Transformers: The Movie. Old and New.

[Ishin Ookami]

Okay, like a giant planet eating demi god, the new movie is looming over the horizen. For many of the old school crowd, this is not a good thing as many of the redesigns have several older fans coughing up blood and boycotting this film.

I'm likely to go see this tomarrow night. I'll give as full and spoiler free a report as I can when I get back. I've read the comic adaption, and it seems like the story is serviceable and functional enough that given some quality action sequences, and some good acting, and fangasms that the original voice actor for optimus prime peter cullen is reprising his role, it should actually manage to entertain. My hopes for it are pretty high, despite starscream looking like what happens when an F-22 and a primate engage in an orgy, and megatron looking like the majority of his metallic structure is comprised of black licorice.

I'm not sure if it will replace the rosy memories I have of the first movie. Younger fans just won't understand how awesome or shocking it felt to see the main hero engage in a brutal, no holds barred fight to the finish with his rival. AKA optimus prime vs megatron. Hell I also love half the lines from the film such as...

Megatron: Nobody summons megatron
Unicron: Then it pleases me to be the first

Megatron: I have already crushed Optimus Prime with my bare hands
Unicron: You Exaggerate.
Megatron: The point is he's dead, and the matrix died with him.
Unicron: No, the point is you're a FOOL!

Okay, so it's got the cheesy 80's metal rock, wheelie and daniel, and it's pretty cheesy, it's still one of the best movies taken from a TV franchise ever.

See yah in a day or two with a full report, unless someone else beats me to it.

[Crossblades]

Megatron: Nobody summons megatron
Unicron: Then it pleases me to be the first

Megatron: I have already crushed Optimus Prime with my bare hands
Unicron: You Exaggerate.
Megatron: The point is he's dead, and the matrix died with him.
Unicron: No, the point is you're a FOOL!



My favorite part of the movie(animated):)


But I saw the live action version last night(there was a special screening at my local theater). All I can say is.............WOW! Possibly the best movie I've seen this year. Lot's of action and humor. Worth seeing IMO. And I'm a G1 fan so that's saying a lot

[Zeromus_X]

I also got to see it last night, it was a great movie. Much more humorous than I expected, and there is certainly enough action. Not much else I'd have to say, I'd definitely recommend it.

[LunarWeaver]

I thought this looked worth checking out (and I'm not a Transformers fan at all really), but then I heard Michael Bay was directing it so I assumed it would suck. But now that it's out, I hear a lot it's actually really good. So now I'm going to see it sometime or another :jess:

I wish I could transform into a golf cart :(

[XxSephirothxX]

The new movie is actually pretty good. The plot is silly and sometimes they're a bit melodramatic, the acting isn't all that great, etc. It has all the failings of a typical blockbuster action movie, but in the end it doesn't really matter. The special effects are absolutely amazing, the movie is genuinely funny, and it definitely delivers as a summer action flick. Better than I expected, honestly. And Optimus Prime kicks just as much ass as one would expect. :p

I wasn't a Transformers kid when I grew up, so when I saw the animated movie I thought it was pretty bad. Humorously bad. But it was aimed at kids moreso than the new one, and didn't have the advantage of (quite possibly) the best special effects in movie history.

[Spawn of Sephiroth]

Yeah, I would agree that it is one of the best movies to see this year. It has alot of action and it is very funny just like Crossblade said. Definate must see. Just got back from seeing it.

[Markus. D]

If they didn't re-design... then the transformers would look like power-rangers Robots do.


which would be like D:... ick.

[Ishin Ookami]

If they didn't re-design... then the transformers would look like power-rangers Robots do.


which would be like D:... ick.

I don't mind the redesigns, I managed to get used to the energon/cybertron/armada/Robots in Disguise ect designs. It's just that some of those designs, megatrons and starscreams in particular, look awful.

I personally do like the new look on Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. true to the overall feel of the G1 designs but updated. But some of the others are just fugly.

