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Oh, right. Michael Bay is still churning out this offal.
Good
Shia Lebooof is gone
Peter Cullen is still doing the voice of Optimus
Mark Wahlberg is fun to watch on screen
Dinobots are in (and recognizable as Dinobots)
Bad
*sigh* Bay... was really hoping he would finally step aside and give another director a shot at this. Especially since he did say the 3rd TF movie was to be his last one (honestly I don't have much against Bay - he makes what he makes and obviously there is an audience for it - and he consistently makes profitable movies - but I would love to see another director's take on TF)
No idea what the story is supposed to be about but there is yet another shot of Optimus gettin' himself killed again
SCREAMING!!! (as opposed to EXPLOSIONS! I guess)
Is that Megatron back again too?!
Can't wait.
Didn't care for the last movie though. Wouldn't mind someone else getting a crack at the series.
Can't wait.
Didn't care for the last movie though. Wouldn't mind someone else getting a crack at the series.
Joss Whedon : Freehold :: Michael Bay : Ambrosia
Is that Megatron back again too?!
Can't wait.
Didn't care for the last movie though. Wouldn't mind someone else getting a crack at the series.
Joss Whedon : Freehold :: Michael Bay : Ambrosia
Is that Megatron back again too?!** spoiler omitted **
I'm sorry we are at odds here, Amby...
I'm sorry we are at odds here, Amby...Joss Whedon : Freehold :: Michael Bay : AmbrosiaCan't wait.
Didn't care for the last movie though. Wouldn't mind someone else getting a crack at the series.
Don't worry, I don't consider us at odds at all. Besides, I'm certain once I have banished Bay (along with Lucas) back to the Plane of Destroying Childhood Nostalgia, I and the Force Ghost of Roger Ebert will be able to get you a nice Bay-deprogramming specialist. ;)
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I actually liked the first film. A lot. Second was kinda good. Third was a little to narmy. Nothing to hate as of yet.
{kneels in meditation chamber before flickering ghost of Darth Ebert} If Hama could be turned, he would be a powerful ally.
Don't worry, I don't consider us at odds at all. Besides, I'm certain once I have banished Whedon (along with Zuckerberg) back to the Plane of Plagiarism, I and the Force Ghosts of Atsutoshi Uehara, Yohihiro Tomita, Takehiko Ito and the Winklevoss twins will be able to get you a nice Whedon - deprogramming specialist. ;)I'm sorry we are at odds here, Amby...Joss Whedon : Freehold :: Michael Bay : AmbrosiaCan't wait.
Didn't care for the last movie though. Wouldn't mind someone else getting a crack at the series.
fify
I liked the first two. I hated it in the third movie when Laboof's character got a different girlfriend (assumed some schedule differences?). But I liked it when they had Leonard Nemoy in there, especially when he quoted Trek! :D
The 4th one looks like almost a reboot. Optimus kept the same shape through out the 3 movies and I was of the impression that he couldn't change into a beat up 'flat front' style truck. I know Bumblebee started out in the first movie as an old car and turned in to a flashy one when the main character complained. But that was a minor change.
I think the dinobots is a bit much, catering to the public.
With Nemoy in one movie I am wondering if this is going to turn into a kind of trek series of movies where they are just a bunch of bad movies that just get enough money to make the next movie.
Can't wait for TF10!!
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It is for kids. That is what most people don't get.
I wouldn't call a scheduled difference when Megan Fox called Michael Bay Hitler. But hey, that's me.
I'm gonna go to the movies and enjoy this one about as much as I enjoyed the previous three. Because I don't have some moronic serous standards I have seen some people sport.
I recently saw Transformers 3 and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had been led to believe. In fact, I thought it was pretty okay (unlike Transformers 2 which was just stupid.)
No Shia is a pretty big plus for a 4. :)
I like them as popcorn fare as well. I do wish they would tone down the actions scenes and the fast cuts enough to see what is happening. The trailer is already guilty of it. The scenes cut so fast it is hard to see what is happening.
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I like them as popcorn fare as well. I do wish they would tone down the actions scenes and the fast cuts enough to see what is happening. The trailer is already guilty of it. The scenes cut so fast it is hard to see what is happening.
