The Energon Pub

Hey Everyone, in Australia! Post your reviews of the film here! Obviously there WILL BE SPOILERS.

I saw the 6.30 session at Blacktown, the cinema I was in hold just under 1000 people, it had maybe 150 seats empty.

Transformers is easily the Best Michael Bay directed film. Not that it is a hard honor to earn. Dont get me wrong, bar a few things, and the last 5-10 minutes as a whole, I quite enjoyed the movie.

Shia leBouf carried the film in my mind, it would have been a horribly dull and painful movie had he not been in it. Im sure most scenes that are funny were improvised, as the rest of the script is fairly poor. For the most part the supporting cast were very good, Anderson and Duhamel in particular. The entire Witwicky family worked exceptionally well, and you could tell that they had alot of fun in those scenes Fox was plain.

Cullen and Weaving did excellent jobs with their voices, the rest of the robot cast didnt have enough lines to warrant any real comment.

I thought the Autobots were portrayed as fairly stupid in general, especially at the Witwicky residence. Ironhide was probably my favourite out of the lesser bots, even though he was turned into the gug toting crazy funny man. Ratchet had next to no part to play, and Jazz was really only in there for cannon fodder.

Okay, now my gripes;
- Prime looked rather bad with his mouth, I understand why they did it, but I still dont like it, the fact he wasnt even close to being lip synced in this day and age is a shame. The Flames have not grown on me either.
- Megatron had teeth. why?
- The deaths were rather stupid, Brawl(Devastator according to a badly missed error) was possibly the exception, he took a beating, much like Scorpy and Frenzy. Jazz in particular, he was so easily destroyed, when even in the prequel book he cops some extensive damage. The 2 seconds of "we couldnt save him" was not Autobot enough.
- Blackout and Frenzy's deaths were lame, some little shells from humans with 2 missiles from the jets take them down... right.
- Prime was brutal against Bonecrusher, were was that brutality against Megatron? Megatron owned him all over the shop.
- Frenzy was overdone, funny for a while (particularly on AF1), but it got old real fast. The fact he was ahead only for 3/4 of the film really didnt make his death seem all that bad.
- What happened to Barricade? Did his fighting and death get cut? We dont even see him leave Earth with Starscream.
- Did Scorpy die? He tunneled away never to be seen again.
- How did Prime know all about Megatron? The Decepticons had to download the Pentagons data to learn the right info.
- At no point were the Cons portrayed as working as a team in an organised fashion, each Con was technically their own faction, barring the partners (Blackout/Scorpy, Barricade/Frenzy). Would have been a very easy way to flesh out Starscream, and even the other bots in 1-2 scenes. Starscream was far too under-utilized, he could have been easily made to be treacherous and seeking the Decepticon leadership, by fleeing the battle to leave Megatron to his death

As a whole I was enjoying the movie until the moment Sam pushed the cube into Megatron's chest. A rather wasteful death to an underutilized character, it would have been nicer to see him escape to play the villain for the obvious sequel, now it means we have to have a brand new Decepticon villain; Shockwave, Galvatron etc. None are as well known as Megatron. Of course they could also dregde him up from the bottom of the ocean, but why would Starscream do that? And how could his life be restored? the Allspark was destroyed.

The 2 seconds mourning for Jazz was very brief, almost non-existent, it would have been nice for even 10 seconds to be put aside for him. The whole Bumblebee wanting to stay with Sam seemed a bit forced, actually the whole final scenes were, they were the typical Action style ending, rushed and horribly written.

And it has to be said, this last complaint is purely from an animators perspective...
Why go to all the effort of making proper non mass shifting and intricate transformations, if you never show them in decent detail, and why have such over detailed robot modes when you cannot see a thing when they are moving due to far too excessive blurring?

Overall though, it was a very enjoyable film, most of my gripes are visual based, or are complaints about the writing, which for an action film truly was not all that bad. It is also one of the very few films I have ever seen that received cheers and a round of applause in a regular screening.
The bots were characterized fairly well for how little screen time they received, the cons had no characterization, but all the claws and spike made sure you knew they were evil.

Its also good for the non-fans and girlfriends, my gf liked it more than I did, she loved Bumblebee and frenzy, and was laughing her arse off at the radio gags, and "Sam's Happy time" joke. There were plenty of laughs during the Witwicky scenes, and the lubrication scenes. Possibly the single thing that got the most laughs was the scene were the FBI storm the Anderson's characters residence.

