the shit back then. There are very few shows that I can think of from back then whose animation doesn't suck by today's standards. Doesn't mean anything anyway, there are plenty of great shows today whose animation sucks as well, Adult Swim anyone? The movie does suck after Prime dies though, no arguments there, but not because of the animation.
Well, here we are with yet another report confirming that the February script is, or nearly is, the shooting script. I wonder if Ironhide still wants to murder Sam's parents, or did they wisely remove that bit? -
...jumped the sharkticon when Prime died in the original animated film. Everything afterwards has been utter garbage. That being said, I'm still remaining cooly optimistic about this film. I don't know why people keep expecting it to be more than its base premise = giant robots at war. While I do hope it's a smart film with heart, I expect nothing more than to be bedazzled by special effects and 'splosions.
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he said Megan Fox doesn't wear panties and Shia smells like cabbage!
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a taste of my giant Rodimus Prime
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Transformers was, is and always will be a kid's movie or an extended toy commercial. The real problem seems to be when a hyper motivated, narcissistic kiss-ass hack like Bay elbows his way to the top in any industry, everybody is worse off for it. We make our own opportunities through hard work, and Bay clearly has worked hard to get where he is. There is a trail of bodies, many more talented, less ruthless and focused i'm sure, in his wake. Sadly the business side of the film industry has eliminated the artistic and creative side in favor of guaranteed profit. It has happened in music and fashion as well where producers and merchandisers have replaced musicians and designers. All we want is a quality product and when the people in control of the product only care about the bottom line and easy sell, we all lose. Money trumps art and children of all ages get to watch crappy movies. Yay.
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This sounds so sweet. Can't wait to see it Opening Weekend. :)
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i've read the script, its really quite good.
and i've seen the footage that Quinn's taking about, I wouldn't hold 'fanboy' expectations... but I think you'll all be plesently suprised. -
With two kid's (one an infant) our choices were limited for Valentine's Day dinner, so we went to Denny's. That's right, Denny's. Also, our son's birthday was Saturday and he got one of those free dinner coupons from Denny's.
Once the kids were asleep, the lovin' was great. TAKE THAT FOOD NETWORK!! -
BAMBAMBAMBAMBAM...go make me a sandwich;)
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Someone should edit the footage of Ben playing with cookies on Liv Tylers stomach to him playing with Transformers. :)
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So "really quite good" to you is cliche characters and dialogue, gratuitous pop culture references (eBay, XBox), and very little screen time for the robots? Interesting, here I was was thinking the script was really quite shitty.
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...Nutsack, although she still would've had to wrestle our 17-month-old to sleep (which probably contributed as much to the narcolepsy fit as the wine did) and, if she'd ended up falling asleep anyway, I would've still been effectively alone, awake and horny but without the benefit of a nice steak in my belly. I've got to take what I can get these days.
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So, what's the formula? 1 fat joke = 2 nerd jokes? 1,000 nerd jokes = 1 black joke? 5 nerd jokes = 2 Jewish jokes?You're getting waaaay too literal. I was just over-exaggerating to be snide. Just making the point that people, by and large, are two-faced little shits that evaluate who and how and why and where their behavior calls for accepting others.Let people get pissed off about their toys being molested by some hack director. Maybe one day, the more people get pissed off at the utter crap Hollywood feeds them, the fewer shitty "franchise" movies like this we (as a Glass Teat-suckling society) have to put up with.I'm just fighting for their rights to complain about their favorite toy being dildoed. Me, I'll be in the theater watching giant robots and thinking, "Ok - no need for sequels please!"
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I just realized that this movie is coming out this summer, which only months away. What will irritate me when "Transformers" is gone? What film can take its place in my hateful, cybernetic heart? What movie's script or character designs will disappoint me? What film will I read very last talkback for just so I can see people as disappointed with this as much as me? Perhaps someone like Joel Schumacher will want to film a "Thundarr, the Barbarian" movie and make Ookla the Mok speak (so the audience can relate to him!) and not have the moon cracked in every scene. They can change Thundarr's outfit, though—that hairshirt and loincloth was not so cool.
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Told him to lay off the rohypnol in the wine. ;) j/kI, too, would rather fuck than argue about (or even play with) action figures.Unless it was a Vampirella figure. Then, I need to be alone for a few.
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We can turn beans into peas!
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I'm telling you, the day this comes out, I'm going to work a half day, call my younger brother and get him to ditch, we're going to have lunch at an Applebees or something with a bar across the street from the theater and tank up. IF the movie turns out being ultra bad, we'll just MST3K it until the kid in the funny suit asks us to leave.
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When one man loves a city so much he marries it
When one city doesn't return that love
We get on really bad movie with fart jokes
This summer. Martin Lawrence is....
MICHAEL BAY DENIS RODMAN -
The toy was released near the very end of the original toy run. He was meant to be the opposite of Metroplex...the autobot base. Scorponok transformed from the decepticon base into, thats right, a giant scorpion. As for transfans...I worshipped the original toys and cartoon and even the movie back in the day. But there is a major reason the concept has never been as big as it was back then. It has survived and been okay, but not the massive event it used to be. That reason is the loss of heart of the series. They lost touch with the original idea. Originally the decepticons were designed for military purposes and the autobots as (basically) recreation or servant vehicles. It was a battle between the powerful and the powerless basically. Those who wanted to use force vs those that wanted peace. They ended up on earth and continued the struggle for power. It is also why the decepticons were guns and military vehicles while the autobots were always (for a while) cars and trucks. The struggle made sense. And I have to agree, the movie sounds like it has removed the things that worked. Why the need to resort to pee jokes? And whythe hell would sentient robots, highly intelligent robots, act like buffoons on earth...seriously. This movie will bomb.
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Just so happened to catch on and become popular to children and young adults... popular enough to spawn countless cartoons, toys and movies for years. Why does Spider-Man deserve more respect than Transformers as far as being translated into film well?
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...and you gots to show your elders some respect. Transformers is like 25. Did you get any resopect at 25? I mean from anyone with money and power enough to make a movie? I sure as hell didn't. That's why I turned into such a crotchety old fucker so far before my time.
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THE HYPE IS GETTING BORING!
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Take some pointers from his old buddy George Lucas and insert some Jar Jar Binks in here. That'll save the movie!
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Bring on the tuxedo chimps!
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Ya better ask somebody...Scorponok began as a Headmaster. Why am I even responding to stupidity?
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Scorponok started out as one of Harry Potter's teachers? In Chamber or Secrets?
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This movie should kill itself. Transformers or not, this movie sounds like a big fucking yawnfest.
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Who said anything about "morbid obesity?" What happened to plain old "fat"?Bias against anyone is bias. All I was saying.
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Calling this shit meant to sell toys "one of the most beloved franchises of all time" is fucking hysterical. Sure, have fun with it. No problem. But it has always been shallow pop fare, and building it up as something more is pushing it.
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Yep, Scorponok started in the Chamber of Secrets...on his hands and knees; hence the name "Headmaster." More Skeet in Your Eyes!
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In that teaser with mars, why is there clouds? There shouldn't be any clouds unless they didnt actually fly to mars to film this movie... Yeah that must be it. They must have filmed in the deserts of Cali...
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"transformers was a subpar cartoon, that we are all fond of because it represents a part of our lives that we no longer have *or ever will*"
Well we could have had it back if they hadn't picked a talentless hack like Bay to completely change everything about the old cartoon that worked. These new designs are so fucking obscene I think a dog pissing on a Transformer is symbolic of what Bay is doing to the franchise as a whole. -
You got that right Doc_Sin, next ask Zombie about religious people, he hates religious people. Talk about bias. **rolls eyes**
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Roland, did you manage to pick up the Dark Tower comic, and did you like it? I can't find the damn thing anywhere. Sure, I can get it on eBay for a good ass raping.
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I've got a few bottles of this killer red wine left...zzzzzzzzz.
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Man, there actually are Transformers fans. MOUTH ON OPTIMUS = TIME TRAVEL ON LOST
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I agree with you to a point. Sure there have always been big dumb movies, but the entertainment industriy is so much more accessible to struggling independent "artists", that now every hack moron with an internet connection, a "vision" and a delusion of grandeur share that access.
Turn on any reality program and you will see some tone-deaf wingnut with two left feet and a speech impediment mush-mouthing about haw talented they are and how famous they are going to be.
Cable television especially has created an environment where more bodies are needed to fill all of the acting, writing and directing roles, and the talent pool has been very watered down. That really muddies the creative waters, and we all know shit floats. We also know shit attracts flies.