[Lynx]

i loved the old cartoons as a kid and the old movie. i saw the new movie today and freaking loved it. awesome movie thats all i ahve to say.

[Sergeant Hartman]

Bring back Beast Wars I say!

[Kirobaito]

Bring back Beast Wars I say!
I agree. In that I am ridiculously obsessed with Beast Wars.

I'm really hoping to see this today.

[Ishin Ookami]

Bring back Beast Wars I say!
I agree. In that I am ridiculously obsessed with Beast Wars.

I'm really hoping to see this today.

Meh, I'm one of those that hated beast machines, the sequel series to Beast Wars. The original creators sold the rights to fox, who then proceeded to systemetically gut everything I liked about Beast Wars one episode at a time. So I'd say unless you could get the original writers for best wars such as Bob Forward to come forward, I'd say just let Beast Wars remain the excellent series it is, and not try to mess with the formula.

Oh, and technically they did bring it back, in comic form. a comic company now has the rights to publishing transformers comics, and they've already released one beast wars mini series, with another to be published starting this month.

[Kirobaito]

Bring back Beast Wars I say!
I agree. In that I am ridiculously obsessed with Beast Wars.

I'm really hoping to see this today.

Meh, I'm one of those that hated beast machines, the sequel series to Beast Wars. The original creators sold the rights to fox, who then proceeded to systemetically gut everything I liked about Beast Wars one episode at a time. So I'd say unless you could get the original writers for best wars such as Bob Forward to come forward, I'd say just let Beast Wars remain the excellent series it is, and not try to mess with the formula.

Oh, and technically they did bring it back, in comic form. a comic company now has the rights to publishing transformers comics, and they've already released one beast wars mini series, with another to be published starting this month.
I figure if you watch Beast Machines as what it is (because it couldn't possible live up to the awesomeness that was Beast Wars), it's not that bad. Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio didn't know crap about G1 TF when they started, they're just lucky that the series was set in a place where they could afford to mess up a little bit (for example, they didn't know that the planet was to be Earth... that's why it had two moons originally, they could just blow up one if they decided it was going to be). Skir and Isenberg for BM didn't have that safety net. They planned out the series, Fox asking them to do something completely revolutionary, and they did that. Some people don't like it, understandably, and other people respect it for what it is: a TF series that goes a little bit deeper spiritually, with the obvious lacking in BW writing.

And yeah, The Gathering certainly helps to bring back that Beast Wars feeling. I think part one of The Ascending is due out in August. They're written by Simon Furman, a G1 writer who wrote the final episode to BW ("Nemesis Part Two"... Forward and DiTillio asked him to, because it contained so much G1 lore with regards to the Nemesis and the Covenant of Primus).

I always thought they should have done a TF series of Cybertron prior to the Beast Wars, with Obsidian and Strika as the main protagonists.

[Ishin Ookami]

Bring back Beast Wars I say!
I agree. In that I am ridiculously obsessed with Beast Wars.

I'm really hoping to see this today.

Meh, I'm one of those that hated beast machines, the sequel series to Beast Wars. The original creators sold the rights to fox, who then proceeded to systemetically gut everything I liked about Beast Wars one episode at a time. So I'd say unless you could get the original writers for best wars such as Bob Forward to come forward, I'd say just let Beast Wars remain the excellent series it is, and not try to mess with the formula.

Oh, and technically they did bring it back, in comic form. a comic company now has the rights to publishing transformers comics, and they've already released one beast wars mini series, with another to be published starting this month.
I figure if you watch Beast Machines as what it is (because it couldn't possible live up to the awesomeness that was Beast Wars), it's not that bad. Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio didn't know crap about G1 TF when they started, they're just lucky that the series was set in a place where they could afford to mess up a little bit (for example, they didn't know that the planet was to be Earth... that's why it had two moons originally, they could just blow up one if they decided it was going to be). Skir and Isenberg for BM didn't have that safety net. They planned out the series, Fox asking them to do something completely revolutionary, and they did that. Some people don't like it, understandably, and other people respect it for what it is: a TF series that goes a little bit deeper spiritually, with the obvious lacking in BW writing.