I'll give it a 4/5 there are things I dont much like about it, but all are fairly minor gripes, that can be found in many films. Mainly the final 10 minutes deducts 1 full point. It will definitely be a high grossing film, and it deserves to be, it is a summer blockbuster done right. I Will be seeing it again on Saturday, and I hope to be able to catch more things this time around.

Also, do not stick around once the rolling credits begin, there is nothing extra.

Well, here are a few of my thoughts!

-As I said in another thread, the way they dealth with Barricade sucked. Why the hell didn't they show BB defeat him?

-The bit at Sam's house dragged on, but it's the only bit in the movie that does.

-I loved the way army guy took out Blackout in the most over the top way imaginable. I mean, when I saw him get on the bike I just knew he was going to do something awesome. It was nice having a human badass in the movie.

-The S7 guy was amusing, and his singlet was pretty damn funny.

-I also thought it was funny how Prime goes "Aww Jazz!" when he finds out he's dead.

-Everybody was mass shifting, and it was most noticable with Frenzy, especially when he becomes Mikaela's phone.

-I liked Frenzy, but he was too ineffective against main characters. Killed a bunch of extras though!

-Megatron's alt mode rocks hard. In fact, Megatron in general rocks hard, and I won't hear a word to the contrary.

-Ironhide's British accent suited him.

-Not enough Starscream. Not nearly enough, he doesn't really do anything.

-I liked Sam, Mikaela not so much.

-The interview with Sam's parents during credits was kinda funny.

-Bonecrusher got totally owned. Which was a shame, because he was cool.

-Not much product placement.

-I liked the way Megatron was dealt with, they foreshadowed it too, so it wasn't just some random thing like in the script.

-I don't doubt Megatron will be back, possibly reformatted, I dunno.

-I think the guy who played Sam's friend was in Elephant.

-Bumblebee's voice was unexpected. I dunno what was wrong with it, but it didn't sound right. Maybe he was meant to still be injured or something.

Overall, I loved the movie and am definitely going to see it a whole bunch of times. I think the number of people here who actually dislike it will be in the minority.

I saw it at 9:30pm at Warriewood tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Yes it could have been a lot better, and there were a fair few problems, plot holes, etc. but it was still a lot of fun.


A few of my thoughts:

- Why does the Allspark only create psychopathic robots?
That Mountain Dew vending machine one was pretty cool though.

- Starscream was definitely under-used. Where did he even come from and what had he been doing all the time that Blackout/Scorponok and Barricade/Frenzy were working so hard to find Megatron?
I must say though that Barricade was really awesome! I was disappointed not to find out what happened to him. Hopefully he'll be back in the next movie.

- How does Archie touching Megatron's finger activate his navigational systems?

Caught the first session here in Perth yesterday. Here's my breakdown.

*** Spoilers throughout ***

Optimus Prime: Could very well your favorite Transformers' favorite Transformer. Charismatic as ever. I can't see the big deal with the flaming decals. They work for me (he'd look pretty dull without them actually). Reveals a sense of humour in this movie. Voice wise, Peter Cullen brings his A game.

Bumblebee: No longer a small fry, this edition can now stand up to the school yard bullies (he even takes out Barricade off screen). Probably the character that most people would empathize with. You kind of feel sorry for him when he gets the mob treatment by Sector 7. And he speaks in the end (which I didn't see coming).

Ironhide: Tough talker but in a nice kind of way. Had good screen time without really stealing the show. Usually at his best when he's in battle. But always good value for money when he's onscreen..

Ratchet: In true Ratchet style, he doesn't appear so much in the action sequences. But he doesn't exactly live up to the medic persona either. Quite a likeable character though. Had a memorable line during the alley way scene where he redfaces Sam in front of Mikaela and the other Autobots.

Jazz: Seemed genuinely cool (you know it from way he breakdances his introduction). Gutsy character. But really bit off more than he can chew when he took on Megatron solo. Yeah he dies.

Megatron: In two words - Bad Ass. Even after thousands of years on ice, he can still bring it to Optimus and win. No earth mode is seen. Easily has the most screen time of all the Decepticons. But didn't really come on until the second half. Voice wise, you wouldn't know it was Hugo Weaving (so I don't really know why the producers bothered with a big name actor). But certainly a very dark character. Nice little scene in LA where he flicks a poor human bystander out of the way in disgust.

