Transformers [Archive] - Movie Fan Central Discussion Forums

Alecc Bracero

06-28-2007, 10:07 AM

I saw this flick last night. I must say that the first half of the film was extremely entertaining. The action was pretty suspenseful and the comedic scenes were genuinely funny, which to me are key factors to a successful popcorn flick.

Shia Labeouf carries the film well. The rest of the cast is decent. I never really paid any attention to what Megan Fox was saying because she is smokin'! Actually, I take that back, she's responsible for the cheesiest line in the fillm. But she's still hot.

Just to warn you guys, once John Turturro steps onto the screen, expect the dialogue to become truly terrible coming out of everyone's mouth. Not that he was the cause of it, although he was over the top, but the dialogue just seemed to become worse and worse after his character is introduced.

The special effects were amazing, as expected. Fan-boys will love the introduction scene of the Autobots. The musical score rocks the house as they crash land to Earth. The Decepticons don't get as much of an introduction, and some of them disappear quite quickly. The battles between robots do kick ass. There's also a very cool sequence of Starscream going head to head with other fighter jets that was my favorite scene in the film.

Michael Bay has an eye for action and no one can deny that. He recycles many of the kinds of shots he used in his other movies. There's the typical slow-motion shots of pilots running to there jets. Those gorgeous sunsets that only exist in Bay films show up. The music seems to be lifted from The Rock and Armageddon, but I love that music, so that was no big deal. Other than that, this is Bay's most CGI-heavy flick ever, and he handled it nicely.

The second half of the film is where it started to kind of fall apart. You really have to be a Transformers fan to look past the fact that robots are standing around talking to each other and not laugh. There were a couple of scenes that received some unintentional laughter from me. I know, it's a movie about robots, but I couldn't help myself. One of the funniest things had to be when all the Decepticons were being called upon, and they were all calling in. The subtitles on the bottom were in robot-speak first before translating to show us their names. Then they all said, in the subtitles, ALL HAIL MEGATRON!. You have to see it, guaranteed you'll laugh a little.

There are tons of continuity errors as well. In one scene a character is wearing a sweater in one shot, then has it draped over their shoulder in another angle. One shot was re-used later in the film as well.

In the end, Transformers started off better than it ended. It actually felt like Gremlins, but with robots, in the beginning. They do stay close to the source material for the most part, so fans will be pleased with that. Everyone should also be satisfied with the amount of action. The only thing that brings it down in the second half are the scenes involving humans. As breezy as everything flowed between the actors in the first half, it felt forced and at times annoying in the second.

Overall Review; ** 1/2 stars out of 4

Best Line:

Labeouf: (To Megan Fox)I think you're more than meets the eye.

Goberg

06-28-2007, 05:44 PM

just saw this movie. i think it was realy good. im not in the mood to write a full review, but i would probebly give it a 7,5/10

ohh, i just remembered Megan Fox, i give the movie a 8/10 insted

Badbird

06-28-2007, 08:42 PM

I'm really starting to look forward to this. The effects look jaw dropping. The shots in the new TV shots are increadible.

I was huge into Transformers as a kid, and I don't care about how they look different. This is this movie and this adaptation. They can look how they want. And I don't care if they fuck with the story either. Just make the movie kick ass.

People are all up in arms that they don't look like the toys, but no one seems to remember that the toys have changed a ton over the years. Megatron has not only been a gun, but a tank, a jet, and even a bat-thingy (Robots in Disguise series).

I'm an unapologetic Michael Bay fan and have loved everything he's done (except Armageddon). I expect this to deliver the goods.

But you know what would be really awesome? That Decepticon AIRCRAFT CARRIER from the PS2 game a couple years back.

I wanna go get some of the toys now.

LordSimen

06-28-2007, 10:18 PM

Originally posted by Badbird
I'm really starting to look forward to this. The effects look jaw dropping. The shots in the new TV shots are increadible.

I was huge into Transformers as a kid, and I don't care about how they look different. This is this movie and this adaptation. They can look how they want. And I don't care if they fuck with the story either. Just make the movie kick ass.

People are all up in arms that they don't look like the toys, but no one seems to remember that the toys have changed a ton over the years. Megatron has not only been a gun, but a tank, a jet, and even a bat-thingy (Robots in Disguise series).

I'm an unapologetic Michael Bay fan and have loved everything he's done (except Armageddon). I expect this to deliver the goods.

But you know what would be really awesome? That Decepticon AIRCRAFT CARRIER from the PS2 game a couple years back.

I wanna go get some of the toys now.

I think you summed up my feelings, with the exception of the fact that Armageddon is my favorite Bay movie. XD

zombievictim

06-28-2007, 10:29 PM

Yeah, I've decided that I won't be seeing this until dvd. I'm just not excited about it at all. And not to mention the fact that it looks HORRIBLE! I was a little on the fence about it because Megan Fox is so hot but I've decided I'll just sit this one out, let the bad reviews come in, and laugh and laugh and laugh.

dman476

06-28-2007, 10:44 PM

Originally posted by Lazy Boy
I'm really looking forward to this. :eek:

This has been a pretty miserable summer -- lackluster blockbusters and overhyped R-rated pregnancy comedies -- so Ratatouille might still be the best thing in the past few months. Still, Transformers hopefully will have that epic 4th of July feel to it, as I haven't really felt the presence of a blockbuster epic since Independence Day.
Yeah, I'm very very excited. Which is odd, because just a couple of months ago I wasn't excited at all.
The latest trailers gave it a War of the Worlds (Spielber's version) vibe, which is A-Okay in my books.

Where's all this love for Megan Fox coming from? Never knew she was so popular...

rilocay

06-28-2007, 11:19 PM

I saw it last night and its by far the best offering of a summer blockbuster this year, hell even better then last year. I loved spidey 3, but this killed it.

SUPERB cgi, i can't stress that enough. These things dont merely look real but ARE real - they didn't take em out of the movie at all, they were really beleivable as characters..weel the autobot's atleast. The only thign that pissed me off is i swear they used part of the Batman Begins score..but ahwels, can't have it all!
Autobots roll out!

8/10

solcofn

06-28-2007, 11:20 PM

Just got back from a press screening....I loved it. Very good summer movie and the action and effects made up for the cheese!

Will be seeing it again soon...I think it will be the biggest movie of the summer. Hands down.

Really a good flick with eough inside jokes for fans of the old cartoon and some really cool new stuff.

This is the best Bay movie yet. I really liked the Island but have not liked any of his other movies.

Shia and Megan were great and I see this shooting Shia into the big time.

ILM should win an oscar for special effects...some of those shots looked 100% real. It totally blew me away!

Go see it...if you like Transformers...you will love it!

Lazy Boy

06-29-2007, 02:35 AM

Originally posted by dman476
Where's all this love for Megan Fox coming from? Never knew she was so popular...

Ya wanna know why? I'll show you why:

http://www.meganfoxy.com/gallery/fhm/images/megan-fox-fhm-3.jpg

dman476

06-29-2007, 03:00 AM

Oh, heck, I've always known she was hot, it's just I didn't know she had a large fanbase. :p

What has she been in (other than FHM) that's so popular?

Tuukka

06-29-2007, 03:08 AM

Originally posted by zombievictim
let the bad reviews come in, and laugh and laugh and laugh.

It's having really good reviews all around, actually. The reception has been very strong so far.

crodger

06-29-2007, 05:53 AM

Caught it last night and it is fantastic 9/10. My only qualm was that the decepticons had little development (megatron said one thing to starscream). This was because they were introduced fairly late in (blackout, barricade, frenzy and scorponok were the main decepticons here). So the movie could have been paced a little tighter. That said, I didn't want this sucker to end!! So entertaining and kickass!! The characterization of the autobots was spot on, the human characters were great (shia lebaouf was really good), the cgi was beautiful and the action was epic. Come to think of it, the whole movie was just that...epic. Prime rocked!!

daddiefatsacks

06-29-2007, 03:19 PM

100% on rotten tomatoes, after 7 reviews

Tuukka

06-29-2007, 05:44 PM

It's a pretty solid movie, but in all honesty I have no interest in seeing it again.

The best things were Shia's excellent performance, and some hilarious supporting roles, like the mother and Torturro's goverment agent. The film has a huge amount of goofy, offbeat humor. It's basicly just as much of a comedy as it is an action film. I did laugh a lot, but I also felt that the film was trying too hard. Every character was played for laughs and the humor was often slapsticky in nature. So as a result the integrity of the story and characters started to suffer - If the film refuses to take itself seriously, why should the audience take it seriously?

Effects were very well done, as expected. No suprises there.

On the downside, the main storyline just isn't that interesting or involving. The film reveals it's mysteries way too early - It opens with Prime's backstory voiceover and shows the first robot battle in the first minutes. Too much to early, IMHO. It just takes off suspense from the story. And during the 3rd act it's clear what the good guys are trying to do, but it's not clear WHY they are trying to do it. They are trying to take the McGuffin from point A to point B, but why? It's not any safer in point B. And why exactly is Shia carrying the McGuffin, and not Prime? It would be much safer with Prime. It's just all really badly motivated, and as a result the story just goes meanders without proper emotional connection.

But I guess the biggest letdown is that the action scenes are essentialy quick cut collections of blurry close-ups. I'm not kidding when I say that 95% of action is like that. You get the general idea of what is supposed to be happening, but you don't actually SEE it. And that just kills all the fun. The action in this film NEVER made me go "wow". Because mostly all I could see was just motion blur. The action was also rather blandly written, there were no proper story beats in the scenes. It was just generic punch-shoot-punch-shoot stuff. I like to see a bit more imagination, coreograpy and smarts from my action

I guess it should also be mentioned that the suspense and tension were non-existant. I did like the characters, but the combination of constant goofy humor and lame action killed emotional engagement for me.

Meh. It's not a bad movie at all, but it's something that is instantly forgettable.

6.5/10.

Squid Vicious

06-29-2007, 06:50 PM

Well...I still think it looks like a giant pile of anal hair.

Bourne101

06-29-2007, 07:06 PM

Originally posted by Tuukka
It's a pretty solid movie, but in all honesty I have no interest in seeing it again.

The best things were Shia's excellent performance, and some hilarious supporting roles, like the mother and Torturro's goverment agent. The film has a huge amount of goofy, offbeat humor. It's basicly just as much of a comedy as it is an action film. I did laugh a lot, but I also felt that the film was trying too hard. Every character was played for laughs and the humor was often slapsticky in nature. So as a result the integrity of the story and characters started to suffer - If the film refuses to take itself seriously, why should the audience take it seriously?

Effects were very well done, as expected. No suprises there.

On the downside, the main storyline just isn't that interesting or involving. The film reveals it's mysteries way too early - It opens with Prime's backstory voiceover and shows the first robot battle in the first minutes. Too much to early, IMHO. It just takes off suspense from the story. And during the 3rd act it's clear what the good guys are trying to do, but it's not clear WHY they are trying to do it. They are trying to take the McGuffin from point A to point B, but why? It's not any safer in point B. And why exactly is Shia carrying the McGuffin, and not Prime? It would be much safer with Prime. It's just all really badly motivated, and as a result the story just goes meanders without proper emotional connection.

But I guess the biggest letdown is that the action scenes are essentialy quick cut collections of blurry close-ups. I'm not kidding when I say that 95% of action is like that. You get the general idea of what is supposed to be happening, but you don't actually SEE it. And that just kills all the fun. The action in this film NEVER made me go "wow". Because mostly all I could see was just motion blur. The action was also rather blandly written, there were no proper story beats in the scenes. It was just generic punch-shoot-punch-shoot stuff. I like to see a bit more imagination, coreograpy and smarts from my action

I guess it should also be mentioned that the suspense and tension were non-existant. I did like the characters, but the combination of constant goofy humor and lame action.

Meh. It's not a bad movie at all, but it's something that is instantly forgettable.

6.5/10.

I haven't seen it yet, but I would bet a lot of money that your review pretty much sums it up.

zombievictim

06-29-2007, 07:45 PM

Originally posted by Squid Vicious
Well...I still think it looks like a giant pile of anal hair.

My thoughts exactly. The good reviews from people on here don't really mean anything because they tend to love these types of brainless action movies while I on the other hand...don't. If I see someone with similar tastes as mine then I may think "Okay MAYBE it's good enough to pirate:)"

DarkAngel

06-30-2007, 10:48 AM

Originally posted by zombievictim
My thoughts exactly. The good reviews from people on here don't really mean anything because they tend to love these types of brainless action movies while I on the other hand...don't. If I see someone with similar tastes as mine then I may think "Okay MAYBE it's good enough to pirate:)"

Wow..So your "Taste" in movies is better then anyone else's..lol..dude, get over yourself. Why dont you take your 'amazing' taste in movies to the theater and actually see the movie before talking that garbage out of your mouth. So people that like this action movies write no better then you because you want to watch "The Piano" instead of "Armageddon"?..lol..
Its amazing to me how someone can act like just because they might not enjoy a good ol action movie, they can see the good and the bad of a movie better then someone else. Was your childhood that lame that you lost the kid inside of you to watch a fun movie once in a while?..
Sad.

zombievictim

06-30-2007, 12:52 PM

Originally posted by DarkAngel
Wow..So your "Taste" in movies is better then anyone else's..lol..dude, get over yourself. Why dont you take your 'amazing' taste in movies to the theater and actually see the movie before talking that garbage out of your mouth. So people that like this action movies write no better then you because you want to watch "The Piano" instead of "Armageddon"?..lol..
Its amazing to me how someone can act like just because they might not enjoy a good ol action movie, they can see the good and the bad of a movie better then someone else. Was your childhood that lame that you lost the kid inside of you to watch a fun movie once in a while?..
Sad.

Haha. No you took my post WAY out of proportion. I'm just not into the mindless action movie. And no I don't have what most would consider an AMAZING taste in movies (hell I love shitty horror movies). I was just stating that the good reviews on this board don't matter to me because I know the people that post them and I have different views on practically every movie them (except for Yorrick on dumb slasher movies. We seem to have VERY similar tastes there:D). So no, don't automatically jump to conclusions. Kind of upsets me that you'd automatically go to "Oh your opinion is SO better than everyone elses" when in my previous post I hinted at no such thing.

FilmKing2000

06-30-2007, 01:04 PM

While I'm pretty indifferent towards Transformers in general, this movie looks like a great entertainment, even if does seem rather cliche and mechanical to begin with. But, it's GIANT ROBOTS BEATING EACH OTHER UP! How does that not have "mindless summer fun" written all over it? :p And the special effects look absolutley spectacular.

Plus, any film that has THIS man's name stapled to it, I'll surely be seeing:
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/war_of_the_worlds/steven_spielberg/waroftheworlds2.jpg

cioxxx

06-30-2007, 01:13 PM

Yes it's mindless, loud and pretty much has explosions and destructions going off everywhere. But FilmKing said it, its a robot free for all. I liked it very much, thank you.

8/10

DarkAngel

06-30-2007, 01:17 PM

Originally posted by zombievictim
Haha. No you took my post WAY out of proportion. I'm just not into the mindless action movie. And no I don't have what most would consider an AMAZING taste in movies (hell I love shitty horror movies). I was just stating that the good reviews on this board don't matter to me because I know the people that post them and I have different views on practically every movie them (except for Yorrick on dumb slasher movies. We seem to have VERY similar tastes there:D). So no, don't automatically jump to conclusions. Kind of upsets me that you'd automatically go to "Oh your opinion is SO better than everyone elses" when in my previous post I hinted at no such thing.

Honestly, i wasnt taking it out of porportion, thats how that came off to me. Wheter I am wrong or right, whatever...but thats how i took your previous post. Its all good. All i am saying to anyone, like it or hate it...check it out on your own, dont let review..good or bad..take away from you actually enjoying something..I remember the Titanic shit..all bad review..non-stop...amzing how that movie went huh....I personally cant see it again..but glad they got their cheese...

Tuesday at 8..!!!

gyro_44

06-30-2007, 02:42 PM

Originally posted by FilmKing2000
While I'm pretty indifferent towards Transformers in general, this movie looks like a great entertainment, even if does seem rather cliche and mechanical to begin with. But, it's GIANT ROBOTS BEATING EACH OTHER UP! How does that not have "mindless summer fun" written all over it? :p And the special effects look absolutley spectacular.

Plus, any film that has THIS man's name stapled to it, I'll surely be seeing:
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/war_of_the_worlds/steven_spielberg/waroftheworlds2.jpg
Yeah, I'll trust him over Bruckheimer any day.

Worthystevens

06-30-2007, 03:02 PM

The worst reviewer on God's green earth is at it again. :rolleyes:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1165257/reviews.php?critic=all&sortby=default&page=1&rid=1643677

Badbird

06-30-2007, 06:25 PM

Originally posted by Worthystevens
The worst reviewer on God's green earth is at it again. :rolleyes:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1165257/reviews.php?critic=all&sortby=default&page=1&rid=1643677

Wow. That's probably one of the worst reviews I've ever seen. Clearly she had her mind made up long before the movie started, which makes her a big fat hack.

Squid Vicious

06-30-2007, 10:08 PM

ilovemovies

07-01-2007, 12:18 PM

Ouch. James Berardinelli just gave it 1.5 stars.

http://www.reelviews.net/movies/t/transformers.html

Tuukka

07-01-2007, 12:41 PM

I largely agree with the points Berardinelly gives, even if I liked the film more.

He makes a good point about the young hackers who work for the goverment - They take up roughly 20 minutes of the film, but none of it goes anywhere. You could cut them out entirely and it would make no difference.

I mentioned in my own review how badly motivated the storyline is, and how uninvolving it is as a result. The hacker subplot isn't the only pointless storyline in the film, roughly half of the story in the film is completely insignificant and could be cut out without losing anything.

*** SPOILERS ***

Most of the army plotline is unnecessary: The first attack at Qatar? Pointless, doesn't affect the plot in any way. There is a scene on an airplane soon after which executes the exact same plot point that Qatar scene failed to do. The Scorpinok attack in the desert? Pointless, doesn't serve any plot purpose. The army guys do find out that the robots don't like heat-weapons, but it makes no difference in the story. Army guys in the final battle? Rather pointless again, they manage to take out one bad robot henchman out, helped by the good robots.

You could cut out the army guys from the movie, and it wouldn't make much of a difference at all, save for a couple of minor scene in the 3rd act, where they hardly affect the main plot at all.

And finally: Shia's story. This is the main story of the movie, and it does have significance. But really: The film spends 90 minutes into showing how both the good and bad robots want to get the glasses. When the glasses are finally received by Prime, IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER. Because exactly at that moment the goverment reveals to the heroes that they have the Cube, along with Megatron.

Consider it: The film spends 90 minutes after a McGuffin, and when it's finally found, you could immediately throw it to garbage can and it would make no difference.

