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Movies => Bad Movies => Topic started by: Pilgermann on July 02, 2007, 02:08:37 AM



Title: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Pilgermann on July 02, 2007, 02:08:37 AM
I got to watch the new Transformers a couple of nights ago, and I must say that it is atrocious.  Basically the Transformers themselves take a backseat to the annoying cast of human characters.  These folks are all horribly developed, annoying, and far too numerous.

The bots themselves are very impressive even though they hardly resemble their original designs (Optimus Prime is well made, though).  Their battles are stupendously bad, though.  Half of the time you can't tell what's happening, and it cuts to too many shots of the human characters scrambling around being dumb, and everything is so drawn out that it becomes boring.  Oh, and Starscream is basically non existant, and Megatron is in it for about 20 minutes.

This movie is full of rediculously bad jokes and gags, too.  Let me put it this way: Hot Rod fishing with Daniel is less silly than anything in this film.

If you like the Transformers at all, or if you feel like watching a decent action film, PLEASE do not see this!


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: dean on July 02, 2007, 04:06:21 AM

I love the Transformers, and am seeing it tonight in the luxury of gold class cinemas [big recliners, booze and lots of relaxing!]

So in sum, bugger you, since I'm seeing it anyways.   But really, anyone with a lick of sense would have been warned off ages ago by that nice tag 'Directed by Michael Bay' so you knew what you were in for.  I'm just after giant robots kicking butt and taking names.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: The Burgomaster on July 02, 2007, 05:27:16 AM
I suspect that this will be nothing more than a 2 hour advertisement for transformers toys and other merchandising gimmicks . . . but I intend to see it anyway.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Raffine on July 02, 2007, 07:27:56 AM
I’m not doing that stupid, silly toy movie
Michael Bay

Who knew Michael Bay was a fan of ATTACK OF THE SUPER MONSTERS?


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Oldskool138 on July 02, 2007, 08:01:36 AM
I suspect that this will be nothing more than a 2 hour advertisement for transformers toys and other merchandising gimmicks . . . but I intend to see it anyway.

Isn't that what the cartoon was?

Yeah, I have reservations about this film as well.   In the trailer you have a guy saying "Bring It!"...Cheezy.  (I'm wary when they feature a character saying stupid dialog in the preview).  It's a Bay film so beware...


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Dennis on July 02, 2007, 08:26:21 AM
After seeing a TV spot for a car company that featured the Transformers from this movie, followed by a pitch for Transformers action figures I think I'll wait till this one's on cable.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Him on July 02, 2007, 08:35:32 AM
Their battles are stupendously bad, though.  Half of the time you can't tell what's happening, and it cuts to too many shots of the human characters scrambling around being dumb, and everything is so drawn out that it becomes boring. 

Typical Michael Bay.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Ash on July 02, 2007, 08:48:36 AM
Hey!
Roger Ebert liked it!

He gave it 3 out of 4 stars.
Click the link below to read his review:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070701/REVIEWS/70620006/-1/email_headlines


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Torgo on July 02, 2007, 06:24:19 PM
I suspect that this will be nothing more than a 2 hour advertisement for transformers toys and other merchandising gimmicks . . . but I intend to see it anyway.

Wasn't that all the original cartoon (and most cartoons from the 80's anyway) were?   :wink:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Torgo on July 02, 2007, 06:25:18 PM
Hey!
Roger Ebert liked it!

He gave it 3 out of 4 stars.
Click the link below to read his review:
[url]http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070701/REVIEWS/70620006/-1/email_headlines[/url]


glad to see Ebert has recovered from his medical problems to writing reviews again.

Even when I disagree with him, you can't say that he doesn't explain always in the best way possible why he feels a certain way about a film good or bad.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Him on July 02, 2007, 10:08:09 PM
I just got back from seeing it. Standard Michael Bay fare. Shakey cameras, extreme close ups, and quick cuts. Everytime one of the robots would transform, the camera zoomed in so close you couldn't see anything. Most of the action scenes were like that. The musical score was awful as well. It's too bad, because the plot was actually pretty good, as were the characters. This movie would have been much better in the hands of a better directer. Like Steven Spielberg.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Torgo on July 02, 2007, 10:13:23 PM
I really, really, really, really, really, really can't stand Michael Bay.  I think that he really represents wholeheartedly what has been wrong with most modern cinema for quite some time. 


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AnubisVonMojo on July 03, 2007, 01:05:36 AM
I just got back from seeing it. Standard Michael Bay fare. Shakey cameras, extreme close ups, and quick cuts. Everytime one of the robots would transform, the camera zoomed in so close you couldn't see anything. Most of the action scenes were like that.

Wow, I'm even considering not seeing this movie when it comes out on DVD now, let alone rolling the dice on a theatrical viewing. Maybe I'll buy a bootleg from my local Korean guy who seems to know exactly when I have nothing smaller than a twenty in my pocket... At least this way I can see it and have all right to complain about it while helping support the bootlegging industry and simultaneously taking money out of Michael Bay's pockets! Hmmmm....


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: dean on July 03, 2007, 04:21:33 AM
 :thumbup:  :thumbup:  :thumbup:  :thumbup:

I don't see how you can't be entertained.  I'm used to the standard 'Michael Bay' style directing, close-ups shaky cameras and whatnot, but I really didn't expect any less.  I'm not bothered by it at all.

In sum, it was a great film.  I very much enjoyed it based on the fact that it was just plain fun.  Anyone thinking that it would be a classic piece of cinematic genius obviously is expecting more than meets the eye [hah I'm hilarious.]

Sure its an ad for the toys.  The original was made to sell products.  It says in plain bold letters at the start that this movie was made in conjunction with Hasbro.

Besides, anyone getting all angsty about how it's not as good as the original is taking some types of crazy pills, since the original movie and tv series was full of many more inconsistent plot points and moments than this new movie.

So far I'm in the minority here, but heck, I enjoyed the hell out of it.  I expected giant robots causing havoc and I got it.  I don't need to get hung up on the smaller details.  I'm quite happy to wait for the Neon Genesis movie if I need a fix for an intelligent Giant Robot movie...

My only disappointment is the treatment of Jazz.  That plot point was kind of glossed over.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: trekgeezer on July 03, 2007, 07:21:03 AM
You guys whine too much.  I'm going to see it because it looks like a good summer flick, you go in and forget your troubles for a couple of hours.