Real creative people, in general, don't do well in that environment without good guidance, and that guidance is now focused on easy money. Why would an agent want to spend their nights fighting the demons of a peter o'toole or a marlon brando when they could be keeping a paul walker happy and tame with facials (read what you will into that)? -
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So, who here bought one of those $900 Legend: Darkness busts? It's like 3 fucking feet tall. I'd use it for a hatrack.
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they've been so much fun in the past.
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Maybe I'll lead a West Coast version...
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...in my area said they weren't in yet last week. Was planning to hit him again tomorrow. If I miss it at retail, I'll probably bend over for eBay. I don't know if I can wait until they collect the series and reissue as a trade. I've heard great things.
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...for the premiere. The rest of me will be relatively drunk in a theater on the southeast side of Milwaukee. So anyone from Chicago who feels like driving a little ways north...
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anybody know? cause megan fox on imax would be super sweet!
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shit happens!
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that hardcore "Transformers" fans scare me more than trekkies. Way more. I know two guys who swear by "Transformers" and know all the character's stories (such as they are), and both guys creep me out more than anyone I know. This is my own experience with "Transformers" geeks, yes, so I shouldn't base my entire view of their demographic on it, I know. Neverthless, I do. Sorry.
As a huge science fiction movie fan, I find myself strangely indifferent toward this film. It might suck, might be great. I don't really care.
Michael Bay is all about mass-appeal special effects and nothing else. That's been enough to make him a lot of money, which I can respect, but someone (Yackbacker?) posted that his movies are totally forgettable the moment you leave the theater. I agree. Bay is only one step up from Uwe Boll in this department. -
He won't be starting now either. And don't pin you're hopes on Spielberg "hands on" producing. He supposedly did that with Casper and The Flinstones too...
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They are indeed programmed to help humans get laid.
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yeah, now when they gonna make a movie about the new sweet new fantasy series The Pandora's Box Trilogy??? Book One just came out--selling out around here.
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this is gonna last me for days. nerds arguing is like my heroin. until they make The Hobbit, this is all I got for a while, so keep the Transformer posts coming, AICN!! YES YES YES!!!
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i should be called hellastupid!
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http://tinyurl.com/2j2hamC'mon - fess up.
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were built as:create a cool toy and put some kind of story around it to sell the toy. Now I liked Transformers, Voltron, GI Joe. (the most ridiculous show. I've never seen a war where no one is killed but all the vehicles are damaged/destroyed).
Anyway, The TF 'story', even if it did get serious in comics and new shows, is pretty simple. Bad robots vs. Good robots with mankind in the middle. Stuff will blow up. It won't get much deeper than that. -
Yes, there are tons of promotional partners... and I dont know how you think there is 'little' screentime for the robots, I didn't, maybe you have an old script. At least they are TRYING to play towards the 18-29 crowd, instead of a 8-13, which is what you appear to be taking a stance from...
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transformers are a cultural icon!transformers are a BS merchandising machine!michael bay is perfect for this!michael bay is a nazi!discuss...
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Maybe getting drunk as a Mooninite and going to see "Transformers" is what I should do too. Is there any evidence to support the theory that seeing Bay's movies drunk improves the experience? Because, hell, I'll do it.
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Bay thought Raiders would suck, whats that got to do with a "stupid toy movie"? Bay is no fan of Transformers... he is looking for a tent pole and a paycheck. Horatio from Fantastic Four doesn't even know what Galactus looks like... he has never read a comic book in his life.
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In the 1980s Transformers was a cultural phenom. You need to read up on the history of the property, what is presumed crap today was cutting edge and exciting to kids in the 1980s, nostalgia and a good solid basis for the property was needed. Michael Bay did not deliver and strayed away from the source material. They don't arrive in the ARK and Bumblebee is now a mute robotcop wanna be, the transformers design are horrid and beyond terrible, they should be expressive and have human characterisitics, if they can scan alt modes, then they can adapt to a more human appearence. What the fuck is wrong with bay and his aputated designs for the transformers. Some of these
uar (ugly ass robots) have claws and some with three or four digits, I call complete and utter bullshit with the story and designs of transformers. Bay can bullshit the public, but i'll be damned if he fools me with his lies. Bumblebee looks cool? Bullshit bay. glass bug eyes and a oil cap for a mouth. Optimus Prime does not have a fucking mouth, MAYBE he mixed this up with bumblebee, who happens to have a mouth in the toons and comics, yet optimus has a goat mouth? BULLSHITIMUS PRIME BAYRAPPER OF CHILDHOODS. -
JAMES CAMERON, at least we know Hollywood has 1 person who is not a complete phony and a fraud.
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Where did I get my info from? Well from the same shitty script that you thought was brilliant as well a multitude of interviews and set reports.
Let's review: **SPOILERS**
1. the movie is more about Sam than the robots
2. cookie cutter characters we can "relate" to, such as soldier boy with his new born baby he's never seen before **sniff weep**
3. McGuffin plotline, cuz that's never been done before
4. cheesy ass typical love story between the nerd and the girl with a "troubled" past
5. overuse of "more than meets the eye" (3 times at last count)
6. eBay, XBox, and GM cars - roll eyes
7. what page does the robot plot acutally start on? yeah thought so
8. except for a brief shot at the beginning, Megatron plays little or no role in this film until the very end
9. all of the Decepticons die except Starscream
10. on that note, the little boy kills Megatron
So Hydra_Lord, what did I leave out that you found "quite good"?
Oh let's not forget the brilliant scene where Bumblebee pisses on the G-Man, that's some brilliant fucking writing right there, WOO BOY! -
As it stands, there's way too much sexual fever between Leia LaBoussh and the scrawny cigarette chick to take my 9-year old daughter. There's way too much of an 80s nostalgia anchor (albeit displaced) to entice the wife. And the PG-13 rating guarantees a bloodless blast fest that won't interest my 16-year old boy.I mean... who is Bay targeting with this crap? My family hits the major demographics and yet his feature remains a no-sale. What's a late-30s fanboy to do?Still waiting for cable...
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And Mike...not Joel.
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Your last post was pure genius. Thank you. In fact come to my home and fuck my wife. You are Plato reborn!
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http://tinyurl.com/3djfe8;^)
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Funny how you mention The cartoon when referencing Comic book heroes because its the comics that matter and most of those aforementioned heroes Died in some way in there respected medium. Respect TF circa 1986. I wish I was wrong about this movie alas I'm not I wish the Only reason I had not to see this movie was a Personal Grudge against a Senoir staff member. Oh well Maybe when the Critics pan it they'll know to hire a Different Director for there "Dumb toy movie."
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I've shown the '86 Transformers movie to people--girls--who have never seen episodes of the series, and they liked it. Whine all you want about the animation, but the dialog is both awesome and hilarious and the characters are both likable and iconic. Of course it could be better, but this was fucking 1986, the US had *no* experience in producing a mainstream animated action movie. Looks aren't everything, christ.
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What do you think of this http://tinyurl.com/2345su I think I have a HD winner.
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That explains everything.
Fuck you too Mr.Bay. -
"8. except for a brief shot at the beginning, Megatron plays little or no role in this film until the very end" - it takes forever for the hot robot on robot action to get going, Prime and the rest of the Autobots don't even start their quest (on Earth) for the mighty McGuffin until like halfway through the damn movie. A couple of scenes with robots blowing shit up don't even come close to the brilliance, YES brilliance, of the original series introducing us to the robots and their struggle from the opening scene. No Cybertron, no Ark, just Shia LeBozo selling family heirlooms on eBay so he can get some tail. Peter Cullen should have been the star of this movie and not billed (if he gets billed at all) under Shia LeBowWow.
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a mountain as it explodes. Gravitas man Gravitas.
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sorry about that.
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You could rectify the problem by ending Michael Bay Denis's life
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Feb 15, 2007 8:26:11 PM CST
Unlike others, I'm REALLY looking forward to this movie
by triumph poops!