No wonder the film was uninvolving, half of the stuff that happens in it is completely insignificant and doesn't drive the story forward in any way. The film just kills time with trivial stuff, and that doesn't make for very engaging entertainment.

*** SPOILERS END ***

thedudeman69

07-01-2007, 01:22 PM

Originally posted by Worthystevens
The worst reviewer on God's green earth is at it again. :rolleyes:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1165257/reviews.php?critic=all&sortby=default&page=1&rid=1643677

Wow.

She needs to lighten up, really bad.

Also, I feel I might get lost when I see the movie because I didn't really grow up on Transformers. It was more Power Rangers for me. :D

ilovemovies

07-01-2007, 01:43 PM

I did grow up when Transformers the cartoon was on tv and I watched it occassionally when I was a kid but I wasn't like a major fan or anything.

I was more into He-Man and then later into The Ninja Turtles and Darkwing Duck and Chip N' Dale's Rescue Rangers.

I'm still excited about the movie though. But more as a summer spectacle than as a fan of Transformers.

Badbird

07-01-2007, 06:27 PM

You know what would be awesome? If Optimus Prime died. Again.

Bourne101

07-01-2007, 07:06 PM

One more day to go! I don't know if I will see it tomorrow, but I will definitely see it this week. Sort of looking forward to it.

Rukas

07-01-2007, 11:09 PM

Review up at http://www.streethop.com/transformers.html

bigred760

07-01-2007, 11:13 PM

I'm watching it at 8pm tomorrow; all these positive reviews are upping the anticipation!!!

Lazy Boy

07-02-2007, 02:39 AM

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070701/REVIEWS/70620006

Since the man is getting back into the reviewing thang, here's his positive write-up (with reservations).

ElderPredator

07-02-2007, 07:12 AM

13 Hours To Go Everybody!

I absolutely cannot wait! :D

patrickid0117

07-02-2007, 09:20 AM

I feel sorry for you now, cause you have to wait until 4th of July to see this awesome movie, while the most of the world has released it.. It's way cool. For the longest time since The Rock, Michael Bay finally made another really cool action film. Cheer for him.

rilocay

07-02-2007, 10:18 AM

Originally posted by Tuukka

But I guess the biggest letdown is that the action scenes are essentialy quick cut collections of blurry close-ups. I'm not kidding when I say that 95% of action is like that. You get the general idea of what is supposed to be happening, but you don't actually SEE it. And that just kills all the fun. The action in this film NEVER made me go "wow". Because mostly all I could see was just motion blur. The action was also rather blandly written, there were no proper story beats in the scenes. It was just generic punch-shoot-punch-shoot stuff. I like to see a bit more imagination, coreograpy and smarts from my action

Although i strongly disagree that the action scenes are blurs, it seems that way cause of all the motion with the bots, the gunfire, the background etc in the scene, that if it is only a quick cut, you can miss out on something. My first viewing i couln;dt figure out where starscream got to, on my second i realised that he had a fair bit of screen time int he final megatron vs prime fight, and due to their similar colouring etc i missed it first go round. but you definatly DO see the action, no doubt. But the action, as cool as it is to watch - is rather bland, but it works simply because its big damn robots kicking ass, and shit's moving all over the screen. It's not all bland though, but this is definatly going to be needed more style for a sequel.

dellamorte dellamore

07-02-2007, 03:38 PM

I don't get it , where some of the reviewers expecting a serious drama with a bunch of exposition and loads of suspense , sorry , it was never meant to be any of those things . They picked the right guy for this , i knew that awhile ago , this is an example of why i go to the movies , i can always watch dramas at home , this was meant for the theater , if they don't like it , or are looking for something a little deeper , fekk em' , and it's time they took the foreign object out of their bum , stay home and stop complaining , it's funny because they claim the film is silly , mindless , sophmoric , but their critisism of it are exactly that , infantile and silly .

Freak it , all i want to see is giant robots wreaking havoc , if i get anything more , it's a bonus , but who cares if there isn't .

ilovemovies

07-02-2007, 04:44 PM

Originally posted by Lazy Boy
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070701/REVIEWS/70620006

Since the man is getting back into the reviewing thang, here's his positive write-up (with reservations).

:eek:

Roger Ebert liked a Michael Bay movie!

:eek:

Squid Vicious

07-02-2007, 07:03 PM

Originally posted by ilovemovies
:eek:

Roger Ebert liked a Michael Bay movie!

:eek:

He also liked The Rock. (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19960607/REVIEWS/606070303/1023)

Badbird

07-02-2007, 08:04 PM

I thought something looked familiar...

http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/movie/gallery/1165257/photo_46.jpg

http://www.jerrydroberts.com/brokedowncinema/Poster/2003%20-%20Bad.jpg

MWAHAHAHHA!

Crap this movie looks so awesome.

Bourne101

07-02-2007, 08:39 PM

Originally posted by Badbird
http://www.jerrydroberts.com/brokedowncinema/Poster/2003%20-%20Bad.jpg

I am a minority, but I fucking loved that movie! Good fucking times at the movies! That's all I expect out of Michael Bay films.

TheSharpshooter

07-02-2007, 11:23 PM

WOW! Its been a while since Ive come home from a theater this pumped! Bay didnt make a perfect film, but I cant imagine anyone making a better Transformers. Its fun, its geniunely funny, and its always entertaining. Transformers is the must-see movie of the summer, no doubt.

9/10

mdpuff01

07-02-2007, 11:23 PM

a little too silly, a bit excessive, and, of course, too long, but still fun. 7/10

bourne36

07-02-2007, 11:26 PM

i just came back form seeing this movie. i have been waiting for this movie when i knew they were doing this movie and michael bay was directing this action movie.
michael bay has out done hisself this time. this movie was action pack threw out the movie and the action secens were out of this freaking world.. also megan fox is a freaking fox indeed.
this is know b movie and worth the money to see this again and again. i well see this movie again this week before i go back to work.

this movie is worth the hype. and it just might be, it well be the blockbuster movie of the summer and right now the best movie of the year.

Vong

07-02-2007, 11:31 PM

Loved the movie. Loved the special effects. In love with Optimus Prime. Want to make love to Megan Fox in the back of Bumblebee's Camaro. This is a boy's wet dream on steroids.

10/10

PackBacker

07-03-2007, 12:43 AM

I'm still torn on what I think about the film. It just seemed to go all over the place. Give me an action flick or give me a comedy....WAY too much cross-over. I got goosebumps at Optimus Prime's first appearance and then literally slapped my head at some of the dialogue.

Tuuka makes some great points with the plot...but then again a lot of that goes out of the window with Michael Bay. And really who thought having John Turturo with a flamethrower in the "basement" of the Hoover Dam would be a good idea?

Also poor Scatman Crothers must be rolling over in his grave. Jazz was wasted and I can't believe his intro.

EDsoulsurvive*

07-03-2007, 12:46 AM

Just got back, was very underwhelmed, great action was marred by interest killing sub plots and irrational stupidity, the painfully corny dialogue so cringe-worthy it was distracting. Shia Lebouf and Megan Fox saved what scenes they were in, though.

6.5/10, maybe 7/10 on a good day

EDsoulsurvive*

07-03-2007, 12:54 AM

the Cloverfield teaser was pretty sick/slick/

anakinsrise

07-03-2007, 01:08 AM

Transformers is now my second favorite action film so far this summer.Is it mindless,ear shattering ,visually stunning entertainment ??
YES !!!.To the critics whining...oh its to much action..BOO-HOO
This is a Michael Bay sci fi,action film what did they expect....maybe Evening is more their speed.
Yes i watched the series as a kid,so i was clapping like every other fanboy/fangirl in the theatre.To see Optimus on the big screen was a true pleasure.To hear that thunderous voice,and watch him transform in live action...just...WOW.Megan Fox definitely set off my pheromones too(haha) Shia continues to grow on me and become more tolerable with each new film he's in.
Some of the comedy worked some of it didnt.I thought John Turturro's Area 51/Sector 7... whatever agent to be obnoxious to the tenth power each time he was on screen i started looking at my watch.More Starscream less Turturro !!!
In the end i got what i paid for. If i wanted high drama i would have went to see Evening.....then again...
Scale of 1-10 a 9

anakinsrise

07-03-2007, 01:10 AM

Originally posted by EDsoulsurvive*
the Cloverfield teaser was pretty sick/slick/

I agree.The entire audience didnt know what to make of it ,but wanted to see it.

veddhead83

07-03-2007, 01:18 AM

Quickie Review
(I guess I will get pounded for this one, so short and to the point.)

Well, they picked the perfect director that's for sure. Hey let's blow shit up and forget anything in the movie has to make any sense - get Michael Bay quickly!!!
I admit, I have never seen anything involving this series(cartoons, action figures games, whatever..) and after seeing this movie, I won't have any problem staying that way. I think the whole idea of this fell flat when the robots decided to narrate the story...IN ENGLISH...they are from another fucking but had time to use the interent to learn the English language!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? One of the robots actually spoke with a gangster dialect too!! All of the characters were cookie-cut straight from any 'End of the Earth' type of flick, however this time they are useless and given nothing to do except yell hideous dialogue through the entire film.
And what was with the plot with the glasses and showing us that Shia's grandpa has a code carved in them?? Yeah, that was pointless when we are shown that the government has known about all of this since the early 1900s...
Did this remind anyone of a glorified "Power Ranger" movie?? Maybe I am the only one...
Now after that(trust me, I could have piled on this sucker for hours - but I will spare my hands of typers cramp) the CGI was pretty freakin' sweet. The transforming was actually seemless and downright kick-ass.
Better than "Spider-Man 3," but that is not saying much...

"Transformers": D+

veddhead83

07-03-2007, 01:20 AM

What is the Cloverfield trailer?? It wasn't on my print...is that the JJ Abrams flick??? Any links yet??

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 01:27 AM

Cloverfield, so that's what it's called? They never gave the title of the movie in the teaser so I didn't know. That was a pretty effing amazing teaser although the hand held camera work made me a little sick. Still, it looks like it could be another Blair Witch Project. So I can't wait.

I've enjoyed just about every Michael Bay movie, including the much maligned Armageddon and Pearl Harbor. But as it turns out, he wasn't the guy for the job.

The action scenes were a mess. Way too chaotic for my taste. Even by Bay's usual standards, the action was too all over the place. There was no excitement for the action because I could barely tell what was going on.

Also, half the time I couldn't tell the difference between the Deceptacons and the Autobots.

And the first half of the movie was at times unbearably awful. Even cringe-inducing at times. The dialogue was atrocious. Poor Shai Lebouf. He's a good young actor but he stuck with some really bad dialogue at times in this movie. So much of the movie is played for laughs and it comes off as incredibly forced. Take John Turturro's character for example. Turturro is a great actor but he's horrendous here. His schtick is incredibly unfunny.

I know it sounds like I hate the movie but I actually don't. The special effects are phenomenal. The movie looks great. The movie does get a whole lot better in the second half although the action scenes are still a mess. I just wish I could tell what was going on during some moments. I wish I could actually see the action instead of the camera moving all over the place. And there are occasions where the movie hints at how much cooler this movie could have been if it were better written and directed.

But as it stands, Transformers is certainly not the worst movie of the summer but it IS the most disappointing. I give this movie a VERY generous 6/10.

daddiefatsacks

07-03-2007, 02:06 AM

this is the reason why i go to the movies in the summer, a nonstop fun ride! can't wait to own this on DVD!!

8/10

CreeperBEATNGU

07-03-2007, 02:28 AM

That damn Shia LeBeouf destroys everything he's in, this movie is that piece of Disturbia all over again, but with occasional moments of coolness this time (which had nothing to do with him).

The personalities of the Transformers are...ok I guess, but most of them don't extend pass "this one sounds mean....this one sounds nice....this one sounds funny...this one sounds authoritative..."

About 90 minutes of this movie is the same tired dork falls in love with hot girl that's dating the jerk, then rises to the occasion and becomes the hero crap that I can see on any Disney channel movie of the week, another half hour is stupid military cliches that makes the military look like morons, and a half hour is cool Transformer fights that with underdeveloped Transformers.

There was a nice theme about the good in humanity and the self-destructive nature of every species, but it's under-explored because they were too busy making a comedy with excessive camp that ranges from mildly amusing to ridiculously stupid (usually leaning toward the latter).

Spoiler
It's funny how the mighty Optimus Prime was too damn stupid to think of just shoving the cube into Megatron's chest himself instead of getting into a 20 minute fight with him and repeatedly talking about self-sacrifice as opposed to the blatantly obvious choice of DOING IT YOURSELF rather than letting Shia freaking LeBeaof take down the uber bad-ass that failed to live up to his build up.

This is one big pile of wasted potential with occasional shades of coolness.

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 02:35 AM

Originally posted by CreeperBEATNGU
This is one big pile of wasted potential with occasional shades of coolness.

That is the PERFECT way to describe this movie. It could have been SO much more than what it turned out to be. What a massive disappointment. :(

Spielberg was an exec producer of the movie. It's too bad he didn't direct it. Imagine how amazing it would have been under his direction.

Tuukka

07-03-2007, 02:38 AM

Originally posted by CreeperBEATNGU
That damn Shia LeBeouf destroys everything he's in, this movie is that piece of Disturbia all over again, but with occasional moments of coolness this time (which had nothing to do with him).

Personally I thought he saved this movie. Take him away, and you end up with an uninvolving, mechanical, heartless mess with forced humor and lame love story.

His natural, loveable charm and perfect comic delivery were the anchor of the film. Replace him with almost any other actor, and the film would have fell apart for me. He put heart into a film which had none. And no matter how awful lines the script gave him occasionally, he always made them work. It takes a great natural talent to do that.

Shia elevated this movie. He made bad jokes funny. He even made the romance work. He made me believe that giant robots from outer space actually exist, despite the complete lack of development for them.

I didn't care for the movie that much, but he was great.

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 02:40 AM

Lebouf was fine but he was saddled with some really bad dialogue. He was much better in Disturbia. Then again, Disturbia is an infinantly better movie.

Quigles

07-03-2007, 02:49 AM

Originally posted by CreeperBEATNGU
That damn Shia LeBeouf destroys everything he's in, this movie is that piece of Disturbia all over again, but with occasional moments of coolness this time (which had nothing to do with him).
I could not disagree with you more. I thought Shia LaBeouf was easily one of the best aspects of the film, right up there with the ass-kicking robot fight sequences. He was the only reason I had any emotional investment in the picture.

If you wanna complain about somebody, how about Tyrese? Anthony Anderson? Jon Voight? etc.

But please, leave Shia alone. I keep hearing people insulting him, and I just don't get it. Thought he was great in Holes, Disturbia, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, and now this. He's an excellent young actor.

dman476

07-03-2007, 02:52 AM

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 02:55 AM

Lebouf won me over with Disturbia. He was wonderful in that movie.

And with this movie, at least it proves he can also carry a bad movie and not stoop to it's level. That's pretty much the sign of a very good actor. Elevating a bad movie. So good on him.

Rick-James

07-03-2007, 03:00 AM

I've seen a lot of action movies in my life, but this might just be the most insane fucking thing i've ever seen.

my head hurts.

SpikeDurden

07-03-2007, 03:03 AM

This isn't usually the type of film I love. My taste tends to lean more towards artfully done, intellectually stimulating films with great acting and beautiful writing. And when it comes to blockbusters, I tend to enjoy the ones that transcend the usual blockbuster and have a lot of the aforementioned qualities. This summer has been pretty weak so far. I thought that the comic book movies and Die Hard were decent, Shrek and Pirates were awful, Ocean's 13 was stylish and fun and Ratatouille was phenomenal, but who are we kidding, that doesn't count. I can't wait for Harry Potter 'cause I'm a huge fan, but Potter isn't really your typical blockbuster anyways.

But this? Well, what can I say. I was sucked in completely.

It was hilarious, loud, dumb, ridiculous, kick ass, awe-inspiring, (did I mention loud), and for my money its the most fun I've had in a movie theater all year. In fact, I loved it so much at the 8pm screening I went back and saw it at 11:40pm, and some friends want to see it tomorrow so I'll probably go again too.

I was never a huge Transformers fan. I liked the toys just fine as a kid, but I don't think I've ever seen an episode of the cartoon show. Still, the idea of a giant, ass kicking robot hiding in the guise of a car or a truck simply rocks. And this film? Well, I used plenty of adjectives already.

Shia LaBeouf carries the film on his shoulders remarkably well. The kid is excellent, funny, and you instantly bond with him, he is the heart of the film. Megan Fox is sexy as all hell and has solid charisma and great chemistry with Shia. The rest of the cast was fine, Turturro in particular was quirky and hilarious, and Duhamel and Tyrese were fine and hulky as the army guys.

But its not about the cast, really. Its about the robots. And they look fantastic, they gave chills down my spine, they kicked major ass, and the voice acting was rock solid. The action scenes are spectacular, fun, and mind blowingly epic. I would go so far as to say that this has some of the very best special f/x committed to screen. The way the robots blend in with the natural environment was flawless. Major Props also go to Steve Jablonsky's epic score. I can't wait for a score album to be released, its apparently being prepped now.

I loved it, what can I say. It made me feel like a kid. It made my heart beat hard, my lips spread into a huge smile. my fist pump into the air. That's exactly what a summer movie is supposed to do. It really is nothing more than meets the eye (I had to) BUT it does exactly what its supposed to do with aplomb.

8.8/10

dman476

07-03-2007, 03:12 AM

Originally posted by SpikeDurden
Major Props also go to Steve Jablonsky's epic score. I can't wait for a score album to be released, its apparently being prepped now.
That's what I've heard too, it is being prepped as we speak.
The score was fine, and actually very good for a brief period of time, but you do realize it is a total rip-off of Batman Begins and National Treasure.

I was half expecting the main theme to break into "Molossus" at any moment.
:p

SpikeDurden

07-03-2007, 03:20 AM

Originally posted by dman476
That's what I've heard too, it is being prepped as we speak.
The score was fine, and actually very good for a brief period of time, but you do realize it is a total rip-off of Batman Begins and National Treasure.

I was half expecting the main theme to break into "Molossus" at any moment.
:p

Oh, yeah, it totally sounded the same as Batman, National Treasure, Pirates... anything done by Zimmer, Badelt, Nick-Glennie Smith (who conducted this) really, but I think it worked really well for the film, and I fell in love with the cue during the period when Optimus and the Autobots first arrived on earth. I want the score really so I can just listen to that again, not the majority of the good but predictable action score.

Mr.HyDe807

07-03-2007, 04:04 AM

Review- 8.5-9/10

The movie was frentic, loud, and over the top!

