Transformers the Movie

[Dobber]

Absolutely LOVED the movie!! Great Fun. Still don't like the bot designs though, they're too complex, not sure if it is even possible for those robots to actually transform into their alt-modes. Does anyone know if the cgi-team actually created the cg-models so the could really transform into their vehical modes without using "anime magic" so to speak?

Chris

[captain america]

I just saw the film a few hours ago.

Funny enough, I had the script for almost a year, and I absolutely loved what I read; it seemed to have good pace and I really --genuinely-- got a kick out of it. While it pains me to say this, I think Michael Bay's directing seemed to ruin what was an otherwise great script. To be fair, I had never bashed Mr. Bay at any point throughout the one year buildup to the film, and was quite convinced that the story would carry itself, irrespective of who was hired to direct. Unfortunately, the re-sequencing of certain events, coupled with the rather chaotic filming style made the film seem rushed... And the movie is almost two and a half hours long! This, combined with some instances of laughably-simplistic dialoge (not found in my copy of the script, I might add) had me rolling my eyes on more than one occasion. Certainly nowhere near as lifeless and starchy as say, The Phantom Menace though.

I hate to be the one to give credit to Michael Bay's detractors, but when they're right they're right, and I must give credit where it's due: they duely forecasted that his directing style would be the film's achilles' heel, and well it was. While the film is still watchable, I also feel that a trained chimpanzee could have directed the film far better than it was. Alas, I didn't come here to fling mud, and I will content myself to say that it is my sincerest hope that the powers-that-be at Paramount have the open-mind and foresight to hire a PROPER director for the sequel. My thanks to them in advance.

[Mowe]

I was hoping TF could get the same treatment as Xmen 1 & 2, that is, converting a surreal anime/comic story into a live action drama that addresses some of the real life issues as the under tone. From that point of view, TF was not as successful as Xmen 1 & 2. Lets get Bryan Singer to take over the sequel.

However, as said before, TF was still a lot of fun.

[T.V.]

Absolutely LOVED the movie!! Great Fun. Still don't like the bot designs though, they're too complex, not sure if it is even possible for those robots to actually transform into their alt-modes. Does anyone know if the cgi-team actually created the cg-models so the could really transform into their vehical modes without using "anime magic" so to speak?

Chris

They are engineered as much as can be with a visual FX model.

Prime consists of 10,108 parts. All of which are chained together to have a properly working bot model and transformation.

The CG artists admitted their is some cheating, saying the the robots are made out of more parts than there are actually in the vehicle. However, that sounds like Alternators' level cheating, where they have to fill the boot and engine bay with non car parts to make the bot mode work, but they're nonetheless all pretty size consistent.

However, the movie vehicles aren't modified with robot kibble filled boots and engine bays to reflect it.

[Dobber]

Thanks T.V. Honestly, I could forgive "Alt style" cheats because it's not REALLY a camaro and so forth and wouldn't need a real engine...per say. I was think more along the lines of say bumble bee's thick legs and such.....were the hell do they go and still leave room for the cars occupants in alt mode. and where does his hood and wind screen go in bot mode.

Again, I REALLY liked the movie and CAN get passed the whole magic transformation thing....it's just that I figured they could have made THAT type of transformer movie a long time ago if things where just going to just magically rearrange to transform instead of using the CG technology we do have today to digitally show a car REALLY transform into a robot and not alter certain mass aspects. If you follow what I'm saying . Anyways, looking forward to seeing it again, and the inevitable sequals!!

Chris

[David Hingtgen]

I'm wondering where the interiors go. On the Alternators it's obvious, but where's the mattress and pillows on Prime? (And how does a metal being make them, anyways---same question as how do they make rubber tires and glass windows?)

Another point---I really hope they make "Bumblebee gold" available on the new Camaro, but I doubt they will. I don't like "bright" yellow cars, but Bumblebee was a really nice "golden pearl" with almost a hint of orange. Best yellow paint I've ever seen on a car.

[JB0]

Another point---I really hope they make "Bumblebee gold" available on the new Camaro, but I doubt they will.

