[Ashura]

HERE YEE BE MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD.

Just got back from Transformers. It's, well, damn. It's pretty fucking amazing, considering. There are some parts which drag, but there's so much in there that's awesome. I know I almost had a few tears of joy moments, like when the Autobots were finally rolling up.

The typical Michael Bay ADD and explosions are there, but, damn, if any movie is meant to have explosions every 3 minutes, it's this one. It really got the fact that, yes, these robots are destructive. Sometimes stuff is hard for the eye to follow, but it doesn't override the awesomeness. It was hard to tell a lot of it was CG; it was actually pretty seamless. ILM are going to get enough awards that they can hold a banquet with all the gold cups they get.

Peter Cullen is awesome as Prime, as is Hugo Weaving as Megatron. The Autobots get more dialogue than the Decepticons, though. The Decepticons mostly speak in Cybertronian language with subtitles.

You get pretty much the amount of story you're going to get here. I'm glad they didn't overdo it on the backstory, to be honest. The Transformers need to find this thingy, so they get to blowing each other up. It's very comic book logic in some ways. In a movie with gigantic robots, though, I'm not going to get too scientific on them. Stuff works because it does.

Also, the first half of the movie is like nonstop jokes.

I know people will disagree, especially hardcore fans, but as a big Transformers fan myself I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. I'm glad I stayed up over 24 hours and powered through work and crazyness just to watch it.

PS, this is friggin' rad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kckakj8sH8I

[slipstream]

was there any way that transformers canon freaks were going to be pleased, anyway?
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[rf]

[Felix]

ebert's review reads like something on actionbutton.

[Teflon]

[SplashBeats]

Needs more TRANSFORMERRRRRRRRRRS

[108]

[Axelay 2]

The original 80's cartoon, while at times quite cheesy, was fun for what it was, but is no means something one would rank as a high work of art. So I wouldn't expect the film to be either.

My main concern about the film is that there'd be too much screentime for boring cliched human stuff and not enough for Transformers, as Spielberg (producer) in this kind of setting and Bay (director) often can't resist. I get a sense that Spielberg especially, despite E.T., doesn't seem to trust the audience being to relate to anything outside our own species on the same level to create a bond.

I'm also not really crazy about the jagged, seemingly impractical look of all the robots in the trailers, which seems more stylistic than functional. Yeah, I know it's a movie. Also, no in the film will utter a line beginning with "Me Grimlock..." which disappoints me.

Still, if someone could promise me that humans don't boldly save the day through some tired movie device (because at least they never did in the show), they might get my $10.

[dmauro]

[showka]

I am amazed that this universe somehow aligned to make a Transformers movie - a Transformers movie, made by Michael Bay - this good.

I would compare it to Tim Burton's Batman. Yeah, if you're really into Batman, you might not like that Batman kills people or that the Joker dies, etc etc etc. But its still an incredible re-invisioning thats perfect for cinema.

There were a lot of flaws, but it seems petty to list them. If I could have made a Transformers movie, it would have had different goals, aims and themes than this one does. But I appreciate that you can detect honest inspiration in this thing.

Unfortunately, the commercial aims of this movie are so much more naked than the original. All the cars are GMC, and there's a tiny cameo by a Transformer that disguises itself as the X-Box 360. Also, the ending credits features a gag-inducing shit-trio of terrible songs that force a glimpse of the cynical environment the film was made in.

The 80's movie is still one of my favorites and I'd disagree with Axelay 2 a bit. This Slate author appraises it pretty well.

[Touran]

I saw the movie today directly after my shift at work, and yeah it's fun. There are some good jokes in it, but that's not really the point of a Transformers movie. I would have liked more giant robot battles and less dopey human bullshit personally. The movie kept switching from a serious tone to a "hey this situation is so far-fetched let's make the plot/action crazy too". Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't help but think that they killed a LOT of humans considering the material.

[rabite gets whacked!]

Anthony Lane's New Yorker review is probably more amusing than the movie itself.
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[Leau]

Not too shabby. The effects absolutely make the movie. This isn't a flick you could have done five years ago.

Is it going to stay with you for more than ten minutes after you leave the theatre? No. Is it worth ten bucks? Absolutely.

I agree though, that the decepticons definately needed more lines.
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[Mikey]

[Felix]

movie was the worst shit i have seen in a long long time. i'd go into detail now but i am too tired and frustrated (more tired; i was more frustrated then i had sex on the way home so now i just want to go to sleep).

[another god]

[DonMarco]

I've decided to buy a ticket to Ratatouille, and watch it. Then, after the movie, use the bathroom and sneak in to a Transformers show.

It will take 4-5 hours of my life, but! I should be "okay" leaving the theater.
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Still alive.

[chevluh]

[Teflon]

[Felix]

[SplashBeats]

The best Transformers movie had Eric Idle in it.

[Toups]

[showka]

[DJ]

[Broco]

[Drem]

I was rather disappointed by Kids and Army Guys Who Talk About Transformers on all levels.

A lot of people seem interested in the unnamed trailer, though.


p.s. Is The Invasion about communists?

[haze]

I thought it wasn't that bad at all! In fact it was kind of fun, in a "videogame movie" kinda way. you know, like if you're able to enjoy Matrix Reloaded for its over-the-top kung fu and car chases in CG.

so it kept up the excitement right up until the very Hollywood-ish ending. that was a little bit of a dumb note to end the movie on.

It wasn't "X-Men 3" bad

[Baron Patsy]

The action bits were good. The jokes were abysmally stupid and almost embarrassing in their immaturity. The story was alright, though I would have liked a little more focus on the Decepticons and what exactly their various motivations were. They seemed a bit too hastily-introduced. The bit about the computer hackers or whatever was a little odd and underdeveloped. None of them actually seemed like fleshed-out characters, just vessels for furthering the plot.