And yet, it kicked all kinds of ass! This movie let me shut off my brain and just delivered the great action, the comedy, and the drama. Yeah, there was hte occasional Michael Bay glamour shot, but it was fucking Transformers, so i ddint care. Shia Lebouf was a great leading man, and Meghan Fox was sizzling!

Sure, there were some plot holes, but then again, what was left out was replaced by awesome action sequences! The final battle alone is worth the price of admission! Also, i felt like a 6-7 year old kid hearing Optimus Prime's voice again, it was like reliving your childhood!

In conclusion, you want a movie that delviers on the action and comedy. Go check this out! This movie at least shows that money invested in it was well spent (in my opinion of course)

One of the better summer movies ive seen since Knocked Up!

Scarfather

07-03-2007, 10:47 AM

Scarfather

07-03-2007, 10:49 AM

P.S.

I love how she lists product placement as a fault, even though she gave Die Hard a positive review, a film where Justin Long pines over Arby's.

athf1980

07-03-2007, 11:06 AM

I love it...yes the plot simple but who cares it's about giant robots beat the holly hell of each other. It's it made to be a popcorn movie and nothing else. It was one of the best popcorn movies I have seen a long time. Great action scenes and f/x. Great voice work. Shiah did a great job carrying the film. 4.5/5 Go and enjoy the ride. Bay best movie since the rock. It makes be me want to be the action figures again.

Euclid

07-03-2007, 11:19 AM

General Review (No Spoilers)

Like many others on this forum, I grew up with the Transformers. So understandably, they hold a special place in my heart. Imagine my excitement when I first heard they were announcing a live action flick for my beloved Transformers. Imagine my despair when I heard Michael Bay was on board to direct.

Despite my perpetual distrust of Michael Bay's directing abilities, I wanted to cut the guy a break and trust that he would come through with a great movie in Transformers. That confidence came through largely due to Steven Spielberg's endorsement of Michael Bay.

In the end however, my initial instincts were right. Simply put, the film was a disappointment. Michael Bay's Transformers suffers from the same ailment that all other Michael Bay films suffer from: A lack of character development. A lack of story development. A lack of proper editing. A lack of proper dialogue. An over indulgence in jittery camera work.

As in any other prototypical Michael Bay affair. The magnificent effects, the amazing explosions and the "jitter cam" are simply hiding the gaping holes within the film...It's complete exclusion of any substance whatsoever. At no point did I feel I was fully invested in the story or in any of the characters.

Shia LaBeouf does an admirable job with Sam. Given the painfully limited capacity in which he is used, Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime is affective as well. Meagan Fox is nothing but eye candy, all be it, a very beautiful candy. Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and company are mere pawns with little purpose. The likes of Jon Voight and John Turturro are sparsely used to forward a plot that is already clinging for dear life. It is a talented cast, if you read some of those names back, but nothing in Transformers is fully fleshed out. Therein lies the problem.

Expecting a high end drama or Oscar material from your usual summer "blockbuster" release is foolish, I'm very much aware of that. Still, I expect some portion of intelligent thought in my summer blockbusters meals. The kind I could wryly shrug at, all the while, just as easily, admitting it was lot of fun.

The film isn't without a few positives (few being the operative word). There are some very nice effects on display here. It's obvious that a great deal of care went into creating all the robots. The skill with which the CGI interact with their environments is amazing. The stunt work and pyrotechnics within the film are top notch as well. Though again, with Michael Bay's incessant need to use jittery camera work and disorienting edits, one isn't able to fully appreciate the aesthetics in their full glory.

To be honest, I really did want to like this film. God knows I tried my best. I kept holding out for something, but the end credits rolled on and the proverbial fat lady had sung. Very loudly and very badly it would seem. Ultimately, It's a very shoddy and an extremely mishandled piece of filmmaking. It's akin to a huge state of the art luxury cruise liner, all the bells and whistles attached. With only one crucial exception. The engine needed to power it.

Thumbs down.

NOTE: James Berardinelli (http://www.reelviews.net/movies/t/transformers.html) sums it up nicely with a bit more detail. Something that I didn't want to get into on account of spoilers.

veddhead83

07-03-2007, 12:26 PM

Everyones argument over whether Shia ruined the film or not is ridiculous.....the ENTIRE CAST was rotten!!!!!

Bad Standouts include: Turturro, Voight, Anderson, Mac(brief cameo I guess, Duhamel, the Australian chick, Shia's parents, and last but not least the voices of the Transformers.

Iacon5

07-03-2007, 12:28 PM

Michael Bay is to directing what a lump of crap is to directing.

SPOILERS (that would insinuate a plot of some kind)
the good
the total 20 minutes that the transformers were on the screen were pretty awesome. their personalities were cool, they talked, and honestly i didn't mind the designs for them. the effects were pretty spectacular.

the bad
the rest of the movie was a total waste of time. the entire subplot with the hot computer hacking girl and Anthony Anderson was totally out of place and had no impact on the movie at all.
all the scenes with bay jerking off the military were also totally unnecessary and added nothing to the plot.
though i liked shia and thought he was the best person for that part, his love story with the 30 year old high school chick is stupid and really becomes tiresome and detracts from the awesomeness later in the movie.
so Michael bay claims to be an incredible edge of your seat action director and yet... he cant do a fucking fight?
all the robots fighting was only they firing at each other and dodging explosions. when the time came for an actual robot fight. (bumblebee vs barricade, optimus vs megatron) bay pans to something else. thats right, you don't see any of the first fight at all and the second fight you barely get to see a few seconds of it.
not to mention that the plot is riddled with holes and that their is no point to anything they do at any particular moment in the story. and of course theirs all of the stupid out of place humor with shia and the parents and then with the government.

i was a huge transformers fan and i didn't really mind some of bays previous movies but honestly who would give such a promising project to such an asshat director?

4/10
those 4 points are for the few scenes with the transformers in them

Tuukka

07-03-2007, 12:56 PM

Generally I didn't care for the score in this film... It was typical bombastic, military spirited stuff we except from Bay movies.

But I would like to bring up one of the more positive aspects of the movie:

There are two moments in the film where it stirred up some "Hell yeah!" emotion from me, and the emotion was brought by a very catchy theme song playing on. From what I can recall, it played when most of the Transformers arrive to earth as "asteroids", and when they drive to the final battle, over the desert. It was nice to hear an actual theme melody in a 00's action movie - We haven't really had those for some reason. In the 80's almost every major action movie had a great, cathy theme. I miss that.

Was it an original theme writen specifically for thiis movie? It was NOT the main Transformers theme from the cartoons, and I don't remember it from the series.

Anyway, the music really elevated those two moments.

Lemmywinks

07-03-2007, 01:16 PM

Saw this last night at a midnight showing and was pleasantly surprised. I can't recall actually ever watching a transformers episode in my life. I was just never into it. I'm 21, and so it was also a little bit before my time. The movie came out when I was born, so...yea. Anyway, I came into this movie with pretty high expectations, and they were pretty much met. This was indeed the most entertaining and action packed movie of the summer. I actually didn't care for Live Free or Die Hard. I thought it was just ok. This blows Die Hard out of the water.
Some Spoilers*

First, let me get the problems out of the way. First, there are a lot of plot holes. Some of the decepticons are still living at the end of the movie (I think), but they are just forgotten. The scorpion one clearly didn't die in my mind. The australian compuer chick and anthony anderson. Completely pointless. They figure out basically nothing. If the sector 7 guys came into the movie earlier, they wouldn't have needed these "characters". Some, SOME of the fight scenes were a little too choppy and the camera was moving too fast. I couldn't tell what was going on sometimes. Lastly, the transformers don't really fight that much until the very end. The first 2 little fights are really short, and basically that 15 second clip that was put online of OP and Barricade fighting on the highway was almost the entire fight. It might have lasted another 15 seconds. That's it.

Now, here's what was good. I actually liked Shia and Megan Fox. They were pretty good. Jon Voight and Tuturro were fine. Didn't mind them. The action is amazing in this movie. The transformations are very cool. I love the end fight. It's basically a half hour of just an amazing scene after the next. I loved the jet (starscream?). He probably had some of the best transformations in the whole movie. In midflight attacking the other jets was insane. I totally had fun with this movie. It wasn't completely retarded like Fant Four 2, and it wasn't as lame as Die Hard. This, along with Kocked Up and Spider-Man 3 are my favorite movies of the summer.

8.5/10

Bourne101

07-03-2007, 01:23 PM

Originally posted by Lemmywinks
it wasn't as lame as Die Hard.

I highly doubt it. Any movie with a robot that says "what's crackin' bitches," is a million times lamer than Die Hard.

Transformers doesn't have shit on Live Free or Die Hard.

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 01:29 PM

Originally posted by Bourne101
I highly doubt it. Any movie with a robot that says "what's crackin' bitches," is a million times lamer than Die Hard.

Transformers doesn't have shit on Live Free or Die Hard.

Yep.

Personally, my favorite movies of the summer thus far have been Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, 1408, Lucky You, Live Free or Die Hard and even though it has the camera shake a lot, 28 Weeks Later is way better and way more effective in it's camera work.

And fortunately, the summer ain't over yet. July actually looks like a damn good month with the likes of Rescue Dawn, Talk to Me, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, Goya's Ghosts, Sunshine, No Reservations and The Simpsons movie all looking really good. And then in August we get Superbad, The Bourne Ultimatum and The Invasion.

This hasn't been a great summer but there is still hope because I think all of those movies look very promising.

Scarfather

07-03-2007, 01:35 PM

Anyone who liked Spider-Man 3 is in no place to judge how lame a film is.

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 01:40 PM

Originally posted by Scarfather
Anyone who liked Spider-Man 3 is in no place to judge how lame a film is.

You are wrong. Spider-Man 3 may be flawed but it's still anoverall better movie.

Scarfather

07-03-2007, 01:42 PM

Originally posted by ilovemovies
You are wrong. Spider-Man 3 may be flawed but it's still anoverall better movie.

No it isn't.

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 01:47 PM

Eh. To each their own. But I definitely prefer Spider-Man 3 was much better.

IMO, the only movies that Transformers is better than this summer is Shrek the Third, Bug and Hostel: Part II.

Keep in mind that I missed Georgia Rule, The Ex, Delta Farce, Nancy Drew and I have yet to see Evan Almighty.

Lemmywinks

07-03-2007, 01:52 PM

Originally posted by Bourne101
I highly doubt it. Any movie with a robot that says "what's crackin' bitches," is a million times lamer than Die Hard.

Transformers doesn't have shit on Live Free or Die Hard.

Ok, that's your opinion. I respect that, but I don't agree. Sure, when the transformer said that in the movie, I laughed, and rolled my eyes a little, but my point was that overall, I felt Die Hard was too tame. No surprises or suspense. I think Transformers had plenty of both.

Scarfather

07-03-2007, 01:52 PM

Originally posted by ilovemovies
Eh. To each their own. But I definitely prefer Spider-Man 3 was much better.

http://imagesource.allposters.com/images/pic/153/1000887~Eight-Legged-Freaks-Posters.jpg

http://www.avclub.com/content/files/images/saturday_night_fever.article.jpg

Splice them together, you'll have the same movie.

dman476

07-03-2007, 01:54 PM

Originally posted by SpikeDurden
Oh, yeah, it totally sounded the same as Batman, National Treasure, Pirates... anything done by Zimmer, Badelt, Nick-Glennie Smith (who conducted this) really, but I think it worked really well for the film, and I fell in love with the cue during the period when Optimus and the Autobots first arrived on earth. I want the score really so I can just listen to that again, not the majority of the good but predictable action score.
Ah, glad we're on the same page. Even if it is a rip off, it's still a pretty decent score that I'll be getting.
You know, I don't remember the cue you mention. But I'm sure I will when I listen to it again.

The one I really liked was when Shia goes with his friend to the lake party, there's this really up-beat and catchy little tune that I want. :p

-- Tuukka:
I would say those are good cues as well, but I really don't remember them. I need to get the score sooner than later.
Why is a stupid soundtrack with Linkin Park a necessity for the Transformers film?

--ilovemovies
Ratatouille is by far the best summer movie I've seen (and most likely will see), and Die Hard and Transformers are tied for me.
Die Hard was better, but I had more fun (believe it or not) with Transformers. They both got old fast though.

--Scarfather
I think it goes like this actually:
Rataotouille > DH4 = Transformers = SM3 > 300 > Evan Almighty (I saw it on sunday but didn't post in shame) > Shrek III

chinton

07-03-2007, 02:01 PM

Originally posted by dman476
Ah, glad we're on the same page. Even if it is a rip off, it's still a pretty decent score that I'll be getting.
You know, I don't remember the cue you mention. But I'm sure I will when I listen to it again.

The one I really liked was when Shia goes with his friend to the lake party, there's this really up-beat and catchy little tune that I want. :p

-- Tuukka:
I would say those are good cues as well, but I really don't remember them. I need to get the score sooner than later.
Why is a stupid soundtrack with Linkin Park a necessity for the Transformers film?

--ilovemovies
Ratatouille is by far the best summer movie I've seen (and most likely will see), and Die Hard and Transformers are tied for me.
Die Hard was better, but I had more fun (believe it or not) with Transformers. They both got old fast though.

--Scarfather
I think it goes like this actually:
Rataotouille > DH4 = Transformers = SM3 > 300 > Evan Almighty (I saw it on sunday but didn't post in shame) > Shrek III

So glad you liked Rataotouille

Lemmywinks

07-03-2007, 02:06 PM

Originally posted by Scarfather

Splice them together, you'll have the same movie.

Because of course the dance sequence lasts the whole movie.....and there are giant spiders eating people.

Bourne101

07-03-2007, 02:06 PM

Originally posted by Scarfather
No it isn't.

Your opinion, but name me one line in Spider-Man 3 that is worse than "What's crackin' bitches."

I know it is just one part, but that is some pretty brutal dialouge and you would have to be pretty stupid to put that in a movie.

Lemmywinks

07-03-2007, 02:08 PM

Originally posted by dman476

--Scarfather
I think it goes like this actually:
Rataotouille > DH4 = Transformers = SM3 > 300 > Evan Almighty (I saw it on sunday but didn't post in shame) > Shrek III

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought 300 was just "ok", if that is what that means.

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 02:13 PM

Originally posted by Bourne101
Your opinion, but name me one line in Spider-Man 3 that is worse than "What's crackin' bitches."

I know it is just one part, but that is some pretty brutal dialouge and you would have to be pretty stupid to put that in a movie.

That line didn't even bother all that much and there is MUCH worse dialogue throughout the whole movie. But in particularly during the first half.

Scarfather

07-03-2007, 02:14 PM

Originally posted by Bourne101
Your opinion, but name me one line in Spider-Man 3 that is worse than "What's crackin' bitches."

I know it is just one part, but that is some pretty brutal dialouge and you would have to be pretty stupid to put that in a movie.

It was the total package. The whining, the bitching, Venom.

ilovemovies

07-03-2007, 02:15 PM

Originally posted by Lemmywinks
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought 300 was just "ok", if that is what that means.

I thought 300 pretty much sucked. Incredibly mediocre.

But I didn't include it on my list because it's not a summer movie. It came out in March. If I was including the entire movie then there are quite a few movies that Transformers is better than. It's not a terrible movie as a whole, just terribly disappointing.

Lemmywinks

07-03-2007, 02:28 PM

Yea 300 was disappointing. I saw 300 and Zodiac on the same day, and actually thought Zodiac was far superior in every way.

RandalGraves

07-03-2007, 02:36 PM

Seeing this either today or tommorow, cannot wait! Apparently the midnight show was sold out last night at the 2 theaters around me

movieme07

07-03-2007, 02:38 PM

The movie could've been the best of the summer if it'd basically cut out the part of Simmons from the film, cut twenty minutes, and shook the camera alittle bit less. As it was it was great, but problematic.

8/10

m_burlock

07-03-2007, 02:40 PM

"Those killer robots are really distracting!"

movieme07

07-03-2007, 02:49 PM

As for Cloverfield the teaser was treated to a chorus of "What the hell?"s in my theater and a few boos. They might've wanted to put a title on it I think, that really got a few people ahead of me pissed off. But I thought it was genius for what it was.

dman476

07-03-2007, 02:57 PM

Originally posted by chinton
So glad you liked Rataotouille
You liked it too? :D
I adored it (first 10/10 I gave this year).
See, again we agree chinton. Did you see Transformers?

Originally posted by Lemmywinks
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought 300 was just "ok", if that is what that means.
300 was very ok, I mean I gave it an okay rating for god knows what reason, but the film was disappointing and boring. I mean, sure, keep the patriotic messages, but I want more than a video game in my movies.

Originally posted by ilovemovies
That line didn't even bother all that much and there is MUCH worse dialogue throughout the whole movie. But in particularly during the first half.
The line didn't bother me either compared to some of the other shit this film pulled. I was just using it as an example everyone could see to be stupid.

InvaderZim

07-03-2007, 03:43 PM

8.5

Didnt like all the camera shake.. they fimled the transformers too closely and in robot form some where hard to tell apart from others..

Besides that GREAT MOVIE and much funnier than i ever could have hoped for

Also Shia is a true god given movie star with all the charisma and talent anyone could ever hope for.. the kid is the best

Bourne101

07-03-2007, 04:00 PM

I thought 300 was excellent. I will be insanely surprised if I like Transformers more than 300, but I will keep an open mind.

chinton

07-03-2007, 04:08 PM

Originally posted by dman476
You liked it too? :D
I adored it (first 10/10 I gave this year).
See, again we agree chinton. Did you see Transformers?

300 was very ok, I mean I gave it an okay rating for god knows what reason, but the film was disappointing and boring. I mean, sure, keep the patriotic messages, but I want more than a video game in my movies.

The line didn't bother me either compared to some of the other shit this film pulled. I was just using it as an example everyone could see to be stupid.

I loved Ratout. I gave it a 9/10. Easily the best film of the summer and one of the bes tfilms of the year. Shows once again why Brad Bird is my favorite current director next to PTA.

Anyway I'm seeing Transformers tommorow. I dont have high hopes but I gotta see it.

movieme07

07-03-2007, 04:37 PM

Ok, so what all happens during the credits? I know that there were two scenes right at the start with Sam's parents, but apparently some of the Transformers have little scenes during the credits too. Can anybody PM me to confirm or deny what all happened? I don't want to go to the movie again just to see the credits.

dman476

07-03-2007, 04:42 PM

Originally posted by chinton
I loved Ratout. I gave it a 9/10. Easily the best film of the summer and one of the bes tfilms of the year. Shows once again why Brad Bird is my favorite current director next to PTA.