Bay is what he is, if don't like his stuff then avoid it like the plague .   I for one like the occasional no-brainer shoot'em up. 



Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AnubisVonMojo on July 03, 2007, 07:46:23 AM
That's the saddest part: I have no problem with no-brainer summer blockbuster popcorn flicks. But once shakey-cams, extreme close-up fight scenes, quick cuts and an obnoxious cast (including Anthony "waste of space" Anderson) are added on top of Michael Bay, it's a downward spiral... not unlike the same downward spiral made by the water when flushing a toilet.  :twirl:

Even if I could look beyond Michael Bay and tune out the entire cast, focusing solely on the Transformers themselves, shakey-cam and lazy fight scene shooting is a monstrous pet peev of mine. Horribly shot fight scenes that used the same method of direction are what put the hurt on my opinion of Batman Begins and made me start to question how much Christopher Nolan should be allowed to make action movies in the future. Begins was awesome, going great and, though not without it's problems, gave me absolute faith the DC could finally compete with Marvel in terms of legitimate movie adaptations again... then the fight scenes started and as I was darting my eyes back and forth trying to figure out what the Hell it was I was looking at, I wasn't so sure. Again, adding that to a movie I already have little-to-no-faith in just guarantees my $11 will stay in my pocket... and hopefully will continue to stay in there, long after Alvin & the Chipmunks has come, died on arrival, and been carried back to the homeworld by the Scientologists.  :tongueout:

... the poster of which of course hasn't made it's way onto the internet yet, so I can't top this post off in all of it's intended glory. Damn it, foiled again! I really need a "fist shaking" icon.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Him on July 03, 2007, 08:55:59 AM
So far I'm in the minority here, but heck, I enjoyed the hell out of it.  I expected giant robots causing havoc and I got it.  I don't need to get hung up on the smaller details.  I'm quite happy to wait for the Neon Genesis movie if I need a fix for an intelligent Giant Robot movie...

My only disappointment is the treatment of Jazz.  That plot point was kind of glossed over.


Giant robots causing havoc is only entertaining if you can actually see the action. In this movie, everything was just a shakey, quick cut blurr. And this film had a very generic feel to it. Like it was just going through the motions.

Now I will say that the non-action moments were pretty good. The characters and dialog were decent, but the action was very disappointing. And whats worse is there was no payoff. I was waiting for the Prime vs Megatron show down and when it finally came it lasted about 2 seconds. That's not acceptable.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Pilgermann on July 03, 2007, 01:39:28 PM
SPOILERS

I almost had the impression that they didn't have time to finish all of the effects sequences.  The battle with Bumblebee and whoever the cop car Decepticon was was hardly shown.  Instead we get to see Sam and his girlfriend scramble around and fight with that little crazy Transformer.  Same deal with the battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron.  They freakin' used the great "One shall stand, one shall fall" line, but rather than showing Optimus speak Sam is running around a blown up crevice in the street and we hear the voiceover.

Other things that were idiotic:

"Cute" moments like, "Excuse me, are you the tooth fairy?" and the little kid who sees Prime and  Bonecrusher (I think) battling and looks at his mother and says, "Cool, mom!"

John Turturro was wasted on a craptastic character.  I like how he reveals the girl's big secret of her past.  Oh no, here dad is in jail 'cause he used to steal cars and she helped!  WOW, THAT'S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.  From this point on you can assume she'll hotwire a car at some point, and OH LOOK, she hotwires a tow truck to help Bumblebee!

The early scenes of dialogue between the soldier and his wife were funny, and not intentionally.

Computers that can do ANYTHING.

Bad music.  Oh, and Bumblebee's use of music and various audio clips for communicating was funny at first but then it just gets annoying.

As I've mentioned the Transformers were wasted.  The one with the most screen time was that little guy who was busy hacking government files and shooting blades at everyone, and I have no idea who he was supposed to be.

Michael Bay CANNOT keep his camera still.  One of the only moments I noticed where it was static was in the interrogation room scene.  Don't try to tell me that this is essential to his style, either.  It's just poor direction and camerawork.

There're other silly things but  I don't wish to ramble on forever.

I truly wanted to like this film.  I expected it to be lots of fun, but instead it's boring, unfunny, and inept in nearly all areas of filmmaking.  What was so hard about making a fun action-packed spectacle based on the Transformers?


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Bill C. on July 03, 2007, 02:01:12 PM
Oh, God, how I feel your pain, Pilgermann.

In its defense--somewhat--the film isn't rampantly stupid past about the halfway point (God, how I wanted to crawl through the screen and punch Shia LeBoeuf in the %#*&%*! face during the first third), but by then all the major pieces are in play save one.  But the showers of glass and concrete that obscure damn near everything in the big sequences...do just that, obscure everything.  And damn that hurts this film...yes, even more than Optimus Prime saying "My bad..." or Megatron busting out a vague Smith-ism.

On the other hand: Megan Fox is absolutely stupid hot.  (EDIT: okay, and Rachael Taylor isn't bad either.  Kind of Anna Nicole-ish, though.)


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AnubisVonMojo on July 03, 2007, 02:11:47 PM
On the other hand: Megan Fox is absolutely stupid hot.

Does that mean that she's so stupid it's hot or so hot that she'll make you stupid?


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Bill C. on July 03, 2007, 02:25:48 PM
In this case, (b).


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AnubisVonMojo on July 03, 2007, 02:35:10 PM
ok then  :cheers:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: ulthar on July 03, 2007, 03:49:30 PM
You guys HAVE noticed Bay is in talks to direct TRANSFORMERS 2, right? 


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AnubisVonMojo on July 03, 2007, 04:19:08 PM
You guys HAVE noticed Bay is in talks to direct TRANSFORMERS 2, right? 

Man, that's no surprise. Any action movie based on a licensed property is immediately targeted for a trilogy deal before the first even hits the screens, which includes trying to keep the cast and crew together in the hopes of cloning what could be a blockbuster success. In some cases everybody's happy with it (Pirates of the Carribbean) and in others it starts to get on the gang's nerves (Spider-Man).


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: BTM on July 03, 2007, 06:45:42 PM
Well, me, I REALLY liked the film, but I did have some quibbles...

