Transformers 2007

[Sharktopus]

For what it's worth, Blackout, the bigass helicopter, is pretty much Soundwave. Well, except for being a big blue tapedeck.

[Pak-Man]

Well, as I write this, I'm sitting in a theater hallway with Tyrant in the middle of a long line of devoted TF fans. My legs are numb from sitting on the floor, and the sneak preview is 3 hours away. Will it be worth it? Stay tuned!

[Raven]

I just watched the HBO first look for the Transformers movie.  It doesn't look to bad for a Michael Bay film.  I'm willing to give it a shot being this is just a big dumb action movie and shouldn't be taken seriously, like Pearl Harbor should have been.  I absolutely hate the amount of disrespect he showed everyone actually involved in WWII.  But we shall see.  Looking forward to hearing Pakky's review.   

[Tyrant]

My Experience At The TF Movie Sneak Peak:

  We arrived at the theater around 2-ish and were shocked to learn that there was already a significant line forming. Sat on floor for 3 + hours playing videogames and, in lacking enough natural padding (which, I suppose, is usually at good thing) in my hind quarters, couldn't feel anything from the waist down for about 30 minutes after I stood up.  And yes. I wore my shirt with Optimus, Jazz, and Prowl on it like a big dork. Lots of TF nerds there. Felt a lot like a BotCon. Minus all the toy dealing.

  Okay, so the movie. It was loud and action packed. Never a dull moment. I'm sure I'll be accused of being biased, but I thought it was really, really, really well done. I'll be more specific below as a spoiler (read at your own risk), but to be as vague as possible without giving anything away, it's well worth the $.

The movie was a hodgepodge of different sources. I could tell the first Marvel comic had been mildly referenced, along with some of Dreamwave and IDW's material (story-wise). Reading the prequel for the movie helped flesh some things out for me, but anyone could essentially jump right in. The biggest gripe was how drastically the characters' bodies had been changed, but given the intensity of the action, their cartoon/comic/toy forms just would have been too clumsy. I can respect why they made the changes in order to portray movement more realistically. Optimus Prime is...well...Optimus Prime. He grounds the whole movie, really. His character is still intact. He may look different on the outside, but inside is the same Autobot we all know and love from our nostalgic past. I think Bumblebee would be too if he could talk. Making him mute for most of the movie didn't (and still doesn't) make a lot of sense to me, but it's not that annoying so I forgive it. Jazz and Ratchet are pretty accurate to their original characters. Ironhide is more triggerhappy, though. There's a scene in the movie where Sam is trying to hide the Autobots on his lawn, and although it seems trivial, it's pivotal because we get to see a little character development. It's also one of the rare times we get to see Prime in a humorous situation.

  The Decepticons aren't nearly as developed. True to form, they show up and make nearly every scene violent and intense. The opening attack on the military outpost by Blackout in the first moments of the movie is truly frightening. There's hardly any banter amongst them, and barely any character development. I hope it won't be a continuing trend in future movies. Frenzy was....interesting in this movie. He kind of reminded me of a smaller, more lethal Johnny 5. Any TF tape fans are going to be moaning and groaning about the changes made to his character to be sure.

  All the action scenes were spectacular. Special effects were beyond belief. Pak and I forgot we were even watching CGI at all. Much of the movie concentrated on the human elements, which I know a lot of fans were complaining about. But I felt it was a nice balancing point between all the action and dialogue scenes with the TFs. Really, the whole movie was nicely paced.

  Bad points: As awesome as all the action was, sometimes it was confusing to know what was going on, who was hitting who, ect.. All the TFs were uniquely colored so as to clear up some of the confusion when they were tangling up, but sometimes it was hard to concentrate because Bay caught "shaking camcorder-itis". It did make things more intense, however. Also, homages to the original series were few and far between. I wasn't rightly expecting anything, but at least throwing the original themesong somewhere in there would have been cool. Bay found a few ways to pay respect here and there, though. My favorite one being the little yellow VW at the car lot where Sam buys Bumblebee (in Camaro guise).

  The audience's energy was unbelievable. The only time I've ever seen/heard such audience participation in a movie was at BotCon 2000 when they rolled the original movie on the big screen for all of us for the first time since ,86. Yes, there were a lot of TF fans amongst us, but a good number of folks watching were obviously either dragged there by someone else or were just there because of a fair bit of nostalgia. By the end of the movie, nearly everyone was jabbering excitedly about how cool the movie was. All the little kids were excited. There was tons of cheering during the movie too, namely at any scene involving Optimus Prime. Pak and I ventured to guess that half the movie could have been Prime sitting on a toilet reading a newspaper and people still would have gone nuts.

 Overall, an awesome movie and an awesome experience. I hope any diehard G1-ers out there give the film a chance. To reiterate what I said in my earlier post: We, as fans, are merely lucky to get this movie. Not entitled. Let go of your expectations and just have some fun with this film.

