SoooTrypticon wrote:I think the reason why I’m so bothered by this, is that people both involved with the film, and those defending it thus far, admit that the movie is really just about Robots fighting Robots- and plot and character and all that don’t matter.
They use the toys and the show and even the comics as a basis for this. That if the source material is simple, or downright dumb, then the movie doesn’t need to have any higher aspirations.
And I think that’s the thing that bothers me. It seems like no one was interested in trying very hard.
To quote an often discussed movie here on these threads:
“You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could and before you even knew what you had you patented it and packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you're selling it, you want to sell it!”
Why not strive to make something really wonderful, rather than just big and loud?
It’s this missed chance that gets me all riled up, and the brazen display of laziness on the movie makers’ part that puts a big “oh no” on sequels for me.
And before anyone says, but you haven’t seen the movie yet, I’d like to say, that at this time, almost every review, on this site and off, has pointed out that this IS a dumb film, with really cool effects. Some of the reviews may have been okay with that, others were not, but they all seem to be in agreement on that. Characters, plot, and rational thought take back seat to the ‘splosions.
Now wouldn’t it have been cool if the movie had that, and just a little something more?
I kinda just wish you were this articulate more often. I mean, you're still kinda playing off of some assumptions here, but I'm not gonna lie: they're not unfounded.
I think part of why the movie doesn't bother me as much is because American mainstream cinema has already been a let-down longer than I've been alive; in recent years especially, the number of remotely original movies has diminished
drastically, while the number of remakes and sequels has
exponentially increased. And because of that, I've seen some truly amazing ideas get shat upon: Alan Moore's vision of anarchy's triumph over facism in post-apocolyptic England was ignored by the film version of
V for Vendetta, while Douglas Adams' screenplay was lovingly ignored after ten minutes of
Hitchhiker's Guide, to name just two. But damn if they didn't draw in some audiences.
So, in all honesty, there was no hope of a dramatic, character-based space opera that the history of Transformers comics could provide. The idea was being pitched exclusively at mainstream studios, a toy line was riding on it, and from the very start the project seemed baneful to many filmmakers--no such film about Transformers, as you and many of us had longed for, would survive a producers' meeting as a viable money-making venture. And cinema, outside of Sundance, is still almost
purely commercial. Art--especially art based on merchandise--is bloody well hard to come by.
So we get an action-packed, fast-paced, fun exponsion-filled thrill ride, and the promise of hope that it would at least be the best at
that. Now that there's chance of a sequel, maybe the tone won't be so set in stone that some deeper character-based storylines won't be able to happen--maybe an exploration into Optimus' own psyche, or focusing more on the Autobots as humanlike characters with the loss of one of their own (it's too well-known to be spoilers at this point). It's a dim hope, but it's better than nothin' at all.
Personally? I hope the $10 will be worth two hours of fun, and I'll wait for the next wave of IDW comics for serious TF stories. Best we can probably do right now...
EDIT: Wow, five posts managed to sneak in between when I started and finished typing this, though I still stand by most of what I said. Gotta love depressing optimism.
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