Why would Jazz speak like a generic inner-city African American man if they learned how to speak from the internet? They seemed to kind of gloss over his death, as well, which also bothered me. It was literally just "oh, yeah, by the way, Jazz died. We lost a good soldier :( OKAY NEXT THING". Overall, I felt that the characters were pretty badly developed and written. I didn't really sympathize with any of them at all.

I have to admit that the complete siege of the military base at the beginning had me nearly pumping my fist in the air.

I'm excited about the J.J. Abrams project, actually. It looks interesting. I read a little bit about it on Ain't it Cool, and supposedly it's a sort of revision of the monster movie genre, about a monster called The Parasite, and it will be told from the perspective of people who were in the city when the attack occurred, as in the trailer. Recorded on handheld cameras! The article gave a name, but I don't recall it at the moment.

[Ebrey]

I was really, really pleased by this. It was still, clearly, a Michael Bay movie, but after seeing Pirates 3 "Michael Bay bloating" doesn't seem that bad. It was consistently funny or badass. This is the movie I've wanted to see all summer and haven't gotten from the crappy Spider-Man, Pirates, and Ocean's sequels. I hope Hollywood takes more hints from this than those movies.

Oh, and I had never seen a Transformers cartoon before.

[Drem]

[wourme]

I was expecting Transformers to have a poor script but be redeemed by the action sequences. I got what I expected, but wow, the writing in places almost made something like Independence Day look like fine literature. And could they possibly have included any more bad jokes and pop culture references?

I thought that the transformation sequences alone made this worth seeing. But I think it would have been a much better film had none of the humans in it had any lines.

[km]

This movie was awesome, in that it was about giant robots punching each other.


Also, the unnamed trailer better either be:

A) NEW GODZILLA MOVIE (I was almost literally praying that after the camera panned off the head of the statue of liberty, the audio on the camcorder would go out of sync or something while someone yells "OH NO IT IS GOZIRAA" and points)

or

B) SUPER MARIO BROTHERS 2: DONKEY KONG: THE ARCADE GAME: THE MOVIE
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vi) RPGs (Role-Playing Games)
For adolescents; half-formed personalities roaming (in packs) in search of identity.

[another god]

Wasn't the "unnamed trailer" for a movie called Bad Robot? That was the fakish looking movie about big crazy shit happening in NY, right? The title was all poorly displayed, but it was definitely Bad Robot.
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interdimensional

[km]

Bad Robot is a production company.

According to wikipedia, the "unnamed film by J.J. Abrams" is currently called Cloverfield
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vi) RPGs (Role-Playing Games)
For adolescents; half-formed personalities roaming (in packs) in search of identity.

[dmauro]

omg, I just remembered that an xbox 360 gets turned into a Transformer in this movie. I was reminded by Worm's avatar, and now I want an xbox 360 Transformer avatar.

edit: I guess I should mention that I saw this movie and it's completely ridiculous. It feels about 4 hours long. Continuity is not observed much. It truly is 100 times better than Armageddon (it's silly and nonsensical in the same way, but even more so). People were confused by my descriptions of the movie so far because I'm only throwing superlatives at them saying the movie is "disorienting", "unbelievable" or that it will "blow your mind wide open," but the thing is, this movie is beyond value judgements. It's a treatise on how a misanthropic madman who was weaned on Hollywood movies can melt your brain with a seemingly innocent movie.

I went into this thinking it would be fun to go and get drunk and kind of cheer and jeer the movie, but I came out feeling like Michael Bay had sucked the life out of me and replaced it with confusion, awe, and despair.

I should also mention that this movie features the best "internet invades cinema" moment ever when one of the Decepticons interrogates a human: "ARE YOU USERNAME:LADIESMAN217?! WHERE IS EBAY ITEM 277644928?!"

[spoiler]They kill the black robot lol[/spoiler]
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[showka]

I also thought it was too bad that the only good robot to die was representative of black people. I guess thats because nobody else fucked with Megatron.

There were tons of problems with this movie. I'm just surprised people didn't see a lot of it coming. Micheal Bay seems to excel at a kind of "comedy" that is only decent if seen with a theater full of people who are gopped up on goof balls. I really tried to enjoy myself and just go with the flow and so ended up laughing with most of the things. But doing this, as well as ignoring the multitude of pacing and plot problems, required shutting off a part of my brain. I'll probably buy the DVD when it comes out, but I doubt I'll be able to keep from being bored to death for the first hour after the opening attack scene.

If you guys want pretty good Transformers stories, separated from ugly, stupid canon while also not being overwhelmingly dumb, I again suggest Transformers Infiltration along with Transformers Escalation.

[DonMarco]

[Ashura]

Actually, Jazz was intended to die in the original Transformers Movie, but Scatman Crothers (also known for Hong Kong Phooey, Blackbelt Jones, and Roots) himself passed away halfway through the movie's creation.

As a sign of respect, they decided not to kill Jazz off. This is why he survives Unicron's acid pits, and is (I believe) shown at the end of the movie during the 'here here' speech given by Rodimus. He is also shown in the background a bunch of times (usually with Cliffjumper) in the third series to futher honor Scatman Crothers' memory.

There's an interview somewhere out there where Crothers' widow talks about how great the Transformers people were and how he loved doing the show.

Also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sfxDvNi_2k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TtuSgfyeMs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-niZY12x4U

[Baron Patsy]

[haze]

if he learned to speak jive on the internet then he'd be some kind of robot wigger right?

I hope Michael Bay does a Dragonball movie next

[chevluh]