(spoilers below)

First up: too many humans!  The writers said they split the time in the film about 1/3 human, 1/3 Autobots, and 1/3 Decepticons, but I REALLY don't think that's accurate (granted, maybe it was in the script.)

It's not that I'm bothered by the humans being important characters, but to me, there were too many of them, and a lot of the roles were just pointless (save to add "comic" relief.)  For instance, the blond girl computer expert and her "adviser".  Their parts were really gratuitous and added nothing to the film.

Not to mention other pointless time wasting scenes, Section Seven guy captures our heroes, Autobots rescue them, heroes get captured AGAIN less than five minutes later, this time with Bumblebee.  Er.. okay.  Could we just had had Bumblebee with them to begin them, have them all get capture at once, and that be that?

Second, the Decpticons.  WAAAY too little screen time.  I was told, for instance, Starscream would have the same personaility he did in the cartoon, but he got, what, two lines?  And it's about an hour and a half into the film before we even see all the Deceptions as they head towards the military base.  We spend a ton time watching Frenzy do stuff, but that's about it.  (I guess he was cheaper to animate or something.)  Megatron doesn't show up till a looong way into the film, which is a HUGE mistake.

Third, Mike, Mike, SLOW IT DOWN!!  I know, it's an action movie, but a lot of the s**t was happening so fast, I could NOT tell what the hell was going on.  Especially the "Lets do a EXTREME closeup shot of the robots fight" shtick.  Wait, who's winning?  What just happened?  Er.. damn.

For instance, I didn't even realize till the end of the film that it was Jazz that Megatron killed.  And I can NOT for the life of me tell you which Deception Prime managed to KO with his sword.

I don't know if all this upclose, confuso-vision action stuff is Bay's directing choice, or if it was just the fact that the CGI was so damn expensive that they wanted the giant robot fights as short and quick as possible, but still, gave me a freaking headache trying to keep up with things.

anyway, there's a few more minor things I could mention, but those are main the points.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Him on July 03, 2007, 07:01:04 PM
^I was also disappointed with the lack of screen time the Decepticons got. Starcream and Megatron both had very well developed personalities in the original cartoon. they didn't just rely on brute force. They were both very sneaky, and scheming and tricky, but in this movie they are reduced to mindless monsters.

Optimus Prime was the only character who resembled his original cartoon self, but why did they alter his face?  In the promo images, primes head and face looked similar to the cartoon, but in this movie they gave him a mouth.

This movie would have been so much better if Bay had treated the Transformers the way Spielberg treated the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. Let us see the transformers clearly, let us see them transform, let us see them fighting. Give us some scenes to remember.

and what was with the un-imaginative opening credits? I remember back in the day movies like Starwars and Superman opened with exciting theme music. This Transformer movie had nothing like that. Just the word Transformers appears on the screen. I expect more than that from a movie like this.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on July 04, 2007, 03:57:21 AM
I just got back from the film, and I have to say I really, really liked it. 

I dunno.  I really had no problem telling what was going on.  The camera was shaky, but usually at a time when robots were don't nothing in paricular like falling or tumbling.   


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Jordan on July 04, 2007, 12:32:32 PM
I personally very much enjoyed "Transformers" and I plan on seeing it again. As Trekgeezer pointed out, its a big ole summer blockbuster and is an escape from the real (crappy) world that all of us movie nerds . All of you that have complained about the film make valid points, but you just sound so damned cranky! (If you don't like Michael Bay, then don't see his movies! Problem solved!) I was looking forward to this flick for months and it didn't disappoint me at all, in fact, it surpassed my expectations. I had a lot of fun in the theater, and the audience ate it all up.

Perhaps everyone on this board that didn't like the movie should, in the future, either a) not go alone to the theater to see any movies because you can't really lean over to a stranger and make a snide remark or exclamation of joy or b) go with a crowd of people that are enthusiastic about seeing a film. Sometimes a movie can be made better (or at least more bearable) if you go with the right people.  :teddyr:

And shame on you all for not even mentioning the really odd movie trailer that was attached to "Transformers." You know the one: It's shot on a hand-held digital camcorder and takes place at a guy's going away party. Suddenly the ground begins to quake, the lights flicker out, people are running through the streets in a panic, a strange "roar" is heard in the background, explosions are seen in the middle of the Big Apple and finally, the Statue of Liberty's head rolls down the street. This film has been dubbed as the "Cloverfield" project and is apparently a shot on video kaiju flick. (It's being described as Blair Witch meets Godzilla.) There's almost no information about it on the web (the same two paragraphs of regurgitated material appear on every movie news website) and it seems to me that this trailer caused more of a buzz than Bay's "Transformers."


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Bill C. on July 04, 2007, 05:41:30 PM
Actually, Jordan, thank you for reminding me of that trailer.  I was wondering what that was all about...though I'm kind of leery of J.J. Abrams doing a giant monster movie...


Title: Re: Transformers is a terrible movie
Post by: Acroyear on July 04, 2007, 10:18:18 PM
First Michael Bay movie for me, and last. Boy, do I agree with the author of this thread.
Humor is juvenile. The screenplay is pathetic. I wasn't thrilled with any of the action. I got bored with the battling CGI robots real fast. I probably spent more time looking at my watch than what was up on the screen. Michael Bay is a wretched film maker. He lacks class and style. This movie is for people with a short attention span.  It's like watching a XBox video game. This movie is for people who loved ID4 and Godzilla (1998)

A real, genuine, popcorn action movie would be a little movie that goes by the name of Raiders of the Lost Ark.



Title: Re: Transformers is a terrible movie
Post by: Zapranoth on July 05, 2007, 01:12:00 AM
First Michael Bay movie for me, and last. Boy, do I agree with the author of this thread.
Humor is juvenile. The screenplay is pathetic. I wasn't thrilled with any of the action. I got bored with the battling CGI robots real fast. I probably spent more time looking at my watch than what was up on the screen. Michael Bay is a wretched film maker. He lacks class and style. This movie is for people with a short attention span.  It's like watching a XBox video game. This movie is for people who loved ID4 and Godzilla (1998)

A real, genuine, popcorn action movie would be a little movie that goes by the name of Raiders of the Lost Ark


You're just hopin' for a Micronauts movie, aren't ya?


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Foywonder on July 05, 2007, 01:19:48 AM
My reaction: meh.

