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Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: jetxl on Fri 30/06/2006 09:25:17

Title: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: jetxl on Fri 30/06/2006 09:25:17
From the director who made Pearl Harbour (*shiver*) comes TRANSFORMERS the motion picture.

Teaser here (http://www.michaelbay.com/blog/newsblog.html).

Optimus Prime test here (http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/37886/Transformers_the_movie_optimus_prime_test.html). (Which has nothing to do with the movie)

It's too early to say anything, except that the Beagle 2 control room didn't look like Capcom but like a conference room with a few pc's hooked up. Wrong stock footage, Green Peace does it all the time.
They better not fuck up the rest of the movie. WOO HOO!
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: BerserkerTails on Fri 30/06/2006 18:37:34
Quote from: jet on Fri 30/06/2006 09:25:17
They better not fuck up the rest of the movie. WOO HOO!

Bumblebee's a Camaro. A yellow Camaro.  :'(
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Squinky on Fri 30/06/2006 21:16:46
My understanding was that they couldn't use a Volkswagon because of licensing issues that went way back to Disney's "Herbie the Love Bug"....Seems kind of goofy to me.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Snarky on Fri 30/06/2006 22:46:13
I heard they couldn't use a beetle because Volkswagen don't allow their cars to be used in anything with war associations, since they've had a PR problem on that front going back to the Third Reich.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Blackthorne on Sat 01/07/2006 01:12:20
Squinky and Snarky are both right - VW won't liscense it's image unless it's portrayed in "a positive" manner - Herbie was a positive image for the BUG.

That said, it's still a Michael Bay film, and lord knows he will fuck it up.  However, I think it'll still be entertaining - but it won't be "The Transformers" that was beloved when I was child.


Bt
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Helm on Sat 01/07/2006 01:22:57
By fuck it up do you mean botch the execution of an otherwise rightly concieved film? Because I think Pearl Harbour was an very competently executed piece of vacuous holywood  awfulness.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: MrColossal on Sat 01/07/2006 01:34:49
That and transformers isn't like some awesome story or highly revered bit of american entertainment. It's a terrible cartoon that spawned terrible comics and now lately even more terrible card collecting styled cartoons. If the movie is terrible than he's stayed quite true to the brand.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: skyfire2 on Sat 01/07/2006 03:56:39
Quote from: MrColossal on Sat 01/07/2006 01:34:49
That and transformers isn't like some awesome story or highly revered bit of american entertainment. It's a terrible cartoon that spawned terrible comics and now lately even more terrible card collecting styled cartoons. If the movie is terrible than he's stayed quite true to the brand.
I'm trying my best not to flame you for such a biased and ill-informed remark. Just because you don't like transformers doesn't mean that it's a bad series. Next time, say why you don't like the series and maybe something of yours won't explode.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: DGMacphee on Sat 01/07/2006 05:17:28
He did.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: LGM on Sat 01/07/2006 05:41:32
I thought transformers was supposed to be bad... That's why everyone loves it so, right? Kinda like MST3k?
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Squinky on Sat 01/07/2006 07:05:11
I grew up playing with fricking Go-bots, so to me, Transformers were uptown man.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Krysis on Sat 01/07/2006 07:14:34
Its a movie about giant robots in the future that turn into vehicles, right? That just can't work. It will be Holywood's newest and maybe biggest crap.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens on Sat 01/07/2006 07:17:34
QuoteIt's a terrible cartoon that spawned terrible comics and now lately even more terrible card collecting styled cartoons.

I will slit your face for this!  :=

Also, Transformers The Movie was the pinnacle of awesomeness...Aside from Ironhide being taken out like a pansy. ;(

Whatever happened to them just running low on energon cubes and passing out?
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Squinky on Sat 01/07/2006 07:58:33
I will just be happy if there is a scene where Cybertron says "I'm Cybertron, Bitch!"
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Las Naranjas on Sat 01/07/2006 08:41:12
I'm happy for all the people with fond memories, I just advise these people not to go back and watch the old cartoons or read the old comics again. Don't ruin your good memories with the horrible reality.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: ManicMatt on Sat 01/07/2006 12:28:04
Actually, not so long ago I spotted the transformers cartoon movie, bought it for a few quid and.... it was good! Dragged on a bit in places, mind.