The way I see it, things change. The translation from one medium to another (book to TV to film or whatever combination you want to come up with) inevitably invites change simply BECAUSE of the transition from one medium to another.Bottom line: Hey, I remember watching Adam West as Batman as a kid on TV in syndication and as a kid I enjoyed it for what it was AT THAT TIME. But God knows when I was older and Warner Bros chose to make a big budget film for a NEW generation -- and that's the key here, it was created to bring in a NEW legion of fans -- that the SMARTEST decision they made was to NOT dress Batman in a tacky Gray cloth and Blue shiny spandex costume and go with the rubber molded suit instead. Because now Batman, on the big screen, actually looked kick ass. And similarly I didn't mind when Nolan came in and changed the suit yet again to suit his interpretation.Someone along the way pointed that out and I totally agree totally. I look at this as Bay and Spielberg's interpretation of TF -- and let's face it, the haters here always focus on Bay, but Speilberg deserves credit OR blame for the final film too since he's had such an active hand in it. And as someone else noted, if the film is a big hit, the next guy will put HIS spin on the franchise as well, much like each different director brought a tone to the POTTER films or any other multi-film franchise you can think of that changed creative hands.So me, I look at this as TF for TODAY'S kids who likewise EXPECT certain things to look "cool" in particular ways onscreen. Frankly, looking back on the cartoon, it's like Batman's suit. Optimus Prime the cartoon design would look rather bland onscreen in a big budget movie. Hey, just remember he was designed to look that way for animation reasons, to keep detail work down to make it easier to animate, problems which 20-30 years later and given advances in computer animation and such have disappeared. Frankly, I realize I'm a more casual fan of the TF, but I think everything I've seen so far from the movie looks kick ass. I know I'll be there opening day. And I suspect I'll get what I want: Giant Robots kicking the shit out of each other, with lots of explosions and destruction. Gee, maybe it's me, but that sounds like a big budget Michael Bay summer time blockbuster type film to me, just what I WANT to see come Fouth of July weekend...
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that what Bay said this is what "His" movie was about. The movie should be about "Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the decepticons" A plot to steal energy from a lowly subspecies. Again Hollywood sees fit to reinvent the wheel.
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batman was great till schumacher got involved, I'd love to see transformers with Updated ideas and more fleshed out material but there are just stupid decisions that were made with this movie. The Designs are not even familiar to the generation there supposed to based on the script Reads like Masters of the Universe Meets Leonard Pt. 6, If you want to see Giant robots duke it out do your self a favor and rent a copy of Robot Jox.
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big surprise there
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I love that criticism of us...umm critics. Of course things would have to be changed, have we learned NOTHING from Battlestar Galactica?
TOS BSG was about the holocaust of billions of people, and from there we got SpaceBalls. New BSG took the horrible happenings of the premise and treated it seriously. But I can still recognize the story, the Galactica, Vipers, the ragtag fleet, and even the CG Cylons. New BSG took all of the good elements of the OS, ejected the bad elements, and made sensible changes. Yes, some of those changes were controversial, like girly Starbuck, but does anyone (besides purist fucktards) care about any of those controversial changes anymore?
So now we're getting a re-imagined Transformers, only it's not being treated seriously, in fact it's arguably more campy than the original because live action movies shouldn't be this intellectually insulting...oh wait, Michael Bay. So many changes have been made, many making ZERO sense at all, that this movie doesn't even remind me of the original. -
credit to spielberg. haha i can just see it coming. because im fairly positive this movie will be a good time, but none of you sorry fellas will be willing to give bay any credit. although maybe, because his actions scenes are why this will rule. but still, it will be a good time.
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Did Vader need to remove his MASK to show emotion michael bayless? Hell No! Bullshit hollywood director is a clueless surfer dude. FFFFFFFUCK A DUCK BAY.
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Um, sure, I like STAR WARS.
Don't much care for JEDI, though. And not everything from my childhood is automatically "AWESOME!" just because it came out when I was a child.
Oddly, I actually really like ST:TOS and the first few films. So I must somehow exist outside the rabid nerd paradigm of only being able to enjoy one franchise at a time. Spooooooooky. -
See, as a child, you may have thought they were a "cultural phenomenon," but you'd be wrong. No one over the age of twelve was a TRANSFORMERS fan. I was already managing a theater by the time TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE hit screens. It played for two weeks to kid crowds, and then was gone. Hardly a "cultural phenomenon."
I get it. I really do. You liked the cartoons and toys as children. But when you watch any of this stuff as anything other than a rabid fan, it's just silly. The insanely overwritten technospeak of the film made me laugh for about 20 minutes, and then it just got dull. "I MUST RETRIEVE THE OMNICRON FROM THE BULBOSAUR SPACE BASE 2000 AND FLY TO THE MEGATRON CLOUD FOR THE..." oh, whatever.
The funny thing is that I'm actually looking forward to this film because all I want from it is giant robots fucking rampaging in downtown LA. It's gonna crack me up if the only people who cry about this film are "fans," while the general public is able to enjoy it as a fun summer movie and nothing more. -
See Dodgeball. :P
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That movie sucked.
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Cultural phenomenon? Maybe not. But the idea that only people who were 12 at the time enjoyed the movie is way off. If you check out IMDB, the movie's average rating is a well-above-average 7.1--and it averages above a 5 with every single demographic that voted. Yeah, people under 45 tend to like it more than people over 45--what a shock for a cartoon. Odd bit of trivia--that 7.1 puts Transformers The Movie above every Michael Bay movie except The Rock in terms of IMDB rating. And it ties The Rock.
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"It's gonna crack me up if the only people who cry about this film are "fans," while the general public is able to enjoy it as a fun summer movie and nothing more."
Personally, as a fan I just want to have fun with it and not worry, but come on now. It's easy to laugh when it's not YOUR beloved franchise being fucked with. Not as easy when it is. (I seem to recall how pissed you got about the unaltered Star Wars discs, because they really DID mean unaltered, in every sense of the word. Personally, I was happy to get completely un-fucked-around with star wars. picture quality and sound mix do count as "fucking around with.") I'm just saying, have a little heart. We ALL have our beloved franchises, so don't laugh at someone's misfortune. -
Where Optimus and Megatron beat the ever living shit out of each other !!
One shall stand .. One shall fall
fond memories .. -
...I don't see why everyone who *isn't* a Transformers fan seems so intent on the idea that this movie is going to be AWESOME when it really looks like it's going to be the epitome of a soulless Hollywood blockbuster. Speaking entirely aside from Transformers as a pre-existing property, does anyone think this movie will actually be anything other than a special effects real peppered with annoying faux-humorous one-liners and "relatable" characters you want to punch in the head? ID4 had massive breathtaking special effects, too, and eight years later does anyone give a damn about it? By the way, Independence Day? Another movie with a worse IMDB rating than TF:TM. Huh.
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SPOILERS!!!
If the script does stand, then you only get about a minute of that, then the fight has to break for Prime to save some hapless humans, then he's pinned by Starscream and Megatron. Sam is the one who kills Megs, in a way ambiguous enough for him to return in a sequal. -
.....said it best. EVERY incarnation of Transformers was great in it's own way. That's right, great. The reason for that is the basic idea behind Transformers as a mythos. It was the spark that lit this wildfire of geek worship that has burned for the last 20+ years. Like it or not, we'll all shell out the cash to see this. I'm planning on at least 4 or 5 times myself. I remember the teaser playing before Pirates and the whole theatre, both genders, all ages, letting out a cheer. For a shitty teaser! The only other time I've ever heard anything like that was as a kid when my dad took me to Chariots of Fire, and everyone clapped for aboot 10 minutes at the end. Some even stood. Pretty cool. The Transformers as a live-action movie franchise, I believe, will rival Indy, Vader, Spidey, etc. And all of us fanboys, haters, "Michael Bay raped my childhood!", "Flames on Optimus=Nipples on Batman", and general nerd/geek community will be the ones paying for all the coke Bay will be snorting off of the aforementioned pre-teen male hookers. Deal with it.
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bet his voice sounds like a roboqueef
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Unless Anti-Transformer-Fanboy is taken...
Dick
:) -
Especially the ones written by Simon Furman. They have some truly epic storylines and the characters have a depth they don't have in the cartoon. If only they'd got Furman to write the storyline for the new film it might be something more than the mindless action fest it seems like it's going to be.
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Hate to say it, but Optimus Prime really ISN'T a household name. But personally, I hope the new movie changes that!
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die hard fans will pretend to hate it and will search for negative things to bash it with. infact, this has already started. most of you fans hate the movie already, just because of bay.