Saw it Monday night and I've already forgotten a good two-thirds of what I saw. Most of its now a blur. I seem to remember being pretty entertained up until about the point the Autobots turned into the Three Stooges in the kid's backyard and John Torturro's wacky underwear appeared on the screen. It seemed to fall apart about that moment and never won me back - not even with all the indecipherable action sequences in the third act. I seriously do not understand the people praising the action scenes because I couldn't tell what the hell was going on most of the time during the finale. This was also not the movie to have to sit front row second seat from the righthand aisle.

I also challenge anyone to justify the inclusion of the hot blonde computer girl and Anthony Anderson.

Giant robots tear up downtown Los Angeles, no shortage of witnesses, and in the end the goverment covers up the whole thing. Say what?

I was never into the toys or the cartoon as a kid so the prospect of a live action film neither set my heart racing or made me scream about how they were going to rape my childhood. My inner child is still playing with Masters of the Universe and Godzilla toys and has come to accept those two have already been made into s**tty Hollywood movies. To me TRANSFORMERS is basically the second coming of ID4 except I didn't despise this movie like I did ID4. Just another big dumb loud orgy of computer effects wrapped around stupid jokes, weak characters, and a bad script. In other words, pretty much like every other blockbuster thus far this summer.

The most morbidly fascinating aspect of TRANSFORMERS to me has been the level of madness this movie had induced. Thirty-year olds screaming bloody murder about how Hollywood was going to destroy their favorite childhood toy has now given way to people getting furious at anyone that didn't love the movie to the degree they did.

I'm already sick of having people spooging over Transformers resorting to some variation of:

What did you expect?
It's a summer blockbuster so it's suppose to be dumb!
It's just a movie based on a toyline!
You just wanted to hate it!
You don't have any inner child!
You're too old to appreciate it!
Go watch an art film!
Get over yourself!


And so forth to attack anyone that didn't think this movie was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Go to Rotten Tomatoes and look at the review comments for any negative review and read the critic getting flamed. Heck, the critic at IGN FilmForce actually gave the movie a 3.5 out of 5, saying he enjoyed it but it had flaws, and people are flaming him because he didn't give it a higher rating. They're attacking a guy because his good review wasn't good enough? I'm beginning to think the hardcore "Transfans" who had been hating on everything leading up to this movie are actually more emotionally balanced than some of the fans of this movie who have taken to treating everyone that didn't love it an enemy that needs to be crushed.

I'm definitely thinking some psychologists need to have a look at this phenomenom to figure out what it is about Transformers (the toys, the cartoons, the new movie) that seems drive people to madness.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Jordan on July 05, 2007, 03:10:46 AM
I think it's some sort of primeval love of giant robots Foywonder. The Japanese openly show their love of giant robots in cinema with TV shows, movies, comic books, and toys. Here in the US, the only homegrown giant bots we have are the Transformers. Maybe people see it as an American institution. Or.... subliminal advertising could be the culprit.

As for the hot-blonde computer tech and Anthony Anderson.... I can't justify them. Sorry.   :teddyr:

SPOILER


Did anyone bother staying long enough to watch Starscream beat a hasty retreat out of Earth's atmosphere? They should've followed that up with a big yellow road sign saying "WARNING: SEQUEL AHEAD! APPROACH WITH CAUTION!"  :bouncegiggle: Am I the only one that would welcome a sequel?  :question:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Joe on July 05, 2007, 07:05:12 AM
definetly wasnt the best flick ive ever seen, but i went in not expecting much and i came out pretty satisfied. i mean its transformers for christ sakes, i think they did a pretty decent job if you ask me.


Title: Re: Transformers is a terrible movie
Post by: Acroyear on July 06, 2007, 01:44:35 AM

[/quote]

You're just hopin' for a Micronauts movie, aren't ya?
[/quote]

Well.. Micronauts are the American equivalent of Japan's Microman. And Microman gave way to MicroChange. American version of MicroChange is Transformers. So in a roundabout way this a "Micronauts" movie..


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Zapranoth on July 06, 2007, 01:50:43 AM
I knew that would jar loose some geekily obscure chain of analysis.... thanks.   :teddyr:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: The Burgomaster on July 06, 2007, 05:50:22 AM
This is definitely not a great movie, but I enjoyed it for what it was: an expensive, noisy, fast-paced piece of summer escapist entertainment.  The best scenes are the ones with Bernie Mac and John Turturro.  I think the movies biggest problem is that it's not sure which audience it is aimed at (very young children, sci-fi fans, action movie fans, the teen crowd, etc.) and it does not completely satisfy any of them.  I did not love it and I did not hate it.  But I thought it was worth the price of admission.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: trekgeezer on July 06, 2007, 09:05:21 AM
Saw it with my 22 year old daughter yesterday and we both liked it for what it was.  The real tell for the movie was the little girl sitting in the row below us. She was laughing out loud during the funny parts, especially when the Autobots were trying there best to hide in Sam's backyard.

Regardless of the dissing it's taking here, the movie will make tons of money and in a couple of years you'll be seeing the sequel coming out.



Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Him on July 06, 2007, 10:34:52 AM
Saw it with my 22 year old daughter yesterday and we both liked it for what it was.  The real tell for the movie was the little girl sitting in the row below us. She was laughing out loud during the funny parts, especially when the Autobots were trying there best to hide in Sam's backyard.

Regardless of the dissing it's taking here, the movie will make tons of money and in a couple of years you'll be seeing the sequel coming out.



The action scenes were very weak. Too many quick cuts, to many extreme close ups and too much shakey camera stuff. You couldn't tell what was going on most of the time.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Gerry on July 06, 2007, 05:47:14 PM
I saw it this afternoon and found it to be pretty enjoyable.  It was big dumb and loud, but it was fun.  Definitely better than Deanzilla and more original than ID4.

My favorite line was when one of the "asteroid" observers claimed that "this is way better than ARMAGHEDDON".  Hell yeah!  Best Michael Bay movie since THE ROCK (and I normally hate Michael Bay).


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: trekgeezer on July 06, 2007, 07:58:06 PM

The action scenes were very weak. Too many quick cuts, to many extreme close ups and too much shakey camera stuff. You couldn't tell what was going on most of the time.


I heard the same complaint about Batman Begins, but you know it doesn't bother me, in fact it kinda makes you feel like you're in on the action.

