"It’s good. And that’s not saying “there are good parts in it,” either. I think as a movie, it knows exactly what it’s doing, it does it well, and it manages to avoid the mistakes that a lot of similar recent movies have made. This is not INDEPENDENCE DAY. This is not GODZILLA. I think this movie can only be a good thing for the world of TRANSFORMERS. I think this movie makes it a much larger cultural icon than it’s ever been before. This is not a toy commercial... and don’t get me wrong... it’s not a film, either. It’s a movie. A really, really fun movie."

and

"And, no, I’m not a proponent of “turn your brain off and you’ll enjoy it” as a way of approaching films. Never have been.... When I recommend a film, it’s because I genuinely think it delivers on its promise, and in the case of TRANSFORMERS, I think Michael Bay has finally found a perfect fit for his sensibilities."

Memories of Murder, BadMrWonka - fine if you don't want to see it; just please stop telling the rest of us why we shouldn't, and why we're stupid because we do.

Oh, and close the door on your way out please.

I just can't understand it. Films were created to ENTERTAIN; in all manner of ways, and yes, there are films out there that don't. 90% of the reviews of this film are saying - and agreeing - that this film delivers pure entertainment, and warrants repeat viewing - for its entertainment value (not to try and work out what's happening!).

What is wrong with people these days? Some people seem to be expecting so much more than ANY film can deliver.

I can't eat fast food anymore. Kills my tummy. Same with saccrin popcorn movies. However, if it worked for you. Congrats. I'll be sitting this one out for a while.

Also, I am hoping I might meet MCMLXXVI there.

Still, coll review.

BTW Mori has consistently for the last year said he hated the 86 film. It's not a new thing.

Hey Yack, glad you enjoyed it but I can't get over that script.

Any news on the MAN CATS?

Am confusing myself now.

I shouldn't have read the script because I have no attachment to TF.

Alternatively, summer 2010- BOY KATZ with adolescent man kat as he struggles to come to terms with growing hair in funny places. Soundtrack by Mcfly. Love interest to be played by 30 something actress Alison Hannygan(sp?) as she fakes being a 14 year old girl. Again. Directed by the Wayans brothers

Also coming soon- BIG MAN CAT: 12 semi retarded man cats are locked in a house, made to perform asinine tasks and behave like cretins. Catnip will be supplied regularly to ensure arguments and (hopefully) drunken tabby sex. One will be voted off each week by the audience. Produced by endemol to be aired on Sky1 (or Fox in America).

On transformers, I do understand that they are probably less vomit inducing on the screen, but all I will be able to think of is "oh, shit here comes (x bad joke)". MY own fault really and I have (or should have) learnt a valuable lesson about reading scripts. I also hate Bay films.

it was so god damm annoying not being able to enjoy the hype without a running battle on why it was gonna be shit. i always had faith that it was going to be the blockbuster of 2007. thanks

and to the haters.... you're flogging a dead horse, time to run with your tail between your legs

ARISE RODIMUS PRIME!

Back on topic, Transformers sounds like fun. I'm waving the white flag and will go see it Thursday. With my Die Hard ticket though ...

flawed, but kick ass- just not a lot to do with Transformers.

Am I correct?

Do I respect the fanboys' views on the subject? Not really. At least no more than I respect trekkies or furry porn fans. I know this is probably "bad" of me, objectively speaking, but I can't help it. There's just something so endlessly obnoxious about how some of the worst ones have been carrying on here for months. At first I didn't really care, but the more I read of their posts the more I wanted them to be disappointed, because I find the apoplectic rage of fanboys denied to be very funny.

If it's any consolation, I find the fury of fanboys who fanatically defend geek properties which I personally enjoy to be equally hilarious.

So far, I have heard nothing which has lessened my interest in the film. If anything, Mori's review has even piqued my desire to see it.

Not the same at all.

However, Yack & Messi's damascene conversion has actually piqued some interest and Mori's review cemented it. It sounds like it might actually be worth watching with a few beers for a laugh.

WE DON'T EXPECT IT TO BE CITIZEN FUCKING KANE

The script (tht I admit was a mistake to read) was sub-retard level. Messi says that it is mostly gone now.