And yeah, The Gathering certainly helps to bring back that Beast Wars feeling. I think part one of The Ascending is due out in August. They're written by Simon Furman, a G1 writer who wrote the final episode to BW ("Nemesis Part Two"... Forward and DiTillio asked him to, because it contained so much G1 lore with regards to the Nemesis and the Covenant of Primus).

I always thought they should have done a TF series of Cybertron prior to the Beast Wars, with Obsidian and Strika as the main protagonists.

I'd be interested in a Beast Wars series that gives Grimlock a little more screen time. I think there is a lot of potential there. Furman has, in the past, overused grimlock (note: furman writes him as more of a klingon type of character, intelligent (to a certain degree), tough, gung ho, but overzealous and a bit dense at times, rather then the "me grimlock munch metal" mess that was in the cartoon) and I think giving grimlock more screen time, as in Gathering all he really did was get his butt handed to him by magmatron, would give a unique standpoint. Another old war veteran and his views on the best wars and the current state of transformer affairs.

and, as not to derail the thread, any other comments bout the current state of best wars, how bout we discuss it via PM?

Anyway, back on topic, the reviews for the movie seem fairly favorable by this point. I'm still curious as to how some of the more old school TF fans are viewing the film.

Oh yah, on a related note. I just heard that the guy who played megatron in the G1 cartoon voices the character in the video game. Awesome!

[Mr.SimpleandClean]

It was an awesome movie...me and my friends went to go see it, and even tho i classify as being in a "younger crowd" i thought i was great. Even tho i have never seen trasnformers on screen untill last night..

[Kirobaito]

I just got back from seeing it.

It was absolutely incredible. This from a serious TF fan. It's not canon, obviously, but it is one of the most purely entertaining 2 1/2 hours at the movies I've ever been through.

[Mr.SimpleandClean]

I just got back from seeing it.

It was absolutely incredible. This from a serious TF fan. It's not canon, obviously, but it is one of the most purely entertaining 2 1/2 hours at the movies I've ever been through.
previews, dont forget the previews

[Kirobaito]

I just got back from seeing it.

It was absolutely incredible. This from a serious TF fan. It's not canon, obviously, but it is one of the most purely entertaining 2 1/2 hours at the movies I've ever been through.
previews, dont forget the previews
Rush Hour 3, the Simpsons, and that mysterious title-less JJ Abrams movie. Did I miss any others?

[Peegee]

The male child's pheromone levels indicate he wishes to mate with the female

(paraphrased). Utterly hilarious! The movie has its own quirks and its own boons and failings. Bay decided to call the matrix of creation/leadership the allspark (Transformers' term for the afterlife), but other than that, the movie is actually sensible.

I read an early wikipedia article that said that an xbox became a transformer. Also when the matrix of creation hit some mechanical objects it made them into transformers...I'm not sure what the consequences are of that. Also if you don't watch it to the very end, you don't know what happens to Starscream (did he fly back to Cybertron for reinforcements? WHO KNOWS)

The point is the film was a very fun film, and despite my worries, turned out to be worth watching.

Nothing can compare to the original movie though.

You've got the touch
You've got the POWAH
YEAH!
YouTube - optimus vs megatron (http://youtube.com/watch?v=WJ8Xuylu4Vg)

[Ishin Ookami]

Actually, that goes...

Optimus Prime: Megatron must be stopped
*music starts*
Optimus Prime: No matter the cost.
Transforms and rolls out
*You got the Touch*
*you got the power*
*YEAAAAH*


Damn that entire sequence was great. If you're gonna kill a childhood icon, have him go out like that.

By the way, I heard a rumor that stan Bush, the guy who sang "The touch" and "Dare", wrote a new song for the current TF movie. But I don't see his name on the soundtrack. I guess this was just a rumor huh? :cry:

Edit: Just watched that fight on youtube, I find it funny that modern kids hate "The Touch" in the comments section. One even asked if the guy who uploaded the video put that song in there as a joke. Sigh, and to those of us who grew up back then, that song rocked, and still rocks, so hard.