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I grew up with the G1 toys, I watched the cartoon religiously as a lad. I'm not going to say Bay is raping my childhood, because I'll think of this movie as a separate entity from the Transformers stuff I enjoy, kind of like the way I segregate Alien3 from the first two movies. HOWEVER, I think Bay has traded in the possibility of an interesting film for a mega-kaboom soulless trainwreck which will be special effects just for the sake of special effects. Characters have been drastically changed, and years of Transformers mythos propagated by cartoons, graphic novels, etc are going to be discarded by Bay in service of his "vision." At least Peter Cullen is getting work- there's a small silver lining. Moriarty- I usually read your reviews over Harry's because you seem to take an intelligent approach to analyzing the films. Here, you're just coming off as kind of a tool. You've got every right to your opinion, but some of your readers are sad because some hollywood bigwig is converting something they enjoy into something that looks pretty hollow. Feel free to mock us because we want more than a rock-em sock-em giant robot fight. Jerk.
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a fun action packed movie. honestly, if you claim to dislike the trailer, or downplay the level of excitment that you got from this trailer, i have no respect for you. if you like action movies, you loved this trailer, and you have no other reason to hate this movie so much this far in advance. sure you may not think the script is the best, but from what ive heard its definatly ok, and dont get me started on the new designs. they needed to be changed.
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The contempt for Transformers fans people, unfortunately including Moriarty, are displaying is a little disturbing. This is a geek site: When has it ever been such a crime to complain about a movie studio skull-fucking your fandom? Why does no one get sick of the "whining" over what Schumacher did to Batman? But apparently when it's Transformers the attitude is "I hope Optimus gets caught wearing a dress and going down on Starscream, 'cause that'd really freak out all the fanboys, but everyone else would think it was hilarious and the movie would make like fifty bajillion dollars and all you losers would cry." I mean, seriously, if you don't give a damn about the property, why actively piss on the people who do? I can't fuckin' stand, say, GI Joe, but I'm not eager for the day we see Snake Eyes doing capoeira in a pink tube top just to fuck with people who like it. Dang.
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... it really wasn't more than a rock-em sock-em robot fight.
Look, it started from the crassest possible place. It was a toy commercial. Period. If you enjoyed it more than that, I'm sincerely glad for you. But this started life as a toy commercial about good robots that changed shape fighting bad robots that changed shape.
And as even the most die-hard of you seem to be aware, TRANSFORMERS has taken on many different shapes over the course of its life.
I'm sorry if you think I'm being a tool. I just think you should probably be a little less militant and rabid about yet another interpretation of giant good robots kicking the shit out of giant bad robots. I'm excited to see this sort of mayhem played out on the scale that $150 million or so buys, and if it makes me a dick because I don't care if there are flames on a truck or not, then I guess I'm a dick. -
ME GRIMLOCK!!! ME SMASH DECEPTIONS!!! BUT FIRST ME GO TO COOKIE PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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DECEPTIONS??? WHAT ME GRIMLOCK ON???
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Feb 15, 2007 10:54:26 PM CST
Early Raiders production stills? Mr. Bay, I've seen...
by darthcorleone
...the finished product of more than enough of your movies to know that it's you that sucks.
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You're making a couple of good points: don't get militant over the changes, the it's a new take, give it a chance. Good points, fans should take it to heart.
But you're shooting yourself in the foot by being demeaning to the fandom. That's unneccissary to the point being made. You can tell people you don't have a special loyalty to the material. That's fine. You're entitled to not be a fan. You're even entitled to have your opinions and be demeaning to a fanbase. This is the free world, after all. We're just saying that this site has always been a fan boy site, and it's all vaguely silly, so why say tranformers is less worthy?
You don't have to say that Transformers was nothing more than Rock em' Sock em' robots. That's ignorant of the really cool places some of the material, (NOT the original movie or show) went. Yes, Mori, all us Transformers fans KNOW Transfomers was a toy commerial. We get that. And it doesn't matter. Because even if Transformers was born of a crass marketing arrangement, when some good writers got a hold of it it became so much more. So who cares for origins?
Mori, you not being a dick for saying people shouldn't get worked up about Optimus having flames. You're being a dick for being demeaning to a fanbase for a franchise that is much bigger and more diverse than you realize, just because you happened to see a particularly bad part of it, the original movie, and assumed there was no more to Transformers than that. (I'll admit, it doesn't help that many transfans still pretend that movie's good.) -
FOX AND DANA MUST RIDE AGAIN!!!!!!!
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Mori, I wrote post trying to explain this to you, but it screwed up and didn't get posted.
But to sum up: you're not being a dick for saying fans shouldn't be so militant. You're being a dick for being so demeaning to Transformers and it's fans. -
sorry!
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When I believe Moriarty was pissed about Sandman being directed by Joel Schumacher. Well let me say that Sandman isn't even a pimple on the ass of Transformers. Hell, I don't even think it had a big print run. Yet here you were, having a cow about it. Now turn it around. Sandman might be one of the greatest forms of literature, but Transformers was and is a phenomenon on another level. I also think you underestimate the fans and what we're capable of. For instance, Godzilla. Casual fans didn't know shit either, the fans were in an uproar however and the movie thankfully flopped like it should have. Same thing for Masters of the Universe. In otherwords, in case people don't get it, I'll say it in all caps: DON'T FUCK WITH THE FANS!! And if ever you AICN guys start bitching about shitty directors fucking with your dream movies, maybe you should think about what you say when you want our support from now on. I'll take the full brunt of your wrath now. But at least I have the balls to say what needs to be said, even if it means I might get banned. Thank you.
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X-FILES PART 2 TO BE FILMED SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE!!! THAT IS ONE FUTURE I WILL NOT FIGHT!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
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I love you, man, you're the reviewer on this site I respect most, but you are being a dick. 1: You can say it was a rock-em-sock-em robot fight and just a toy commercial, but Pirates of the Caribbean was an advertisement for a fucking theme park ride. Doesn't mean good things didn't come from that "crassest possible place", and it doesn't negate people's attachment to the characters that were created for it. 2: Yes, it's changed many times. Please, though, tell me in which incarnations of Transformers they were lovable bumblers, or in which a human character was the ostensible star of the show. Look, comparing these differences to the differences in, say, the Spider-Man movie or even the X-Men movie is ridiculous, these aren't cosmetics, these are the fundamental nature of the characters and the concept. 3: And that is exactly the reason the dismissive "flames on Optimus" talk is making you sound like a dick. When you assert that these cosmetic changes are the most significant, then you undermine the very idea that there are non-cosmetic changes in the film, or, in fact, any depth to the original material beyond the cosmetic. The fact is, your entire stance is based on the simple premise that all your bullshit fanboyisms are better than our bullshit fanboyisms. Statements about how funny you'll find it when all the fanboys are pissed off and everyone else loves it are nothing more than saying "you deserve to suffer for being so ignorant as to care." Yeah, that kind of attitude makes you a dick.
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"The fact is, your entire stance is based on the simple premise that all your bullshit fanboyisms are better than our bullshit fanboyisms. Statements about how funny you'll find it when all the fanboys are pissed off and everyone else loves it are nothing more than saying "you deserve to suffer for being so ignorant as to care." Yeah, that kind of attitude makes you a dick."
That's exactly what I was trying to say, but I bungled it. Well done! And seconded! -
Once again, I'll agree that the movie was stupid, but it wasn't all bad. I'll give it a great deal of credit for showing to children that violence does have consequences, what with the wholesale slaughter of characters and the death of Optimus Prime, a moment that still makes the 8-year old inside me shed a tear (even though I have to believe that housecleaning was to make way for a new wave of toys). It didn't wuss out like the G.I. Joe movie, with that "Duke's gone into a coma" bullshit. Yeah, I'm sure a snake-spear-whatever through the heart has that effect. And Moriarty, constantly pointing out that Transformers was a toy commercial first is sort of like pointing out to a wrestling fan that the matches are fake. The fans know and they don't care. There was actually some good storytelling in those old shows. Yeah, I had the toys, but I also never missed the show, so there was something more to it than just getting me to buy chunks of plastic (and at first, metal). That said, though I'm dissappointed with a lot of what I'm hearing about the movie, at least Bat met my one demand - Peter Cullen as Prime. I really have no right to bitch.
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in their advertising. the cartoon was to sell toys. you were kids when you enjoyed it, and if you cant realize now when you are grown up that the cartoon was a toy advertisement, then i feel sorry for you. and beleive me, beyond a few million fanboy geeks, transformers is not a household name, that is until this summer. and sure the robots have their distinctive characters, but their designs have always changed through the different generations.
whats great is that this movie isnt being made just to sell toys, like the cartoon was. this will surely sell tons and tons of toys, but bay made this movie for the action purposes, and we will get a hardcore action movie. that is all -
lunchpails, Yogurt dolls and flamethrowers!