You shouldn't have to read a prequel book just to understand who the transformers are, what their relationships are etc It should be done in the movie itself. But with most of the TF's having fuck all to say (especially Decepticons) and the focus being on humans, there was never a chance of that happening. Let me try to put this in words you'll understand...

Imagine Spider-Man 3 was actually Spider-Man 1 and the movie had no explanation of how Peter got his powers, how his relationship with MJ developed and had very little detail on the story between him and Harry and why Harry hates him.

So Peter is going to propose...Harry shows up as the new Goblin...but actually the first Goblin since there was no Goblin shown before that...and Uncle Ben is dead for no apparent reason except in the couple of vague flashbacks in the movie.

Would you write a review that recommended that we read a prequel novel that details Peter and MJ's relationship, Normans time as the Goblin, Uncle Ben's death, the rise of Doc Ock etc? No...you want those stories to be told in the movie.

The same applies to Transformers...the rivallry between Megatron and StarScream, the bond that exists between the Autobots...even Megatrons sadistic and cruel nature and unending desire for power and control shouldn't be reduced to a prequel novel...they should be in the movie.

I agree with you Mori, TF:The Movie was shit but the one thing the cartoons and comics had was a developed relationship between the transformers...they were the stars and the focus was squarely on them - on who they are and what they represent.

TINO may have some cool action, butI honestly can't put my faith in any review or reviewer who basically says "oh the story was shit, the script was shit...but shit blows up so it's a good movie", which is what all these positive reviews are saying.

And apart from effects, there is no comparison with Jurassic Park...the T-Rex was the monster in a monster movie...the dinos were there to provide thrills and spills and showcase new technology...but the Transformers are supposed to be living sentient beings who don't just chase humans...they interact with them, talk to them. They have their own feelings and thoughts. Spider-Man is more than just a masked superhero who says fuck all and saves people...he's a person with personal issues and feelings. The fact that I have to go and read a prequel novel to find out who the characters are just shows how wrong the writers of the movie were with Transformers.

I don't blame Bay for it actually...the blame lies with Spielberg and the writers. There may be some great action in the film, but it's not Transformers...it's a generic robot action movie...Transformers In Name Only.

TINO

However, what I want is some quality- I despise the turn your brain off to enjoy it line of criticism. Maybe I am fucking po-faced, again whatever, but it is possible for a film to be both smart and action packed.

I honestly feel that any film that tries to milk "humour" out of a sequence with a dog pissing on a robot, and then later on a robot pissing on someone else is lazy and weak as they are essentially recycling the same lame toilet-wall humour.

Fuck it, call me po-faced and perhaps I am getting cynical. I freely admit that I would not think like this if I hadn't read the script, but I just can't get over it. No matter how good Messi says the Starscream sequence is.

It does stand a good chance at making it into my films to watch when shitfaced pile (as when in that state my brain doesn't work anyway so all the shit that usually bothers me doesn't), but is that the mark of a good film?

Just out of curiosity- were you banned? and if so how did you get back?

The part of this review that worked as a checkmate as to whether or not I'd like this movie, lies in the comparison between this and Jurassic Park.

Along with the original Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park is one of my most favorite movies of all time. A special part of my childhood is dedicated to dinosaurs, while other kids worshiped superheroes and Power Rangers. I was reading dinosaur books when I was 2, so it isn't much of a stretch to say that this film rocked my world. It took MONTHS to try to convince two parents and a nanny to take a 3 year old into a scary PG-13 movie.

Jurassic Park was not a movie to me. It was a shrine, a monument to Dinosaurs. Someone saying that Jurassic Park sucked would be akin to someone pissing on a devout Christian's Bible.

This is how hardcore Transformers fans should take this movie. It isn't an adaptation. It's a shrine/monument to an era. Velociraptors are supposed to be 3 feet tall, yet in the movie they are 6 feet tall. Optimus Prime is supposed to be flame-less, yet here he is.

So, let's all keep this in mind when we see it today/tomorrow/day after depending on when it opens in your neck of the USA. This is not an adaptation of the comics nor the cartoons. It is a memorial, a culmination.

Sean- there are still people crying TINO. Check out the big reviews page.

I believe you and Messi and co about the changes, but I really wish I hadn't read that script now, as the thought of paying $20 for this makes my skin crawl. I'm being stubborn about this.

