Evil_the_Nub wrote:GetRightRobot wrote:It's not so much Bay's style that confounds me. Actually, explosion obsession goes well with waring alien robots. It's everything else. A lot is the scripting. Terrible story telling. I know the movies grossed a metric $*&(^ ton of money, but they (all 3) got terrible reviews from not only critics, but many fans. The movies fall into an all flash, no substance category for me. It's as if, they don't really count. My complaint, is that as long as the movies continue the way they are going, it will always be a joke, summer action flick with no merit for story telling or character development. These movies will not impact another generation like previous iterations of transformers have. Why? because every movie now has jaw dropping special effects, 3d features and T & A. They are not special or exceptional in any way.
The G1 cartoon wasn't that special either, but people are still enamored with it. So enamored in fact that it's practically a weird obsession. It was a 30 minute toy commercial and nothing more. No great character development, no deep stories, just a bunch of robots looking cool so kids would cry and scream for their parents to buy the toys. And you know what? We loved it anyway.
Well, I hear what you are saying. And it's not incorrect. But compare some G1 characters. They had character. Slap stick, trope filled characters I'll be it. Examples:
Cosmo - sweet heart Russian
Tracks - arrogant aristocrat
Sunstreaker - vain pretty boy
BumbleBee - devoted sidekick
And these characters were not the major ones, well Bee was, but not like he is now.
You can fit a personality trait to so many characters from G1 and Beast Wars inwhich the description needs only a few words. The movies do not have enough time to develop more than 3 Characters, Prime, BumbleBee and Starscream. I mean, what was the deal with the 3 Arcee Twins?
What kind of personality did Jolt have? Or any of the dozens of nameless, non consequential charcters in the movies. It is a different environment. Saturday morning cartoons don't mean anything to children these days, the times have changed. A movie every 2 - 3 years cannot capture an audience like a weekend tradition.
Also, as a result of the times, Transformers are no longer the revolution they once were. Transforming action figures have existed forever in the lives of many collectors. The 80's ushered in a marvel of design and execution that had not been witnessed by western markets. Now it's nothing new. All major big-budget films enact stunning visuals, but it's common place. Even Dark of the Moon's daunting accomplishments in complexity are lost on most average movie goers, because it is now expected.
I think this is the longest post I've ever written, and I am not trying to simply bash on the movies or fans. If Revenge of the Fallen had been a 20 or so, 30 minute weekly series, I think it would have been much better. But in order to squeeze SO much (nearly 30 years of crudely hacked canon) into such a short time, ruins the ability to tell a good story.
Please people, don't think less of me. This is only my opinion and I just want another Generation of fans to be enamored with this franchise as I was. As many of us are.