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thats why its going to be good. the cartoon was to sell toys. this movie is to showcase the best (second best after cameron) action director out there as he transformers cars into giant robots that fight each other in downtown LA.
sure toys will fly off shelves as a result, but bay is not making a toy commercial. he is making an action extravaganza -
Way to go, asshole. I suppose that's pretty clever trying to overshadow my name like that.BUT SERIOUSLY - DROPPING AIDS JOKES IN A TRANSFORMERS TALKBACK???How pathetic can you get?
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I'm sorry.
Sincerely. I took the wrong tone about this from the start of this talkback.
Your points are valid. This is a film you've been waiting for a long time, in some cases. That's sort of a recipe for disaster, because no matter what finally gets filmed, it won't be what you've carried around and dreamed of since childhood. Check out STAR WARS fans if you want to see how ugly that sort of disappointment can get.
But whether I'm a fan or not, I'm not going to run you guys down for it. We're just coming at it from different directions. Hell, I'm the guy who hears, "Oh, yeah, you hate me" every time I come face to face with Michael Bay. Literally. So it's odd to be the one saying that I just want this to be a lot of fun robot mayhem.
All of this back and forth could have been avoided if this was just called MICHAEL BAY'S BIG FUCKING ROBOTS. I do feel badly that you guys will most likely never see the film you want to see. There's no underestimating the power that things from our childhood have on us, and in this case, I'm sorry if you felt like I was kicking you guys over your love for this property.
Now c'mere and let's have a group grope. Except for Rant Breath. He's handsy. -
I shitcanned the imitator.
You are the only Mr. Gaius on the talkbacks now, Nice or Mean. -
Thanks for changing the tone, even though I didn't think you were all that out of line. Whatever the relative weight we each give to the franchises we know and love, we have to remember that we're all on the same dork side here. I'd love to see a movie about giant robots tearing each other and everything around them - gas stations, hospitals, grandmothers - apart. I just wish the movie wasn't co-opting the Transformers mythos that a lot of people, myself included, have a strong attachment to.
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hahah thats hilarious. sure you didnt say that exactly, but its just hilarious how anti-bay you are. this movie will merchandise out the wazoo but thats not why bay is making this movie. it might be why the studios afreed to allow it to be made, but not why the creative minds behind it, including bay, are making it. thats all im saying.
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You are a scholar and a gentleman. I do appreciate it.
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"I'm sorry.
Sincerely. I took the wrong tone about this from the start of this talkback. "
On behalf of myself, because I can only speak for myself, apology accepted. When it comes to fandoms, emotions run high. I personally very much enjoy and respect your work on AICN, and respect you highly for offering an apologee. And I apologize if I said anything out of turn myself. Love ya! -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280082990551
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Is for the climax of the movie to have Jeff Goldblum upload a virus into Megatron's head via his Laptop.
Then again, if he installs Windows Vista, that could be believable. -
I keed.
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are there in Japan. Transformers are third best selling figure of all time behind SW figures and G.I.joes I think that equates Cultural Phenomenon. The Original Movie failed But (arguably) it has reached a cult status. The Toys still sell, People Still match the movie(The Rerelease was one of biggest selling DVD's sony released last year.) So in your opinion what does it take to reach a cultural Phenomenom.
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almost to a tee! You can't polish a turd.
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a month to can DouchebaggPrime ;)
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Whether or not you liked the cartoon is irrelevant. The fact is the mythology behind it is about far more than selling toys and Shia Lebouf scoring a hot chick. It has a massive following that is because of the mythology (whether or not it recieves your approval). Did you even read that stinkbomb of a script?
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Moriarty is dead on with this. I've been saying that from the beginning. This is not Transformers, It's "Michael Bay's Big Robot movie" and they tacked on some Transformers names.
Which is fine, cool, neat even. But own up to it Bay, instead he's riding the coat tails of a nostaligic property, and Spielberg is salivating at the kickback he's getting from hasbro, Hasbro is salivating at the sales that are bound to go through the roof.
I would have prefered if they made a big robot movie, which paved the way for the Transformers movie.
In the end, this is how it's going to come out..
The movie will open and make a TON of cash. It will blow everyone away and give Spider-Man 3, and Pirates 3 a run for their money. The second week, you'll see a decline, and by 3rd week, there will be a HEAVY decline in sales.
People will mutter. "It was... ok, good effects, but the story was lame."
Then they'll get into a long rant and begin nitpicking it to pieces because there will be SOOOOo many "small things wrong" that it just adds up to one huge ass headache.
Then by the time the oscars come out, it will be nominated for something like Sound, or special effects, and people will say "Oh yea, I forgot they made a Transformers movie..."
In 5 years, it will be on TV at 3am, and people will flip by it and say "oh yea, that piece of shit"
Basically, exactly what happened to ID4, Day after Tommorrow, and all those other "high on the visuals, low on the story" type movies.
Some reports have this touted as the next big thing since Speilbergs "War of the worlds"
War of the worlds may have had some great effects, but the story completely sucked. Once Tom Cruise met up with Tim Robbins. I should have just turned the TV off.
Or remeber A.I., another Speilberg flick, remember how great that was, how when it ended.. For some reason it kept going. People in the audience kept whispering to one another "Isn't it over? Why the fuck are there aliens? What the hell is going on?"
I wonder if Speilberg is washed up when it comes to these types of movies, which makes me worry about the next Indiana Jones movie, because you have a...
Washed up Actor - Ford (who cares about him anymore?)
A Washed up Writer - Lucas (just watch Star Wars Ep. I-III)
A washed up Director - Speilberg (for the above reasons).
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You segment too deeply with regards to your definition of "Transformers fan". The rabid Transformers fan, the type that would go to TF message boards, is indeed a small group, niche even, but widen the segment and you'll find a mass of people who know who Optimus Prime and Megatron is. Ask the average 20-25 year old in any office/dorm room, and they will know who Optimus Prime is. So YES, the Transformers ARE a crossover pop phenomenon. You pick on the niche audience that is rabid over it....but widen the audience segment with regards to simple awareness....and you've got essentially all of young America. Everyone knows Optimus is a big red truck, PERIOD. You can personally test it. You to a public place and ask a random sampling of 20-somethings who Optimus Prime is. You'll get "big red truck" over and over again. And you'll get a lot of "Megatron is a gun" too. Go ahead....because there is no way you'll ask a sampling of young adults, and they don't know who Optimus Prime is. IMPOSSIBLE. PERIOD.
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were three terrible films made that placed the emphasis on special effects over characterization, mythos and story. Sound familiar?
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Ha! I hear ya, buddy. At least PharteGoddPrime served a purpose = he brought us TBers together, man!
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I completely agree with Gibson. When I talk to my friends, many are hard core TF fans, but many are not. But they ALL know who the original Transformers are.
They've all seen at least some of the episodes. They've seen or played with the toys. It just amazes me how a studio can so royally screw this up. It's like shooting fish in a barrel, and they're shooting dogs peeing on transformers legs.
How many comic book movies have come out where they've screwed it up. This is the same thing. Remember X-men III, and the talkbacks there. These talkbacks don't even compare to those. These are far worse. So if you thought X-men III was bad.. just wait for something to top it.
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The only thing that makes TF not GoBots is the mythology. The mythology created elevates the story and the characters. Bay & Co. blew this big time. It acually could've been one of those instances where audiences would've been surprised by a film of this genre having something relevant and intelligent to say.
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You will never do the G1 series justice in live action celluloid just for the fact that Megatron, soundwave, ravage, laserbeak, they can't fit in the "sci fi or fantasy grounded in reality" sect and quite frankly, that is what I look for in a movie most (grounded in reality) even though I'm a die hard Transformer fan. The movie we all want done correctly just can't be done period live action.
Megatron to me is always going to be a walther p-38 shrunk down to fin in Soundwave's hands and sound wave is always going to be a piece of crap cassette deck with crappy tapes that turn into minions of destruction. -
a firing weapon of some kind.
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I think that works very well and captures the essence of Galvatron and does away with the dependency issue.
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No, that would be to easy and less marketable even though Speilberg is attached to the project.
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... go back and look at that SANDMAN article. If you can't tell how non-seriously I was taking the Joel Schumacher thing, I don't know what to tell you. It wasn't a rant. It was a very, very silly open letter that was about three lines long.
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You're a really stand up guy for coming back and apologizing. Thanks for that.