Anyway I'm seeing Transformers tommorow. I dont have high hopes but I gotta see it.
Yeah, Ratatouille is definitely the best film of the summer.
Brad Bird is definitely not my favorite current director, but he is in my top 10 I would think. He hasn't made one bad film (Incredibles is only decent though IMO).
But no, my two favorite directors working now are PTA and Sam Mendes. :)

I'm curious to see what you'll think of Transformers though...
Definitely write back.

Quigles

07-03-2007, 05:28 PM

Originally posted by Bourne101
I highly doubt it. Any movie with a robot that says "what's crackin' bitches," is a million times lamer than Die Hard.
Oh c'mon, you're taking the line out of context. The robots researched how to talk on the internet. Heh heh.

Originally posted by Scarfather
Anyone who liked Spider-Man 3 is in no place to judge how lame a film is.
Anyone who makes a comment like that is perfect for IMDB, where they'll fit in with all the other arrogant posters who think only their opinion matters.

Scarfather

07-03-2007, 05:35 PM

Originally posted by Quigles
Anyone who makes a comment like that is perfect for IMDB, where they'll fit in with all the other arrogant posters who think only their opinion matters.

Congratulations.

Lost in Space

07-03-2007, 05:50 PM

I actualy enjoyed this. I tried not to look at it with a critical eye and just took it for what it was. And for what is was i give it

8/10

Moviefan1234

07-03-2007, 06:06 PM

Originally posted by Quigles
Anyone who makes a comment like that is perfect for IMDB, where they'll fit in with all the other arrogant posters who think only their opinion matters.

Well said Quigles, not to mention the fact that SPIDER-MAN 3 is an excellent film.

I have a question, as for someone who has never watched anything involving TRANSFORMERS, what should I expect from the film? Because as of right now, my expectations aren't high at all, but I want to give it a shot.

Scarface98.9

07-03-2007, 06:23 PM

I loved the movie. And for the record, I really liked Spider Man 3, never watched Transformers, don't care that there's product placement, etc.

I enjoyed the movie for what it was, and sat in awe at the special effects. Sue me.

8/10

veddhead83

07-03-2007, 06:29 PM

Originally posted by Moviefan1234
I have a question, as for someone who has never watched anything involving TRANSFORMERS, what should I expect from the film? Because as of right now, my expectations aren't high at all, but I want to give it a shot. I didn't see anything Transformers growing up. I didn't have a clue of what it was besides robots on Earth.
The film is a complete mess, a rotten script with even cheesier acting. The robots talk dude!! I had no idea - and it is freakin' funny. I would honestly compare this to a 144 in. episode of Power Rangers. In fact, I would rather watch the movie instead of this - at least that movie knows not to take itself so seriously.

Quigles

07-03-2007, 06:39 PM

Originally posted by veddhead83
I didn't see anything Transformers growing up. I didn't have a clue of what it was besides robots on Earth.
The film is a complete mess, a rotten script with even cheesier acting. The robots talk dude!! I had no idea - and it is freakin' funny. I would honestly compare this to a 144 in. episode of Power Rangers. In fact, I would rather watch the movie instead of this - at least that movie knows not to take itself so seriously.
Are you kidding me? This movie did NOT take itself seriously, except for maybe during the action sequences.

My review can be found here:
http://quigs.blogspot.com/2007/07/review-transformers.html

Personally, I think the movie was a load of fun. The trailers don't really give people who aren't fans of the cartoon the right mindset though.

gyro_44

07-03-2007, 06:47 PM

Originally posted by Scarfather
Anyone who liked Spider-Man 3 is in no place to judge how lame a film is.
Despite its corny moments I kinda liked Spider-Man 3, so my lameness meter must be broken.

Don't be a prick.

veddhead83

07-03-2007, 06:50 PM

Originally posted by Quigles
Are you kidding me? This movie did NOT take itself seriously, except for maybe during the action sequences.

My review can be found here:
http://quigs.blogspot.com/2007/07/review-transformers.html

Personally, I think the movie was a load of fun. The trailers don't really give people who aren't fans of the cartoon the right mindset though. Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!?
Everything about the government was trying too hard to be serious. It went so far as to involve soldiers in Iraq - who just so happened to be kidding about todays sports world. Don't get started on Transformers not taking itself seriously. I don't think Speilberg would have been involved had this thing not taken itself seriously.
C'Mon man give us a break. THEY TRIED TOO HARD....

A-1

07-03-2007, 07:00 PM

DUDE i just saw this movie last night and i was super impressed i thought there were only very few corny parts for example with the auto bots introduced themselves and a few others. But this was the summer block buster Ide been waiting for. It had good humor great action and the robots looked kick ass and i was enthralled the whole way through!!!!! pirates and spidey dont got shit on this sad to say! thank you michael bay, thank you!

Scarfather

07-03-2007, 07:09 PM

Somewhere along the line the higher option seemed to be to personally attack the one facetiously over exaggerating his opinion.

In any sense, quality of the films aside, I find it amusing that anyone could point out silliness as a reason for disliking a film, while on another hand still liking Spider-Man 3, a film where alien goo causes the main character to turn into a dancing lamer.

Bourne101

07-03-2007, 08:17 PM

Originally posted by Scarfather
Somewhere along the line the higher option seemed to be to personally attack the one facetiously over exaggerating his opinion.

In any sense, quality of the films aside, I find it amusing that anyone could point out silliness as a reason for disliking a film, while on another hand still liking Spider-Man 3, a film where alien goo causes the main character to turn into a dancing lamer.

I'd rather see alien goo make a guy dance than see a car turned robot spit the words "what's crackin' bitches," out of his mouth. Don't get me wrong, I think the concept of cars turned robots is pretty cool, but the dialouge is horrific. That's not silliness, it's pure bull shit.

FilmKing2000

07-03-2007, 08:25 PM

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/3219/tfteaserforms9yt.jpg

Transformers (Michael Bay, 2007)

One can easily view Transformers from one of two perspectives: either as a sheer, mindlessly fun and explosive summer blockbuster with gallons upon gallons of buttered popcorn, or as a complete debacle of a movie that’s as hollow as an inflated balloon. It’s a battle royale fueled with a throng of gargantuan robots, elite military combat, and oodles of explosions, flying bullets, car chases, pulverized skyscrapers, and chaotic menace. Either way you decide to look at the film, just remember to leave your thinking caps at home when seeing it.

Known for his outrageous knack for pervasively explosive action in exchange for a dynamic plot, it would be fair to say that director Michael Bay has proven himself to be somewhat of the king of “style over substance” and over-the-top action sequences. While Bay hasn’t honed his directing capabilities to any particular extent, he has certainly reigned and utilized them to their greatest lengths with Transformers. The film is a match made in heaven for Bay, and it is one that certainly allows him to even get away with his frequently criticized style of filmmaking. Albeit the man may not even come close to directing any sort of character study or austere drama any time in the near future (or the future in general, for that matter), Bay certainly knows how to deliver the goods with a film of this caliber and expectation. This isn’t another abominably poor concept with unbelievably lazy development in the likes of Armageddon or Bad Boys. This is an adaptation of one of the most successful Saturday morning cartoon series and is something that by know means is meant to be taken with the slightest bit of seriousness, but more with a sense of childish wonderment and perhaps even a tinge of nostalgia. What can one expect from what may just possibly be the biggest blockbuster ever plastered on the back of a cereal box? Expect whatever you would find in a film with Michael Bay’s and Steven Spielberg’s names stapled to its credits – aliens, explosions, and an unbelievably huge budget.

Concept and story-wise, I won’t even begin to ramble on how flawed Transformers is. Nearly everything seems pitch-perfect and painfully dynamic as some sort of a cartoon-gimmick, but, one must then realize that it IS one big cartoon-gimmick, and one of the biggest ones in the history of pop culture, at that. So, in a certain way, the film’s primordial reputation serves as a perfectly molded façade over its level of ineptitude. From a more specified standpoint, the story seems to be constructed from some very similar dynamics used from the old-fashioned storytelling of any traditional sci-fi movie, complete with substantial military involvement, a humble protagonist, and conquering alien villains and sects.

But fortunately, the film doesn’t exchange its lousy dynamics and rather cheesy and cliché antics for anything drastically condescending. As a matter of fact, beneath that roughly metallic exterior, the film beats to the rhythm of a surprisingly warm heart. The protagonist, Sam Witwicky (played by the refreshing new talent, Shia LaBeof) is immediately likeable and his teenaged antics are wonderfully played out, especially on LeBeof’s behalf. His youthful eagerness, quirkiness, high school anecdotes, and every-day-life objectives (buying his first car and his humorously unsuccessful attempts to impress the girl of his dreams) all employ a certain, not to mention crucially important reliability factor to the character that is also delivered with tremendous comedic relief. I am certainly not surprised at LaBeof’s overwhelming amount of praise, as he has certainly proven himself as a wonderful new talent with a specific charm and sometimes (and sometimes not) timid charisma that he emphasizes awesomely with his role in this film, and any actor who manages to carry a blockbuster of this epic scale with such tremendous ease at such a tender age is certainly off to a great start Hollywood. Similar traits are also bodied forth by the transformers themselves, but yet, they only manage to provide a broad sense of comedic relief and gain our allegiance rather than our sympathy.

The film’s next tremendous asset is, hands down, the special effects engineered by Industrial Lights and Magic. It’s no surprise that each and every frame containing a Transformer took over thirty-five hours to conceive, as each robot is crafted with austere precession. Everything from the metallic textures, the transformations, and the facial movements are all done with so much detail, it’s pretty overwhelming. If Bay had only decided not to scramble that final epic battle sequence to such a rambling, tactic-less mess, then I would have been truly amazed and this may just have proven to be sheer entertainment, instead of an enjoyable matinee with some occasional seat squirming.

Albeit Transformers isn’t that feat of an entertainment we’ve been longing for all summer, the film’s simultaneous sense of mind numbing action and fluid comedic relief more than make up for its incompetence.

RATING: 6/10

Quigles

07-03-2007, 08:59 PM

Originally posted by veddhead83
Are you kidding me?!?!?!?!?
Everything about the government was trying too hard to be serious. It went so far as to involve soldiers in Iraq - who just so happened to be kidding about todays sports world. Don't get started on Transformers not taking itself seriously. I don't think Speilberg would have been involved had this thing not taken itself seriously.
C'Mon man give us a break. THEY TRIED TOO HARD....
Just because it was played straight doesn't mean it was taking itself seriously. John Turturro's character is pretty good proof of that.

CreeperBEATNGU

07-03-2007, 10:59 PM

Originally posted by Quigles
I could not disagree with you more. I thought Shia LaBeouf was easily one of the best aspects of the film, right up there with the ass-kicking robot fight sequences. He was the only reason I had any emotional investment in the picture.

If you wanna complain about somebody, how about Tyrese? Anthony Anderson? Jon Voight? etc.

But please, leave Shia alone. I keep hearing people insulting him, and I just don't get it. Thought he was great in Holes, Disturbia, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, and now this. He's an excellent young actor.

All the humans sucked, and all Shia did was the same thing he always does, he played himself.
This movie is already an uninvolving waste, take him out and you'd be removing the pointless puppy love story with the dorky kid that falls in love with the hot girl that's dating the jerk jock and rises to the occasion to win her over bs that I've seen a thousand times. This is THE SAME damn thing he did in Disturbia.
He was horrible, contributing to this horrible movie.
This wasn't even a damn Transformers movie. It was a shitty comedy guest starring the Transformers. I couldn't put into words how much I DESPISED the excessive attempts at comic relief in this piece of shit.
Galvatron summed up Bay's Transformers film perfectly in the REAL Transformers movie from 1986...
"Coronation? This is bad comedy." This movie is so overflowing with bad jokes by practically the entire cast, that a bad joke is exactly what they turned Transformers into.

Props to Shia LeBeoaf for yet another performance as...Shia LeBeoaf. He now has the distinction of being the lead in by far the two worst films I've seen all year.

psycheoutsteve

07-03-2007, 11:24 PM

I didn't expect to like this film, but I actually enjoyed it a lot. It was a very loud, cheesy, humorous, action-crammed picture that was well worth my $7.50. I didn't once take the film too seriously, which probably contributed a great deal to my overall acceptance of the film. The characters were generic and paper-thin, but I have to hand it to the actors who were very fun to watch. Props to Shia, he convinced me that he was interacting with giant robots from outerspace as absurd as that sounds. 8/10 a solid popcorn flick.

EasyE

07-03-2007, 11:50 PM

yo, i just want to know, what autobots and decepticons die in this film. Please, somebody hit me up with some knowlege.

LordSimen

07-04-2007, 12:16 AM

Originally posted by CreeperBEATNGU
All the humans sucked, and all Shia did was the same thing he always does, he played himself.

There are countless number of great actors who do that, it's not a bad thing.

jbar1026

07-04-2007, 12:28 AM

The movie was much better than i thought it would be ( hollywood scerews everything up). the secound good movie in a row in a summer of less than great movies.

shia did an amazing job in this movie with out him the movie could have really been bad. the rest of the cast sucked imo.and what the hell is with all these bad actors making cameo's in this movie

and it did seem to set up for the transformers 2 movie which will hopefully have a more balanced story. this one was kind of all over the place.

all in all a great time at the movies

transformers 8/10

Worthystevens

07-04-2007, 01:34 AM

With a Michael Bay movie, I know not to expect much characterization or a plot. So with that said, this movie fucking pwned. For the last hour-hour and a half, I was in pure awe.

My head is still dizzy from the awesomeness that was Transformers.

8.5/10.

NCarter

07-04-2007, 01:47 AM

Overall I thought that this was a fun movie. It really made me want that concept Camaro. Anyway:

Pros
Meagan Fox is hot
Shia is actually a pretty good actor
The actual Transformers were amazing to watch
The explosions and fights were all top notch
The Jokes

Cons
It would have been nice if I could have seen half of the fighting. Back up with that fucking camera!
Some of the jokes were weak (Bush;ding dongs) and took me out of the movie
Meagan Fox can't act
Plot holes galore
Michael Bay is still a shitty director. How much blinding white light do we need? Slow Motion in all the wrong places.

Overall an entertaining movie. I'd buy the dvd if only to oggle Meagan Fox.

Nozoli_Apples

07-04-2007, 02:51 AM

First, since the movie didn't do the characters justice I've created a new character, Fridgebot. Watch me transform into him using cutting edge acting:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0RixngmwmGQ

Secondly,
Well, I didn't really like the movie that much. First off, the effects, action, and fighting between the Transformers was for the most part cool as fuck, just too bad everything else wasn't. I got my first jolt of bad Michael Bayisms when there was a helicopter flying in front of a too bright setting sun, and then I was crapped upon with hammy music and really cheesy uses of close-ups, bad uses of a moving camera, lame emotion(the girl crying about not leaving bumblebee etc.) and those terrible terrible lame as shit slow motion moments. I was actually kind of enjoying it up until about the halfway point when I realized that the movie was never going to try and have a serious moment, even in moments where we needed them. The jokes were pretty funny at first but then I began to realize that they were apparently written with 12 year olds in mind because they just weren't funny, were too simplistic, broad, and occurred way too often. I mean we have these people who should be scared out of their minds and then we get crap like John Torturro(I love him with the Coens, here he was terrible) hamming it up so bad that it was painful. The other characters were either wacky or trying to act way too serious while spouting bad fucking lines. The dialog was bad and almost every character was lame. I know this is a dumb summer movie and that's totally cool, I just don't enjoy seeing a movie that has great action sequences and really lame stuff crammed in between. Oh and the thing about the code being on the glasses, yikes in the bad department. To clarify, I'm no huge Transformers nut so it's not as if I was hinging my life on this movie, but I honestly think it would have been a much more fun, scary, and intense movie if it had taken a more serious tone at least some of the time, and actually let us get to know the Transformers. Let's face it, we basically got zippo in terms of the personalities of the Decepticons, and Bumblebees radio frequency talk was not funny and frigging annoying.
All this being said, the movie was still ok, I'd definitely watch the action sequences again but man it's too fucking painful to sit through the rest.
Ladiesman217(because that is so funny), out.
So did anyone see some cool costumes? One dude at our packed 11 o clock showing wore a tinfoil box and Geordi Laforge-ish glasses but that was it. Also did anyone else's audiences freak out and clap at some parts that just weren't funny?

Moviefan1234

07-04-2007, 08:42 AM

Well I went and saw it last night. I wasn't very impressed. Michael Bay is such a hit and miss director. He either makes a great film or a horrible film.

TRANSFORMERS was his weakest effort to date. 3/10

thedudeman69

07-04-2007, 09:00 AM

Originally posted by LordSimen
There are countless number of great actors who do that, it's not a bad thing.

yeah, like George Clooney. :D

Shockwave

07-04-2007, 10:15 AM

After giving this time to digest id have to give it a 7/10.

Most of the movie was damn good, but some stuff..was..just..not.

--------------------------SPOILERS!------------------------------------------

PRO-

Spike was the heart of the story and was played VERY well, in fact, i thought all the human cast did damn well! Very impressed.

Bumblebee and Prime were great characters

Megatron turned out far better then i thought. In fact, id say he was the best designed OF the Decepticons.

CONS-

Most of the Transformers(more true for the decepticons then the autobots) looked like a mess of scrap metal. When two Transformers ran into each other, i gave up trying to figure out what was going on.

The effects were great, but the action itself was only so-so. Both DIE HARD and PIRATES 3 had far better action with the camera far enough back for someone to be able to see what the fuck was going on.

Starscream gets one line when he first appears and UTTERLY VANISHES in the final fight! The character might as well have not even been in the movie.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bourne101

07-04-2007, 10:26 AM

Originally posted by CreeperBEATNGU
Props to Shia LeBeoaf for yet another performance as...Shia LeBeoaf. He now has the distinction of being the lead in by far the two worst films I've seen all year.

You obviously haven't seen The Hills Have Eyes II, Primeval, Norbit, Ghost Rider and I could go on and on. There is no way Disturbia and Transformers are the two worst movies of the year.

veddhead83

07-04-2007, 10:36 AM

Originally posted by Quigles
Just because it was played straight doesn't mean it was taking itself seriously. John Turturro's character is pretty good proof of that. Turturro was trying to be some sort of comic relief that the audience roots against - everyone of Bay's films has a villain and since Megawhatever doesn't even appear until the end, Turturro is the villain. Whatever Q, this movie blows. Serious or not.

Jig Saw 123

07-04-2007, 11:09 AM

Transformers: 9/10

I look forward to Bay doing a sequel just because of the remaining Decepticons....

Shockwave

07-04-2007, 11:14 AM

Originally posted by Jig Saw 123
Transformers: 9/10

I look forward to Bay doing a sequel just because of the remaining Decepticons....