Starscream: Genuinely and disappointingly underused. After receiving news of the Allspark, he mobilizes the other Decepticons into action... and you really got the feeling something big was about to happen for this guy. But in reality he only managed a few brief, albeit memorable, scenes (including a timeless one with Megatron - who as usual curses Starscream's incompetance). One of the few Decepticon survivors and can be seen flying out into deep space after the end credits.

Blackout: Introduced very early on in the [now classic] Qatar base attack. Probably not as big as early comparisons had him (although still pretty big). Disappears after his introduction. But returned for the final showdown and was KO'd by fancy fireworks from Captain Lennox.

Scorponok: Animalistic to the core. No lines of dialogue and didn't even transform! He does manage to tear ass through a Qatar village. But is sent to ground after a sustained air strike. Not seen again after this but almost certainly survives.

Barricade: Also underused. Has a few humorous lines of dialogue with Spike during an early chase scene. But seemingly taken offline (presumably as he didn't respond to Starscream's call) by Bumblebee. Good presence while he lasted.

Frenzy: Initial photos of this guy posted on the Internet had me dismayed. But trust me, Frenzy is a scene stealer. A feisty intelligent cross between a robot chicken and a ninja. Appears to be the Decepticons' espionage agent. Outsmarted and outmuscled in the end by human hands.

Bonecrusher: Ever since I saw the trailer where he tackles Optimus Prime off a highway I was 'in heat' to see more of this guy's handiwork. Unfortunately he only has about 2 minutes of pure carnage before being permanently canceled by Optimus Prime. Truly a disappointment.

Devastator: Yep, it may be a mistake. But it's now written into the canon. Previously known and released as Brawl, Devastator is quite a tough cookie. As with most of the other Decepticons he got nothing in the way of characterization. Seems to have been brought on purely to fight and took a pounding before going down.

Choice scenes:
- The brief Bonecrusher/Prime duel (in a way better than the Prime/Megatron duel).
- The September 11 style building rumble between Prime and Megatron.
- Starscream's barrage on the dam.
- The Autobot's intro scene in the alley.
- The Decepticons mobilising scene.
- Blackout leveling the Qatar air base.
- Bumblebee vs Barricade.
- The Autobots hiding outside of Sam's house.
- Megan Fox in a miniskirt (sorry).

Somewhat disappointing scenes & points:
- The ease at which Blackout was beaten.
- The Mountain Dew vending machine coming to life.
- The Allspark seems to create 'evil' machines only?
- Learning of Devastator instead of Brawl (guess I'll just have to get over this one).
- The announcement of Jazz's death was kind of sad.
- Very little in the way of the Decepticons. Had they all appeared at once the Autobots probably wouldn't have made it.
- Very little dialogue by the Decepticons except for maybe Megatron and Frenzy.
- Finally I have a problem with the fact that the Transformers are meant to be eons ahead of us. But hey, the army still has ways to beat them?! I know I know, it's just a movie.

All in know you just know there will be a sequel. Aside from the fact that it's pretty much penciled in, you cannot see this movie being a flop even if it got bad reviews. I mean the first Fantastic 4 movie got bad reviews and still raked in the cash. Transformers has so far got positive reviews only.

spiritofcat wrote:- Why does the Allspark only create psychopathic robots?

The AllSpark gives life to Earth electronics, but with no real brains (sparks) to control them.

Basically, it makes zombie Transformers.

Well Barricade sure got shafted, not only did we not see how he was beaten by Bumblebee, but his fight with Prime (after Prime has disposed of Bonecrusher) was also cut. (This fight is why Prime was so late getting into the city where the final battle takes place)

Starscream flying off certainly leaves the 2nd film very open, there are multiple paths to take. Jazz's death seems more wasteful in the 2nd viewing. Surely he would have targeted Megatron's head or chest where all the important systems are rather than his legs.

Starscream might as well have not been used as Starscream, and Megatron was the typical slowly talking and inching forward villain, rather than the completely evil sadistic murderer he could have been.

Still this film is worht watching multiple times, I picked up more details, especially in the action scenes on the 2nd viewing.

i_amtrunks wrote:Still this film is worht watching multiple times,

Quoted for posterity.

MAJOR SPOILER WARNING OF COURSE!