That unfortunately seems to be the standard in action film making these days. Cuts every half-second and zoomed in too close to actually be able to tell WTF is going on.
To the point where I've stopped being disappointed in it, really. Instead, I'm just impressed when a film actually manages to do an action scene well, and I'm able to tell TWF is going on.
Ain't that sad? I'm impressed the mere competence these days.
A post-catastrophe movie that seems to acknoledge the mass destruction of the previous film. Good.
they're destroying yet another city? This is starting to get really old in hollywood movie nowadays...
That trailer is amazingly hard to watch. I've seen it made fun of that trailers always fade to black between shots, but this one even fades to black several times on the same shot.
I dont want to see this movie but I want to see Grimlock and the Dinosaurs on the big screen... and the idea that this time its humans against transformers would actually have potential for a great plot, but I know Bay is going to screw it up.
I hope Godzilla and the Guardians of the Universe will be enough this year to keep me from going to see it.
It is for kids. That is what most people don't get.
I wouldn't call a scheduled difference when Megan Fox called Michael Bay Hitler. But hey, that's me.
I'm gonna go to the movies and enjoy this one about as much as I enjoyed the previous three. Because I don't have some moronic serous standards I have seen some people sport.
I know I'm responding to an old post here, but I think it's a point worth making. While it's not really a problem for kids that are say 8 or older (depending on the child of course), I did have major issues with the number of parents who just took a bunch of 5 year olds to see Revenge of the Fallen. Seriously, the fight scene in the forest where Optimus bites it? Screaming and crying all through the theatre. These poor kids were freaking out.
Pretty sure I saw the same parents taking their kids to the first G.I. Joe film, and again, they didn't handle it well.
That said, I've enjoyed each of the movies so far, though when re-watching them I do tend to just fast forward anything that isn't robots fighting. And they're a bit hard for me to watch now, while I was sick in China on a business trip last year the movie channel the hotel had was showing a Michael Bay marathon every day for a week. So I saw Bad Boys I & II, The Rock, and the Transformers films way too many times in a short period of time
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You have got to be kidding me. Maybe youre younger than me, but I saw optimus prime die the first time in theatres god knows how many years ago and there was no namby pamby kids freaking out. Crying and sadness at the death of a beloved character? Yeah. Freaking out on the level you describe? No. We all watched the rest of the movie and enjoyed it.
I'm 25. I grew up watching the original Transformers and the first movie, and didn't have a problem with it. But there was a big difference between the Transformers: The Movie animated death of Optimus and the death shown in Revenge of the Fallen. That whole movie was explosions, gunfire, fighting and non-stop noise and visual barrages. I don't really have a problem with kids barely old enough to be out of pre-school getting upset by it, I have a problem with the parents taking them to see it.
The Transformers films aren't so much for kids as they are films based on a children's cartoon made for the adults who grew up with the show.
FYI, each of the Transformers movies so far have been rated M here in Australia. Which means "Mature". Not necessarily entirely unsuitable for younger audiences, but it's generally assumed that they're talking about kids of at least 8 or 9 years old. There's nothing to stop them going in, though many cinemas will warn parents that the movie may not be suitable. I was going to M rated movies at the cinema from age 8, but only after my parents had okayed them and in some cases decided to go with me (first one I saw was Angela's Ashes, but I'd already read the book so my mother figured it couldn't hurt). Sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, taking a bunch of 5 year olds to a film suggested for mature audiences is just negligent.
It's not like I'm a person who thinks children need to be protected from anything slightly controversial or confronting. Hell, I took my 14 year old cousin to see a comedy show by Dayne Rathbone that was full of satirical racism, misogyny, sexual humour and generally just crass. But I'm a big believer in making sure that the child can handle what they're going to be seeing. In my cousin's case, I had no concerns on that front, and just okayed it with his parents. Similarly, I'll take his little brother to see superhero movies, because he's proven he can handle it. But I'd never have taken them to see the Avengers if they were 5, or any of the other MCU films. Same deal applies for Transformers.