Im hoping Starscream gets more then one line in the next one and doesnt utterly vanish in mid battle.:)

RicochetShaw

07-04-2007, 01:51 PM

Ok, I've seen this twice now, and althought there's obviously plotholes, film flubs, and what not, I LOVED it. I've been anticipating this film for many months, have watched the trailer hundreds of times, and the film just really delivered what I was expecting. I think it was a summerblockbuster done right. Oh, and Megan Fox is probably the most attractive female alive

One persisting error really got to me. Did anyone else notice that there is TERRIBLE continuation regarding the time of day things are going on? Like in the Qatar scene. The helicopter is approaching close to base and its broad daylight. Then when he lands and attacks, it's pitch black. And then...

SPOILERS

when the survivors of that attack approach that small Qatar town where the boy is from, its broad day light again! To go from the middle of the night to the middle of the day like that takes at least... let's say... 10 hours. Does that boy really make frequent 10 hour treks by himself to visit his US army buddies? Not likely.

END SPOILERS

Anyone else notice that, or agree or disagree?

Oh, and Scarfather, where are you from in Florida?

Jig Saw 123

07-04-2007, 01:59 PM

Originally posted by Shockwave
Im hoping Starscream gets more then one line in the next one and doesnt utterly vanish in mid battle.:)

If you waited until after the credits you see Starscream flying out of the earths atmosphere...

RicochetShaw

07-04-2007, 02:03 PM

SPOILERS**

Originally posted by Jig Saw 123
If you waited until after the credits you see Starscream flying out of the earths atmosphere...

Are you serious? I waited, and nothing happened. Maybe it was my print? Or are you joking?

Shockwave

07-04-2007, 02:05 PM

Originally posted by Jig Saw 123
If you waited until after the credits you see Starscream flying out of the earths atmosphere...

Yeah, i just hated how undersued the coolest memeber of the bad guy team was.

Im hoping for alot more from the character if they do another. As it was all he was in this one was a name.:(

But that was realy one of the movies faults. Too many characters, both Human and Robot.

veddhead83

07-04-2007, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by RicochetShaw
Ok, I've seen this twice now, and althought there's obviously plotholes, film flubs, and what not, I LOVED it. I've been anticipating this film for many months, have watched the trailer hundreds of times, and the film just really delivered what I was expecting. I think it was a summerblockbuster done right. Oh, and Megan Fox is probably the most attractive female alive

One persisting error really got to me. Did anyone else notice that there is TERRIBLE continuation regarding the time of day things are going on? Like in the Qatar scene. The helicopter is approaching close to base and its broad daylight. Then when he lands and attacks, it's pitch black. And then...

SPOILERS

when the survivors of that attack approach that small Qatar town where the boy is from, its broad day light again! To go from the middle of the night to the middle of the day like that takes at least... let's say... 10 hours. Does that boy really make frequent 10 hour treks by himself to visit his US army buddies? Not likely.

END SPOILERS

Anyone else notice that, or agree or disagree?

Oh, and Scarfather, where are you from in Florida? I noticed......when the cop Transformer was chasing Shia in the Camaro it was morning(he said something to the cat about the morning) and ten mins later when the cop almost runs him over it is dark....I said that out loud to someone else while I was watching it too...

Jig Saw 123

07-04-2007, 02:56 PM

Originally posted by RicochetShaw
SPOILERS**

Are you serious? I waited, and nothing happened. Maybe it was my print? Or are you joking?

Yeah it was shown...

LordSimen

07-04-2007, 03:13 PM

Originally posted by thedudeman69
yeah, like George Clooney. :D

He'd definitely be a great example of one. :p

Scarfather

07-04-2007, 03:55 PM

Originally posted by RicochetShaw
Oh, and Scarfather, where are you from in Florida?

Sarasota, but I bounce all over the place. I stay in Jacksonville half the time.

Though I do have to make it to Orlando sometime soon to see that Kwik-E-Mart:

http://www.joblo.com/kwik-e-marts-appear

That's amazing.

KevinthePRF

07-04-2007, 04:20 PM

Just saw it.

If you are a movie purist who is determined to compare it to something like The Departed, you are going to hate it.

If you are a Transformer purist who can look in the mirror and say, "Starscream didn't have enough character development" without laughing, you are going to hate it.

If you are the rest of us, you'll like it. 9/10.

SPOILERS

I just loved the kid's mom. The look on her face when Megan Fox popped out of hiding is worth the price of admission.

End SPOILERS

Trailer question. Did anyone else see a teaser trailer preview with no description of what the movie was? It was shot from the point of a hand held video camera at a house party. Everyone is having a good time till the place starts shaking. The crowd panics and runs outside to show the streets of New York getting bombed or somethng. The last shot is of the Statue of Liberty's head bouncing in the street. Anyone know what movie that was for? Nothing was shown past that.

NuclearMisfit

07-04-2007, 06:18 PM

Originally posted by Scarfather
Sarasota, but I bounce all over the place. I stay in Jacksonville half the time.

Though I do have to make it to Orlando sometime soon to see that Kwik-E-Mart:

http://www.joblo.com/kwik-e-marts-appear

That's amazing.

Jax represent!

What I wrote in the anticipation thread.

I love the film. I gotta apologize because my first take on the film was pretty shitty but I loved it!

For those who said the comic relief was horrible, it was needed. The original cartoons were cornier than anything said in this movie. People would bring their kids to this flick would need something, I didnt have any problem with the diologue. Maybe the fact that all these people were talking about a bunch of computer terms, i could have done without that.

Megatron although still looked crowded still had some badassness in him even though when he was frozen he looked like The bumble from the Rankin and Bass Rudolf claymation oh and Starscreams voice should have been a bit more 'shrill' sounding and he should have had a bigger part in it all.

Oh well heres to the sequel.

Originally posted by KevinthePRF

SPOILERS

I just loved the kid's mom. The look on her face when Megan Fox popped out of hiding is worth the price of admission.

Dude his mom kinda reminded me of my own in that scene. Every female that i encounter while around her shes always like "Hey my sons single"

poopontheshoes7

07-04-2007, 07:51 PM

Well sweet Jesus that was awesome!

I'm not a Transformers super geek, but I know enough about their story and saw enough of the cartoon to consider myself a fan. I wasnt sure what to expect from this film going into it. Not because Michael Bay directed, but because I was afraid of disappointment much like most of the summer season has offered. Well color me suprised because not only is Transformers my favorite movie of the summer, its one of my favorite films of the year.

This movie is just fun, fun, fun. All the things that I was dreading would go wrong in this movie, for example the humor, worked for me. I was worried the stuff between Shia and Fox would just seemed forced and fall flat on its face. Thankfully the story wasnt bogged down by sappy romance. I have to admit as soon as Primes voice over came booming the speakers I had a sheepish grin on my face.

I dont see why people are complaining about the action and not being able to see what was going on. I made everything out fine. And the shaky cam wasnt that shaky imo. I barely noticed it. Not only did the action kick ass, it is some of the most jaw dropping action I've ever seen. Really, it is. The final battle is just pure testosterone action heaven. I was loving every second it.

I dont know why I loved this movie so much. It does have flaws. I hate Anthony Anderson and some of the footage of the cars driving around seemed like a big car commercial, and the Armageddon joke made me cringe. But watching Transformers was like watching....well.....a cartoon. It was big, loud, funny, and pure excitment. Also, I'm not a Bay basher like lots of people are, I liked most of his films (except Bad Boys 2 and Pearl Harbor). Whats so terribly wrong with making fun movies? Thats what Bay does. Makes fun movies. And this one is his most fun.

9/10

chinton

07-04-2007, 08:22 PM

Was anybody else really really confused for the last 30 minutes thanks to the confusing action. It seemed at least ten more evil robots appeared that weren't even in the moive. On top of that I actually thought all the good guys died until the battle was over and I was proved wrong. Honestly the only robots I could keep track of were Prime and Bumblebee thanks to their bright colors. Everything else was just a bunch of robots fighting each other.

I also thought it was funny the last shot was Shia making out with Megan on top of the car. Maybe its just me I would feel weird about making out on top of a car that I know is an alien robot while his friends watch.

Still enjoyed the movie though. The efects were amazing.

IanLovesMovies

07-04-2007, 08:23 PM

This film was a ton of fun for me! The theater also erupted in clapter at the end, so I guess I wasn't the only one that loved it. Cant wait to own the dvd. I hope that there will be alot of extra features available. p.s......Poor Jazz. He was the man, and how about the Optimus Prime speach about how Humans are a "young Race", and that we have alot to learn. Very moving speach by a giant digital alien robot.

Funnyman

07-04-2007, 08:28 PM

The first good hyped up movie I have seen this year.

9 /10

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9gnMiKsPIxGGb8AQEWjzbkF/SIG=12ojt2viq/EXP=1183682092/**http%3A//www.startribune.com/media/2006/07/15/18/4mov0716.embedded.jpg
Elias would have loved it.......................

darkface

07-04-2007, 08:42 PM

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/transformers/optimus4.jpg

9/10

Every geeks wet dream! :) I'm not a big transformers fan, I consider myself more of a movie buff. But this movie reaches everyone on all levels. I had my geeky robots, the awesome action scenes, and cute couple, the air force etc etc. It just had something for everyone to enjoy.
Throughout the movie, the audience would clap after every cool scene. It was such a great reaction to feel when you know the audience is enjoying the hell out of it along with you.

Don't wait for the DVD, GO SEE THIS ONE NOW in the THEATERS.

Antarius

07-04-2007, 09:34 PM

SPOILERS

I've been waiting over a year for this movie since I first heard it was coming out. Needless to say I was not dissapointed. Shia was fantastic and Prime and Bumblebee were just as fantastic. I got chills when the Autobots landed and were first introduced. One dissapointment was John Turturro's character, I think they could have done away with him and the whole Sector 7 angle and not missed a beat. Megatron and Starscream needed more screen time for sure. Would have liked a little history on Prime and Megs relationship with each other. Those 2 have a rich mythology together and the film didnt really touch that at all. Starscream was a total badass and should have had alot more screen time. My 2 favorite scenes were the Bumblebee/Barricade chase and Starscream laying waste to the fighter jets. 9/10 a totally mind blowing and enjoyable expericence.

p.s. Heres to Megs and Starscream getting paybacks in the sequel.
and for god's sake never introduce Hot Rod and Blurr into the movies.

Bourne101

07-04-2007, 10:05 PM

Originally posted by Funnyman
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9gnMiKsPIxGGb8AQEWjzbkF/SIG=12ojt2viq/EXP=1183682092/**http%3A//www.startribune.com/media/2006/07/15/18/4mov0716.embedded.jpg
Elias would have loved it.......................

He sure would have!

ilovemovies

07-04-2007, 10:10 PM

Usually when I'm in the minority it's when I'm DEFENDING a movie. I can't believe it's the opposite in this case. Especially for a Transformers movie too. Not to mention a friggin' Michael Bay movie. Usually I love Michael Bay movies.

dman476

07-04-2007, 11:32 PM

Originally posted by chinton
I also thought it was funny the last shot was Shia making out with Megan on top of the car. Maybe its just me I would feel weird about making out on top of a car that I know is an alien robot while his friends watch.
I thought that was pretty weird too. :p
What would you give the film overall chinton?

shoe1985

07-05-2007, 12:27 AM

Excellent summer movie. Perfect time for it to come out. Anyone catch the Iran joke, about how they are not able to do something like those attacks?

Something I found quite funny is the one transformer, can't remember which one now, hit the power line knocking off the power. Now the power should be off, but everyone has power. This got on my nerves because they made such a big fuss about the power going off.

I am curious, if they do make a sequel, how do they bring Megatron back?

Ender

07-05-2007, 12:45 AM

Ender

07-05-2007, 12:47 AM

Surprisingly, not a bad movie. There are legitimate criticisms to be made, but in a summer movie season which is so far the worst since, well, the last one, TRANSFORMERS is incredibly fun to watch. The scene of Starscream ripping apart fighter jets in midair is alone worth the price of admission. If you're looking for an intelligent and thought-provoking experience at the cinema, you're obviously barking up the wrong tree, and if you're a pain in the ass "purist" who can't get over the robot designs or the fact that Megatron doesn't turn into a gun (which I always thought was fucking lame in the cartoon anyway. Megatron in this movie is like death incarnate, I might add; everything he touches gets it's ass kicked), then likely nothing will please you. Everybody in between these two extremes should have fun though.

***MINOR SPOILERS***

Originally posted by shoe1985
I am curious, if they do make a sequel, how do they bring Megatron back?

The ending of the movie, particularly the final shot of Starscream, clearly leave the door open for a sequel. Although they wouldn't necesarily have to bring back Megatron, it could be accomplished quite easily; "dead" Transformers are repaired and restored constantly in the cartoon and comics. Hell, they could even turn him into Galvatron I suppose...

fooknasty

07-05-2007, 01:10 AM

Just saw it. Very solid. It had some sweet action, humor, etc., everything you could want in a summer movie. There were a couple places that it seemed to drag on, a couple cheesey lines, bad editing, and whatever. But overall, one of the best summer movies so far.

8/10

Originally posted by KevinthePRF

Trailer question. Did anyone else see a teaser trailer preview with no description of what the movie was? It was shot from the point of a hand held video camera at a house party. Everyone is having a good time till the place starts shaking. The crowd panics and runs outside to show the streets of New York getting bombed or somethng. The last shot is of the Statue of Liberty's head bouncing in the street. Anyone know what movie that was for? Nothing was shown past that.

Holy crap that trailer was exciting. It is some monster movie that J.J. Abrams (sp?) has been working on as producer. Everyone wanted to know what the movie was and who was in it. That is definitely the way to get people geked about a movie.

Ender

07-05-2007, 01:15 AM

Guess I got shafted on CLOVERFIELD, all we got in my theatre was I AM LEGEND, HOT ROD, and RUSH HOUR 3 (oh boy, old Jackie Chan, obnoxious Chris Tucker, and, look, jokes about French people, HOW original! :rolleyes:).

outsyder

07-05-2007, 01:28 AM

Can someone give me a rundown of the scenes included in the credits? I usually stay, but I had to catch a bus, and missed everything after the credits started to roll.

MisterTwister

07-05-2007, 01:50 AM

Simply, I loved it. It had everything I look for in a summer movie. It was funny, it was exciting and it looked great, the CGI was fantastic.

8/10

The Poonchy

07-05-2007, 02:25 AM

SPOILERS

if anyone is complaining about the comedic banter between the autobots, stfu. it was basically the show all over again, optimus's moving speeches and everything. they seriously did a great job with this movie, i was totally pleasantly surprised.

cons: the lack of any sort of sadness about jazz's death ("aw, jazz. we lost a great comrade in battle today :( but gained some new ones :D" was seriously how it was handled), and the total lack of any sort of characterization at all for the decepticons (one line about starscream screwing up is just not gonna cut it, guyz). and starscream's voice, it should have been more obnoxious. that's starsceam's voice! also, where tf is frank welker. hugo weaving gtfo. when he knocked sam off the building he had a mini-speech that sounded almost exactly like something agent smith would have said.

p.s. lol @ megatron flicking away a human

easily the best summer movie of '07, 9/10
michael bay's best movie in his career

ilovemovies

07-05-2007, 02:38 AM

I love the autobots. They are very cool. I wish they were in the movie more. They are a lot more interesting than the human characters. The movie would have been a lot better if it was more focused on them.

However, the Deceptacons were not that good. They were a big disappointment. Especially Megatron, though he was probably the best of them. Still, very disappointing. I can't help to wonder how much better the movie would have been if it been truly about the conflict between the Deceptacons and the Autobots.

Still, the real problem with the movie was Michael Bay and his direction. If the movie had delivered on the action department, then I could have forgiven the movie for the at times painfully horribly atrocious dialogue. Unfortunately the action wasn't cool (although the special effects were). It was loud and noisy and impossible to follow. That's why I don't understand the love for this movie.

And this is coming from someone who has enjoyed just about everything else Michael Bay has done.

gspawn

07-05-2007, 03:28 AM

The following review requires that you first understand, Peter Cullen really does = Optimus Prime, and virtually every scene Optimus was in happened to be cinamatic gold. It's not like I'm a total hater. As for the rest of the film....

This whole review has questionable spoiler status, so be careful if you're concerned.

I can NOT believe people are letting Bay off for his utter lack of anything even REMOTELY resembling skill in assembling this movie. Do you people have no shame? Are we really allowing "summer movie" to eclipse all sense whatsoever in judging a film? The movie wasn't just badly written in most places, it was downright amateur.

-In a hacking scene, you see "POTUS Mainframe". POTUS is shorthand for the President of the United Status. This would indicate our president is a computer, and he's being hacked in to.
-In a military scene, someone yells "present ARMS", so soldiers salute. For anyone with no understanding of the military whatsoever, "arms" refers to weapons in this call. This is a freakin' pun to end all puns.
-Have we all heard that Beagle 2 wasn't a NASA probe (ESA-launched), didn't have a rover, etc?

Do I need to go in to the sheer number of scenes where a horribly disruptive piece of music would start playing, followed by some cliche slow-mo crap? And the abrupt changes in tone! Like the "you're going to wish you got in the car" moment. It comes absolutely out of nowhere, with a crappy musical cue, it's incredibly cliche, AND it's even followed up on later in the movie in case you tried to forget and forgive. There are highschool drama students on YouTube directing better than this.

It doesn't even end there! Throw on the incredible product placement. Was there any need, for example, to have to watch a solid shot of a display rotating to say "Pontiac Solstice" and hold that in frame so that even someone who was busy digging for popcorn could have time to look up and spot it? And it's never a cell phone, for example- it has to specifically be a Nokia cell phone (or a Phillips memory card, or...) Not only that, but lets throw in the third or fourth reference to Japanese people and just try for borderline racism while we're at it (Samurai spirit!).

I'm going to give this film a 5/10 almost entirely because of Cullen / Optimus, and that's being very generous.

TOTAL SPOILERS:

...

-All hail Megatron? What was that? And could you be more blatant with the "scene where all the made-up guys get names" while you're at it?
-Starscream didn't have the correct voice, or any of his trademark red color. My second-favorite transformer after Soundwave... so you can see I'm exponentially pissed here... at least Megatron DID gripe about Starscream failing him, I guess.
-How did all of the Autobots disappear just long enough for Sam and Bumblebee to get captured, yet reappear the moment that ends?
-Why does the Allspark have the power to fix the radio/spy guy (Frenzy? Or whoever) in one scene, but it doesn't do anything for Bumblebee in two others?
-If Bay made such a massive fuss over Tranformers changing sizes, what the **** was that scene with the Allspark?
-Were we supposed to take John Turturro seriously? He comes out of nowhere, acts like a retard, and does nothing but gum up the works. Whoopie.
-And for the love of God, didn't the whole "trendy teen hackers" crap die off in the 90s? If it hasn't, can't we please pass that law now?
-And I had to roll my eyes on this one- The clearly (and crappily overdone) "black" autobot died first, as did the mouthy minority in the military team. Surprise, surprise.