When I said smart I was being lazy- I actually meant not retarded and not full of plot holes.

that was one special moment, still inspiring to this day.

CHILDREN OF FUCKING MEN!

We were exactly right.

Now that doesn't mean we win a prize or get a cookie because the "apologists" knew the same thing. The difference is that they were fine with the direction.

It has a lot to do with expectations and what the individual looks for in a movie. Now it is obvious that the majority of people are more than happy to go and sit and enjoy the movie. Even if the story has no meat because they are not going for that reason. Completely understandable.

I think I am just underwhelmed with the story aspect. Everyone knew from day one the special effects would be drop dead gorgeous, and the fights....A number 1. We were just worried about the story and its impact...and the "designs". Then when we get answers about things like "Because I said so" (Bay and the flames) it is very disconcerting. So I will not give my money to Michael Bay because of the attitude and approach he took with something I love. I will see it eventually and for free. Just not this week. I still have yet to see DH4. I am a little behind.

I'll give you this though, this is the first legit role to admit that the military porn actually worked for them. to me it was "AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!!" Team America shit, but done for real.

this movie was a joke. I'm starting to get how people had "an experience" watching it, and jsut sort of went , "yeah!! AWESOME!! WHOA!!!" but I'm beyond understanding how anyone, especially someone like you whose opinion I respect, can honestly claim it's a good film. I just don't get it.

History may also shut up my cousin who said it wasn't a good film, it had holes in the script and the dialogue wasn't good. He then said he loved Blood Diamond and I said "it's ok, it's Edward Zwick, better than Last Samurai but not that good" and he goes "and you liked Children of men?" then I said "you'd get beaten up by filmgeeks for saying that". feed him to the AICN dogs.

Tegujai Batir

when he wrote, "Michael Bay's Transformers > self-pwning haters", the sheer poetry and individuality of it...it's beautiful...and then, as if that wasn't beautiful and persuasive enough, he followed it up with, "Eat crow, retards!"...sigh...so beautiful. so compelling. where did he comes up with haters and subsituting the p for an o in "owned", sheer genius!

keep up the good work, kiddo...you'll change the world. one pwned hater retard at a time.

Umm, why A.O. Scott didn't review this movie is beyond me. But nobody really tries with the NYT staff anymore. Anthony Lane actually liked it though... I think...

As for the new movie, I don't think I will be calling it a piece of shit any time in the next twenty years. It looks good to me. Rock me, Amadeus.

I don't think Bumblebee pissing on people is a characterization improvement, however.

at least this has shithot effects to gawp at!

http://tinyurl.com/3yx59a

Not great but if true then a decent direction, i thought about it, hasbro will want a new design for pt 2 to sell more toys, what better way than to make them more G1, not exactly but more leaning towards it.

http://tinyurl.com/32j9pg

(CNN) -- The most expensive toy commercial ever made, "Transformers," Michael Bay's live-action film about the surprisingly durable Hasbro product line, is long, loud and altogether less than meets the eye.

A blockbuster for 8-year-olds -- and, I guess, those older boys who never grew up -- "Transformers" will buzz its youthful demographic (the effects are incredible) but leave the rest of us wondering if Hollywood could possibly aim lower.

For the uninitiated, the Transformers are sentient machines from outer space. To pass undetected on Earth they assume the form of everyday consumer objects -- mostly, here, American trucks and cars -- but in their true configuration they are colossal robot warriors with the firepower to match.

The Autobots are the good guys, led by sanctimonious Optimus Prime. Then there are the evil Decepticons, led by Megatron, whose role is basically to blow stuff up.

Despite their name, the Decepticons show themselves first, with a devastating (and oh-so-topical) strike on a U.S. military base in Qatar. It's not the massacre of the troops that troubles the Pentagon so much as a stealth hack attack on their computer network. Could the Iranians have developed such cyber smarts? And where's "Die Hard's" John McClane when you need him?

Meanwhile, back in the U.S.A., high school geek Sam Witwicky (rising star Shia LaBeouf) is the befuddled new owner of a beaten-up yellow Camaro with a matchmaking streak. Like a certain VW love bug, the car starts and stalls at will, and likes to select golden oldies as romantic cues. It's only when Sam sees it slip away one night and transform into an Autobot named Bumblebee that he realizes this must be more than a quirky optional extra.