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Yeah I remember being mentally scarred as a kid watching all the TV famous autobots bite it execution style in the first 10 min of the animated '86 movie. Talk about a trip. Doubt the Bay version is that horrific. Of course I only watch about 20 min of these things before turning them off. Who are these movies made for certainly not kids or adults. Adult-kids?
I actually quite like the new films. I'm pretty undemanding of my popcorn entertainment. But the Optimus death scene in Revenge of the Fallen is a pretty intense moment in the film. It's loud, it's chaotic, the human characters are visibly upset by it and I'm not surprised that kids that young picked up on all of it and found it distressing.
I don't remember being affected at all by the animated film apart from enjoying it, but my reactions to things when I was younger weren't exactly typical from what my parents have told me.
One of my few really clear memories from my childhood prior to high school is actually telling off an old lady who was having a go at my mother for taking me to the Angela's Ashes film adaptation, when I turned around and responded with "Actually I read the book two years ago, so why wouldn't I watch the movie?". I probably didn't see that many films that were outside my age range before I was 10, purely because my family didn't watch a whole lot of films. I did grow up watching stuff like Monty Python's Flying Circus, Bottom, The Young Ones, Black Adder, The Doug Anthony All Stars, etc, which looking back explains a lot about my sense of humour these days...
It made for a pretty lonely childhood, as I didn't have a whole lot to relate to the other kids about (didn't help that I didn't play sports, and was a fairly sickly kid, listened to rock and alternative instead of pop AND had long hair, a cardinal sin for a boy in my hometown in those days). There were maybe two other kids who shared my interests before I hit high school and met others who were starting to read the fantasy I was already into, and discovered D&D with them.
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I'm not watching any Bay Transformers film unless Bay himself dies on screen.
I cried like a baby at the end of ET when it came out. I was 9.
Now I think it ranks high on the worst movies ever made list.
Things change.
So you were ahead of the pack as a kid when it comes to maturity? You were able to handle stuff like this compared to most kids. After all these years of an early development and being a reader you consider Transformers to be adult entertainment. Is that about it?
Jesus dude, what's with the hostility? Remember the most important rule of the messageboards. There's no need or reason to make your response a snarky attack instead of just a polite response. Why try and belittle someone for giving their opinion and reasoning?
I gave the background not to make myself sound good/smart*, just to demonstrate an example of choosing what to allow children to watch based on the child, and the best example I have of that is my parents raising me, because it directly affected me. I also specifically pointed out that I didn't watch movies like this (or the 90s equivalents) when I was under 10, partially because at the time my family just didn't watch that many films, but also because my parents had decided that there were some things that weren't appropriate for me yet.
But no, since you ask, that's not what I said at all. I don't consider Bay's Transformers films to be anything more than popcorn entertainment made for fans of a show who have grown up with it, and are now adults. That doesn't mean it's only for adults, just that it's aimed at an older audience than the cartoons are, with probably the lower age limit to my mind being 8 or 9 at the least. The films are undeniably more violent, and contain more adult themes than the cartoons do.
The main point I was making is that it's important to make sure you pick something appropriate for the child, and that obviously it's going to vary on a case by case basis.
Maybe a better example would be Trainspotting. I got given a copy of that film for my 17th birthday. My younger brother was 14 at the time, and asked if he could watch it. While I didn't have an issue with it, I left the decision up to our parents, because the film is R18+, and it wasn't my right to decide it was appropriate. They watched the film, thought about it, and said that it was okay as long as I watched it with him and he went to them with any questions about it, because they thought he could handle it.
That's the kind of responsibility I think parents should take when it comes to deciding what to take their children to see. Not necessarily watching the film first, but just doing a modicum of research.
I just don't understand why you seem to have such a problem with me saying that parents should seriously consider if these films are appropriate for young children.
Anyway, this is now well off topic, so I'm done.
To everyone else in the thread, sorry about the derail. For what it's worth, I'm actually really looking forward to this one. I'm a big fan of Mark Wahlberg, so that was enough to get me interested.
Ah! Tinkergoth, I must apologize- not only are you younger than me by ten years, you're also not from America, which has a very different ratings system for movies. I dont' think parents with kids wouldn't be cautioned against the violence in the movie when seeing it in America, primarily due to the hilarious issues with the South Park movie when it came out several years ago.