 

[Pak-Man]

It was worth it. :^)

I never thought I'd be saying this, but  I forgive Michael Bay for Armageddon. I'll even forgive him for Pearl Harbor if he decides to do nothing but Transformers from now on. I dare say I have some respect for the man after watching this movie. I went in to the movie with a cautious optimism (Just call me Optimist Prime! Ha ha ha!) and figured it would at least be a fun movie. I had no idea I'd enjoy it as much as I did. It's almost as though Michael Bay knew he had a lot of convincing to do, and designed the movie to break through your barriers and win you over. Now there are some scenes that could be considered goofy, but they're very natural and not insulting to the audience, and by golly, it works.

One big point: Shia LeBeouf was not annoying. I went in expecting him to be the lowlight of the movie, and he actually managed to come across as a very compelling and likable character. All the casting was actually right on. Even the controversial Hugo Weaving did a wonderful job of channeling Megatron, and having Peter Cullen voice Optimus just seems to make everything else fall into place. The comedy was funny. The action was exciting. Everything in this movie was exactly what it was supposed to be. And the AUDIENCE- I've been to the premieres of all three Star Wars Prequels, and the opening nights of just about every major blockbuster in the last 8 years. I've never seen an audience enjoy a movie to the extent that this movie was enjoyed. The audience cheered, gasped, moaned, and laughed at all the right parts. There was a special kind of unity.

I am a long-time die-hard Star Wars fan, so it is with no small amount of to-do that I say that this movie is competing with the original Star Wars trilogy for the most fun movie I've ever seen in my life. If you have high expectations, GO! You won't be disappointed. You doubting Thomases should go too. The movie will win you over. If you're absolutely determined to dislike this movie, there's probably not much there for you,  but I reccomend it to anyone else. :^)

And yes, Optimus says, "Transform and roll out!"

[Sideswipe]

Wow, thanks alot for that Pak-Man.  Thats great to hear.  Just another things thats seems to be going right for me right now.

[Junkyard]

Tyrant, Pak-Man, you have given me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Thank you.
I know whwere I'll be on Wendsday!

[Bob]

Hey, glad you all liked the film and I am happy for all you transformer fans out there.    After being a Godzilla fan and suffering the pain that was the US remake (I refuse to call it by name), I was hoping you would not suffer the same fate.

Now, go out and see it 4 times this holiday weekend so they will make more.

[Sideswipe]

Haha, I have the 4th off so I will probably see it like 3 times that day.

[Bob]

Haha, I have the 4th off so I will probably see it like 3 times that day.

Be sure to smuggle in enough food to make it through the day.   You dont want to run out of energy.

[Junkyard]

That's what large, free refill tubs of popcorn are for.

And the surgeon is for removing the 5 pound wad of compressed popcorn from your intestines after a full day at the theater.

[torgosPizza]

This post is rated Pg-13 for several "F" bombs. Parental guidance is suggested!

As an added bonus (?) one of our editors here on the Legend FIlms side, has friends who went to a sneak peak in Arizona. Their words almost exactly reflect what Pak and Tyrant have said -- that the movie was "fucking awesome." The first 30 minutes are a lot of buildup and humor, but after that, when the robots are introduced, it's just insane.

That's what I like to hear about a movie with giant fucking robots in it.

[Tyrant]

This post is rated Pg-13 for several "F" bombs. Parental guidance is suggested!

As an added bonus (?) one of our editors here on the Legend FIlms side, has friends who went to a sneak peak in Arizona. Their words almost exactly reflect what Pak and Tyrant have said -- that the movie was "fucking awesome." The first 30 minutes are a lot of buildup and humor, but after that, when the robots are introduced, it's just insane.

That's what I like to hear about a movie with giant fucking robots in it.

   That's good to hear. I think most people, fans and non-fans, will agree that Bay has found his calling at long last. He can't do historical drama/action, he can't do human drama/action, but if you throw in some giant talking robots, then the man can rock it like no one's business. Here's hoping this movie overtakes Spiderman 3 for the year's blockbusters (perhaps an unrealistic hope, but I'm cautiously optimistic). Pak and I are determined to see this thing at least 4 more times to help ensure a sequel. Someone mentioned Dinobots. 

  And I don't recall any TFs doing the horizontal tango, Torgo. They were mostly fighting. 

  Yeah, I know. That joke sucked. But I'm in a super-good mood today because of this movie.

[Junkyard]

As long as none of the Transformers danced, it has a hope of doing better than Spider Man 3.





Oh, and just another word on the dance scene from SM3:
RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Principal_Skin-trade]

This post is rated Pg-13 for several "F" bombs. Parental guidance is suggested!

As an added bonus (?) one of our editors here on the Legend FIlms side, has friends who went to a sneak peak in Arizona. Their words almost exactly reflect what Pak and Tyrant have said -- that the movie was "fucking awesome." The first 30 minutes are a lot of buildup and humor, but after that, when the robots are introduced, it's just insane.

That's what I like to hear about a movie with giant fucking robots in it.

Torgo... I hereby declare you "Awesome guy".