I dunno.... given the way GM's been pimping their license...

[Radd]

Just got back. Loved it. It's not without it's flaws, Bay does well enough with the explosions, but the action lacked any sort of reason to it. It was just a bunch of explosions with robots running around. You never really got a sense of any sort of strategy involved. Also, characters do die in the movie, but in none of those cases does it ever really hit you. I can't even remember one of the character's names.

The movie met my minimum expectations as far as plot and characters. My bare minimum. And my expectations were low. But, it did meet them, and I did enjoy it as a whole.

The character designs are still the worst part about the movie, in my opinion. For the life of me, I can't keep a clear idea of what half the Transformers in the movie look like in my head. The Decepticons were probably worse about this than the Autobots. I think this picture right here illustrates the most basic problem with the character designs:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/4987042...b21368b11_o.jpg

As others have mentioned, there's also no clear idea of just who survived and who didn't in the movie. Out of the Decepticons there's maybe three unaccounted for by the time the credits are finished, and that's not even counting those that appear for a moment only during the final battle.

Doesn't beat Pirates 3 for a good action adventure flick this year, but it's definitely worth seeing.

****

Editing just to say that the poll here is very poorly worded. Does the movie kick ass? Sure, well enough at least. Like I said, Pirates 3 was better. I also finally caught Hot Fuzz in the cheap theatre, and that was by far a better movie, too. But is "it's good, but not as good as the original" really the only step between "kickass" and "meh"? Personally, I think this movie is better than the original movie in a lot of ways, and worse in a lot of ways. They're both 'Transformers', but it still winds up being a case of apples and oranges.

Edited July 4, 2007 by Radd

[David Hingtgen]

There were only 4 choices in the original version of the poll, so there's only 4 choices now.

[Max Jenius]

Made me feel like a little kid again.

Only problem I had was that some of the action was hard to follow at times, but usually I get better at following that kind of stuff with repeated viewings.

[azrael]

The SFX was good. I'll give Bay that. I already knew the plot points from the comic and I didn't care much for the story (don't try to look for one cuz it's quite simple and easy to follow).

Action was a bit too complicated at times. Some of the camera angles really started to get me dizzy. And yes, they all felt too complicated, in terms of looks, transformations, and some of the action sequences. That's my take. Popcorn flick, but it might take a few viewings to get my stomach to agree with the food it took in.

[Lightning]

I liked Bumblebee's personality, for me, overall it was pretty good.

Although I still would like to see Grimlock step on Micheal Bay.

[Boxer]

Saw it twice, will probably want to see it again. Best movie of the movies I've seen this summer.

Loved the action, but wish Starscream had more of a role in the plot. Seems that most of the 'cons took backseat to the plot while everything happened around them. The only one who did anything was frenzy, really.

Then again with two more movies on the way, I suppose we can expect more perspective from the TF's POV in future installments.

[Radd]

It seems to me that Bumblebee in the movie seemed like a cross between the old loveable Bumblebee and Hot Rod. I also loved the not quite subtle jab of having Bumblebee parked next to a rusted out VW bug, and what he did to it. XD

[Razor x]

Made me feel like a little kid again.

Only problem I had was that some of the action was hard to follow at times, but usually I get better at following that kind of stuff with repeated viewings.

i felt excactly the same way!! loved it cant wait to buy it and check out the Speacial features.

Edited July 4, 2007 by Razor x

[Smiley424]

Just got back. For the most part I liked it. The funny parts were funny and had me laughing out load. The little homages to the G1 cartoon were a neat nod to fans . Action scenes were cool to watch, but hard to follow. Between the camera shaking and cuts, I couldn't really tell wtf was going on, who's fighting who. I thought the Bumblebee Barracade car chase scene was going to be badass (a la Bullitt or Ronin)but it started and ended in like 2 seconds, what the hell . Nice setup for the sequel though, next movie better give me more balls to the walls robot action Oh, and Megan Fox was smokin hot.

I recommend Transformers fans to at least go see the movie once.

[Ishimaru]

My favorite parts where the eBay references.

[T.V.]