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Tinker you are taking offense where none was intended. I am trying to wrap my head around where you are coming from. To me Transformers was a childhood delight and the thought of telling people that Transformers is not for childeren makes me sad. Sorry to have upset you.
I hate parents who bring children below the age of 8-9 to see a movie that might traumatize them and make them cry and annoy me with their presence.
See this is crazy I expect Transformers to be a kid friendly movie.
Ah! Tinkergoth, I must apologize- not only are you younger than me by ten years, you're also not from America, which has a very different ratings system for movies. I dont' think parents with kids wouldn't be cautioned against the violence in the movie when seeing it in America, primarily due to the hilarious issues with the South Park movie when it came out several years ago.
No worries. I figured cultural differences might come into it somewhere. Yeah, with M movies they often won't specifically warn parents about content here, because there's no legal requirement to beyond advertising what the movie is rated (which includes a summary of what caused it to get that rating). That said, sometimes even when there is a warning, some parents ignore it anyway... Casino Royale is a good example of that. Rated MA15+ here, meaning "Unless you're 15 or older, you're not getting in without someone over 18 to chaperone you". Technically it has to be a guardian as well I think, though that's often ignored. Anyway. Casino Royale, sitting in the cinema, and that brutal early fight scene in the bathroom starts up... at which point someone starts crying just behind me. I turn around, and there's a kid who looks about 8 sitting there with his parents, who look absolutely horrified, as if they didn't expect this kind of thing from a that is legally restricted to a specific age bracket.
Ah the South Park movie. That movie caused some problems here too, and was a perfect example of the flaw in my parent's reasoning. They didn't think about the fact that one of my aunts would just hire a bunch of movies to keep me occupied while I was staying with her for a week, to her it just looked like a fun cartoon. I'd never even heard of South Park beyond a couple of guys at school saying it was funny, and so at age 12, my introduction to the series was the film. Needless to say, my parents were not impressed.
Tinker you are taking offense where none was intended. I am trying to wrap my head around where you are coming from. To me Transformers was a childhood delight and the thought of telling people that Transformers is not for childeren makes me sad. Sorry to have upset you.
I hate parents who bring children below the age of 8-9 to see a movie that might traumatize them and make them cry and annoy me with their presence.See this is crazy I expect Transformers to be a kid friendly movie.
In which case I apologise unreservedly for misunderstanding your intent. I didn't see your post until around 3:00 AM, and by that stage I'd already been awake for nearly 48 hours (we're at 55 hours and counting now... god I wish I could sleep). When I saw it, rather than being processed as "Oh wow, Transformers films aren't for kids? Bummer", it registered as a snarky attack somehow. Unfortunately wires get crossed when I'm sleep deprived, and the whole "no inflection/tone for text based communication" certainly doesn't help.
So yeah, like Hama said. The movies are aimed at those of us who grew up watching it, and are now adults. It's the same reason that GI Joe went from being a camp cartoon about All American Heroes fighting enemies in silly costumes to film about an international team of elite commandos fighting against a bunch of nanomachine enhanced paramilitary team with access to serious weapons of mass destruction, the audience grew up, and they tried to change alter the concept to keep our interest.
If it makes you feel any better, there are still Transformer's cartoons being made for kids, but I do feel they're missing something compared to the old series... could just be that I'm watching them with adult eyes now, rather than the nostalgia that I get when I rewatch the earlier ones. My younger cousins and god-daughter love them though.
Transformers Prime is what you should be watching...miko is on a killing spree, having threatened to rip the spark chamber out of megatron's chest she gets her hand on apex armor and makes starscream cry.
Memo to self... Start watching the everloving hell out of Transformers Prime.
Thankfully my internet connection is finally hooked up at my new place, so this is doable.
Loved transformers prime. Loved arcee, the approach to violence and death, and the kids grew on me over time.
Seeing this tonight, will post some thoughts afterwards.
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Why do they insist on having all the squishy humans running around my fighting robot movie?!?
Okay. Just got home. This is initial thoughts only, I'll be doing a full review for the blog sometime.