And you're a damn American hero for banning Mr. Mean Gaius, one more troll tossed into the bin.
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Its funny when ever some attacks Micheal Bay the popular defense is "what do you want shakespear" like There are only two directors in the Micheal Bay and the incomparable William Shakespeare. Hell I don't need the movie to be shakesperian But damn it was Ridley Scott, Hell I'd take Tony Scott over Bay,the Matrix bros, Jerry Bruckhiemer, Paul W.S. anderson if they gave him a big enough budget. (Nevermind that last one)
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...let's go get pissed. Cheers!
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I was all set to post a comment and spend most of it tearing you a new one for belittling the fan base that is the reason this property even got made into a feature film, animated or otherwise, and for the denouncement of it as a cultural phenomenon. What you failed to realize was that the Transformers more than any other Animated series other than maybe Voltron was and is more than just a cultural phenomenon, it is a global phenomenon. Many nations throughout the world saw the Transformers on television or saw the original feature and enjoyed it. People all over the world remember the series fondly and it is that which makes this property so dear to the fans who have directly contributed to keeping the Transformers a viable property for the last 20 plus years. You also bash the quality of the animation that is over twenty years old and the stories which were written for a time long since past. A time when for some reason stories had to explain more of what is going on than they do today. I don't think this is a reflection on the quality of the animation but on the realization by animation studios that children who watch these shows are not as stupid as they thought they were. Today the action taking place on screen can now tell the story more than the words. It's just how anmation and film have evolved as the audiences have gotten more intelligent. There is more but I won't go there...
Rather than go into more I want to say that you showed impressive level-headedness and far more understanding than I have seen in many of these talkbacks. It takes a big man to appologize and I can respect that. Good on you. I hope you get what you want from this film, all this does is confirm that which I have seen, heard, and read about this film from friends working on it or given opportunities to share in making this film the steaming pile of not Transformers that it appears to have been described as in this article. -
To Moriarty, may your projects be profitable, and your residuals be many.
Question to TheRealMoriarty, why "TheReal"? Can't you just ban or edit the screenname of the guy calling himself Moriarty? Just sayin'. Thanks again for the apology Mori, my geeky heart strings were touched by your thoughtfulness. My next message directed to you will have to be negative though so the peanut gallery doesn't accuse me of kissing ass. Sorry, them's the breaks of being a TalkBacker. LOL -
People like Gaius and Hairy and the rest of you spending your time pretending that you won't be seeing this over and over again. It's over. Murphy has won. The film will rule the summer. You tbers were united only to lose.
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Umm, Gaius has largely been on your side of this, well except for the liking you part, so maybe attacking him is not such a good idea.
Just so you know Pharty, Moriarty banned another troll loser today from this very forum, so please renew your trolling ways, we enjoy a good banning. -
There seems to be alot of trying to match the SW prequals to the upcoming TF movie & how these directors have come from Hell to rape our child hoods. Well
1. George Lucas created SW & can pretty much do as he pleases with it.
2. The original trilogy were still pretty much aimed at kids, the dialogue alone backs that up.
3. Don't remeber too many complaints about Spidey's organic web shooters in HIS movie, so lay of the flames a little.
4. I think that Bay has taken note of the fans, including the hard core. The proof? Peter Cullen & Stan Bush on board!!
5. Let's just all be thankful that Uwe Bol's not gonna try & top this with a Go-Bots movie. Second thoughts, let's pray he doesn't try to!!! -
Mori, don't make peace! it may be the right thing to do, but you can't deprive me of my nerdversations and nerguments! I need them like crack! nerds arguing = funniest thing ever...I live for it! at least give me some Hobbit news that they can fight over and that will tide me over until mjore test screenings of Transformers come out...thank you sir.
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For months and months I've been trying to remember Metroplex's name. Megaplex was as close as I got and the Ultra Magnus kept popping into my head and I started getting all confused! You are my personal hero of the day. My first born will be named after you.
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my poo
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Okay, I'm trying to look back at the 1986 Transformers movie without the filter of nostalgia, and I think my love for it really comes down to one major storytelling decision: they killed off major characters with reckless abandon. I know that might not seem like much, but to a kid who watched the show every day after school and was used to those circular plots that somehow always resolved with everyone back where they started, it made a big impression. First, it made me feel like I wasn't being pandered to... that this movie wasn't treating me like a kid, like every other cartoon I had ever seen. Second, to use a cliche, it raised the stakes. The fights seemed more exciting, the villains seemed more frightening, and the plans seemed more desperate. I actually cared whether or not Hot Rod was going to grow up and take leadership of the tribe because I felt like lives really hung in the balance. For that, I was, and still am, ready to forgive overwritten dialogue, cheesy musical interludes, bad animation, and the sneaking suspicion that someone needed an excuse to get rid of unpopular toy models to make way for the new ones. In my mind, Transformers is about a group of refugees who are intelligent, resourceful, and above all, compassionate. They're on the run, and they're in a fight that's for keeps, even if it's a fight they didn't choose. I don't care about Optimus having flames. I don't care about the transforming sound being right. I don't care if it's R or PG-13, or PG. I don't care if they change the names of the characters or the models of the cars or the catch phrases. I care that they take the desperate drama of the story seriously and that all the big explosions and giant robot fights are for something more than showing off CG technology. But tell me... anyone honestly think there's a chance of that?
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Ring the bell and PharteGoddPrime comes running....
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Apology accepted on my end, too. And, yeah, if this was just Michael Bay's Giant-fuckin'-Robots it would've avoided a lot of hassle. I still think the Shia-le-beouf-dog-urination stuff woulf hand a bit of a dark cloud over my enjoyment of it, though. ;)
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You should know that when you name young Cepper, that the C is pronounced like an S. You can call him/her Cep for short. I'll warn you it's an infectious nickname; 20 years and counting. You know, I think that Metroplex toy is still in my parent's attic, see if your buddy still has his toy and you can come over and we'll make em fight!! Better yet, I'll dig up my old He-man toys too and we'll make it full on war. Be sure to ask your mom if you can spend the night! Now that would have been a movie even Mori couldn't hate on. Transformers vs He-men (vs GI Joes also to complete the trifecta). Throw in some Thundercats a cameo by Voltron and decapitated Rainbow Brights it would be just like the good old days.
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but I read the script and its Masters of the Universe meets Leonard PT 6. and I'm being Kind.
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When I was 10, I thought the movie was unbelievably cool. A few years ago, I bought the DVD and was terribly embarrased by what I saw. I'd much rather have a dog pee joke than have robots dancing to Wierd Al's "Dare to Be Stupid."
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Whatever! But come on, are you really gonna make it that easy for us?
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Even when I was 9 that movie seemed liek they just made it up as they went along. Cosby throwin meat at the bad guys, jee-zoos.
I'm starting to wonder what this "Astrotrainwreck" of a movie is gonna look like. I've gotten over the fact that it's not G1, thus I don't really condider it "Transformers" (TINO!!), still have no respect for Bay as a director (his Raiders comment only further secures my opinion) and indeed EVERYTHING we've "seen" so far come RIGHT OUT OF the Feb '06 leaked script. SO, whatever they "changed" since that draft, it wasn't much. this filme is a farce being perpetrated upon the ignorant movie-going public. Much like Elektra and Catwoman were. And Norbit. In old TB news....
"The movie takes a decidedly wacky turn when Prime humps a Dodge Caravan and Bumblebee, after stroking his driveshaft, shoots oil all over the garage." Whoever said that way, way up there- KU-fuckin-DOs for making me laugh my ass off. -
Not sure how you did it, but I still can't make my way through that entire script.
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for casting Optimus Prime as a poor black man from the south.
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Just as the sky is blue and being kicked in the balls really hurts - Michael Bay movies suck ass. Maybe they're more watchable than Uwe Boll because he gets bigger budgets has some common sense in the editing room - but the writing, and the respect for his material is certainly on a [sub]level with Boll's.
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I'm horribly tired of this horribly tired arguement.It is commonly known that George Lucas held out his contract for the profits of commercial tie-ins. Hence, STAR WARS is ALSO a TOY COMMERCIAL.Despise Jar Jar? Too fucking bad. It was just a toy commercial. But that saber duel with Maul RAWKED!!::sigh::
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all you fan-boys and girls that cry "foul!" whenever your beloved hero/heroine(s) are turned into movies and don't turn out how you want them to be...tough shit. something that has a huge fanbase and different incarnations of each one will not yield a satisfying picture for everyone. and since everybody perceives the same thing differently it is not possible to appeal to everyone. i love "spiderman" but think that dunst was a poor choice for M.J. (rachel adams, claire danes would be better), but i'm not the movie maker so i'm not going to complain and pitch a fit because bumblebee isn't a VW or optimus prime doesn't have his plasma blasters or that little six-wheel thing that fit in the trailer.
if you want a movie that will make you happy and cover all the things that made YOU love that hero/villian/robot/whatever, make it your damn self. -
the only thing I give Bay over Boll and Anderson is his stunts are better.