A filmmaker who has profitably plundered his own arrested adolescence in movies like "Bad Boys," "The Rock" and "Armageddon," director Michael Bay got his fingers burned two years ago with the relatively sophisticated sci-fi flop "The Island." It's obvious he's not going to be caught overestimating his audience twice.

Even so, Bay is the wrong man for the job, something producer Steven Spielberg should have known. Bay's penchant for designer machismo and piledriver action (not to mention wholesale product placement) doesn't sit well with the Transformers' appropriately juvenile comedy and a sub-Spielbergian suburban teen romance. Innocence and wonder -- the type of human traits fundamental to Spielberg's vision of childhood -- are not in Bay's tool kit.

Megan Fox, for example, who plays Sam's high school crush Mikaela, looks and sounds exactly like the 20-year-old FHM babe she really is. Mind you, unless they're moms, all Bay's women look and sound this way (just ask Scarlett Johansson).

But it's military hardware that really revs his engine. Bay shoots weaponry in an orgasmic rapture, always in slow motion and against the sunset. Not surprisingly, the military was happy to play its part when it came to supplying props for what often resembles a teenage recruitment film. Even the movie's theme -- hollow words about victory through sacrifice -- is pitched to this constituency.

Setting about the action sequences with real vigor, Bay seems to imagine he's remaking "War of the Worlds," or maybe embarking on "Terminator 4." And to be fair, the Transformers in motion are something to see -- as with several of this year's event pictures, the effects guys have surpassed themselves.

But the illusion is shattered whenever the 'bots start talking or the action stops. Bay tries to gloss over the infantile plot, but it would take a lighter, wittier touch to square the movie's pedestrian script with its excitable vision of impending auto-geddon.

At least John Turturro, who shows up at the halfway mark as an unsympathetic government operative, seems to have understood that "manic" is the only appropriate response. First he's stripped to his underpants, then a monstrous machine relieves itself all over him. After 144 minutes of "Herbie Goes to War," I knew just how he felt.

For those of you screaming for more of an "origin" movie...the average moviegoer isn't going to care about a war on the planet Cybertron. We care when it affects us, our planet. Which is why once they get to Earth to save us, the story kicks in.

It's really a fun, entertaining movie.

As much as I enjoyed Transformers, it certainly works better than 'eBay'. And 'Bad Boys II' is a horrific piece of shit.

1. The Rock / 2. Transformers / 3. Bad Boys / 4. The Island ....and then the shitty ones. You know this to be true.

RevSick said that some of us enjoy more intelligent fair.

I am one of those, but yet i enjoy this kind of movie too.

There are some people (i work with a lot of them) who only like this kind of movie. They also thought Norbit and Scary Movie 4 where the funniest movies of all time. These are what is known as retarded people.

Then there are people who only like high brow movies, foreign films and things that chalenge the viewer in some way.

I happen to like both. I think the majority of us do.

In my film loving head Bay is the antichrist, he goes against everything that says film is a valid and intelligent art form.

Yet I still watch his films.

Why?

Well because sometimes I want to watch a good film and sometimes I want to watch a big silly movie.

It's the same as the way sometimes i want to read a nice book and sometimes I want to play a violent action packed videogame.

I don't believe this kind of film is the death of an artform like some say.

The two polar opsite types of film can co-exsist. Smaller films get made because the studios have buckets of cash from big films to fund them.

All through the history of cinema studio produced crap has been at the forefront of entertainment. Every year for the last 100 years someone has probably said 'oh this is it films are all going to be shit now'. I have never found that the more 'big' films that come out the less smaller projects get made.

If you look at every year then there is more big buget movies but also every year more independent films get made and more foreign films get released over here.

In my office their favorite films of the last while are Wild Hogs, Norbit and all the crap non-descrit horror films that have emerged over the summer.

They always go on about how funny Little Man is.

As a film lover, it is very painful. I can't even recomend films, if something sounds slightly different they actually say stuff like 'oh i wouldn't like that sort of thing'.

In my local video shop they have big stickers on all foreign films warning that they contain subtitles.

If any of you have ever worked in a video shop you will understand why. A regular complaint is 'hey, this film was in a different language and i aint reading no subtitles, gimme my money back!'

The general public are retarded.