I saw the movie yesterday.
As a film it's great.
As Transformers film it left me wanting more and not in the "ZOMG can't wait for the next film!" kind of way.
It felt like the film was more about the humans than the Transformers. For over half the movie the Transformers are hiding around, and doing a poor job of it at that. Yes we get it they're completely new to the planet and have no idea about human society we don't have to spend more than a whole hour on it. The movie spends about 1 and a half hours just to bring about the main plots: Sector 7, the allspark, decepticons. The plot is incredibly linear. By no means is this fantastic script-writing. It would have been better to have alluded to sector seven throughout the film instead of a "Hi we're sector 7 and we're taking the film from here" approach. blah blah blah let's fast forward.
So we have a buid up to the final battle we're everyone is kind of hurrying into the city for the free for all. Congratulations goes to Bonecrusher for the least amount of screen time. I hated how they just killed him off within 5 minutes. Brawl and Bonecrusher come across as mindless drones "Hail Megatron" fight fight fight die.
The end is horribly anti-climatic. The twist of Optimus and Megatron being brothers is rushed. Jazz's death hardly mourned. Wait, where the hell did Starscream go?

Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the film alot. It was executed well and what was done was done strong. The camera work, the anlges, the CG, the explosions, the actions SPECTACULAR! I was wowed! The plot could have been done alot better. The Transformers were quite dull though and the Decepticons, well you could hardly tell they were there (except for that little twerp Frenzy. He just couldn't die!)

4/5 as a movie
3/5 as a Transformers movie

OK, my take. I'm gunna keep it brief considering everyone has posted their 2c and I can't be arsed with an essay atm.

Characters:
Human: Generally well used, exceptions being the defence minister (scenes felt too long winded) and
Bots: Well under used. Prime's face looks ridiculous, much better (ie normal) in battle mode.
Cons: Again under used, but I do commend the way that they were introduced initially. A prior cut to the later appearing cons when they entered Earth (or before they all merge to attack) would have been good though.

General:
Storyline: Considering the history they had to draw on, I am syurprised the irregularities that existed. I knew they were never going to hold true to everything that was devised 20 years ago, but more cohesion would have been good.
Length: Seemed a little long, but cannot think of any major scenes that were irrelevant. To be honest I am looking forward to the DVD and any extras they have, deleted scenes, etc, as I believe that the movie could definately been a longer movie played with a short break in the middle.
Animation: Quite good, if a little too fast! There are few scenes where they move slow to allow the robotic form to be captured for more than a fleeting second.
Car Scenes: Not enough. Being the car nut I am, I would have loved to see more car scenes! I understand the lack of Decepticon 'cars' caused this, I loved the chase that they did have though, as short as it was.

I do think that they have made it this way, in essence, to lead into the second movie to allow a much greater use of more robots. Essentially using the first as a platform to make the second and drag as many new converts along for the second as possible. My gripe with this is that the way I envisage the second will be the way the first should have been.

The flip to this is we all know how good sequels are to the originals, don't we... Hot Rod and Beachcomber better be in it.

It sounds like I didn't enjoy it, which was not the case. It was good, very good. Just wished they read sites like this before getting too involved to correct the minor things that annoyed me. If you go in to see it simply wanting to be entertained, definately go, well worth it.

Gee, longer than I thought.

My review of the TRANSFORMERS move is simple, it was AWESOME!!!

The Cybertronians themselves looked so real and believable, but then the SFX was done by Industrial Light & Magic, so what can you expect.
I have no complaints or criticisms of the movie at all, CONGRATS! to Michael Bay, Stephen Spielberg, all the actors and all the TRANSFORMERS for a wonderful and delightful entertainment extravaganza.

Stalinglad wrote:

fruitloaf wrote:Barricade: Also underused. Has a few humorous lines of dialogue with Spike during an early chase scene. But seemingly taken offline (presumably as he didn't respond to Starscream's call) by Bumblebee. Good presence while he lasted.

If I can recall correctly, I swear Barricade responded when Megatron was found. At least I saw him during the highway chase with Bonecrusher.

He did, and he was, then he disappeared. Trunks, you said that Prime fought him, but it was cut... how did you find this out? According to the script, they both fight Prime at the same time. I dunno what happened, but if there was a fight, I can't see why they'd cut it, unless they're gonna do extended versions of the movies LOTR style