Overall, really enjoyed it. Not an amazing script, but a lot of fun, and visually it was bloody spectacular. Also dinobots. I started grinning like a madman the second they showed up and didn't stop. Some of the performances were quite good as well. Mark Wahlberg is someone I usually enjoy, and he didn't disappoint me. Kelsey Grammar and Stanley Tucci were also a lot of fun to watch. Having Frank Welker voice Galvatron was also nice, seeing as he missed out on the role of Megatron in the first three films (though he did voice Soundwave/Ravage and a few others in Revenge of the Fallen; as well as Shockwave, Soundwave and Barricade in Dark of the Moon). Some of the other autobot voices were great as well. John DiMaggio as Crosshairs, Ken Watanabe as Drift, and John Goodman as Hound. Good choices all. Peter Cullen is solid as Optimus, as always.
That said, the bad... 2 hours and 45 minutes? Really? Yes, it was gorgeous to watch, but some it just felt like it was dragging on for no good reason. Very glad I didn't make my usual exception to my no soft drink rule and get myself a coke for the film, cause I'd have been bursting by the end of it. As mentioned, the script, not great at all. I also just honestly didn't like Nicola Peltz as the token damsel in distress most of the way through the movie. Oddly I had no issues with Wahlberg's over protective father figure, but damn it, her character just ticked me off. She just felt like a brat a lot of the time, and the character arc just culminates too late to really make me feel differently. Didn't think a lot of her boyfriend either, played by Jack Reynor.
Few things that surprised me, mostly due to my perceptions of the trailer being a bit off. Few characters I didn't expect to show up, a few concepts I didn't think would be introduced.
So, conclusion. Lots of fun, I'd watch it again, but not at the cinema (unless I get conned into taking my cousin). Dumb popcorn movie, beautiful to watch, just don't expect high art. I'd probably rate it about equal with Dark of the Moon, which means my rankings of them would go Transformers followed by Dark of the Moon/Age of Extinction, then Revenge of the Fallen coming in far behind.
Is it easier to tell who the good and bad robots are while they are fighting? For some of the previous ones especially fallen i had a hard time teling who was who.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Loved transformers prime. Loved arcee, the approach to violence and death, and the kids grew on me over time.
They grew on me too, though I was glad for a kidless conclusion movie.
Of course I loved Arcee, I'm biased though, her voice actress is a) hot and b) a local girl.
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I'm not going to see this Bayformers movie either (or any Bay movie), but I'm thankful to Bay & Hasbro for keeping the franchise rolling... 'cause that means that awesome stuff like War for Cybertron, Fall of Cybertron, and the pretty good Transformers: Prime gets made.
Also, Freehold and Matt, did you see the sweet upcoming figures for Arcee and Chromia, and Windblade?
Hurry up body, make blood plasma faster so I can sell it; I've got long-overdue fembots to collect!
Edit: The current Windblade comic by IDW is illustrated by Sarah Stone, who also did the original amazing art for the Keketar Protean and Astradaemon.
Is it easier to tell who the good and bad robots are while they are fighting? For some of the previous ones especially fallen i had a hard time teling who was who.
Each of them is pretty visually distinct this time in robot form and in vehicle form. Easily differentiated by colour scheme and design. Though I thought it was weird that Crosshairs' robot form appeared to be wearing a metal trench coat, but it still looked pretty awesome.
I'm not going to see this Bayformers movie either (or any Bay movie), but I'm thankful to Bay & Hasbro for keeping the franchise rolling... 'cause that means that awesome stuff like War for Cybertron, Fall of Cybertron, and the pretty good Transformers: Prime gets made.
Also, Freehold and Matt, did you see the sweet upcoming figures for Arcee and Chromia, and Windblade?
Hurry up body, make blood plasma faster so I can sell it; I've got long-overdue fembots to collect!
Edit: The current Windblade comic by IDW is illustrated by Sarah Stone, who also did the original amazing art for the Keketar Protean and Astradaemon.
I have some pull with bay. If you watch T4, maybe I can get you an Arcee figure as a brib- ah, reward for being a good sport!