A film is generally sucsesful if the director achieves what he set out to do.

So with TF Bay has suceeded in doing what he set out to do.

He could never do what say Pedro Almodóvar does but then he doesn't want to.

I'm sure Pedro Almodóvar couldn't make a Bay film if he tried.

The point is I have two different hobbies, one is watching Bay style films one is watching Pedro Almodóvar style films.

But it's a sliding scale and Bay fits at one extreme.

There should always be a place for both extremes otherwize we wouldn't get the movies which fit in the middle.

Loads of people used to come into my video shop and rent some shitty new release.

They would complain that they don't make good movies anymore.

They say that they used to like films like Taxi Driver and that they don't make them type of films anymore.

But when you point out that there are still just as many good films made and try to get them to rent something which isn't a big release with a big star in it they won't.

And when they do they complain because it ws 'weird' or 'confusing' and rent Little Man again.

And very few people I know would sit through them. This includes the same people who loved them on their release.

My dad always says he loves those films but if you show him somehting now that isn't mainstream or typical then he's all like 'what was that about, that was shit, arty bollocks'

It is very tempting to try and get every person who comes in to rent something different that will chalenge them.

The amount of people i tried to get to watch Old Boy or Save the Green Planet. It wasn't worht it, they just complained and wanted another film for free.

A lot of people get very pissed if they get a movie home and find its going to involve them reading.

THe annoying thing is you know they wouldn;t mind once they started. ou read subtitles without thinking about it. Half the time you remember a line that was in a subtitle as if you heard it. THese people all watch Big Brother on tv which some episodes are pcked with subtitles and they don't even notice.

If you watch the performances and cinematography in Munich, Minority Report of even War of the Worlds there is true artistic meat to them.

There is substance. Bay does not know what substance means.

Buddy, I trust your judgment on this flick, because you are SO right about Bad Boys II. That shit cracks me up every fucking time... "And you two need Jesus." C.H.U.D. and Monster Squad...the creme de la creme of 'so bad they're good'. Let's not pretend that Transformers: The Movie was good. Because I saw that shit when I was little and was like...Oh no...That fucking race car is the new leader of the Autobots?! WEAK! And who's this broad-former in pink!? My sister wouldn't even buy that! Anyway. Good review, I think you're off base with the 'so bad it's good'.

Speilberg can still be fresh and exciting even after being fresh and exciting multiple times in the 70's 80's and 90's.

Scorsesse seems intent on trying to please the Oscar crowd instead of trying to make something personal like Taxi Driver.

Even Ridley Scott wo makes great movies like Gladiator doesn't have the same originallity he displayed with Blade Runner or Alien.

Speilberg makes every movie like it is his first. He takes risks and doesn't try to simply re-create the success he once had.

You act like he wants to make something small and meaningful with depth and heart but keeps fucking it up and accidently making films like TF.

I am happy with Bay staying shit, another director can fulfil my need for intelligent cinema. Bay should stay where he is, where he belongs.

Where's the Talkback for this tightness? Sweet lord I hope this one gives the series a proper send-off. Looks good to me, but those trailers can be crafty. C'mon August 3rd! This is the flick I have been waiting for this summer. Seriously.

Paddy Considine...

Anyone who hasn't seen Dead Mans Shoes or 24 Hour Party People should go and check them out now, the man is a genius.

And let's just dispense with the name dropping on this Bourne installment. The whole cast on this third flick is great. Can't wait. Clearly.

27th July!

There is a good chance that I might not get to see it at all :(

I just hope it is still on in theatres in a couple of months and I can catch a showing.

Even though it is not the film i want to see most in the world it is the only one i believe would be a completely different experiance on dvd.

I only have a standard dvd player, normal old school 22 inch tv (not even widescreen) and no sound set up to speak of.

...I'm sure the Gfriend would be angry at first but I'll just buy her some make up and show interest in cusion covers and other such things and she'll forget about it in no time.

$50,000 could buy a lot of tickets to see TF.

I remember not getting round to seeing ROTK when that came out and caught it nearly 3 months later in the very last showing in any cinema in the whole of Ireland. Lucky.

It suits me fine. No holding on thinking of baseball for me.

Have the positive reviews swayed you? I was on the other side of the fence to you but i can't see how people are changing their minds on this.