[Peegee]

I don't blame them, but kids nowadays are exposed to garbage and as a result are typically only capable of appreciating garbage.

ooc: somebody though 'the touch' was tacked on? Oh wow.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

This is the coolest movie soundtrack ever.

[XxSephirothxX]

The Touch is quite possibly the cheesiest song I've ever heard. Maybe there's a certain 80s charm in it, but there's such a thing as being too 80s, and that song is off the charts. Great for a laugh, though.

[Slothy]

Saw the movie tonight, and based on the comments in the thread so far it seems I'm the only one who hated it. Yeah the special effects and some of the fights were cool, though most of the battles were frankly hard to follow. And I realize it would be impossible to do a live action Transformers movie without it being at least a little cheesy, but the was rediculous. I'd maybe recommend seeing it for the special effects, but it's still one of the worst movies I've seen this year.

[Ishin Ookami]

The Touch is quite possibly the cheesiest song I've ever heard. Maybe there's a certain 80s charm in it, but there's such a thing as being too 80s, and that song is off the charts. Great for a laugh, though.

As a stand alone song, yah it's pretty much the embodiment of the 80's hair band thing that bon jovi went and started way back in the day. But I felt it worked as a soundtrack song. The movie itself is pure cheese if you are looking at it as just a film, but as a franchise piece... It works very well.

[ljkkjlcm9]

Saw the movie tonight, and based on the comments in the thread so far it seems I'm the only one who hated it. Yeah the special effects and some of the fights were cool, though most of the battles were frankly hard to follow. And I realize it would be impossible to do a live action Transformers movie without it being at least a little cheesy, but the was rediculous. I'd maybe recommend seeing it for the special effects, but it's still one of the worst movies I've seen this year.

This is the only negative review I've heard of

I thoroughly enjoyed it, if only for Shiah's humor and what's her faces hotness, the action scenes just made it that much better.

THE JACKEL

[Resha]

Saw it. LIKED it :-) It was very -- awesome. Fast-paced, amusing, the by gosh by gosh the action was amazing. I went into the cinema all resigned and skeptical and emerged absolutely fascinated.

[Peegee]

The ONLY thing that didn't make consistent sense in the movie is the 'allspark' (Transformers term for the afterlife) and the 'matrix of leadership/creation' which is the glowing thing that Optimus passed to Magnus and then to Hot Rod. The fact that it can't be in contact with a spark, or that it's a giant artifact was the only thing you had to look over.

Everything else in the movie is questionably acceptable. I couldn't really follow the rationale behind the superhot rounds that can hurt Transformer bodies, but whatever.

Starscream is overpowered by far.

[Slothy]

Saw the movie tonight, and based on the comments in the thread so far it seems I'm the only one who hated it. Yeah the special effects and some of the fights were cool, though most of the battles were frankly hard to follow. And I realize it would be impossible to do a live action Transformers movie without it being at least a little cheesy, but the was rediculous. I'd maybe recommend seeing it for the special effects, but it's still one of the worst movies I've seen this year.

This is the only negative review I've heard of

Well that's kind of funny. It's not doing well with critics (though, granted, I rarely give critics much credit), and for the record, the four other people I saw it with agreed with me that it was one of the worst movies we've seen this year, but worth it once for the special effects. And we're all Transformers fans as well for the record. Honestly though, on top of the storyline being crappy, none of the cheesy humour was all that entertaining, save for a few lines that got a mild chuckle out of me. Most of it was too mind numbingly stupid for me to like it.

[Sefie1999AD]

I thought this looked worth checking out (and I'm not a Transformers fan at all really), but then I heard Michael Bay was directing it so I assumed it would suck. But now that it's out, I hear a lot it's actually really good. So now I'm going to see it sometime or another :jess:

That sounds pretty much like my situation. I'll see if I can see it during the weekend, although I'm not sure.