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http://www.comingsoon.net/cgi-bin/imageFolio.cgi?action=view&link=Toy_Fair_2007/Transformers&image=optimus3.jpg&img=&tt= sorry, can't do "tiny URLS" from the work computer.
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a little, too. But knew I had to prevail, if only for the sake of my own nostalgia and proving this Bay-banality of a film was going to be terrible. It's not just one thing that makes this film seem to piss poor, it's a combination of Bay, bad script, and for me, the departure from some of the more importnant elements of the G1 series. And I mean more about the stroy between the TFs and their struggles over Earth's energy resource rather than a humanized "Boy Meets Car" story. I'm fairly over it all though and now pretty much just enjoy 1) reiterating that this movie should NOT be called Transformers (TINO!) and 2)the AICN Talkbacks for it.
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Did anyone else catch the absolutely beautiful Transformers/GI Joe comic that came out not too long ago? It was set during World War II, the art was rather dark, reminiscent of Mike Mignola. The Autobots were helping the Allies/GI Joe and the Decepticons were helping the Nazis/Cobra, so awesome. They had some really cool new designs that completely fit within the era this story was taking place, such as Starscream was a Japanese Zero. These are the kinds of changes I can live with, they aren't an abortion hack job like we're seeing in the movie even with the WWII storyline.
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Didn't realise people were this into Transformers! I've got an original "Ultra Magnus" mug from way-back-when, but I think ebay may be hosting it soon.....
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I hate being a shitty typer.
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Remember what it's called? I want to check that out.
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No. What's being described here isn't a case of "everyone sees the characters in different ways." No one complained like this when, say, Anna Paquin was cast as Rogue, or Mos Def was cast as Ford Prefect. Why? Those people are good actors who turn in likable performances that, in many ways, stayed true to the heart of their characters. What Bay seems to be doing is taking a franchise that has always focused on the point of view of robot alien warriors and given us the POV of a dorky kid trying to get laid. Let me remind you: *there is a scene where Sam tries to hide the autobots around his house*. We have cute, bumbling autobots shoved into an age-old slapstick cliche. This isn't "flames on optimus", or even "Bumblebee shouldn't be a cool car". This isn't organic webshooters or nipples on the batsuit. This is just sad, tired film-making that seems to lack any imagination whatsoever. The thing that keeps coming to mind is Alien vs. Predator. That's not a good sign.
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I think Heather Graham or Jaime Pressly where born for that role.
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Way to undercut me, man. Thanks. ;) But, point stands--fans still got happy and excited about X-Men despite that. The equivalent here would be if, say, a young teenager stumbled across three mutants, bearing superficial resemblances to Cyclops, Iceman, and Wolverine, except Iceman was mute and Wolverine was brain-damaged, and Iceman spent his time trying to get the teenager laid. That would be a movie we X-Men fans would have a real problem with. Especially when Wolverine got peed on.
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Did you jsut read the early draft of X4 directed By Joel Shumacher.
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Did you just read the early draft of X4 directed By Joel Shumacher.
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http://tinyurl.com/2rxmlw
There you go. -
if they let someone with actual imagination direct it. It could be an awesome fantasy movie.
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doesn't even need to understand why people love it. However, it is not eveb debateable at this point as to the reason TF has been such an enduring phenomenon. It is not because it's a toy cartoon, it is because of the mythos.
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it sells toys. No, people love Star Wars because of the mythos and buy the toys.
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and he said he's not going to see it cuz he heard theres a lot of gay robots in the movie
http://tinyurl.com/pv8do -
Damn you Michael Bay
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The Toyline or the TV show?
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the cartoon came first.
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priceless - why the hell does anyone hire the fool anymore...hopefully more than a few producers will hear about his self-proclaimed "lack of vision" and never get to touch a sci-fi/comic film again...sigh, as if.
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It will probably be better than the CGI version.
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millions and then after claiming they wanted to design the characters to look more realistic, fembots will show up in the sequel looking like Scarlett Johansson in a bikini.
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We have a Transformers movie now!
Stop bitching so damn much...ya bunch of ungreatful nadslurpers! -
are not a Transformer's fan. That's all.
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I watched the original series,I cut school and saw the animated movie first day when it came out. I even sat through the poorly animated season that followed the movie. And I enjoyed the beastwar series too. I love the Transformers. They were very entertaining. But my life isn't pathetic enough at the age of 38 to bitch and whine about how Michael Bay is getting it wrong or why does Optimus have flames?
I don't care. Those boxy robots were cool and impressed me when I was 14,and the big budget live action robots will entertain me now...with flames and all. -
Not paying for, though.
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about this film. I mean, afterall it IS just a film. And I think everyone here (well,mostly everyone) who voices concern (or disdain) for this film understands that. But, that doesn't mean we didn't have expectations. It doesn't mean we aren't humans with sentimental nostalgia for things. I think this was alluded to by someone else earlier in this TB, but I'll reiterate: This film is basically alien robots invading the Earth and fighting each other. Premise sounds cool. If this film was NOT called "Transformers" you bet there'd be some interest in and of itself. Even with the cliched "comedy" moments with Shia and his pet Underdog , etc, as well as the contrived action sequences that will result from Bay's involvement and this would still be a campy, but big budget summer movie that might be enjoyable for the sheer "guilty pleasure" factor. Not everyone would like it, many would say "hey, robots from outer space that can change their shape to earthly forms? This sound like a TF rip off!" And in concept it might be, but NOBODY would mistake it for Transformers. The title and a few names (plus Optimus's basic Earth form) are the only relics of the G1 show which created this profitable property. And I think those were really only done to give something "identifiable" for the marketing team to use.My biggest gripe is using the name which embodies alot of history for this property, very little of which is being used in this movie. That said, if Bay and co had just come out from the beginning and said "Guys, we're making a TF movie, but it's goign to be a departure from the G1 stuff. Sorry, but that's the fact." I'd have felt disappointed, but at least not felt deceived. This whole last year has been stringing the "fan community" along. Incidentally it's funny that peopel argue that the fan base is "not bg at all" b/c the first thing Spielberg said was that he was "a fan" (dubious) and the first public announcements about this film were all things that would only have appealled to fans sensibilities. It when the cracks in the story started showing that people started getting up in arms about it, I think. At least for me it was. Look at that Megatron abomination (no offense Abom). Or should I just call it "MINO!" Anyway, good for the TF fans who have no issue with the film whatsoever. You can't please everybody all the time, right? I guess my personal perspective is to have high standards for things that have alot of meaning for me and if they aren't being met, then it needs to be done another way. But it is being done. And that's fine cuz there wasn't a live action TF movie before and sense this film is Transformers In Name Only, there won't really be one afterward either.
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Put a link somewhere, maybe in that stanky Zone place, so we can enjoy your pride and joy. (no, not THAT "pride and joy- I'll let wanna_bannana have that one)
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it's the end of the day and the mind is on "weekend mode" already....which is probably why I even bothered to apologize for not proofreading. FUCK PROOFREADING!
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He does the bit about playing with Barbies as a little boy. His mum overreacted and replaced them with buff MastersOTU toys like that bondage He-man which pretty much ENSURED he'd be camp as a row of tents. Anyone?
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if so thats Eddie Izzard.
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novembre13 - Like zb said, this isn't about this actor or that actor should be in the role. If that was the case, people would be freaking out about Shia Lebeef (or whatever his name is).
I hate the argument about "it has so many reincarnations"
First, Bay has said right from the beginning that he's basing this off of G1 Transformers. Secondly, Aside from the "Mainframe productions" stuff. The other "Transformers Reincarnations" have been TV shows imported from Japan. Where these are merely "yet another Toy Robot show." It's sort of a standard there to reincarnate shows over and over. Just look how many "Gundam" tv shows they have.
But as zb said, when they take the core premise of a story, or a character, turn it on it's head, and then say "well, we need to "update it" or "reinvision it" " it's merely an excuse to say "This is our money, and we'll do what the fuck we want with the original material to make our movie."