...but damn it was good to hear and see Optimus, wasn't it?

rmarti3926

07-05-2007, 04:04 AM

Transformers
Directed by Michael Bay
Released by Paramount Pictures/Dreamworks Pictures

After sitting thourgh Spider-Man, Shrek and Pirates 3, I’m happy to say that Transformers is finally the real summer movie to see. I was a fan of the toys and the cartoon from the 1980’s and I was not disappointed in the new movie. It’s better than the other summer movies I’ve seen so far, and it’s also better than the 1986 animated movie. I never thought I’d see the day that Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg, two rival movie directors nine years ago, would join forces for this.

The story goes as the Autobots and Decepticons race towards Earth to fine an alien cube called the “Allspark”, which gives mechanical objects life and the purpose of doing evil. The Autobots wants to destroy it before Megatron and his minions use it to conquer the universe. The key to finding the Allspark lies with an ordinary teenager, Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBouf), whose great grandfather’s possessions hold clues to the cube’s whereabouts.

The action scenes are spectacular from the get-go. The opening scenes in which two Decepticon operatives infiltrated and destroys a US military base in Qatar in the Middle East is intense and pulse-pounding. The car chases is fast and furious, and the final battle in Los Angeles, which includes Optimus Prime and Megatron going at it through skyscrapers and city streets, rivals most of the climatic scenes in the last few movies of this summer. This movie is more lighthearted than the earlier summer releases and the animated movie; the comic scenes are a nice touch, and some of the supporting players added more laughs.

The voice casting of Peter Cullen, reprising his animated series role as Optimus Prime is remarkable and feels right. I love when Optimus repeats his lines from the movie “One shall stand, the other will stand” and his motto for his toy counterpart “Freedom is the right of all sufficient beings”. Hugo Weaving (aka Agent Smith from the Matrix trilogy) is hardly recognizable as the voice of Megatron. Which is a letdown, considering that I’m a fan of Weaving, and I wish Frank Welker reprising his role as Megatron for this.

The special effects were awesome. Kudos to the wizards of ILM brings the robots to life. The Autobots’ vehicle forms are also one to be amazed at. Bumblebee sacrificed his cartoon VW Bug form for one of my most favorite cars, the Chevrolet Camaro, is a smart move on his part. Frenzy, the Decepticon spy, is sort of like the villainous comic henchman type but as cool weaponry like his launched blades of death.

In conclusion, Transformers is a great movie, a perfect distraction from the semi-serious offering so far this summer. I hope it makes box office records and hope it still holds off against the new Harry Potter adventure. Highly recommended.

8.5/10

Shockwave

07-05-2007, 05:23 AM

Originally posted by ilovemovies
I love the autobots. They are very cool. I wish they were in the movie more. They are a lot more interesting than the human characters. The movie would have been a lot better if it was more focused on them.

Still, the real problem with the movie was Michael Bay and his direction. If the movie had delivered on the action department, then I could have forgiven the movie for the at times painfully horribly atrocious dialogue. Unfortunately the action wasn't cool (although the special effects were). It was loud and noisy and impossible to follow. That's why I don't understand the love for this movie.

And this is coming from someone who has enjoyed just about everything else Michael Bay has done.

The effects were alot better then the action was. I liked the movie, but once they started slamming into each other and the camera starting zooming in and going nuts, i pretty much gave up trying to tell who was hitting who and just took it as 'the good guys are winning".

Euclid

07-05-2007, 06:21 AM

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/9078/transformersri8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
*EDIT* A REVISED REVIEW

A Transformation Into Catastrophe (No Spoilers)

Like many others on this forum, I grew up with the Transformers. So understandably, they hold a special place in my heart. Imagine my excitement when I first heard they were announcing a live action flick for my beloved Transformers. Imagine my despair when I heard Michael Bay was on board to direct. Despite my perpetual distrust of Michael Bay's directing abilities, I wanted to cut the guy a break and trust that he would come through with a great movie in Transformers. That confidence came largely due to Steven Spielberg's endorsement of Michael Bay.

In the end however, my initial instincts were right. Simply put, the film was a disappointment. Michael Bay's Transformers suffers from the same ailment that all other Michael Bay films suffer from: A lack of character development. A lack of story development. A lack of proper editing. A lack of proper dialogue. An over indulgence in jittery camera work. As in any other prototypical Michael Bay affair. The magnificent effects, the amazing explosions and the "jitter cam" are simply hiding the gaping holes within the film...It's complete exclusion of anything coherent. At no point did I feel I was fully invested in either the story or in any of the characters.

Shia LaBeouf does an admirable job with Sam. Given the painfully limited capacity in which he is used, Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime is affective as well. Meagan Fox is nothing but eye candy, all be it, a very beautiful piece of candy. Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and company are mere pawns with little purpose. The likes of Jon Voight and John Turturro are sparsely used to forward a plot that is already clinging for dear life. It is a talented cast, if you read some of those names back yourself, but nothing in Transformers is fully fleshed out. Therein lies the problem.

Expecting a high end drama or Oscar material from your usual summer "blockbuster" release is foolish, I'm very much aware of that. Still, I expect some portion of intelligent thought and smart film-making in my summer blockbusters meals. The kind I could wryly shrug at, all the while, just as easily, admitting it was a lot of fun.

My friend gspawn. You're preaching to the choir here. For every single ounce of life in me, I cannot fathom how this film is getting rated 9 on 10's or 8 on 10's. Which essentially means, people are placing this utter example of garbage film-making, right up there with the likes of: The Matrix, Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Gladiator e.t.c. Now that is amazing!

When it comes to films like Transformers, I've heard people say "I didn't even have to use my brain. That's what made it great!" I can understand this to a degree, watching dramas all the time isn't fun either. But putting your faculties on hold altogether, is simply asking for far too much. Filmmakers like Michael Bay all to often try to peddle "flash and bangs" under the guise of "summer blockbuster" or "popcorn films." While conveniently and completely disregarding mere basic tenants of film-making.

Take for example Star Wars. The film that started the whole summer blockbuster tradition, the mother of all popcorn films so to speak. Yet it's still a film that stands head and shoulders above the likes of Transformers. Why you ask. The reason is simple. George Lucas was wise enough to develop a good story and flesh out the characters. If you think about it, films such as Star Wars, Alien and The Matrix take place in an equally preposterous universe. Although, in each instance, their filmmakers decided on creating a believable storyline and believable characters. A skill that Michael Bay, rather unfortunately, is desperately lacking.

I've nothing personal against Michael Bay or Transformers. I take no pleasure in giving Transformers a bad score or giving Michael Bay a hard time of it. I do happen to think that there is talent within Bay. He does have a knack for action sequences and all things combustible. Still, his absolute disregard for everything else hampers the impact of what he has managed to do right.

The film isn't without a few positives (few being the operative word). There are some very nice effects on display here. It's obvious that a great deal of care went into creating all the robots. The skill with which the CGI interact with their environments is amazing. The stunt work and pyrotechnics within the film are top notch as well. Yet again, with Michael Bay's incessant need to use jittery camera work and disorienting edits, one isn't able to fully appreciate the aesthetics in their full glory.

To be honest, I really did want to like this film. God knows I tried my best. I kept holding out for something, but the end credits rolled on and the proverbial fat lady had sung. Very loudly and very badly it would seem (pretty fitting, now that I think about it). Ultimately, It's a very shoddy and an extremely mishandled piece of film-making. I can put up with the jittery camera movement Bay is so fond of. I can put up with the disorienting edit jobs. I can even put up with the horrible dialogue. What I can't put up with, is a poorly conceived storyline and atrocious character development. Even if it is for a "blockbuster/popcorn" film. Michael Bay's Transformers is akin to a huge state of the art luxury cruise liner, all the bells and whistles attached. With a crucial exception. The engine needed to power it.

Thumbs Down or 3/10

P.S. Have to agree with you on one more thing gspawn. It was great to hear Optimus Prime again. I just wish there were more scenes involving the robots group dynamics.

NOTE: The critic James Berardinelli (http://www.reelviews.net/movies/t/transformers.html) sums it up quite nicely with a bit more detail. Something that I didn't want to get into on account of spoilers.

Mr.HyDe807

07-05-2007, 07:18 AM

Originally posted by Euclid
My friend. You're preaching to the choir here. For every single ounce of life in me, I cannot fathom how this film is getting rated 9 on 10's or 8 on 10's. Which essentially means, people are putting this utter example of garbage film-making, right up there with the likes of: The Matrix, Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Gladiator e.t.c. Now that is amazing!

Thats the beauty of having your own opinion and taste in movies!

shoe1985

07-05-2007, 08:32 AM

Euclid, this was a movie about action. You don't go into a Michael Bay movie expecting great characters. If you are, don't go see the movie. Many enjoy his movies just for that.

I was kinda surprised. I went to an 8:30 showing, and there were people in the theater, but it wasn't packed.

Alzabra

07-05-2007, 08:36 AM

Holy crap Transformers on the big screen, I watched it last night and loved it.

Make no mistake the day I heard they were making this movie for the big screen I was shocked and my first thought was "why do u kill my childhood cartoons hollywood"

After seeing transformers last night I was really surprised at how good it was, really entertaining and the CGI was excellent and the movie was funny as well.
Nearly all the characters human or robot were spot on and really my only complaint with the film was Megatron, they changed him to much for my liking plus as a massive character in the cartoons he should have been in it for a longer period.

But I really enjoyed this movie and would advise any boyhood fan to go see Optimus Prime in the cinema......wow

8/10 for this bad boy..........BRING ON UNICRON!!

Euclid

07-05-2007, 08:41 AM

Originally posted by shoe1985
Euclid, this was a movie about action. You don't go into a Michael Bay movie expecting great characters. If you are, don't go see the movie. Many enjoy his movies just for that.

I was kinda surprised. I went to an 8:30 showing, and there were people in the theater, but it wasn't packed.
Originally posted by Euclid
Expecting a high end drama or Oscar material from your usual summer "blockbuster" release is foolish, I'm very much aware of that. Still, I expect some portion of intelligent thought in my summer blockbusters meals. The kind I could wryly shrug at, all the while, just as easily, admitting it was a lot of fun.

trodge

07-05-2007, 09:03 AM

Originally posted by shoe1985
Excellent summer movie. Perfect time for it to come out. Anyone catch the Iran joke, about how they are not able to do something like those attacks?

Something I found quite funny is the one transformer, can't remember which one now, hit the power line knocking off the power. Now the power should be off, but everyone has power. This got on my nerves because they made such a big fuss about the power going off.

I am curious, if they do make a sequel, how do they bring Megatron back?

SPOILER:

As soon as they started dumping Decepticons in the ocean the first thing I thought of was the original base they had underwater in the cartoons.

RandalGraves

07-05-2007, 11:27 AM

The most fun I've had at the movies since seeing Knocked Up, great overall fun action flick!:cool:

Euclid

07-05-2007, 12:22 PM

I just read a review on Transformers by Vern (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33228) over at aintitcool.com. And it's by far one of the funniest reviews I have ever read.

Quigles

07-05-2007, 01:08 PM

Originally posted by Euclid
Expecting a high end drama or Oscar material from your usual summer "blockbuster" release is foolish, I'm very much aware of that. Still, I expect some portion of intelligent thought in my summer blockbusters meals. The kind I could wryly shrug at, all the while, just as easily, admitting it was a lot of fun.
Let me correct you: No, this is TRANSFORMERS. You don't need any intelligent thought in a movie about giant robots beating the shit out of each other, especially not one based on a toyline. If you went into it expecting some, you wasted your money before even seeing the damn film.

JCPhoenix

07-05-2007, 02:27 PM

Saw this last night and really dug it...here's a few short thoughts...

I was expecting Michael Bay action and I got exactly that. The SFX work in this film is impeccable and innovative. The wow moments in this are fairly numerous. The first half focusing more on Max and his car was funny and entertaining. The second half which is pure non-stop action is fun and entertaining. The only critique I have is I found John Turturro borderline annoying (normally I love his work but in this, not so much) and there were a bunch of cheesy things/lines and but I attribute that to the original series...and I resign myself to the fact that every action movie generally has a few cheesy lines. Truth be told, I don't really have very many complaints about this. I mean you could maybe say it could have been deeper or whatever but I wanted a summer action movie and it did its job extremely well. It's fun and it's completely ridiculous and it never aims to be anything but that. It delivered and then some and it blows away the fifty million sequels, etc that have come out this year. By far the most entertaining movie of the year for me.

8/10

wisdomsword

07-05-2007, 02:44 PM

Originally posted by MidnightAngel
Even if its lame it'll be a sure blockbuster flick.

Unless it doesn't flop like his last movie The Island.

I actually like The Island.

wisdomsword

07-05-2007, 03:00 PM

Originally posted by zombievictim
Yeah, I've decided that I won't be seeing this until dvd. I'm just not excited about it at all. And not to mention the fact that it looks HORRIBLE! I was a little on the fence about it because Megan Fox is so hot but I've decided I'll just sit this one out, let the bad reviews come in, and laugh and laugh and laugh.

You are going to miss something great for not going to a theater to see this.
The last time I had such a great experience watching a movie in a theater was Saving Private Ryan and The Matrix.

m_burlock

07-05-2007, 03:02 PM

To all those who were looking forward to Transformers with great antisipation I ask, so, did you like it?

wisdomsword

07-05-2007, 03:09 PM

One more good thing about this movie.
This is the first major action movie I have seen in years where those major female characters aren't just screaming their lungs out, acting stupid and annoy the hell out of the audience but instead really smart, doing something useful and becoming very important part of the story.
The last time we have such female characters in movies were Aliens(2) and Teminator2.

Worthystevens

07-05-2007, 03:24 PM

You might want to see Live Free or Die Hard (Die Hard 4.0).

Lucy McClane is definitely not one of those useless female characters.

wisdomsword

07-05-2007, 04:02 PM

Originally posted by Worthystevens
You might want to see Live Free or Die Hard (Die Hard 4.0).

Lucy McClane is definitely not one of those useless female characters.

Watched it yesterday too.
Yes, you are right about Lucy McClane in Die Hard.
Just that this time, the major villain (Timothy Olyphant) is too lame here. It's like he was afraid to hurt her.

MidnightAngel

07-05-2007, 04:16 PM

Everyone i know has seen the movie and they say it's awesome!

Euclid

07-05-2007, 04:50 PM

Originally posted by Quigles
Let me correct you: No, this is TRANSFORMERS. You don't need any intelligent thought in a movie about giant robots beating the shit out of each other, especially not one based on a toyline. If you went into it expecting some, you wasted your money before even seeing the damn film.

In that my friend, I completely disagree. While I respect your opinion, I think it's a bit flawed. No offense intended whatsoever. I just can't imagine how peoples expectations have been lowered to such a point that films like Transformers can achieve ratings of 8 on 10's to 9 on 10's. I'll let Vern from aintitcoolnews.com speak on my behalf, because he pretty much hits the nail on the head.

QUOTE #1
Boogie: I honestly don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence and I apologize for offending you by being a dickwad reviewer. I am not a Harvard scientist either. The guy I described who loved the movie is a guy I respect, and I respect Moriarty too. And I would not be surprised if I was wowed by your detective skills. All I mean to say is that my brain does not comprehend how this is entertaining to you guys. And I'm sure you could say the same thing about many of my favorites. But more power to you for having fun with it.

HamsterDK: You're not entirely wrong. I am not the intended audience for this movie and I am not objective about Michael Bay's movies, so this is more of an essay than a review. But I do respect the artform enough that I can't sit back and say nothing while a movie this deadly gets a pass by everybody just because it's loud and expensive. To me you gotta have SOME standards, and the "just relax and watch this garbage" attitude is demeaning to movies and to humans who watch movies.

To answer your question, what went wrong in my childhood (or probaly adulthood) is that at some point I started to love movies, watch alot of them, and think about them. I have seen enough okay, good, and great movies to have higher expectations than just to "relax and just be entertained for a couple of hours". If I'm supposed to be able to be entertained by any god damn garbage they put in front of me then why don't I just stay home and watch TV all day?

If you thought the movie was good that's cool, I'm glad you enjoyed it. But I don't see you saying it's good, I just see you saying I'm an asshole for not swallowing it passively."

QUOTE #2
"In fact, you have made me realize why this IS a pretty damn convenient symbol for the mortal wounding of the type of cinema I like. Steven Spielberg produced this movie. I don't worship him the way some people around here do, but I gotta admit in many ways he is a genius. From DUEL to JAWS to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK... I think those all have good characters and stories but set that aside, if you just look at the individual sequences, they are masterful. He is a storyteller. I think maybe that is what is getting less common these days, and what makes him the opposite of Bay. People don't care about or understand the art of visual storytelling anymore - at least that is my fear from reading these talkbacks. Man, Spielberg, that's a guy who knows how to structure an action scene so that you know exactly the geography of everything, you have the exact right rhythm, you are reminded at the right moment that OH SHIT here comes the big boulder or surprise, darts coming out of the wall or whatever. And it builds and builds, it tells you a story. TRANSFORMERS is a good example of the more modern approach of DUDE HERE COMES A ROBOT THROW A CAMERA AT IT! cut cut cut cut cut. Alot of directors now are more interested in zooming around and trying to bang you on the head instead of trying to tell you a story with a pictures, carefully planning it out to tell the story in the most effective way.

And Spielberg is still good at it. I know everybody hated WAR OF THE WORLDS but those alien attack sequences, THOSE are a fucking rollercoaster. THOSE were thrilling to me. And with MUNICH he was able to take that masterful visual storytelling and apply it to a story that was about something. The guy is great. But nobody wants to be Spielberg anymore, it seems like. They want to be Michael Bay. He gets his dick sucked more, maybe. I don't know. I know those guys on On the Lot are not a real representation of the world, but holy shit. That would not be a promising future generation of movie makers.

But just so it's not all gloom and doom I'll be optimistic and point out some things that are going well. First of all, LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, despite many flaws, had an old school approach to staging the action. Give that guy some robots (chop a whole bunch of shit off of them, though, so I can tell where the head is) he could probaly do some fights. Also, I think the PIRATES movies (especially the first two) were very imaginative and fun, you could be saying "come on dude it's a ride, don't expect Shakespeare" but you don't have to, because they made fun movies with amazing special effects and even invented an instantly iconic character out of whole cloth, so popular they had to add him into the original ride. So there is just one example of where I am happy to be a part of the mass audience enjoying a huge commercial movie. Those might not be STAR WARS but they're good enough to be excited about.