It's called different strokes for different folks.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: nada on July 06, 2007, 10:30:38 PM
Here's a cool fan-made transformers movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYzRanykbQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYzRanykbQ)


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Him on July 06, 2007, 11:14:14 PM
Here's some cool transformer costumes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG220m0quo4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG220m0quo4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akNJ6S2UqsE&mode=related&search= (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akNJ6S2UqsE&mode=related&search=)


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Ash on July 08, 2007, 07:50:32 AM
I saw Transformers yesterday and it was pretty good!

I had to go by myself because a friend who had agreed to go bailed out on me at the last minute.
The theater was packed.

There were a few things that annoyed me..
One was that sun-saturated look Michael Bay uses in all of his movies.
The orchestral score was too much like The Rock.

Everybody in this film obviously spent a lot of time in spray-on tan booths.
Other than Jon Voight, everybody in it had a fabulous tan. 

And the casting of John Turturro. 
What idiot thought he was a good choice to play the leader of Sector 7?   :lookingup:

And the soldiers never wear their helmets!
In countless scenes, there was debris and rocks flying everywhere and the soldiers never once get hit in the head.

Other than those minor gripes, the movie was very good.
I thought the scenes where Bumblebee starts playing music to help Sam get the girl were great.
Also, the scenes where the Autobots are outside Sam's house trying to be quiet were hilarious.
I never thought I'd see Optimus Prime step on a stone fountain and say, "My bad!"   :teddyr:

For me, the best thing about the whole film was Peter Cullen's voice as Optimus.
Prime was my favorite character in the entire movie.

All in all, I had a good time and will probably pick this up on DVD when it's released.
I give it 3.5 out of 4 stars.   :thumbup:





Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AnubisVonMojo on July 08, 2007, 08:00:03 AM
Here's a cool fan-made transformers movie:

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYzRanykbQ[/url] ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TYzRanykbQ[/url])


Holy crap... that was awesome. "I may not be a spaceship. I may not be a film star. But, I believe in myself."  :teddyr:


Title: Re: Transformers is a terrible movie
Post by: Menard on July 08, 2007, 10:03:16 AM
Well.. Micronauts are the American equivalent of Japan's Microman. And Microman gave way to MicroChange. American version of MicroChange is Transformers. So in a roundabout way this a "Micronauts" movie..

You seriously need to get laid, dude.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: RCMerchant on July 08, 2007, 10:17:47 AM
Well.. Micronauts are the American equivalent of Japan's Microman. And Microman gave way to MicroChange. American version of MicroChange is Transformers. So in a roundabout way this a "Micronauts" movie..

You seriously need to get laid, dude.
Chokes-spits coffee-
LMAO  :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: LMAO

  No offense Acroyear...but ya gotta admit...that's really funny...!!!


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Jim H on July 08, 2007, 11:36:29 AM
Quote
The one with the most screen time was that little guy who was busy hacking government files and shooting blades at everyone, and I have no idea who he was supposed to be.

I actually really liked that character.  A lot of people seem to hate him though.  Did his "voice" remind anyone else of Star Wars creatures and bots?  I would say the closest G1 character match for him are the various cassette tape figures Soundwave had, or possibly LaserBeak.

My feelings on the film are mixed.  Most of the problems other people had I also had.  The biggest single problem I had was the shift in narrative focus.  The movie is almost totally focused on the humans, with the Transformers distant tertiary characters.  I found that quite disappointing.  I've heard some suggest this is because people can't really relate to giant alien robots.  Well, it is a moot point as we aren't given ANY human characters to relate to, and there are FAAAAR too many of them, all poorly developed.  The script should have been trimmed by 20 pages at least, with a bunch of characters merged or deleted - especially the hackers and army guys.


Another disappointment was the Transformers fighting.  We get so little of it in terms of screen time.  I would say the Transformers actually fighting each other was probably 7 or 8 minutes of screen time at the maximum.  And in a movie well over 2 hours, that's very little.  And yeah, the Prime/Megatron fight was lame.  And Bay's style is still incoherent, and I'm someone who has enjoyed a number of his films (Con Air is probably my favorite of his).

Despite all the problems, I have to say Peter Cullen still delivers.  If anything, his voice is even better now, and while Prime's dialogue is at times corny and impossibly heroic, it fits him well and still makes him an effective iconic character who is very true to the original. 

Well, even with all the complaints, I did enjoy the movie to some extent.  I'd probably give it a 6 or 7 out of 10.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: soylentgreen on July 08, 2007, 03:33:52 PM
I can tolerate Michael Bay films much more than most people(must be connected to my ability to enjoy the music of Philip Glass, long after others have fled!)  I actually enjoy PEARL HARBOR...mostly as a visual treat(the fashions, the locales), plus(like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, perish the thought) it truly is very much like the war films of the late 40's to early 60s...full of misty sentimentality and a perverse willingness to simplify history to afford just a little more good 'ol American spirit to shine on through.
Yes!  I did link PEARL HARBOR and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN together in some way.  :bouncegiggle:
(For those interested, check out Jeanine Basinger's priceless book The WWII Combat Film and Lawrence Suid's invaluable Guts & Glory...both very useful for war film history appreciation.)

Anyway...TRANSFORMERS was both a standard Michael Bay film and a slightly effective nod to the simplistic sci-fi flicks of the 50s.  Of course, the earnest and sincere THE CORE did a much better job capturing the sense of those great mid-century doomsday matinee spectacles.  C'mon!  How can you not get a little thrill in the scene, while seeing no feasible way to make the inner-planet voyage and kick-starting the Earth's core, Stanley Tucci says "...but what if we could?"  Man, that's pure Atomic Age science-fiction nostalgia.

Shia LeBoof aside, the cast(like any Bay film)was alright-window dressing.  I think the success of the film rides on the sentimentality of audience members who were old enough to really appreciate the show.  Which, oddly enough, is an audience category a bit outside the usual target audience demographic used by almost all Hollywood studios....for theatrical releases, at least.

While there are definately a few folks who will go out and buy a vehicle because of it's connection to some sci-fi film(a certain Ford Falcon Coupe aside!) I don't really see the product placement for tens-of-thousands-of-dollars vehicles really doing much.  McJoyful Meals toys or whatever...kids will play with anything included free with a burger and fries. 