It looks like exactly what we all expected, a great Bay film.

I thought the Bay haters would still hate it but Messi and Yack seemed to change their views.

But you supes never seemed that keen on the action side of things. Not being sexist but I think you are immune from the power Bay has over us stupid boys.

The little Decepticon was a little too slapsticky for me.

Other than those things, this movie was Spectacular! I definitely thought that the action was great, But some of my more favorite moments were when the Autobots were simply standing still and speaking with Shia and the girl. They were awe-inspiring. It was great.

I probably will see it at some point, but I'm not going out of my way to get it in over the holiday and contribute to its opening grosses.

The final count came to approximately 01:01:35.

That is a significant amount of screentime. That is half the film's length! I wish it could have been 3/4s or 4/5s, but Half is great! That is every other second. every other 10 seconds. every other 30 seconds or a minute. Bay never strayed long from showing us the CG Robots in all their glory.

http://www.combustiblecelluloi d.com/2007/transform.shtml

I gotta say that I never thought Transformers could be more than a cartoon show but I stand corrected. This was a kick ass(if maybe too loud at times) movie! I grew up on the original cartoon and this felt as an adult like how it felt as a kid to watch the cartoon.

This isn't a exact duplicate of the original cartoon. It's it's own telling. But I honestly can't say that anything except maybe another hour of character development would make it better. It was just plain... fucking fun!

I really only went to this because of the AICN reviews being so positive and I am not dissapointed.

I'm sorry to the guys who didn't enjoy the movie. It's great fun for everyone else alive. The audience I was with LOVED it and heartily cheered at the end!

Best Line: Were you... you know?

Optimus Prime is the Mother Fucking Ma..chine!!!

Here's my take on it, and no I'm not going to make the "it's stupid so it's good" argument. The film has alot going for it, the problem is there are elements that grind it to a painful halt. There are two movies going on here, Transformers and Sam Witwicky: The Quest For Poontang. One story is good, one is bad and slow, guess which one? That's right Sam and Mikela is the worst part of the movie. It's the biggest problem I had with the film period. It completely kills the pace of the film everytime they feel the need to focus on the romantic subplot of Sam and Mikela. Bottom line, it does not fit, most everything else fit, the military guys, the hackers, the government, even the moments where it was just sam and bumblebee fit, but the stuff where it's this amalgam of Transformers and Herbie the Love Bug is so painfully slow and out of place it just kills the pacing. I get what they were doing, trying to get the female audience, but let's face it putting twenty minutes of romantic subplot into a film isn't going to immediatly make little girls run out for Transformer tickets or toys. It works about as well as putting a twenty minute car chase into the latest Lizzy McGuire movie to try and attract boys, ain't happenin. I also think they were trying to add some breathing room to the film, but this film doesn't need breathing room, it needs to move and be on point and the romantic interludes take it off point.

I think that the performances where fair to good with Shia LeBeouf being the stand out but he also has the most to work with. The Mikela character is nothing more than eye-candy and alot of her elements in the finale could have easily been swapped for one of the military guys, well except for the shmultsy stuff that would be a different movie all together then and it'd probably be on Logo. But once again the romantic subplot was completely out of place in this film and should have been removed to help the pacing and keep the film on track.

However, even with a romantic sub plot that takes up a good 20 to 30 minutes over the two and a half hour film it never jumps the track completely. It only detracts in the moment you are watching and is soon forgoton as you get back into the story at hand about the impending autobot/decepticon mayhem.

I think in the hands of some more capable writers the sequel could be the film this one could have been, and I think Michael Bay has done his best work even though it is riddled by alot of his trademarks, the difference here is that he's obviously not taking himself seriously here and that helps. I think if the sequel is a more Transformer centric storyline with minimal human element (let's face bay can't do people) then I think he could do a great job with the material, but the writers need to step back a minute and think about what movie they are writting and not try to please every studio talking head wispering into their ear.

The fx were great, top notch work as expected and even channeled through the AM reciever the sound was great.

there are only a couple of moments that I found cringe worthy outside of the romantic stuff, the kill bill riff is just played out, and I will always shudder when I hear someone say "My Bad". But even with all that I had a good time and will probably take my mom too it cause she's a sucker for tacky sci-fi flicks.