[theundeadhero]

I've been watching Optimus Prime transform into a semi truck for twenty years and it's still fucking cool.

[Rostum]

Was good. CG and special effects were absolutely great. It did seem a bit lame but that's what you get with a majority of action-based flicks. But in saying that it did its job by entertaining me and gave me a few laughs.

But I didn't get that Cloverfield trailer, I was hoping to see it. :(

[Resha]

I've been watching Optimus Prime transform into a semi truck for twenty years and it's still smurfing cool.
fuck yes it is :( I want a car like Bumblebee!

[escobert]

Bumble bee is not a VW beetle in the new movie so it's a fail. and After the old movie came out I started not liking Transformers too much. I hated beast wars and all that crap.

[Ishin Ookami]

I saw it, and while I thought it was a quality movie overall, I actually thought it was better for the first half, before the big action scenes. They had some quality jokes in there, such as new bumblebee wrecking the older alternate mode of his, or him trying to set the mood for sam and that girl (forgot her name, just not her midriff ;) ) and other good lines and intelligent humor. Funniest line was when the girl commented on bumblebee's lousy paint job, and he gets ticked off, kicks them out, and then scans another camaro and switches paint jobs. when the action started, it seemed to lose some of that wit and intelligence and become about all out action.

Peter Cullen did a bang up job, his voice was a bit too deep at first, but soon after he seemed to settle back into the role and really nailed the part of prime. Hugo Weaving of Megatron had his voice so altered by the synthesizer he was speaking into, it really could have been anybody, but he still did a good job himself. The acting was strong all around, and the transformers were definitely cool in action, even frenzy. I just wish the story stayed as strong as when the action started.

[Dreddz]

I thought the movie was far from great. I could name so many problems with the film, where do I begin? Firstly, the story was a mess. Now, before someone points out that Im missing the point of Transformers and that I shouldnt look deep into the story, I couldnt help it, I literally couldnt. Bay tried so hard to sell this movie as both an action flic and a story flic but the story was never going to go anywhere, no matter how hard you try. The film was trying to cram a half assed story into my mouth when I didnt want it. When they were having heated discussions about the plot in the film I couldnt help but laugh at how serious the movie was taking itself. There are also some stupid plot errors in the movie For one, why did they think it would be a good idea to hide the All Spark in the city where more lives would be at risk in they had just left it in the dam And why must the Government be involved in absolutely everything nowadays. They wasted so much time throughout the movie trying to establish the Government's role in everything that I couldnt wait for it just to switch back to whoever else might of been in this film. Why must they do this to us when they know we just want to see the Transformers.

Ok, now to the Transformers. They looked nice, Ill give them that. Those were some crazy special effects, best Ive ever seen probably. But while they looked nice how they played out in the film was lame. Not enough dialog between any of them, especially the decepticons. More time went to establish the pointless Government agents then any of the Transformers. Maybe Bumblebee and Optimus Prime got some good screen time but the rest got maybe one or two lines in and just wrecked the hell out of each other after that. In my opinion, 90% of the talking should be between the Transformers. Its all about them after all. The action on the other hand was decent, but it still bugged me in a few spots. With so much crazy stuff going on its hard to see who's fighting who, and shaky cam sure doesnt help. And the lack of any character development for the Transformers meant that you werent going to be recognizing any of them because you didnt care about them in the first place. And they all look the same when kicking the crap out of each other. There were spots though when I was pretty impressed with the action, one slo mo effect in particular took me off guard it being so awesome. I was a tad disappointed by the fact that Optimus Prime and Megatron didnt properly duke it out. Where was the 5 minute long speech by Optimus Prime to Megatron before they kicked the living crap out of each other? While it did deliver on that part a slight bit it was nothing how it should of been.

Some people are praising the movie for it humor but I didnt find it that funny, maybe If I was 10......maybe.