As has been said before-the films is light on plot, high on adrenaline.  Who doesn't dig giant robots fighting(even ROBOT JOX!)?  Like Lucas' added footage for the STAR WARS trilogy, it has a little too much camera work that distracts rather than focuses your attention.  I also felt a lot of detail was lost in the tempo.  The transformations seemed clever but happened in such a flash-bang manner, I couldn't really buy how a raletively small vehicle actually had enough material to form a giant robot.  And as long as you remember that any pulse pounding and heightened tension in a Michael Bay film is coming from the editing/light strobing and not from the drama itself, you'll be fine. :teddyr:  It's a tactic that worked well for him with 15 and 30 second commercial spots, and he does prove that you can, in fact, make an entire film with that dubious style.  Whether that film works or not, is continually up for debate.

Maybe it's my imagination, but for such a high-profile, high-budget tent-pole studio film, I didn't see all that much tv advertising for TRANSFORMERS.  Yeah it was all over nerd-forums on the net for over a year, but tv is still a studios easiest exposure.  There was a small burst right before release, but nowhere near what I would've expected.  That ridiculous I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY(which looks poised to set gay rights back by about 15 years!) has been on non-stop, in-you-damn-face, no escape rotation on almost every channel for weeks...the film doesn't even come out for another two weeks!  And I KNOW the only men going to see that film are going purely to Jessica Biel's ass(Don't you guys have an 'internet'?).

Which(in along-winded way) leads me to my ultimate thought.  For all the 2 hour and 20 minute spectacle of huge robots Clubber Langing each other while taking the horror of speedway/spectator tragedies to a whole new level...I couldn't stop thinking about a one minute trailer I saw before the film...

It's a home video of some guy's going away party, interrupted by some roar, a news flash about earth rumblings, something exploding out of midtown Manhattan, pandemonium..."It's alive...It's huge!" and culminating with the head of the Statue of Liberty bouncing off buildings(with a clear hollow ring!) and bouncing down Seventh Ave.
No title, just a release date...1-18-08.  Anyone else see this thing?
Some people are insisting it's a Godzilla film...others, that it's a Lovecraft Cthulhu story(wouldn't that be awesome!).


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Ash on July 08, 2007, 05:24:29 PM
That J.J. Abrams trailer was for the movie titled "Cloverfield".
Here's the Wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloverfield

Good luck trying to find the trailer online.
Paramount has had 99% of them yanked off the Internet.

But I do agree, it looks awesome!   :thumbup:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: ulthar on July 08, 2007, 06:23:03 PM
Good or bad, in a "film" sense, Bay's TRANSFORMERS has done what it was supposed to do.  It was NOT made to be thought provoking sci-fi, a tribute to the animated series, nostalgia for those that grew up with same, etc.  It was not supposed to make us think, or even really entertain us.

TRANSFORMERS cost 150 million dollars to make.  That is quite an investment.

As of today, 8 July, 2007, TRANSFORMERS has earned $152,600,000 in the US and Canada box office and another $93,600,000  overseas.  That's a total of 246.2 million dollars, globally, for a profit of nearly 100 million dollars.  That's after only one week.  That profit figure will only continue to rise.

It has done the one thing it was supposed to do:  make money.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Andrew on July 08, 2007, 08:15:34 PM
It has done the one thing it was supposed to do:  make money.

Though I am sure that the investors and studio only think about the profits, surely there were people involved in the production who really love knowing that people went to the theater and enjoyed the film.  Some of the CGI artists, actors - you name it.  They might be making a fair living wage, but something that really makes them love their job is entertaining people.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Neville on July 09, 2007, 08:54:41 AM
I saw this film yesterday (don't ask me why) and although I agree that this is exactly what should be expected from a Michael Bay movie, this doesn't serve as an excuse for the atrocius script, the crappy music, the overacting nor the barely comprehensible action scenes.

You know, I even like two of Michael Bay's movies, namely "The rock" and "Bad Boys II", but the man seems lazier every summer. Every shot of this film that didn't have robots on it could have been stolen from any of his other movies. It's not that he shoots everything the same way (after all, so do Michael Mann and Ridley Scott), it is that he doesn't care if it is a film for kids or grown ups, if it is an action film or a sci-fi one.

Maybe what makes me criticise him harder every year is that when he was working with Jerry Bruckheimer I was more forgiving. After all, the scripts were bad and lacked any sophistication, and Bruckheimer's sense of what an action film needs to be seems on the same level. But now he's working with Steven Spielberg, and he has a genuine oprtunity of making better films. Or at least, not so bad ones. "The island" had possibilities, and the first minutes are quite good. And here the story had some good points, like making the hero a teenager, as it used to happen in Spielberg's productions during the 80s. If Bay had just asked for a real script this time, instead of the usual amalgamation of testosterone, racism and silly humour... or if he had cared to make shots longer than 2 seconds... but I can see myself thinking "Maybe next time" and falling into the same trap next summer.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: ulthar on July 09, 2007, 09:15:51 AM

Though I am sure that the investors and studio only think about the profits, surely there were people involved in the production who really love knowing that people went to the theater and enjoyed the film.  Some of the CGI artists, actors - you name it.  They might be making a fair living wage, but something that really makes them love their job is entertaining people.


That's a fair point, and I'll hide my 'defense' (as it were) behind the excuse that for these people, they are not responsible for the whole.  The individual work on ANY film can be outstanding, but the director and producers ultimately give the overall project cohesion.  Pixar works so well, in my opinion, because of the strong leadershp of John Lasseter.

Many times on commentaries, I've heard directors or animators say "we did not think we had time/money to do x correctly, but John always says "do it."  These guys know how to write a story and execute it visually.  They are true to the art AND their movies make money, but they could not do it without Lasseter's willingness to take risks.

You could take any one, or set, of them and put them on a Bay film and the result would probably still be formulaic crap that has SOME entertainment value but no real "presence" or "soul" or whatever you want to call it.  The end result is Bay's unwillingness (I'll assume, for the sake of discussion, he is CAPABLE) to have and implement an artistic vision for his projects.  It is THAT that I was responding to - not the quality of animation, photography, editing, sound design, etc.

When I see people writing comments like "this movie did not know what it was - sci fi, action, thriller" and "this movie did not know who it's target audience was supposed to be - kids, teens, etc" I conclude only that Bay was taking a somewhat of a shotgun approach and wanted to hit has many chances to put behinds in the seats as possible.  That said, I have not seen TRANSFORMERS (and don't plan to), so I am speaking more in general terms than about this particular movie.

