Transformers: Dark Of The Moon(2012?)

[Darth Geek]

First change the robot designs! For fuck sake, I can even enjoy Dragon Wars as a guilty (ok, very guilty) pleasure, BECAUSE I CAN SEE WHAT IS GOING ON AND TELL ONE CHARACTER APART FROM ANOTHER! That is the single worst aspect of these Bayformer movies, because if I can't enjoy it on a purely dumb action movie level, then I am forced to think about all the other things they did wrong.

Well said also get someone besides Spielberg to direct.  I think his last few movies prove he is past his prime when it comes to making good action movies.  You know I think someone like Del Tero(spelling?)or what's his name who did District nine would be good choices.  You need someone who knows how to do action but can bring real character to the robots and both of them have proven that they can get character out of non humans.

Like Joe Dante. 

[Russell]

Like Joe Dante.  

Oh great, so you're saying you want a movie with 7 levels of hell?

[Scribblesense]

After some further digging, I doubt Spielberg would be directing the next Transformers, considering he's directing Robopocalypse to come out in 2013. I doubt he'd want to direct two robot movies in a row and I doubt they'll let us wait more than three years for another Transformers.

I'd love to see Guillermo del Toro's designs for the Transformers, but he's much more into practical effects and prosthetics which would not mesh with the current aesthetic the Transformers films have set up - really, he'd be too much of a departure in style.

As for Neill Blomkamp (the guy who directed District 9), he does very well for himself on limited budgets and seeing what he could do with an overblown blockbuster movie fueled by pure liquid moolah would be interesting. I don't think he'd be interested in it himself, though.

I don't see Chris Nolan touching this franchise with an overextended, melodramatic, pseudo-philosophical-stroke-psychological, eighty-foot pole.

Maybe Peter Jackson? I think he could pull off an epic robot war movie.

Or Zack Synder! Though one can argue that he and Michael Bay are the same kind of poison, but I think Synder would have a real passion for the project, seeing as he's a huge geek himself.

[Cosmic Muse]

in the 80s did they ever make Spike toys?

Technically Fortress Maximus had a Spike figure because as a Headmaster Spike formed the Autobot Fortress' head.

Robopocalypse

I bet that was the name of the Bayformers movies before they tacked on a more recognizable franchise name to it.

[Doctor Who?]

As for Neill Blomkamp (the guy who directed District 9), he does very well for himself on limited budgets and seeing what he could do with an overblown blockbuster movie fueled by pure liquid moolah would be interesting. I don't think he'd be interested in it himself, though.

Yeah i guess you are right still it could be one of those things where he does the big budget blockbuster and then he is allowed to make any movie he wants because he now has two hits in a row.

[Russell]

I'm probably the only one who feels that District 9 was vastly overrated. My feelings about
it were echoed by the Nostalgia Critic in his top 10 movies he couldn't stand but everybody
else loved.

The Transformers legacy... honestly I don't know how it could be done live action on a small
budget. Mixing live action and 2D animation only works in very limited circumstances(Roger
Rabbit). I think the smartest idea would be to go back to making a 2D animated film and
spending anything that wasn't for animation to go into writing the movie.

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

m probably the only one who feels that District 9 was vastly overrated. My feelings about
it were echoed by the Nostalgia Critic in his top 10 movies he couldn't stand but everybody
else loved.

No you arent alone, i totally agree with you there.  Im still trying to understand the "appeal" of that movie.

[Russell]

No you arent alone, i totally agree with you there.  Im still trying to understand the "appeal" of that movie.

Thank you. See, I think my biggest prob was that instead of taking good care of the Aliens and making
trades for Tech(which would have been a MUCH more interesting concept IMO), they instantly relegate
them to homeless status and don't even make an attempt to make nice to get what they want. The movie
is basically a persecution/segregation allegory under the flimsy guise of science fiction. The original
Star Trek and Twilight Zone TV shows tackled that subject to death and did it SO much better.
I understand this message, how humanity so rarely betters itself over bitter racism and xenophobia.

And as hard as they tried, I just couldn't feel a whole lot of sympathy for the character of Wikus, and I
didn't feel much of an emotional connection to the aliens. I understand wanting to Go Home... but
ET handled the issue with much more panache and charm.

[doggans]

See, I think my biggest prob was that instead of taking good care of the Aliens and making
trades for Tech(which would have been a MUCH more interesting concept IMO), they instantly relegate
them to homeless status and don't even make an attempt to make nice to get what they want.

I haven't seen District 9 in a while, but didn't they say they had "tried" for 20 years or so to communicate peacefully with the aliens?

[Sideswipe]

Technically Fortress Maximus had a Spike figure because as a Headmaster Spike formed the Autobot Fortress' head.

Spike was the head of the robot that became Fort Max's head.

[Russell]

See, I think my biggest prob was that instead of taking good care of the Aliens and making
trades for Tech(which would have been a MUCH more interesting concept IMO), they instantly relegate
them to homeless status and don't even make an attempt to make nice to get what they want.

I haven't seen District 9 in a while, but didn't they say they had "tried" for 20 years or so to communicate peacefully with the aliens?

I don't remember that. But even if so, it still bothers me for some reason that they decided to segregate
like Deep south America right away, and what really bothers me is that even the black people in the movie
support the whole idea of segregation as well. Doesn't anybody find that a bit racist?

I mean Jesus, in this movie isn't there anyone who even bothers to notify the MIB? Why is everybody a
raging, xenophobic lunatic where nobody supports the poor aliens who are stranded on Earth? It just
really bothers me that it takes the addage "Don't judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes"
before somebody begins to sympathize with the aliens.

I just find the universal hatred of the aliens so irrational and misplaced that it's like it was building up
to something else that didn't really happen.