Here's to hoping for more diciplined writers for the sequel.

Quelle fucking surprise. Glad you enjoyed it though

Other than that- spot on man.

It would have been more interesting if he had hated it.

i know I am repeating myself, but work is dull today.

They laughed at me.

It was terrible. When the MAN CATS take over there will be vengeance.

PS- I'm with Roddy Doyle regarding jazz: It's musical wanking.

Yuck. Sometimes I even disgust myself. Sorry.

Still have not seen it...dont plan it for awhile. I can only take so much pain...FF2 & SPM3 almost killed me.

Sideswipe. Sunstreaker. Wheeljack. Hound. Dinobots.

You know it.

I called you foilage but was just messing around, sorry man.

This has a feel that peoples enthusiasm for it is so intense that it will burn out.

as will the hatred for it.

LP, can we all call you pumpkin from now on?

"I'd love to further indulge in this stimulating conversation, but I'm actually pretty secure with my own opinions, even if they don't win the approval of esteemed critics like yourself."

Every so often a pompous fool of the highest order crawls out of the woodwork to condescend and generally behave like an utter prig. I'm glad your secure with your own opinions, and am also ecstatic to have your permission to stay in the TB.

I would also like to thank you for your lucid, erudite and utterly patronising diatribe featuring phrases such as "minds dull enough" and finallly wish to express my eternal gratitude that I have been graced with a few measly lines that truly represent your genius.

Thanks, really, thanks.

It's good that fuzzy enjoyed the movie since he's not too "uptight", at least according to what he posted in Massy's review TB. Whew!

I stand corrected, the majority have declared that it sucks donkey dick. Sorry RevSick, but I'm lumping you in that category since you would be happy never seeing it again.

On topic here, not sure if I want to see Transformers or not. My wife asked me if I wanted to see it, and I mumbled that I'm not sure. She thinks it's cool that a Sikorsky helicopter is in it, or at least they came up with a robot that turns into a Sikorsky helicopter.

Some one could have said it was 'indocrinated into trash pop culture' back then.

There was probably people who despised current culture in the 80's the same a lot of us despise current culture now.

You might not always like the current state of society, the fashion, the music etc but it is the reality of the times we live in and should be represented in films.

People will look back on our time and see it with the rose tinted glasses we view past generations.

But I would like to say that I loved the hell out of the film, though not for the reasons I thought I would. I knew I was going to enjoy the hot robot-on-robot action promised in the ads and trailers, but I didn't think I was going to be so entertained by the non-robot portions of the movie. The Shia & Fox scenes were --for my money, anyway-- surprisingly watchable and fun. The silly Bumblebee gags made me laugh, the military/government parts weren't all that exciting, but mercifully quick enough not to drag down the proceedings. I did think Turturro was over the top and too silly for how the rest of the film played, but I gave his aspect of the movie some leeway simply because he's the Al Pacino of off-kilter character actors and he was trying to earn his money.

Flames on Optimus? I didn't care. Lips on Optimus? I didn't like them, but they're not such a big problem. Lack of Decepticons in the movie? A problem. Though they did wreak SERIOUS fucking havoc after their introduction, I really would have liked it better if there were more Deceps out in full force throughout the movie.

And as much as I think Mori's review is accurate and Harry's review is pure lunacy, I do kind of agree with Harry that the full-on action in the third act (and thru most of the film, actually,) could have been less of an onslaught and more concisely thrilling. I really couldn't get the word "Bayhem" out of my mind watching the third act. I know now why everyone repeats that word in their reviews, because it really was mayhem. The fights were melees, and only rarely did they give you something to really feast on, like the Prime/Bonecrusher sequence or Starscream's dogfight. And even those scenes were way too short, I thought. It was mostly just big robots wrasslin' around with each other, knocking into cars, buildings and whatnot. Did I enjoy those scenes? Yeah, I did, but I thought all that was missing from most of them was a little bit of imagination, and it could have made all the difference. And by comparison, I mean things like: Nightcrawler's White House attack in X2; The Burly Brawl in Matrix Reloaded; The Prodrace in TPM; Legolas taking down a whole oliphant (with soldiers) in ROTK; The Xavier School invasion in X-2; The T-1000 mimicking the floor tiles and forming the body of the night security guard in T2; Schwarzenneger on a horse chasing a terrorist on a motorcycle through a hotel in True Lies; The Nightcrawler / Rogue rescue in X2. Scenes like that. Scenes where it isn't just an expression of the idea of the film's attraction (movie about big robots fighting featuring scenes of... big robots fighting...) but something, some twist, some out-of-the-box idea that burns a particular scene into your mind using the tools inside the story. Just that much would have made a big difference to me.