In short, I guess I am accusing Michael Bay of listening to and caring more about the investors and distributors than those individual artists you mention.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AnubisVonMojo on July 09, 2007, 11:05:25 AM
The reviews for this movie are intriguing me more about seeing it that it's role as another box office juggernaut for the Summer '07 movie scene. The fact that Tomb reviewer Brother Ragnarok, a man whose cardinal rule in life is "F*ck Michael Bay in his stupid worthless ear", actually enjoyed the movie enough to give it a 3 1/2-out-of-5 rating kinda scares me at how good the movie may actually be... however, as I've said,  it's gonna be DVD for me good sirs.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Torgo on July 09, 2007, 03:27:31 PM
I actually enjoyed it.

I thought I would hate it. While it's far from a perfect film, it does deliver the giant robot action quite well.

*** out of ****.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Torgo on July 09, 2007, 03:31:11 PM
Good or bad, in a "film" sense, Bay's TRANSFORMERS has done what it was supposed to do.  It was NOT made to be thought provoking sci-fi, a tribute to the animated series, nostalgia for those that grew up with same, etc.  It was not supposed to make us think, or even really entertain us.

TRANSFORMERS cost 150 million dollars to make.  That is quite an investment.

As of today, 8 July, 2007, TRANSFORMERS has earned $152,600,000 in the US and Canada box office and another $93,600,000  overseas.  That's a total of 246.2 million dollars, globally, for a profit of nearly 100 million dollars.  That's after only one week.  That profit figure will only continue to rise.

It has done the one thing it was supposed to do:  make money.

Don't forget the almost 50 million dollars they probably spent on marketing as well.

Studios should include that in a movie's overall budget.   


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: akiratubo on July 10, 2007, 05:32:30 AM
I saw it today.

It was good up until the Autobots showed up.  Not that the Autobots ruined the movie, mind you.  It's just that !@#$ing JOHN TURTURRO showed up shortly after that point.  !@#$ing JOHN TURTURRO.  I didn't know !@#$ing JOHN TURTURRO was going to be in the movie.  Why on earth !@#$ing JOHN TURTURRO is allowed to keep acting movies, I don't know.

!@#$ing JOHN TURTURRO was by far the worst (and most unnecessary), even though all of the human characters were bad.  Maybe two or three of the guys who escaped from the Qatar base were ok.  That's mainly because, despite being the first characters introduced, they were so underdeveloped they never got the chance to be annoying.

If Michael Bay would quit trying to inject comedy into his movies, they'd be a lot better.  He's good enough at pointing a camera at exploding things but he can't direct comedy.

Some of the human characters and scenes needed to be deleted to make more screentime for the Decepticons.  They just showed up and died.  Blah.

The final battle wasn't too good.  It was mostly shots of people reacting to the robots fighting, rather than shots of the robots fighting.

And, damn, does Michael Bay get all his knowledge of how black people act from Mantan Moreland movies?  Scratch that, Mantan Moreland was allowed to have far more dignity than any of the black characters in TransFormers.

All in all, I didn't hate TransFormers.  It started well but got pregressively worse.  I walked out a couple of minutes from the end, when the dumb kid and his girlfriend were making out on top of Bumblebee while the other Autobots watched.  Ick!


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: BlackAngel75 on July 12, 2007, 10:49:48 PM
I'll keep it short and sweet.  I like the Transformers.  I was in total awe of them.  And when I heard Peter Cullen, the ORINGINAL voice of Optimus, I almost cried (I s**t you not).  I thought the dialouge was funny, a little kiddie, but it's not rated R.  I do agree that Section 7 guy was unnecesary.  I'm hoping that when the next one comes that my avatar will be among the robots :thumbup: :thumbup:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Mr. DS on October 23, 2007, 09:09:16 PM
Alright so I finally got around to seeing this on DVD.  I'm with the "let down" lot in this thread.  I will give the film's action sequences credit which were flat out pretty awesome when you could make out who was fighting who.  However the frickin' dialog in the film absolutely killed me.  I couldn't stand the lead kid who I wish would have had his mouth nailed shut by the end of the film.  The plot just seemed to build up way too much in the beginning and by the time the action came around the film was almost over.  That and so much could have been cut like the whole military wondering around the desert.  I have to give the film a C+ at best.  Maybe a very low B-. 


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: GoHawks on October 24, 2007, 01:14:42 AM
I too finally got around to seeing this film on DVD.  *** NO NEED TO READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU LIKED THIS MOVIE ***

I never watched any of those 80s/90s 30-minute commercials cartoons (although I was aware of them), so I didn't have any emotional investment from childhood biasing me.

Michael Bay (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000881/), on the other hand, was a known quantity.  Said quantity being 'zero'.  Zero, as in what his films are worth, as in how many stars I would give to any of his films, as in what the IQ of someone must be if they think Michael Bay is a genius filmmaker.  Another known quantity was Shia LaBeouf (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0479471/).  Based on these and other considerations (e.g. 'PG-13' instead of 'R') I figured I would not like this film, but at least it wouldn't annoy me.  I even held out hope that it would be somewhat entertaining.

I'll cut right to the chase here and say that about the only thing I liked about this movie was Jon Voight (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000685/)'s character.  Most of the gripes I have with this film have been pointed out earlier, so here are some that haven't.

  • The cartoon was essentially a commercial for the toys.  This movie was a 2-hour commercial for Chevy.
  • Every time Shia LaBeouf was on screen, I felt like I was watching the Disney Channel.
  • Not only were the robot fight scenes hard to tell what was happening, but to someone who had no idea what robot was what, I also didn't know if I should be cheering or saddened whenever a robot got whomped.  Maybe they could have put some sort of good-guy/bad-guy thing on all the robots that was obvious.
  • That one little bad robot/ghetto blaster seemed to have about 50% of all the robot time in the movie, and every time he was on screen I simply could not suspend my disbelief (e.g. sneaking off of and away from Air Force One).  These parts of the film especially felt like they were meant for 3-5 year-olds.
  • There was no consistency with how long it took a robot to transform, other than whatever the current mood of the film required.  Sometimes they were agonizingly slow, other times they were effectively instantaneous.
  • Other than Jon Voight's character, I simply did not like anyone in this film.  Most characters I actively hated.  It's hard to like a movie that doesn't have anyone likable in it.
  • The absolutely ludicrous hotwiring scene.  She literally reaches under the dash and pulls out two and only two wires that are not attached to anything and already have their ends stripped.  All she has to do is touch them together once and the engine starts right up.  Total elapsed time from opening door to running vehicle: about 2 seconds.