And I should point out that I would have seen this as a child. Me and my older bro watched the cartoon a lot. And last week a friend of mine had his transformers comics in his house, so I had a look at those, and saw an advert for another comic called "Dragon's claws" which didn't have many issues, but I do know my brother has all of them in mint condition.

http://www.mobicomics.ca/covers/marvel/dragonsclaws_marvel_1_s.JPG

EDIT: Named the comic wrongly.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Helm on Sat 01/07/2006 15:59:48
Quote from: [lgm] on Sat 01/07/2006 05:41:32
I thought transformers was supposed to be bad... That's why everyone loves it so, right? Kinda like MST3k?

I don't think anyone has an ironic 'so bad that it's good' fondness for Transformers. Maybe He-Man I guess? And MST3k is so good that it's good, most of the time.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Ali on Sat 01/07/2006 16:27:58
I won't go and see this film, not because it has an appaling director, but because I'm such an adamant supporter of public transport that the idea of robots transforming into vehicles is abhorrent to me.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: LGM on Sat 01/07/2006 16:40:43
Michael Bay is not an appaling director. In fact, all of his movies, productionally speaking, are 100% A-grade.. It's his lack of ability to coherently tell a story and develop characters that bring him down. He's only half-appaling. Ed-Wood, on the other hand, is an appaling director.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Ali on Sat 01/07/2006 16:53:34
You may be right LGM. I just find it frustrating that Gilliam struggles to get films made because of the 'failure' of Munchausen while Bay has "From the director of Pearl Harbor" attatched to his projects as if it wasn't a critical and commercial flop.

Sorry for going a little off-topic.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Helm on Sat 01/07/2006 17:13:07
Gilliam's last few films "Brothers Grimm" and "Tideland" were extremely bad.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: MrColossal on Sat 01/07/2006 17:26:17
Quote from: skyfire1 on Sat 01/07/2006 03:56:39
Quote from: MrColossal on Sat 01/07/2006 01:34:49
That and transformers isn't like some awesome story or highly revered bit of american entertainment. It's a terrible cartoon that spawned terrible comics and now lately even more terrible card collecting styled cartoons. If the movie is terrible than he's stayed quite true to the brand.
I'm trying my best not to flame you for such a biased and ill-informed remark. Just because you don't like transformers doesn't mean that it's a bad series. Next time, say why you don't like the series.

What is there to flame? Just about every cartoon from the 80's and early 90's is crap made to sell toys. Thundercats is a hideous cartoon, Silverhawks is even worse and Transformers is no better.

Are the toys awesome? Yes, Transformers toys are some of the best toys from my childhood. In my opinion that is where people's love of Transformers comes from. They remember the toys because there's not much to remember about them, same with the cartoon. What awesome storylines and intense action did the cartoon series have? Does anyone remember? Sure we can remember the movie but what about the series.

I think the only one I can remember is some decepticon made holograms of energon and a hologram of a base to trick the autobots into attacking, then when they attacked the hologram went away and decepticons were everywhere and then they all shot at each other and ran away. I'm guessing the autobots eventually tricked the decepticons to wrap up the story.

It doesn't matter anyway, every episode of the Transformers cartoon was made to sell toys. The Transformers series is not some holy artistic vision, it's an ad campaign. How can Michael Bay ruin an ad campaign? By making a good movie.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Ali on Sat 01/07/2006 17:34:08
Quote from: Helm on Sat 01/07/2006 17:13:07
Gilliam's last few films "Brothers Grimm" and "Tideland" were extremely bad.

Tideland hasn't been released in Britain (as far as I know) but Brother's Grimm was poor. The problem was the coupling of Gilliam's rambling genius with a straightforward Hollywood fable. Sadly Robert Zemekis or Christopher Columbus could have told that story better.

Gilliam has the capacity to tell a different kind of story brilliantly. And, true to his brilliance, sometimes he sparkles and sometimes he can be... dull.