[edczxcvbnm]

I saw this movie last night and aside from a few wrong names(mainly calling Brawl, Devastator) I was happy. I got to hear some classic lines, some awesome to the max action, a story that wasn't complete :skull::skull::skull::skull: like I was expecting and some of the best special effects I have ever seen.

Why is there even going to be an academy award voting for best special effects in a movie this year? I highly doubt anything will trump this movie in any way. Give them the award now and be done with it.

[Slothy]

Now, before someone points out that Im missing the point of Transformers and that I shouldnt look deep into the story, I couldnt help it, I literally couldnt.

I want to say I agree with everything you said. I also want to add, however, that anyone who remembers Beast Wars couldn't be faulted for expecting a good story. Then again, the guys at Mainframe back in the day had more talent in their proverbial pinky than Michael Bay can muster for an entire film.

[sir helix]

did any one catch the title of the movie that looked like it was filmed on an everyday camcorder?

i loved the movie but i wish they made megatron a pistel like he was in the original transformers cartoon.
most of the decepticons died to quick. oh and was soundwave on crack or something mygod

[Ishin Ookami]

I saw this movie last night and aside from a few wrong names(mainly calling Brawl, Devastator) I was happy. I got to hear some classic lines, some awesome to the max action, a story that wasn't complete :skull::skull::skull::skull: like I was expecting and some of the best special effects I have ever seen.

Why is there even going to be an academy award voting for best special effects in a movie this year? I highly doubt anything will trump this movie in any way. Give them the award now and be done with it.

Beast wars was excellent, no doubt about it. But I think the first half of this film featured some of the most clever writing and jokes that transformers has recieved since Rattrap asked silverbolt about the new positions he's discovered ;)

Bumblebee cruising to the kill bill theme after getting his new paint job, striking a pose after knocking out barricade, and trying to set the mood, and failing for sam to mack on mikeala were all very funny. also seeing the autobots stumble around the yard, and the other characterizations of the autobots, and some of the decepticons, were excelllent. It's just too bad more time wasn't given to developing jazz, starscream, and some of the other transformers before that big shoot out went down.

I'm not saying the entire first half was flawless, but it did have it's moments that I thought were clever and well thought out. I enjoyed the film more than I thought I would, and think it's a good film, just not great, even without the transformers fan service working for it.

[Kirobaito]

did any one catch the title of the movie that looked like it was filmed on an everyday camcorder?

i loved the movie but i wish they made megatron a pistel like he was in the original transformers cartoon.
most of the decepticons died to quick. oh and was soundwave on crack or something mygod
Uh, that wasn't Soundwave. That was a made-up Decepticon called Frenzy. Soundwave is not a runt like that. Soundwave will be in the sequel, most likely, but they were unable to find a solution for his alternate mode in this one.

[Nominus Experse]

I enjoyed it immensely, though I was riding a shot to the moon while watching it.

[Wolf Kanno]

I really went into this film with pretty low expectations, I don't necessarily like Michael Bay and the last movie Steven Spielberg was involved with that was actually worthwhile was Jurassic Park IMHO.
I also can't say the trailers impressed me nor did the idea of the show focusing on the humans sit with me too well (Seriously, if we didn't have to deal with those damn meddling kids, half of those anime adaptions of the series would have been cool. That and humanizing the Autobots:rolleyes2 )

With that said, I was completely blown away by the film. I was quite surprised. Sure I would have loved to see some more of the Decepticons and Autobots like Dreddz and Vivi22 mentioned, I still feel it did a pretty good job. I also laughed quite a bit (especially the mother asking her son if he was masturbating and the scene where Bumblebee tries to hook the two humans up, his choice of musical cues were priceless) and this coming from someone who most people consider not having a sense of humor. Overall, considering the people behind the flick and the fan expectations, not to mention the usually bad quality of adaptions by Hollywood, I would say it came off way better than expected. Though it really did feel like ID4 at times, it was quite good. Definetly the best movie I've seen this year and the first summer blockuster flick that I felt was actually good. (Curse you Spider man 3 and Pirates 3!:mad: )