Well, my spleen has been vented enough for today.  The good news is that I watched it at a friend's house, so I didn't even pay to rent the DVD.   :wink:

I can foresee no reason for me to ever watch this movie again.  (Although I'll probably watch Transformers 2 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1055369/) on DVD.)   :bluesad:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: RapscallionJones on October 24, 2007, 09:45:38 AM
I don't really have anything against this movie, but I wasn't particularly interested in seeing it.  You'll never know how absolutely baffling those sentiments were to my friends.  They couldn't get their heads around it.  How could anyone, let alone a guy who was the appropriate age to have fond memories of the toys not give a s**t about the movie event of our lifetime?  I, quite simply, didn't care.  I grew up kind of poor so I never really had any of the toys when I was a little kid and I suspect that this is where the disconnect happens.

Everyone I know did everything in their power to get me excited about it and nothing worked.  I was also turned off by the near constant advertising for the movie and related merchandise.  I know people who bought tickets two weeks in advance to be there on opening night.  I even know a guy who changed his entire Myspace to a Transformers theme and spent weeks waxing romantic on his Myspace blog about how it was the single most important thing is his life from the time he was 9 years old and if you think it couldn't possibly get any worse, he put a public call out for a lovely woman to accompany him for an evening of dinner, dancing and robots in disguise.  I have no idea how that worked out.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Caronte on October 24, 2007, 10:05:25 AM
Giants robots fighting and destroying cities  :thumbup:...need to say something more??


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: cqmorrell on October 25, 2007, 11:25:32 PM
My only gripe with Transformers is that the scenes involving humans felt like they went on for way too long (even though Megan Fox is quite attractive, I've dealt with too many girls like her character to even care about her). Other than that, I was happy with it. Loved hearing Peter Cullen voice Optimus Prime again, it just wouldn't have been the same without him.

Was actually more excited about Cloverfield than the actual feature itself though ...



Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AndyC on October 26, 2007, 08:03:30 AM
It was good to have Cullen. I would have been better to have Frank Welker as well. I couldn't really see the point of using an actor like Hugo Weaving when his voice was not really recognizable anyway.

I would have to agree with anyone who found the tape deck robot annoying. Aside from being overused, and not an original character, it just reminded me that Soundwave wasn't in the movie.

Funny, the resizing of robots as they transform was not considered believable, yet the Transformers just took on whatever vehicle form they happened to see without any explanation.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: HappyGilmore on October 26, 2007, 08:34:43 AM
I generally stay away from a movie if Michael Bay is attached.  But, overall I did like the movie.  Shia LeBeouf, I've been a fan of since the Even Stevens days, so it's good to see someone that's somewhat remotely normal step out of the Disney mold. 


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Jim H on October 26, 2007, 01:19:53 PM
Quote
As of today, 8 July, 2007, TRANSFORMERS has earned $152,600,000 in the US and Canada box office and another $93,600,000  overseas.  That's a total of 246.2 million dollars, globally, for a profit of nearly 100 million dollars.  That's after only one week.  That profit figure will only continue to rise.

Just a small side note: the studios don't get 100% of the gross.  Overall, it's usually close to 55%-60%.  They also spend a TON of money on advertising  (I'd say in excess of 30 million on Transformers) and distribution of the film.  Of course, they also got a ton of money from product placement and merchandising....

But yeah, with a worldwide total of about $700 million and brisk DVD sales expected, Transformers was an even bigger success than the studios hoped for.  It means we'll be seeing  a sequel, probably two.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Neville on October 26, 2007, 01:56:58 PM
(Shrugs at the thought of sequels)


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: AndyC on October 26, 2007, 03:18:58 PM
The good thing about sequels is that they can at least dispense with character introductions, and possibly even fix what they got wrong on the original. It happens sometimes.

Dumping the Decepticons into the ocean was obviously done so that they could establish their underwater base in the next adventure. Mind you, I would have melted them down, but that would actually have kept them dead. And Optimus sent his message to the autobots still out among the stars.

We'll probably see a rehash of all the lamest gags in the sequel, along with a parade of additional characters. As for the story, I'd kind of like to see the space bridge come into play. It would also be nice to see Devastator.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Neville on October 26, 2007, 03:23:42 PM
And another director. Please.


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Nev on November 09, 2007, 07:02:23 PM
I took this movie with a grain of salt.  A classic cartoon from my childhood brought to the silver screen.  Even if Hitler was directing i owed it to my innerchild to see it.  i did......

i was entertained for my 7.50$

was it the most amazing film ever....no

could they have played more in to the actual history of the all spark and megatron....yes

should the "epic battle" between megatron and prime been longer....oh i think you know the answer.

with many other gripes i have towards this film and the scum bag director, i still like th movie(of course my wife loooooved). Megan fox is hot, i don't mind shia lebouf(or however its spelled).  PUT IT THIS WAY, if you haven't seen this movie and you want to, mute the movie when people are talking, turn the volume waaaay up when explosions and robots appear :wink:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: BTM on November 13, 2007, 03:30:36 PM

In case anyone's wondering why Megan Fox was such a big draw...


(http://www.beyondhollywood.com/gallery/stills3/megan-fox-070821/megan-fox-arena-4.jpg)


(http://www.imgsvr.com/me/meganfox50800x600.jpg)

 :cheers: :cheers:


Title: Re: Transformer (2007): BEWARE
Post by: Killer Bees on November 14, 2007, 01:33:07 AM
I actually like Michael Bay movies (my not so secret shame is now revealed).  I saw Transformers on the weekend and I liked it.  I was never into the comics/cartoons/whathaveyou, so I don't have any particular loyalty to it.

But I was entertained and Shia LeBeouf is quite a good actor considering he's still young.  I just hope he doesn't saturate the market and end up with the public hating him because of over exposure.

I agree with the other poster who said that it's hard to keep up with the action sometimes, but I suspect if you have a honking big tv screen it would be eaiser to focus.