Also we got the new Bourne movie coming out, that should be pretty good. And CASINO ROYALE is the first time I ever got excited to see the next Bond movie. So there is plenty to be happy about. Just don't fuck it up by destroying society with your robot movie, people."

QUOTE #3
"Thanks Xeniten, but I think I disagree with you in some cases. I'm glad to have somebody who apparently loves DIE HARD in charge of the sequel, for example, but I think a really good storyteller is more important than somebody who is familiar with the source material. I only need one example, and it's Brian Singer. I read that he didn't know anything about X-Men, but most of us here agree that he did a good job with those movies. On the other hand, he loves Superman and relates to him because he was adopted, but even those of us who didn't hate that movie mostly agree it's not as good as the X-Men. Also you got Brett Ratner. The guy loves comic books, but you guys all hated his X-Men, because you didn't think it lived up to the ones by the guy who didn't read X-Men until he got the movie. So there are definitely cases where familiarity with the source material has nothing to do with it.

Now let me put forth the theory of the Batman and Robin Precedent. The hatred of that movie was actually very important in setting the stage for alot of things going on today. It made money but in a surprise move was so widely hated that it changed many things. First of all, it knocked Joel Schumacher out of big budget movies. He made lots of smaller more personal ones, movies I would never watch, but some people like them. And I'm sure he's more happy. And you're happy that he's not making your Batman movies.

Also it gave us today's George Clooney. He has said that the combination of embarrassment from that movie and the money it earned him made him vow to only do movies he believed in. Since then he has starred in movies like OUT OF SIGHT and O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, directed CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND and GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK, produced some cool cable shows, won on Oscar for SYRIANA. He might not have done any of these things if people had accepted BATMAN AND ROBIN.

And of course, it killed the Batman movies (and comic book movies in fact) for several years, forcing studios to rethink their approach and at least for a while there make movies you guys love with smart directors trying to treat it seriously.

But what if BATMAN AND ROBIN had been given a pass? "Sure it had plot holes, I didn't like the nipples, but it's Batman! My three year old loved it! I ate popcorn! Hooray!" On the positive side, less aneurysms for nerds, more people enjoying themselves while watching that movie. In the minus column, maybe Joel Schumacher would've directed PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN or BOURNE IDENTITY and there'd be no part 2, George Clooney would've done that movie where Vin Diesel was a babysitter, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND would still be an unfilmed script so Sam Rockwell would be toiling in obscurity, Soderbergh would've never found his groove after David Caruso failed to gel in OUT OF SIGHT, and the big movie this summer would be BATMAN IN SPACE starring Nicolas Cage as Batman and Christian Slater as Jokulon.

So, enjoy this one, it's on the house, but please consider putting your foot down at some point so we can get things rolling again."

QUOTE #4
"The answer is that you're talking about apples and oranges. I have an unhealthy fascination with DTV sequels. I think they're funny partly because they are so crass. I think they usually waste an opportunity to have fun with a low budget cash-in. The two you mentioned are not good movies, and both instantly forgettable, and I said as much in the reviews. But I also said that as far as that kind of crap goes, they have their moments. Not as bad as the WILD THINGS sequels, not as good as the FROM DUSK TILL DAWNs.

TRANSFORMERS on the other hand is a $150 million (or whatever) mega-hyped movie which my colleagues here are calling a mindblowing spectacle and great summer entertainment and special effects breakthrough and a great time at the movies. If I kind of disagreed with them I wouldn't have posted my review here. But since I happen to think this is one of the most bizarrely horrible movies I've seen in years and represents most of the weaknesses of modern commercial movies, I had to let it loose. And the fact that people here honestly can't see the difference between TRANSFORMERS and STAR WARS makes me want to jump out a fuckin window. STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE, people. I like movies with substance, I like movies with heart, but I don't always need those things. I just want good execution! There is such a thing as knowing how to tell a story. Spielberg didn't become Spielberg just by having substance and heart, people initially loved him because he knew how to thrill you with a series of images. There's a difference between DUEL and a ball of car parts rolling down a hill. If you can't see that I don't know why you bother to discuss movies, you should just agree that all movies are great. If I am a loser for wanting TRANSFORMERS to be well made as AlphaTrion says, that means you must be a loser too for not wanting to watch a Kevin Sorbo movie. Because anyone who wants quality in our art and culture is a nerd. They need to stop having opinions and start squirting out kids everywhere and teaching them to hate other people for being passionate about movies."

NOTE: Quotes not given in any particular order.

gyro_44

07-05-2007, 05:06 PM

Just got back, and that was pretty awesome.

Also pretty goofy, too long... but hey, this is Michael Bay we're talking about. And for sheer fun, I think this is one of Bay's better movies. It does make you feel like a kid again. I was never a big Transformers fan, but I can see those fans going nuts for this (as they obviously.... are).

Transforming sequences were terrific, the last 45 minutes is a lot of fun, and I just wish Bay hadn't felt the need to resort back to his typical spastic editing style. But otherwise, I thought he did a good job with handling the pace and action, and the humor for the most part worked.

Why are Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel second and third billed? They literally did almost absolutely nothing the entire movie. Mostly just "military type" lines as I call them. I liked Shia though, and Peter Cullen was great as the voice of Optimus Prime.

One caveat and I know it's been mentioned: why show the first transforming sequence just five minutes in? I think a better build-up to what the Transformers were would have made for more suspense, and a greater sense of "WOW" once they started really kicking ass.

7/10. I liked it.

movieme07

07-05-2007, 06:10 PM

I just talked to a whole bunch of friends that got back from the movie and they keep saying "Transformers was great, but I can't wait to see that 1-18-07!" they literally think that's the title of the movie, that trailer is catching on so damn fast at least in my neck of the woods I'm just floored by it.

outsyder

07-05-2007, 06:15 PM

The fact that some people actually think the title is "1-18-08" or "Bad Robot" is a tad disappointing.

gyro_44

07-05-2007, 06:16 PM

Originally posted by Shockwave
The effects were alot better then the action was. I liked the movie, but once they started slamming into each other and the camera starting zooming in and going nuts, i pretty much gave up trying to tell who was hitting who and just took it as 'the good guys are winning".
I have to agree. I watched the cartoon a bit when I was a kid, but by no means am I a fan. When it wasn't Bumblebee, Optimus Prime or Megatron fighting, I had absolutely no clue who was duking it out. Especially toward the end, where Bay throws a lot of chaotic action at the screen, it becomes very hard to keep up.

It was cool enough I guess, but yeah, I also missed out on these little details like, "is that the bad guy?"

shoe1985

07-05-2007, 06:18 PM

Originally posted by gyro_44
I liked Shia though, and Peter Cullen was great as the voice of Optimus Prime.

You know, I was not a fan of Shia on Even Stevens, but he has become a great actor. He is one of the best up and coming actors. He has really made movies that I would consider lame, and made them good because he has that charm. I saw Disturbia in theaters, also, and I thought it would be a lame thriller with teens, but I really enjoyed it. I am going to a lot of his movies now.

gyro_44

07-05-2007, 06:20 PM

Originally posted by outsyder
The fact that some people actually think the title is "1-18-08" or "Bad Robot" is a tad disappointing.
Saw the trailer today at Transformers, and this was the response from the guys behind me:

"Well that was bullshit".

"What the hell is it called? 1-18-08?"

They should have given a tentative title or something I guess. Seems to be causing some confusion.

I think it looks ridiculously cool myself.

DarkAngel

07-05-2007, 06:29 PM

Well...saw this yesterday. I loved the action but to tell you the truth i give it an 8/10 out of the perfect i wanted to give it.

I went in there with alot of optimism and open mind, and honestly it was a good time. the action was out of hand but there were a couple of things that left me like..huh?

What I liked...Shia, that kid carries the movie well. He really played the part well. He had me interested in his story the whole time. He was that dork on the verge of bein cool and was funny the whole time. His acting by far was the best in the movie. CGI? unmatched by anything i have seen so far. The robots looked sweet and the city fight was crazy! Brawl/Devastator was a mad mofo...he fought enemies from every angle and pretty much held his own for a while.

What I didnt like too much...Well, for one..Jazz..his whole intro and petty death i think ruined his character. I think the other bots got a decent intro but his was too much..Starscream's two lines sucked, didnt even sound like him, but he did kick ass in that dog fight...execpt when he transformed and was being chased by two jets..from then we dont see him until the credits. Barricade..i sure hope in the DVD they hint to what the hell happened to him. One moment he was behind Bronecrusher..next movie is over and no Barricade..Brawl made it..Barricade didnt??:confused: Torturro's Simmons??..OMG, he was annoying..funny at times..but damn....

Huh?? moments.....BB getting his voice back..??? how did that happen?? Scorponok? put what was left of his tail between his eight legs and ran away?..

Dont get me wrong..I really liked the movie. Will probably see it again thsi weekend. Definetly will go to a sequel...check that..WE NEED A SEQUEL!..I just think I wanted to see more robot action..interaction too...specially from the Decepts..I know this is the introduction movie so i get it, in the next one there should be more. Again, 8/10 for pure action and awesomeness, just things here and there that left me like..ok...but overall i would recommend to anyone. Hey Bay.....couple of words for you...

Prowl, Sideswipe,Sunstreak,Wheeljack..maybe even Thundercraker,Skywarp,Soundwave..perhaps Ravage & Astrotain..just a thought..

Any way good movie...must see.

bigred760

07-05-2007, 08:35 PM

I remember being a fan of Transformers as a kid; I remember having an Optimus Prime toy, but now I haven't seen or kept up with anything Transformers-related since those days, so it's been a while. So I wasn't exactly going to see this thing for nostalgia-purposes, though that was a very small part of it. I wanted to see it because it looked like a kickass summer movie. And hells yeah it was. Absolutely awesome special effects, great battle and action sequences, some funny moments with star Shia Lebouf, and an overall okay story are the elements that drive this movie.

Of course the story isn't exactly what everybody wants to see from this movie. You want to see Optimus Prime and his Autobots battle the evil Decepticons. And you get plenty of that, but really not til the end. Until then, we pretty much follow three separate stories: Shia Lebouf and how he just bought a car and is trying to impress hottie Megan Fox, some American military survivors from an attack on a base in Qatar, and the government trying to figure out who's trying to hack their computer systems. Lebouf's is the most interesting because it deals with the most Transformers and therefore is the funniest. The military plotline is pretty cool too sending a lot of action and suspense our way. The govt. storyline is kind of dull and seemed like another reason for Michael Bay to throw in another hottie into the mix.

All three stories, and their characters, come together at the end and we have a very kickass action scene. I'll admit that I had a hard time telling which robot was which, since there are quite a few. Again, I'm not too familiar with supporting robot casts, so it was a little tough figuring out who was fighting who. Nevertheless, the action scenes and CGI are very impressive and fun to watch. It's your typical Michael Bay with plenty of visually stunning scenes, whether it's action or otherwise. The story isn't anything to write home about, but it's still a kickass summer movie and a good time at the theater.

8/10

RicochetShaw

07-05-2007, 09:59 PM

Originally posted by wisdomsword
I actually like The Island.

He just said it flopped, as in... financially. I don't think he was implying no one liked it.

Big Boss

07-06-2007, 01:47 AM

After seeing it last night (for the 3rd time) I think I can answer what happened to Barricade at the end of the movie. I think after he saw Bonecrusher get fucked up by Prime he took off! For Real! He was right beside Bonecrusher when he confronted Prime and I 'm sure he was looking at the fight and saw him get shanked! Mystery solved!

But that scene is funny on so many levels. My friends and I were talking about how Bonecrusher thought he had a chance when he rushed Prime on the blindside and tackled him over the wall onto the next freeway. But he knew he was in trouble when he got upprecutted and his eyes popped out of his head!

So what was everyone's favorite transformation sequence? Besides the obvious first Prime transformation, mine's were:
1) Prime's freeway transformation( when he locked his brakes and started transforming)
2) Bumblebee's Transformation when sector 7 was coming ( He transformed and was burning out before he was all the way done)
3) Bumblebee's Transformation after fighting Barricade ( had the low playing music in the background and he transformed and opened the door and said "Anymore questions?" Perfect!)
4) Bonecrusher's transformation (when he put his hands down tearing up the concrete and panned under as he transformed)

Can't wait for this on Blu-Ray or HD-DVD!!
Bigred 760, DarkAngel I'm glad you all liked the movie!
DarkAngel you didn't like Jazz's intro? "What's crackin' lil' bitches?!" That was cinema gold! The theater was rolling! But yes his death was some bullshit.

Worthystevens

07-06-2007, 02:00 AM

This movie might actually be the reason I switch to Hi-Def DVDs.

DarkAngel

07-06-2007, 02:26 AM

Originally posted by Big Boss
DarkAngel you didn't like Jazz's intro? "What's crackin' lil' bitches?!" That was cinema gold! The theater was rolling! But yes his death was some bullshit.

Nah Boss...I think they treated him like the token black guy, he even dies fast. i think they tried to be too cool. Jazz had that coolness to him but on this one is like he was trying to much. He still look fly though. His voice was a bit much too, it wasnt a smooth sounding voice.
Your right though...the movie was definetly worth seeing, I will be there this weekend again.

Let's just hope in the next one we get more bots then humans.

Big Boss

07-06-2007, 01:42 PM

DarkAngel now that you think about it I do agree. I guess because I loved his character so much in the original (one of my faves) I looked past it. They were trying too hard to make him cool but Bumblebee did it with ease. How did that happen? It seems like they intentionally didn't give him much screen time because they knew they were going to kill him! His voice was too gruff for his character. Scatman was perfect in the G1 series.

Badbird

07-06-2007, 01:55 PM

Has anyone seen my socks? Cause they got knocked the fuck off!

Look, I don't know what some people were thinking this movie would be. The original Transformers cartoon/movie wasn't exactly Citizen Kane meets Shakespeare. It was cheesy and corny and silly - and this movie was a perfect adaptation of it.

I loved the references, like "Roll out," and "One shall stand, one shall fall."

The effects? Unreal. This has to be a shoe in for the Oscars. And the sound was equally excellent.

I don't need to get into the good and the bad. It's all been covered and I can't really add anymore to it. I only had one complaint: People often said this movie was too long. Well, I didn't think it was long enough! I could have watched Prime and Megatron go at it for another five minutes.

Did anyone else besides me notice that Brawl (the tank) called himself Devastator? What was up with that?

Also, I was a bit confused. I thought there was going to be a lot more exotic cars as Transformers. Wasn't there and interview that said Bay created a character named Syndrome that was a red sports car?

Anyway. Easily the most entertaining movie of the year.

gspawn

07-06-2007, 03:14 PM

Originally posted by Badbird
Look, I don't know what some people were thinking this movie would be. The original Transformers cartoon/movie wasn't exactly Citizen Kane meets Shakespeare. It was cheesy and corny and silly - and this movie was a perfect adaptation of it.

That was because it was a kids' cartoon in the 80s, not because of an ass-hat director who's probably going to pull a Uwe Boll and claim it was all supposed to be that way in the first place.
;)

Small differerence.

Scarfather

07-06-2007, 03:32 PM

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/MMPO/505490.jpghttp://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/MMPO/505489.jpg

Transformers: A Review
My grandma could keep track of what was going on, why couldn't you?

Michael Bay has created a true paradox.

Transformers the live-action motion picture is almost anything but. It acts like a cartoon, it feels like a cartoon, it sounds like a cartoon, but in what is one of the strangest motion pictures I have ever seen, is completely live-action. It is, effectively, a live-action Sunday morning cartoon gone astronomical.

Let it be known, that since this films' conception, I could challenge you to find someone who ragged on it as much as me. Never a fan of Transformers as a kid, I looked at this film from the very third-person POV of: "So what? Big robots kick the crap out of each other. Big deal." After a Summer of tragic disappointments, I was ready give anything a chance. Transformers, to my astonishment, is an oasis in a drought of a Summer. It rises above the self-absorbed unearned austerity of films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Spider-Man 3. It doesn't take itself seriously at all, which is a breath of fresh air in this suffocating cloud of movies about superheroes and swashbuckling pirates that take themselves way too seriously.

The film's cast of characters is what you would expect from your Sunday morning cartoon: a hero, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), a semi-shy lame duck who through a turn of events gets to prove his worth. The love interest bombshell he pines for, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), a girl who conveniently knows her stuff about cars. Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson play some American soldiers who encounter the first Transformer and don't really do much but take up space after that. John Turturro, Jon Voight, and Anthony Anderson make up the rest of the notable human cast tossing in the asshole, the leader, and the comic relief. But for the most part the humans take a backseat to big whopping robots.

Now, I know that there are three main factors of this film that exalters, detractors and neutrals alike dislike. The first is that there is a true lack of robots for much of the film. To be honest, I didn't care. As someone who is not familiar with the franchise, and really not knowing what to expect, I thought there was a fine balance. A barrage of action sequences would be exhausting no matter how you look at it. The film is longer then it should be, but the three acts were balanced just right.

Next in line is the action sequences themselves, the battles between the beautiful earthshaking Autobots and Decepticons. It is fairly unanimous that the greatest feat of this film is the computer generated imagery. Michael Bay's Transformers presents the very first lock I have ever witnessed for an Academy Award. The animation in this film makes the cartoon webslingers and intergalactic surfers of 2007 look like colossal jokes. From the very first Transformer on, they look seamless in the live-action world and almost left me in awe that Industrial Light in Magic made out of this world animated characters that truly, truly look like they exist in the film world. However, the en masse complaint of "shaky cameras" and lighting fast Transformers seems to be detracting from the film for many. For the life of me, I have no idea where these complaints are coming from.

After hearing these complaints firsthand I saw Transformers a second time with my grandmother, the only fellow film buff who's opinion I value, and a fellow Transformer freshman, to see what she thought of it. A cursory introduction of each Transformer was all that she needed to know which one was which, and I asked her if she could keep track of what was going on in the action sequences. My grandma could keep track of what was going on, why couldn't you?

Michael Bay even takes care to move into slow motion in integral parts to illustrate what was going on.

Our third complaint: comedy. Too much comedy. Or, from some, lame comedy. Comedy that isn't funny. Comedy that seems out of place. You know what? I loved the comedy. When I laughed, when I didn't laugh. When I rolled my eyes. When I shook my head with my nose scrunched. In a Summer of films with superhero melodrama, the comedy reminded me that I'm watching a movie about big whopping robots, and to be damn grateful that Jazz didn't cry about his problems and opted to roar "What's crackin' bitches?" instead.

This film is not flawless, the editing is lopsided at some points, the final battle ends fairly anticlimactically for my taste, and the writing is not the best, but it does exactly what I wanted going in, and is exactly what I wanted: a light-hearted action fest that made me feel my money was well-spent.