Ahem.. so, Transformers...
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Snarky on Sat 01/07/2006 19:47:48
Quote from: MrColossal on Sat 01/07/2006 17:26:17
What is there to flame? Just about every cartoon from the 80's and early 90's is crap made to sell toys. Thundercats is a hideous cartoon, Silverhawks is even worse and Transformers is no better.

Are the toys awesome? Yes, Transformers toys are some of the best toys from my childhood. In my opinion that is where people's love of Transformers comes from. They remember the toys because there's not much to remember about them, same with the cartoon. What awesome storylines and intense action did the cartoon series have? Does anyone remember? Sure we can remember the movie but what about the series.

I think the only one I can remember is some decepticon made holograms of energon and a hologram of a base to trick the autobots into attacking, then when they attacked the hologram went away and decepticons were everywhere and then they all shot at each other and ran away. I'm guessing the autobots eventually tricked the decepticons to wrap up the story.

It doesn't matter anyway, every episode of the Transformers cartoon was made to sell toys. The Transformers series is not some holy artistic vision, it's an ad campaign. How can Michael Bay ruin an ad campaign? By making a good movie.

I don't think that's entirely fair. Sure, Transformers owes its existence to the desire to sell toys, but the story, the characters and the universe were still created by a number of different artists who contributed their own talent and creativity to the franchise. Some of them are still quite proud of the work they did. The movie is generally well regarded, even today. Is it not plausible to think that one reason people are so nostalgic for the Transformers is that it was quite good?

I have to admit, I never watched the cartoons, but I read the comics, and I still remember quite a lot of the storylines. That big sentient planet that was out to get all the Transformers, whether Autobots or Decepticons. The Power Matrix. The factional struggles between the captains of the Decepticon. Bumblebee's insecurity and hero-worship of the more powerful bots. Those annoying humans. Optimus's struggle under the weight of leadership.

I don't know about the dialogue or the storytelling technique (as a kid I don't think I cared much about those things), but the basic concept was very strong, and the plotlines still seem quite decent to me. I won't argue that it was a work of genius or anything, but as far as corporate franchises go (and that, remember, includes pretty much every cartoon and comic book title ever) it was competently executed.

But the Transformers deserve respect not just for the work that the movie is based on, but for the fond memories millions of now grown-up kids have of it, even if those memories are tinted by nostalgia. When they make a Transformers film, it ought to be as great as we remember the Transformers. And so far, it's not looking too good...
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: Helm on Sat 01/07/2006 23:40:03
QuoteIs it not plausible to think that one reason people are so nostalgic for the Transformers is that it was quite good?

Plausible? Yes. Probable? Not so much.
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: TheYak on Sun 02/07/2006 01:39:02
Quote from: MrColossal on Sat 01/07/2006 17:26:17
Quote from: skyfire1 on Sat 01/07/2006 03:56:39
Quote from: MrColossal on Sat 01/07/2006 01:34:49
That and transformers isn't like some awesome story or highly revered bit of american entertainment. It's a terrible cartoon that spawned terrible comics and now lately even more terrible card collecting styled cartoons. If the movie is terrible than he's stayed quite true to the brand.
I'm trying my best not to flame you for such a biased and ill-informed remark. Just because you don't like transformers doesn't mean that it's a bad series. Next time, say why you don't like the series.
What awesome storylines and intense action did the cartoon series have? Does anyone remember? Sure we can remember the movie but what about the series.

Ha! Gotcha! I recall an episode where Soundwave (The menacing tape-recorder/robot) is using subliminal sounds to turn disco-happy civilians into zombie slaves.  That's quality for ya.
---------
If you want the crappiest of it, watch some of the original Japanese cartoons.  The Transformers had several stages: Vehicle, Human, Human in armor, Giant Robot (Well, except the bad guys, they turned into monsters instead of people). 
Title: Re: Transformers, robots in disguise.
Post by: DGMacphee on Mon 03/07/2006 12:29:52
(http://www.drinkatwork.com/medlarge147.gif)