Sabrblade wrote:I think what those who want the Cons to win more mean when they say this is something like how Pirate 2 or Empire Strikes Back ended, with the bad guys getting the upper hand in the end and putting the story's conclusion on a cliffhanger that would lead into the next film, in which the good guys would make their triumphant counterstrike and claim ultimate victory in the end.
Actually, I'd like to see the Decepticons seem like more of a real threat. Even if there's no way the bad guys will win in such a movie, I'd like them to at least
seem as if they CAN win.
As I've already elaborated in an earlier post, the problem lies with Bay's obligation to the military. In order to save on budget, he enlisted the help of the military who lent him logistics support and manpower. In return, he would make them look cool and almighty. Fighter jets, bombers and cruise missiles seem to solve just about every problem in the movies, though much less so in DOTM.
A side effect of this is that the Cons look like chumps. Rarely do you see a Decepticon wipe out a group of soldiers, but most of the time, you'll see Con soldiers firing blindly at nothing in particular and then get blasted in the chest and die.
Before you say it, I realize that's why these guys are called "canon fodder." But when you only see it happen to the enemy and the good guys seem to take no casualties at all (human soldiers getting killed is apparently off-limits due to Bay's agreement with the military), it makes the bad guy look incompetent, and not even worthy of being called a threat.
That said, DOTM made a few improvements that I like. NEST soldiers now have more of a rapport with the Autobots, with scenes of Bumblebee training with them, and a soldier responding to Ratchet's instructions when using a mortar. Also, we also see Cons killing some human civilians, showing that they're not just for show.
Best of all, the humans had to "earn" their missile strike by infiltrating Chicago instead of just calling it in.
And to be fair, the first movie at least gave the impression that the Cons were competent strategists, what with Blackout's infiltration of the base in Qatar, Frenzy's virus, and Starscream disguising himself as an F-22 Raptor and launching a surprise attack.
I'd still like to see groups of human soldiers getting
at least mortally wounded in the battlefield (onscreen, not just implied), just to hammer in the fact that the Cons are formidable fighters as well. But as long as Bay has the military's aid and the agreement holds, human soldiers will always look invincible in TF movies.