I'm wondering where the interiors go. On the Alternators it's obvious, but where's the mattress and pillows on Prime? (And how does a metal being make them, anyways---same question as how do they make rubber tires and glass windows?)

Who said TFs are made solely out of metal?

Who said the windshields on TFs are glass?

TFs, like any robots are probably made out of various materials, including carbon composites with various (changing) qualities.

Emulating rubbers, plastics and transparent materials wouldn't be impossible.

As for the interiors, I guess they're split up in many parts and tucked deep inside.

[GobotFool]

i felt excactly the same way!! loved it cant wait to buy it and check out the Speacial features.

I'm kind of hoping the extended features have more transformer/human and transformer/transformer interaction. While I had a blast watching this movie and its the only one that has come out so far this summer that I want to see again and again in the theater, I can't help but feel they chickened out and were afraid to let the transformers be the true stars of the movie. Strip out the computer geek parts, add a few scenes that showcase the transformers as character and I'd go from being very pleased with this movie to being absolutly estatic. As far as the human roles go Shia, the army men and the sector 7 dudes really save the movie.

Edited July 4, 2007 by GobotFool

[kensei]

Doesn't beat Pirates 3 for a good action adventure flick this year, but it's definitely worth seeing.

If anything, POC3 was worse with the action sequences, particularly at the end where it was all very confusing. I thought the action sequences were done alright, but if you were to compare, POC3 does not measure up to TFs.

[GobotFool]

Doesn't beat Pirates 3 for a good action adventure flick this year, but it's definitely worth seeing.

I was thinking about this comment and I have to agree and disagree. For me Pirates 3 was a little uneven with its story to action distribution. To much story and character development with not enough swashbuckling action, which is all I went to see POTC3 for. Pirates 3 seemed more like a political pirate thriller and less like a swashbuckler adventure by the time the credits rolled, which left me feeling meh. I suppose it had to happen this way considering how badly the story to action ratio was off for the second one, meaning the third had to play catch up. Transformers has the opposite problem, a lot of action but not enough character development, yet it never seems to forget that at its heart beats the soul of a movie about mayhem and chaos. (okay okay, I'm not looking for anything deep, I'm just still stewing over my only big beef with the movie, the transformers as far as being characters go, minus Optimus and BB, got seriously shafted. Maybe if the two hacker characters were cut, two completely useless fleshlings, I wouldn't be so pissed.)

In terms of the way the action was filmed once again we're looking at two almost separate philosophies. Pirates really let you sit back and appreciate everything that was going on in an action sequence. Sure it was fast paced and a lot was going on in the background, but you could see it. The camera was steady and nothing obscured the view. In transformers it’s almost like the camera man was having a seizure while trying to film the movie. I know they were trying to create a war camera like feel to the movie, but the shaky camera and often obscured views of the robots was not the best way to showcase these FX marvels. It's fine in a WW2 movie, because most of us have an idea of what combat vehicles look like, and how they move, so even if the eye doesn't catch all of the detail, the mind can fill in a lot of the gaps. This is harder to do with giant robots, something most people, even mecha fans, are not that familiar with on the big screen. One positive though is that by giving a human eye view it really did give you a sense of how big and dangerous the transformers were.

The action was amazing in both movie, but Pirates filmed its mayhem in a way that made it a more enjoyable experience for the viewer. Just my 50 cents.

[Matt Random]

I enjoyed it although there wasn't much of a plot. There were a lot of cute moments and plenty of action although I do agree that some of it seemed to be there simply for the sake of having action.

Why did the military guy that seemed competent decide to run to the city and put all those lives at risk?

I could have done without the annoying Sector7 guy. His gags just seemed out of place. I enjoyed seeing the military air hardware.

[T.V.]

Here's an article about the CGI behind the movie:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology...826.html?page=1

[Ladic]

I enjoyed it although there wasn't much of a plot. There were a lot of cute moments and plenty of action although I do agree that some of it seemed to be there simply for the sake of having action.

Why did the military guy that seemed competent decide to run to the city and put all those lives at risk?