With that same premise, Spider-man would have Uncle Ben merely injured, Mary Jane would be named Jennifer Smith and be black. Peter Parker would work for K-Mart, and his powers would include being able to fly.
THAT is what they're doing to Transformers. Not merely just casting the wrong person in a role, or slightly altering Prime's guns or bumblebee's looks. Those are annoyances, but people can get past that.
When you hear about scenes where they're hiding transformers in backyards, and goofyness like that. That is NOT what Transformers is about. The story of a "boy and his car" was never what Transformers was about. Never, not even in any of it's "incarnations" (that I can think of).
As for a few other questions here. The Original Transformers Toyline debuted first before the TV show. The TV show came on TV in the Fall of 1984. The Toy line was out earlier that summer.
Marvel Comics started their comic run (I believe) that fall, or winter.
The worst thing about this, is that after we see it. The backlash my be so great that a second movie may not be produced, or if it does. It will be unable to correct the heavy mistakes made in this one.
Remember Fantastic Four? It was pretty horrid. I have high hopes for FF2. But can they correct the heavy amount of screw ups in the first one? Hard to say...
Oh, and someone else mentioned that Bay IS making this for the fans by hiring Peter Cullen for Optimus etc.
The **ONLY** reason Michael Bay "Auditioned" Peter Cullen for Optimus was because of the HUGE internet backlash that he got when it was leaked that they were going to go with all new voices.
That is what Michael Bay originally wanted. He said himself that he wanted to "distance" himself from the original cartoon as much as possible in order to "modernize" it. So he wanted all new fresh voices.
The fans had a bird, and so he auditioned, and eventually hired Peter Cullen. It was pure Damage Control. Nothing more. He realised that he had fucked up, and threw the fans a bone...
Thats it...
Plain and simple...
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Don't seem to want to work.. WTF?
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..WITH MICHAEL BAYS SELF RESPECT...IT AIN'T COMING BACK. THIS FILM WILL STINK LIKE ANNA NICOLE SMITHS DRUG ENGORGED CORPSE.
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Good points! And for the hard returns, you've gotta use html-esque tags. (without the space) breaks a line. Like this. (without the space) will do a paragraph-style break.
Like this. -
Apparently adding space doesn't work. Or does work. Whatever. I'll use dots instead.
for break (minus dots)
for a paragraph (minus dots) -
One more time:
Type "". That will break.
Type "". That will do a paragraph break.
Christ. -
Okay, apparently is just accepts all less-than-greater-than-signs. Annoying. So let me put it this way less-than-br-greater-than = break. less-than-p-greater-than = paragraph.
God damn it. -
But i often read what you guys have to say, and some of you bring up some great, intelligent points, and at the very least it's almost always entertaining. But i was compelled to finally post my opinion, because there seems to be way too many people bringing up the whole "It's just a toy commercial, they're just toys, so none of this matters" thing. Anyone with half a brain realizes that Hasbro's sole intent with Transformers was to sell toys, and the show was just a marketing vehicle. But when Hasbro teamed up with Marvel writers Jim Shooter and Dennis O'Neil to flesh out the characters and create the backstory, they (perhaps inadvertently) created something special, no different than Stan Lee creating Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four. You can argue that Lee's creations weren't based on an existing toy line, but he was still a hired gun working for Marvel, paid to create something for Marvel to sell, so what's the difference? You can also argue about the quality of The Transformers writing compared to Marvel's stuff, but who cares? Optimus Prime was written as a great hero, and it's clear that the writers put a lot of effort into creating tons of diverse personalities for a seemingly endless array of Transformers, and that's what kids of the 80's latched onto. I can certainly speak for myself in this regard. And simply put, the designs rocked. So no matter what the original intent may have been, classic characters were created. Characters that people clearly love. I guarantee you that if you looked deep into the creation history of something you're really into, be it a film, or album or tv show, you're bound to find something unsavory, or something you didn't expect. It doesn't change the final "product." So it makes perfect sense that fans would be concerned with how Michael Bay and company are handling the characters they love. Everyone and their brother will rave on here how the Spider-Man films (for the most part) stay true to their 40 year old comic book origins, but if concern is expressed over Transformers, those people are insulted. Ridiculous.
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as Catwoman did with the comics. That is to say...ZIPPO!!!
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and a lotta luck..... is that basically what this reviews gettin at? cos if im not too mistaken, that all went tits up and most of the original series transformers died......... i think we r gonna need the matrix of leadership, cos theres a damn good chance this could be our darkest hour
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I am Michael movie director. Defender of bad movie making. Fabulous abilities were revealed to me the day I held aloft my movie camera and said. I think I can Direct!!!!!! This is my liberian a fearless friend and he became a producer and I tell him what to do. My movies SUCK! Only three share this secret the producer and executive producer and my agent. I defend movie making from the great directors and enjoy destroying film properties!
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I remember the WWII era one, but there was also a "modern" version that essentially cross the origins of the Joes, Cobra, Autobots and Decepticons. Cobra Commander is the one who discovers the Ark with all the wrecked Autobots and Decepticons and he gathers them up to be used in his newly founded terrorist organization. With Dr. Mindbender's help, he proceeds to turn Autobots and Decepticons into HISS Tanks and other assorted Cobra vehicles, all the while walking around with Megatron strapped to his hip. Kinda wish I got past issue 4. Fuck.
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i don't even need to READ the TB to know that people are pissed about this movie. and really, who gives a shit? it's the fuckin TRANSFORMERS, ON THE BIG SCREEN! i don't care if optimus is a fuckin old school ford windstar with 500 pink and purple flames down the side, it's optimus prime and he is a god-damned robot who transforms into a soccer mom's van, that is cool shit and i would pay double to see it, cuz it's cool. not cuz the director may or may not pull it off, not because it's not "true to the series", cuz it's fuckin cool, and fuck ya for transformers. "ohhhh it's not the same", okay go back to 1990 when shit was how you liked it when you were in grade school and you cleaned shit out of your braces and watched cartoons, this shit is gonna be big, and have the cgi fucked right out of it. i'd rather see a big flaming gay optimus blow the shit out of some modern day shit, then watch a fuckin cartoon.
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I haven't seen Ghost Rider yet, but from all accounts it appears to be yet another shitty adaptation from Hollywood. So I ask you, do you want Transformers to be like Ghost Rider or like Spiderman, like Electra or like X-Men 2, like Catwoman or like Batman Begins?
It is my strong opinion that Transformers is = or What did I expect from a Transformers film? More than we're fucking getting, that's for damn sure. -
We are looking at it from two different perspectives. i agree if you have certain expectations on the side of money, or script, or anything that people will critique in this forum, that yes it seems as if they could have done a better job. but say for instance you are not a person who reads talkbacks, or spoilers or anything, and all you've seen in the last 15 years is the cartoon, the computer animated "beasties", and now the trailers for the movie, you'd be pretty damn pumped that you even get to experience this. and that's what i'm saying, the coolness factor of this, for me and im sure many more, outweighs the fact that maybe the depth of the script isn't as great as it should be. and i use the term depth loosely since this IS a movie about effin alien robots coming to earth and blowing shit up. but you're comment about catwoman is ridiculous because wow was that bad, the only good thing was halle barry in skin tight leather
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who DOESN'T read talkbacks
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...to think a movie should have a good script? Y'know what else is cool? Awesome CGI dragons tearing the fuck out of the modern day world. Know what movie sucked? Reign of Fire.
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Thanks for the tips, I have some HTML experience, so I know what you're talking about. Didn't realise Aint-it-cool news was such an archaic site that I'd actually have to do that for them when typing in a Talkback.
Kira - I agree with what you're saying about inadvertantly creating something that kids latched onto. There were a lot of similar cartoons about good vs. evil around that time, or a few years before hand. But none were as popular as Transformers. So TF obviously had some sort of magic to it.
It also reminds me of Robotech. When Macek wanted to import "Macross" to North America. He didn't have enough episodes in order for it to get syndicated due to N. American broadcasting rules (or something.) So he also bought rights to SDF: Southern Cross, and Mosipeda (sp). Then of course he had to re-write much of it so that all three flowed together. He came up with "protoculture" and worked it in through the three shows and created Robotech. Another product that people are very attached too, and one which if Michael Bay got his hands on, would Make Rick Hunter a Girl, Veritech's into Tanks, and change the Zentraedi into big robots.
Jegoing - Love the He-man/Bay parody =).. heh heh -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFNIZ1Q_m74
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