Technically Fortress Maximus had a Spike figure because as a Headmaster Spike formed the Autobot Fortress' head.

Spike was the head of the robot that became Fort Max's head.

I forgot his name. I think it was Cerebros?

[SJP]

See, I think my biggest prob was that instead of taking good care of the Aliens and making
trades for Tech(which would have been a MUCH more interesting concept IMO), they instantly relegate
them to homeless status and don't even make an attempt to make nice to get what they want.

I haven't seen District 9 in a while, but didn't they say they had "tried" for 20 years or so to communicate peacefully with the aliens?

I don't remember that. But even if so, it still bothers me for some reason that they decided to segregate
like Deep south America right away, and what really bothers me is that even the black people in the movie
support the whole idea of segregation as well. Doesn't anybody that find that a bit racist?

I mean Jesus, in this movie isn't there anyone who even bothers to notify the MIB? Why is everybody a
raging, xenophobic lunatic where nobody supports the poor aliens who are stranded on Earth? It just
really bothers me that it takes the addage "Don't judge a man until you walk a mile in his shoes"
before somebody begins to sympathize with the aliens.

I just find the universal hatred of the aliens so irrational and misplaced that it's like it was building up
to something else that didn't really happen.

I saw it, and to be honest, the allegory portion of it went over my head, because South African apartheid was something that happened around a time when I was too young to really know what was going on and got 'resolved' before I could really understand what it was about.  Not understanding the irrational hatred of the aliens is sort of the point, I think...it's supposed to reflect how stupid and irrational apartheid was in the first place.

But trust me, while I liked District 9, you're not alone in having movies you just can't understand the appeal of...I didn't really like even the FIRST Transformers movies (the parents masturbation gag and Bumblebee taking an oil whiz on John Turturro were complete deal killers for me, regardless of the rest of the movie; I honestly thought if they removed those scenes the movie could have easily been PG and the correct market would've been properly aimed at).  And it wasn't even Skids and Mudflap that ruined part 2 for me...it was just that the characters I wanted to hear talk got no dialogue and everyone that annoyed me was constantly onscreen and never, ever shut up.  And, of course, Robot Heaven.  Actually, that might've been the one thing I DID like about Part 2, now that I think about it...and Part 3 does have a buddy of mine in it running around getting shot by Decepticons, but you can't see his face, unfortunately (and I'm not just saying that; that's one of the few reasons I allowed myself to get drug along to the movie in the first place).

As for somebody else helming the project...I actually think Zack Snyder would probably be a good choice.  Regardless of whether you care for his style or not, he has a few things going for him:
1.  He's done 3D before...Guardians of Ga'Hoole...and while I didn't see that in 3D, it was still very easy on the eyes, which means he'd probably make a 3D film that doesn't make you puke (if it doesn't make you do that already).
2. His action scenes, slo-mo or not, are incredibly easy to follow.  Don't believe me?  Watch the robot train segment from Sucker Punch.  I think it's actually impossible to lose track over what's going on in that scene as he slides from one fight to the next.
3. He loves being faithful to source material.  Sure, stuff was changed or cut for Watchmen, but what's there is practically 95% accurate, even shot for shot.  Hell, Jackie Earl Haley WAS Rorschach.
4. He's a fanboy in general, even if not necessarily Transformers.  He knows what people want to see is Transformers beating the stuffing out of each other, and he's definitely somebody who would design Decepticons to look like their TV show counterparts and not just a collection of "Spiky, evil gray guys."

Is he the best director ever in the history of the world?  No.  But I think out of a lot of people mentioned, he'd probably be one of the few that would 'get' it.

Of course, I'd think it would be funny to see somebody like Terry Gilliam try it out, but knowing his luck, the project would run overbudget immediately, Detroit would suddenly be unavailable for filming, Optimus Prime's voice would have to drop out due to back problems, and he'd have to resort to his old paper cutout animation to finish it up.

Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea...

[Russell]

Is he the best director ever in the history of the world?  No.  But I think out of a lot of people mentioned, he'd probably be one of the few that would 'get' it.
Of course, I'd think it would be funny to see somebody like Terry Gilliam try it out, but knowing his luck, the project would run overbudget immediately, Detroit would suddenly be unavailable for filming, Optimus Prime's voice would have to drop out due to back problems, and he'd have to resort to his old paper cutout animation to finish it up.
Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea...

You could be VERY right. Problem is I don't think it will ever happen. I do imagine Transformers
may get rebooted some day though. It'll be probably at least a decade though.

I will tell you although I didn't enjoy Sucker Punch at all, I did really, really like 300 and
Watchmen. In fact, 300 is one of my favorite all-time movies.

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

Is he the best director ever in the history of the world?  No.  But I think out of a lot of people mentioned, he'd probably be one of the few that would 'get' it.
Of course, I'd think it would be funny to see somebody like Terry Gilliam try it out, but knowing his luck, the project would run overbudget immediately, Detroit would suddenly be unavailable for filming, Optimus Prime's voice would have to drop out due to back problems, and he'd have to resort to his old paper cutout animation to finish it up.
Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea...

You could be VERY right. Problem is I don't think it will ever happen. I do imagine Transformers
may get rebooted some day though. It'll be probably at least a decade though.

I will tell you although I didn't enjoy Sucker Punch at all, I did really, really like 300 and
Watchmen. In fact, 300 is one of my favorite all-time movies.

heh funny i thought sucker punch was lame liked 300 and found watchmen to be a drab boring waste of time on screen (the comic wasnt a fav of mine but i could see it worked much better there than the movie format)

[Scribblesense]

I loved Sucker Punch and Watchmen but absolutely hated 300.

Looks like we have our bases covered.