I could have done without the annoying Sector7 guy. His gags just seemed out of place. I enjoyed seeing the military air hardware.

are you kidding? John Torturro (sp?) was awesome.

[LL Cool VF1J]

The movie was great. I have not seen so many people so excited when leaving a movie theater. Especially adults. I noticed that the non-transformer fans loved the movie the most. I think the non-fans did not have such high expectations so they were blown away by the movie. Of course the hard core fans had such high expectations maybe some did not like it as much but most appeared to be pleased. You must see this in a theater at least once. Me, being the cheap bastard that I am, this is the only moive in years that I was willing to pay full price to watch. And the fact that I am willing to watch it again and again and pay full price is an indication that the movie is at least fun to watch. I usually just wait for movies to come out in the $1 theaters.

[GobotFool]

are you kidding? John Torturro (sp?) was awesome.

He, Shia, and the parents were the comic core of the move.

[Mog]

Saw it last night. Nice little summer popcorn flick.

I'm sure I could rip the movie apart with not that much effort. But I found it entertaining enough.

They only thing that really annoyed me was the heavy emphasis on the close-up shots of the transformers. I get that the filmmakers want to give us the "human's eye view" of the bots (and not kill the special effects budget too ). But would it have killed them to add a few more wide-angle shots of the transformers battling it out?

Oh yes, and Megan Fox's body......Dammmmmmmmn! (I still can't believe who she's dating in real life though.)

[Matt Random]

He, Shia, and the parents were the comic core of the move.

I enjoyed all the comedy in the movie except for Mr. S7. His stuff was just a bit too corny and out of place.

I liked the dad's duck and cover, the parent's bickering, the dog, the used car sales man, the hacker guy, the bots hiding in the yard and BB relieving himself.

They only thing that really annoyed me was the heavy emphasis on the close-up shots of the transformers. I get that the filmmakers want to give us the "human's eye view" of the bots (and not kill the special effects budget too ). But would it have killed them to add a few more wide-angle shots of the transformers battling it out?

I noticed a couple of times that the Autobots where in car mode instead of bot mode when it would have made more sense -

when Jazz is just sitting there in car mode at the beginning of the final battle and the last scene when everyone but Prime is sitting around in vehicle mode.

. It really struck me as odd and got me wondering when if the FX budget was stretched or if GM just wanted a longer commercial.

Edited July 4, 2007 by Matt Random

[Jolly Rogers]

Overall it did live up to the hype, although I was more entertained until the final battle. For the stakes invovled I was expecting to see armies of Autobots and Decepticons a la invasion of Zion from the last Matrix film or the epic scale war seen in ROTK, decimating the entire city in the process. The street brawl was a bit anticlimatic.

[Fit For Natalie]

Methinks it was a combination of a (in summer blockbuster terms) small budget and Bay's shooting style, but at the same time, even Bay doesn't shoot THAT frenetically when he doesn't need to, he does sweeping shots just as well. So yeah, I think that they just didn't have the money to show us everything.

But its impressive what they could do given this film cost (roughly, IIRC) half as much as Spidey 3.

[Vermillion One]

OK, I scrolled through a large chunck of this thread looking for what happened to Barracade between the highway and the final battle. Did I miss something or did he not make it to Mission City?

[HoveringCheesecake]

OK, I scrolled through a large chunck of this thread looking for what happened to Barracade between the highway and the final battle. Did I miss something or did he not make it to Mission City?

His death scene was cut (apparently). He was supposedly killed after Bonecrusher. I'd prefer that they ignore that and keep him for the sequel.

[Vermillion One]

His death scene was cut (apparently). He was supposedly killed after Bonecrusher. I'd prefer that they ignore that and keep him for the sequel.

Thanks. I share your same preference.

[azrael]

BTW, we now have spoiler tags built into this version of IPB. So you can hide your spoilers now without resorting to fancy font changes.

Barracade's death was in the comics. From the looks of it, it would have been a short scene anyways.

[VortexVFX]

It blew me away and I'm a hardcore fan.

My favorite part in the movie was the Bumble Bee wiz scene. '

A bit juvenile, but it was still funny.

I'll buy the dvd when it comes out.