8/10

http://theskepsis.blogspot.com/

Shockwave

07-06-2007, 03:36 PM

I liked the movie alot, but one thing that cracks me up thinking back is that they had NOTHING IN PLACE to hold Megatron down other then cold air being blown down on him. No straps, no fail safes, no back ups, no locks, no electricity, nothing.

I mean, they studied him all this time and never once thought that they MIGHT need to come up with something if the power goes out?:p

They had more fail safes in place for that room where that cell phone transformed!

"Should we do something about that?"

"no, no, im sure well be fine!";)

Bourne101

07-06-2007, 03:46 PM

Going to see this either tomorrow night or Sunday afternoon. Looking forward to it.

sbunn10

07-06-2007, 05:23 PM

TRANSFORMERS

There have been a lot of negative reviews about this, but most of the complaints I have heard have been something like "Shallow story" "Too Long".. and a couple people on these forums have complained about the acting of Shia and others...

I thought that Shia and his parents were great, and provided good laughs between the insane action sequences. I dont feel that it was too long , the fighting btw the autobots and decepticons in the last hour and a half was insane, and kept me glued to the screen. The CGI was unbelivable in this movie, and the transformers were completely badass., specially megatron. The story in Transformers wasn't very detailed or hard to follow, but hey.. its TRANSFORMERs, they arent goin for an oscar or anything. There were a couple of parts when the robots were a little cheesy, but they are just the same in the cartoon, the robots had personalities... overall, transformers was a funny and exciting action movie, that you will enjoy if you can overlook a few minor flaws.

8.5/10

DarkAngel

07-06-2007, 06:01 PM

Originally posted by Badbird

Also, I was a bit confused. I thought there was going to be a lot more exotic cars as Transformers. Wasn't there and interview that said Bay created a character named Syndrome that was a red sports car?

Just got back from seeing it again with my 3 and 5 year old..they cant get enough. Seeing it again...I still give it a 8/10...

About you quote above..I had asked the same thing weeks ago. I remember someone writing about that he said that. I definetly hope that the DVD is out of hand...check that...I am sure it will be. Again Brawl was a mad mofo...oops i meant Devastator...lol..Barricade is your typical decep and Starscream is going to come back with a vengeance next time...I know it. Just read Bay is going to direct part 2, honestly..I am glad..I cant think of anyone else for this.

I for one am looking forward to this incarnation of TFs..the last decade has been a joke with Armada,Cybertron and Energon..

Oh and I didnt realize so many people have beef with Armageddon...that movie is one of the best action movies ever!!..The part when they walk out of the hangar ready to board the shuttles!?..'Astronauts'..they walk by all the cameras...how many people would have loved to been in that spot..about to save the world...Harry Stamper..My dad..lol..

Love these kind of movies..why we used to pay with our todays and imagine we were blowing shit up...

shoe1985

07-06-2007, 09:16 PM

Originally posted by Badbird
Look, I don't know what some people were thinking this movie would be. The original Transformers cartoon/movie wasn't exactly Citizen Kane meets Shakespeare. It was cheesy and corny and silly - and this movie was a perfect adaptation of it.

I agree with you on this. I don't get why people are complaining so much because of the lack of a story. It is a Michael Bay movie, it is about the action and effects. Don't see it if you expect a well drawn out story. You go in planning to see Transformers kick some butt.

bourahioro

07-06-2007, 09:20 PM

I saw Transformers yesterday....It was FUCKING AWESOME!

Took my 6 year old too, it was his very first movie trip to the theatre.

Shia Lebeouf was great, and hopefully gets more role offers after this. The CGI was wicked, the story was really good, and the action was cool.

Fave Transformer: Bumblebee
Least fave Transformer: Prime

9/10

Weapon X

07-06-2007, 09:47 PM

Transformers is rated FFT for "Fun Fucking Times".

Whatever the rest of this "buy 80s properties and turn 'em into movies" craze ends up looking like, it's hard to argue that Transformers wasn't prime (no pun intended) for summer blockbuster treatment. The formula sells itself, after all: "Giant Fucking Robots are coming", as the T-shirt says. Add a dash of Michael Bay, also known as His Highness the Master of Disaster (tag whatever meaning you like to that title), and you've got a project that screams, "Yeah...this can work." And damn it if it doesn't.

I'm still not sure how Shia Labeouf has suddenly become the next hot movie star (this is Indy's son!?), but he managed to put out that likeability of his that won me over in Constantine. Megan Fox...cannot act. But she's got an abdomen you could sharpen a sword on, and that's good enough for me. Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are a fun pair to watch, and the whole bit with the cell phone and the credit card was good stuff. I'd heard a number of complaints about John Turturro's performance, but personally I dug the hell out of his over-the-top antics; we all know the government's full of mentally unbalanced kooks anyway. Jon Voight was surprisingly useless in all of this, save for some shotgun totin' action toward the end. Kevin Dunn and Julie White were hilarious as Sam's clueless parents.

But enough about the humans. We're here for the Giant Fucking Robots. My hat's off to ILM for their insane work on this film. Believable CGI is difficult enough to render, I imagine, but even more so with Michael Bay's schizophrenic directing style. I've never been a hardcore Transformers fan, so I can't claim any distaste for the updated robot designs. In fact, I think they make perfect sense given the incredible intricacy of the transforming animations. Even from the brief shots in the trailers you can tell there was an intense planning process in these sequences, and if the designers aren't taking home an Oscar for their work in Transformers I will be very, very surprised (it's probably between this and Pirates 3 anyhow, unless WETA pulls a rabbit out of a hat with The Golden Compass). I wasn't completely sold on the voices, unfortunately; I know fanboys loved that Peter Cullen voiced Prime, but something about his delivery (and those of the other voice actors) kind of took me out of the film. Granted, they're aliens, and robots to boot, right? I still would have preferred vocal performances that sounded more...I dunno, naturalistic? At least Bumblebee kept his yap shut for most of the movie; I liked his dialogue better when he was clipping audio samples like the Robert Picardo alien in "Explorers". Hugo Weaving was Megatron? I totally couldn't tell.

Plot? What plot? Who cares about plot? It's GIANT FUCKING ROBOTS. Yes, the plot was barely there, but this is, for all intents and purposes, a spectacle movie, and it knows it. Why bog down the awesome visuals by trying to give it all a meaningful purpose? This is a Michael Bay movie, for God's sake. I know I've used this argument before, but everything just looks so damn good that I don't care about the hollow story.

SPOILER! The one thing that totally lost me is when Sam uses the AllSpark to kill Megatron. Prime tells him to jam it into his chest, but instead he points it at Megatron and melts his chest. Maybe a second viewing will clear this up, since it all happened so fast. Otherwise, could someone more observant than myself shed some light? END SPOILER.

Favorite action scene: The city-wide Autobots vs. Decepticons free-for-all. Easily one of the best action sequences on film this year.

Favorite non-action scene: The Autobots' arrival on Earth after Bumblebee calls for the cavalry. Something about the staging of the scene - the crash landing, the shots of each Bot choosing its disguises, the music - just worked for me on every level.

Favorite laugh: Bumblebee "lubricating" John Turturro. Biggest laugh I've had since the Benny Hill sketch in V for Vendetta.

Favorite line: "You want a piece of me?" "No...I want two!" *snap*

Bottom line, Transformers is bloody good fun. Maybe my standards are too easy to satisfy, but I've been having a lot of that this summer. Spider-Man 3, Pirates 3, Live Free or Die Hard, and now this. Bad news is, it's still another month until The Bourne Ultimatum is out.

Roll out.

newbreedleader

07-06-2007, 11:01 PM

Spoiler

Originally posted by Weapon X
[/b]SPOILER![/b] The one thing that totally lost me is when Sam uses the AllSpark to kill Megatron. Prime tells him to jam it into his chest, but instead he points it at Megatron and melts his chest. Maybe a second viewing will clear this up, since it all happened so fast. Otherwise, could someone more observant than myself shed some light? END SPOILER.

Optimus was gonna sacrifice himself to keep the Decepticons from getting the spark. It's pure engery, putting it in his chest would have killed him. Sam relized this and instead of letting Optimus do it in a heroic way, he used it offensively and killed Megatron.

Too lazy to write a reveiw.....9/10 from me though.

TheAxeGrinder

07-06-2007, 11:26 PM

Awesome. Simply awesome. I didn't think that Bay could pull it off, but he did. Sure, the film wasn't perfect in some respects, but hey, I was going apeshit once we saw the big reveal with Optimus transforming for the first time.

Oh yeah, and the new Smashing Pumpkins song kicks ass.

Did anyone else stay after the film ended and watched the credits?

Unsafest Racer

07-07-2007, 12:35 AM

Did anyone else stay after the film ended and watched the credits?

Yeah, it showed Starscream flying out of the atmosphere, good thing to.

A lack of Starscream, and all the Decepticons for that matter, was a let down for sure. Here's to hoping they'll have a bigger part in the sequel.

Shockwave

07-07-2007, 05:21 AM

Originally posted by newbreedleader
Spoiler

Optimus was gonna sacrifice himself to keep the Decepticons from getting the spark. It's pure engery, putting it in his chest would have killed him. Sam relized this and instead of letting Optimus do it in a heroic way, he used it offensively and killed Megatron.

----------------------MORE SPOILERS!-------------------------------

On a second viewing i noted the autobots said it COULD kill him, and that the cube is raw power. I guess since no one had ever tried it before it wasnt a sure bet.

Im betting well see Megatron again, at least in the form of Galvatron, and able to create his robot army in a future sequel.

...ALSO, did th planes open Megatrons chest up enough for Sam to pass the all-spark into it?

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Mr.Majestyk

07-07-2007, 11:42 AM

Wow! I went to see this last night and I thought it was terrible. I really wanted to enjoy it and there were some cool things in it, but most of what I liked could be edited into a music video.

What I didn't like: Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, The Blonde analyst, Anthony Anderson, John Turturro...basically all the actors besides Shia and Megan needed their roles cut from the film. They certainly didn't enhance the film at all and it took away from what I really came to see; Transformers. Like a few people mentioned already, I wanted more interaction between Autobots and Decepticons. They aren't simply robots, they are characters just as much as Shia and needed more than just blowing stuff up.

Here is my idea for how the movie should have went:

foreword by Prime telling about the Cube and explaining about the war between Autobots and Decepticons.

A scene in space with Prime discussing the plan to find the Cube and Sam and dispatching Bumblebee.

All the Sam in school stuff and buying the car is great. Bumblebee communicates to Prime that he has the subject in custody

Scene with Decepticons planning to take back the boy before Prime arrives.

Scene where Bumblebee comes under attack by 4 Decepts at once and does all he can to protect Sam till Prime and the cavalry arrives to save the day. Starscream and others RETREAT!!

okay, sorry to be going on and on but basically I would cut out all the military, pentagon all that stuff. A couple of scenes to allude to the media reporting strange sightings or whatever, but they are Robots in Disguise. They avoid military confrontation by disguising themselves as cars.

JoeChar4321

07-07-2007, 01:55 PM

I really am sad to say that Transformers was a misfire. I was looking forward to this film and was disappointed by this unsatisfying and incredibly shallow movie. It’s the movie equivalent of cotton candy. It’s large, bright and appears full until you go to take a bite and it disappears. It’s all fluff delivering a soulless, babbling film. Most of the cool special effects are negated by presenting them with the jarring, shaky camera style. Since everything on screen doesn’t read true, I guess Bay decided to jolt the viewer and to try and fool the eye by shaking everything up on many of the action sequences. My eye isn’t so easily fooled and the jumbled mess of action gets washed away in the nauseating confusion. You expected plot stupidity and flaws in logic everywhere but you also expected those ridiculous flaws to be overcome by fun action and explosions. Sadly, that’s not the case with Transformers. There’s not one satisfying robot brawl that was not ruined by the shaky zoom of the camera. The Megatron Vs Optimus fight was a useless garble that looked like an erector set accident. The acting was beyond horrible (Megan Fox may be a cute little girl but she sure can’t act) and the plot was awful. Transformers doesn’t have much going for it, unfortunately.

4/10 Huge Disappointment

EDsoulsurvive*

07-07-2007, 02:08 PM

I don't remember if i posted in this topic already and I don't feel like looking, but I just wanted to add that I'm pretty sure this was a horrible movie. The more time goes by, the more I think about it, the stupider it gets. Don't get me wrong, the action and effects were amazing and the best I've seen this summer, however, that's were the good things stop. I hope people stop seeing this thing as I don't think it deserves the money its making. [/rant]

edited to say i found my first post, in which i gave this movie a 6.5/10. Now I'm thinking more of a 4/10.

Bourne101

07-07-2007, 05:11 PM

Just watched a great making-of and I am officially stoked to see this tomorrow.

LordSimen

07-07-2007, 09:41 PM

Excellent action, stellar acting, great special effects, good story with a few plot holes and lapses of logic. I give it a 8/10. Great summer ride.

jolanar

07-07-2007, 09:46 PM

Saw it and loved it! Shia whathisname is a star in the making. Whatever "it" is, this guy has it and then some! Megan Fox was also damn impressive (and hot!)

My two biggest complaints are that 1. The robots are too hard to tell apart, making the robot vs robot (I smell a cheap lesbian porn knock off) scenes almost impossible to discern who the bad guy was so I didn't know who to root for and 2. The ending was anti - climactic. I never thought I'd say this concerning a Bay film but I could have gone with MORE EXPLOSIONS. Megatron just kind of laid down. I was expecting it to level a city block!

Over all a very well done entertaining film.

Transformers - 8/10

Badbird

07-07-2007, 11:06 PM

This movie had great humor in it. "Sam's happy time," the Nokia phone (not Japanese), but the best part had to be John Turturo's clip on tie. Freaking classic.

And you know what else was awesome? Michael Bay paying homage to himself!

The 360 degree shoot out from Bad Boys II. The signal flare from The Rock. The meteor shower from Armageddon... if that wasn't a big "fuck you" to the critics, I don't know what was.

LordSimen

07-07-2007, 11:34 PM

Originally posted by Badbird
This movie had great humor in it. "Sam's happy time," the Nokia phone (not Japanese), but the best part had to be John Turturo's clip on tie. Freaking classic.

And you know what else was awesome? Michael Bay paying homage to himself!

The 360 degree shoot out from Bad Boys II. The signal flare from The Rock. The meteor shower from Armageddon... if that wasn't a big "fuck you" to the critics, I don't know what was.

Gotta say I agree with you 100%, the movie was funny as hell. And I loved Bay's homages to his previous works.

JoeChar4321

07-07-2007, 11:57 PM

Originally posted by EDsoulsurvive*
I don't remember if i posted in this topic already and I don't feel like looking, but I just wanted to add that I'm pretty sure this was a horrible movie. The more time goes by, the more I think about it, the stupider it gets. Don't get me wrong, the action and effects were amazing and the best I've seen this summer, however, that's were the good things stop. I hope people stop seeing this thing as I don't think it deserves the money its making. [/rant]

edited to say i found my first post, in which i gave this movie a 6.5/10. Now I'm thinking more of a 4/10.

Best FX of the summer? The CGI wasn't all that good and the the direction was awful. Why all the shaky cam close up crap? It killed the action and the script killed the rest. There’s not one satisfying robot brawl that was not ruined by the shaky zoom of the camera.

ElderPredator

07-08-2007, 01:40 AM

Edit

RicochetShaw

07-08-2007, 01:40 AM

What is the city that the huge battle at the end occurs in? I'm not familiar with that region, and have no idea. Can some one please help me out?

ElderPredator

07-08-2007, 01:41 AM

Ladies and gents, I have officially seen the movie twice as of an hour ago and I have to simply say that this is the best movie of the last decade. It is the "Jurassic Park" of the new millenium.

My score: 10/10 (If I could say 12/10, I would in an instant.)

RicochetShaw

07-08-2007, 01:41 AM

Originally posted by ElderPredator
Ladies and gents, I have officially seen the movie twice as of an hour ago It is the "Jurassic Park" of the new millenium.

I COMPLETELY AGREE with that statement!

Except I've seen it three times, as of last night. :D

Maybe 4th time tomorrow...

Lord Raiden

07-08-2007, 01:47 AM

http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/transformers/smg_transformers_bigfinalposter.jpg
I've been a fan of The Transformers since I watched the cartoons and collected a lot of the toys from the mid 1980s. It's always meant a lot to me and I was excited when I first heard there would be a live action movie. I believe that the Transformers and CGI would be a match made in fanboy heaven...
Just saw the movie last night. 7/7/07 at 7PM...the definition of karma and one of the best movie going experiences of my life. It was everything I had hoped for and then some. First, and most importantly, the robots themselves...fucking amazing. As many of you think, it is simply some of the best special effects ever seen in a movie. I know 30 foot robots don't exist, but the powers that be made it so believable. And the actual transformations? Mind-blowing. When Optimus Prime first appeared and transformed to robot mode, I got all teary-eyed. Yeah, that's right and I'm not ashamed to admit it...it was beautiful. Peter Cullen as Prime is just iconic. It has the same feel as James Earl Jones voicing Darth Vader in that I can't picture that character having a different voice. Prime has always been my favorite and this movie just cemented that feeling for all time. And I've never been a fan of Bumblebee...until this movie. Wow, what a great character!! Some of the best scenes in the movie involved the the Bee. I never knew a yellow car could actually look so good (Cue "Battle without Honor or Humanity" from KILL BILL VOL. 1). When I heard that they had made some of the Decepticons specifically for this movie, I knew some of them would be destroyed. However, I was a little shocked when Megatron tore Jazz in two. In the 1986 animated movie, Prime, Ironhide, Rachet and Starcream all died...I find it funny that they were the survivors this go around. And speaking of that cartoon classic, how about some of the lines?
"At the end of this day...one shall stand. One shall fall."
"Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."
"You have failed me yet again, Starscream."
I can quote Jay from JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK in that "I think I just filled the cup."
All of the negative reviews didn't even phase me going into this. In fact, most of the negative stuff is spewed by the same people regurgitating their same crap over and over. You're gonna bash a popcorn movie for being just that? Um...get a life people and shut the fuck up already. Was it a perfect movie? No, of course not. Anthony Anderson and the blonde hacker chick should have been in the deleted scenes for the DVD. Hugo Weaving as Megatron should have had more screentime. The final battle between Prime and Megs should have been longer.
All small potatoes when put up against the big picture. I had some serious doubts going in, but having my ass visually kicked for 2 and 1/2 hours erased them. Credit to Michael Bay, Steven Spielberg and anyone else involved in tis project: you actually pulled it off. You made these cartoon legends into believable live action robots. I'm amazed, impressed, and I can't fucking wait for the DVD.
Bring on TRANSFORMERS II!!
:cool:

9 out of 10