But again, I did like the action, and was pleasantly surprised by the non-action scenes, happy not to be horrified by the funny stuff (let's face it, humor is not Bay's forte... I have to give him credit for letting the actors find the funny. Namely Shia and his parents and hell, even Bernie Mac.) I actually even liked the scenes with Frenzy. I don't know why there's so much Frenzy-hate by people. He wasn't what I expected from the movie, but at least he was a distinguishable character. More than I could say for Barricade. And the underuse of Starscream is a flat-out crime, but I'm hoping they'll make up for it in the next film.

So... am I crazy or does anyone else agree with my foolish ramblings?

That's why I find the cursing, the finger, the urine jokes, the oogling of a teenage character, inappropriate. Of course you can find these in many films marketed to kids, but I think they're crass as well.

They forget that things we consider cool now in an 80's film like Kurt Russels leather waste coat where just as contemparary as an I-pod or whatever now.

But firstly kids these days are different, this film is for them the same way the original series was for us.

Plus Bay wants to get the teenagers in as much if not more than the kids.

Like I said before it is representitive of the times we live in now, for better or for worse.

The 00's equivelent of an 80's girl in a leather jacket with bunches is someone like Megan Fox i suppose.

But people do jump on things just because they are contemarary a lot of the time. They seem to want every film to be set at least 10 yrs ago with no link to the real world in which we live.

Now for the Bad parts. And man is there allot. The Autobots I'm pretty sure have distinct characters that separate them; You can tell by the few lines they have which they all have English accents (save for Jazz the Black one) But the poor decepticons, they have even fewer lines and none that tell us anything about them other then there names. every other Human performance other then Sam fit your A typical Action Movie you have the funny paranoid Black stereo type, The Government official who doesn't believe shit stinks still he's standing in it, Hot school girl who dresses way to slutty (I know I'm getting old because my first thought when I saw her was were the hell are her parents.) and the rest are here on Bay Isle. The fight scenes are as Indecipherable as any Bay movie You really can't tell what the hell is going on when the Transformers fight each other except for the death blows, and Ironhide suffers from Micheal-Bay-Matrix-rip-off-iti s. Also Bay needs to go back to film school and attend those lessons on Editing he missed the scene where BB fights Barricade Did I miss the part where BB gets a Megaman gun or the scene when Sam sees Bumble bee in robot for the 1st time Piss poor editing. And then there's the plot the Allspark resembles Vector Sigma but makes no sense why the hell would it be here on earth, and if it bring Machines to life why not make a army of autobots and what happened to Starscream frenzy, and barricade. And one John Tuturros overzealous Head of a secret government organization (Brent Spiner did it better in ID4)this has got be John's worse role ever.

in short if your not paying attention to anything this is greatest movie of the summer If Optimus Prime is the only character you care about this is greatest movie of the summer But the truth is this is just another Over hyped over produced Bay movie alot of people are saying this has to be seen in theater but I think its the other way around I don't know what format Dreamworks has chosen but your best bet is to get a 42 to 50 incher HD wait till it comes out for one pick up a player and enjoy your ability to slow down that short ass scene where Optimus Fights Bonecrusher, Or the scene where The Autobots go to get the Allspark then they see bumble bee with a military convoy and with no rap they just follow suit. Or the scene where Optimus RUNS from U.S. spycopters . But as I said before the best way to see this movie is for free or not at all.

You said: "all scripts are a "terrible read" ive read many because im studying to write screenplays...they really werent meant to be read like a novel per say"

I disagree. It's true that most of them don't "read" well, because they're basically just blueprints. But if you get a James Cameron script or a Cameron Crowe script in your hands, THOSE are worth reading. Especially Jim Cameron. The guy writes page-turners, literally. He speaks to you as a reader, not just in industry shorthand and camera directions. He's just a damn good writer. And he's definitely the guy I emulate when I'm writing.