Transformers 2 in summer 2009

[Crazy_88s]

Well considering the title of this thread, and the fact that Rifftrax is going to have a Transformers riff coming out, I think I am justified in venting my bile for Michael Bay.  You don't like it, tough shit.  I like Transformers (not the shitty movie), I just strongly believe that the future of the Transformers should not be put in the hands of a mental midget who's only real accomplishment was his "Got Milk" advertisements.  Any other director would have made the main characters in a movie called "Transformers" the actual Transformers, not a wussy human.  O.k., now I'm done.

Feel better now? Well personally I listened to the commentary on Transformers, and I found myself having a bit more respect for Michael Bay, and even a lot more on some levels. The man really wants his effects to look real and the vehicles to look authentic. I don't care what anyone says about him, he's got excellent vision when it comes to how effects should be done, the right way, with the right kind of lighting and whether or not something looks real. No matter what anyone thinks there's no questioning that he's got an eye for that kind of quality, which I feel is unmatched. In Michael Bay's The Transformers, the Transformers looked and felt more real than they ever did before, and now you know why I loved the movie so much. Let's also face it, it's not like there were any Jake Lloyds, Haydn Christensens, Pod Races, or Jar Jar Binks' in the movie anywhere. Sam and Mikaela's romance also seems much more genuine and a hell of a lot more believable than Anakin and Padme's btw. 

[Tyrant]

Feel better now? Well personally I listened to the commentary on Transformers, and I found myself having a bit more respect for Michael Bay, and even a lot more on some levels. The man really wants his effects to look real and the vehicles to look authentic. I don't care what anyone says about him, he's got excellent vision when it comes to how effects should be done, the right way, with the right kind of lighting and whether or not something looks real. No matter what anyone thinks there's no questioning that he's got an eye for that kind of quality, which I feel is unmatched. In Michael Bay's The Transformers, the Transformers looked and felt more real than they ever did before, and now you know why I loved the movie so much.

  I agree. Bay earned a few points of respect from me when I found out that some of the scenes I thought involving stunt doubles were actually pulled off by the performers themselves. I had no idea Bay was so hard on his actors. Just about everyone involved said they gained some weight in muscle working for him. Anyone who can take pansy and spoiled Hollywood types out of their comfort zone and make them do actual work other than reciting lines in front of a camera is okay in my book.

  Another thing I liked about the movie was how weighty everything seemed. You're right about Bay wanting things to look realistic. One of the scenes I love is Prime running down the highway with the two kids on his shoulder with the very real physical drag on his movements because of his size (like a running giraffe) and weight. He looked real and believable because he moved in a real and believable way. Bay has a subtle eye for things like that that's lost on other directors.

  Take Lucas for instance. Not to turn this thread into a Lucas rant, but the effects in the prequels prove my point. Jar Jar was one of the cheesiest looking things I've ever seen animated in CGI. Ever.

[RoninFox]

Its interesting to see some people supporting Micheal Bay on this board, it makes me feel better for thinking the same kind of things.  I think he does have a good eye for effects, but some elements of how he directs the camera work needs tweaked.  Back the camera up and lets see the effect you worked for.  Sometimes having something close up to hide what came short is needed, or perhaps good for the film in general, but I want to see more of the bigger picture a lot of the time.

I also enjoyed Bay's commentary, and a lot of the decisions he talked about did make total sense to me.

[Sideswipe]

Any other director would have made the main characters in a movie called "Transformers" the actual Transformers, not a wussy human. 

I dissagree.  I think alot of directors would do the same thing.  Sure there is a large fan base for Transformers, but there are a lot of people who have no Idea at all other than maybe Optimus Prime.  I think a lot of directors would ground the movie through the humans, like Bay did for the people who don't know anything about Transformers.  People need that human element.  Not me though, I hate people!  Robots rule!

[Crazy_88s]

I have no problem with grounding the movie with humans either. I mean remember a little movie called Close Encounters of the third kind? There were hardly any spaceships seen until act 3! Furthermore, there were no aliens at all until damn near the end of the movie. Also, and I don't know how everyone is going to take this, but the dramatic effect of seeing the Transformers comes from the fact that we don't see them a lot until further into the film. If we'd have seen them all in the beginning, the climax would have been less than exciting, but since all their appearances were saved until the later-half of the film, the effect on us the audience is much more profound.

[RoninFox]

I have no problem with grounding the movie with humans either. I mean remember a little movie called Close Encounters of the third kind? There were hardly any spaceships seen until act 3! Furthermore, there were no aliens at all until damn near the end of the movie. Also, and I don't know how everyone is going to take this, but the dramatic effect of seeing the Transformers comes from the fact that we don't see them a lot until further into the film. If we'd have seen them all in the beginning, the climax would have been less than exciting, but since all their appearances were saved until the later-half of the film, the effect on us the audience is much more profound.

That's an interesting point, and I find it's true a lot of the time with over the top characters.  I tend to like Batman stories better when the Batman costume isn't always on screen.  You save it for when it's needed.  I like Superman stories better when he has to deal as Clark Kent before rushing to the rescue in the red and blue.  Leading the audience through a series of events that slowly reveal the Transformers for what they really are was a smart move, and it helped make the characters seem plausible.  It's the same theory I heard talked about on the Ghostbusters DVD, steps of plausibility.  You start from a very normal place, then go one step out of the norm, let the audience accept it, then take the next step, and as long as you keep doing that they'll still be with you when you debut a walking giant hunk of marshmallow.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

With the writers strike ending any day now, writers will go back to working on scripts for films that have been put on hold as a result of the strike. And while we may not see these movies for a while, director Michael Bay moved the whole process along by writing the script for "Transformers 2" himself.

"I've been writing Transformers 2," Bay told RottenTomatoes. "We've got our characters all designed. I always write all my scripts, my movies anyway so at least I've got something to give the writers. It's like a template. We have a really good outline so I worked on that."

While that might seem strange, Bay explained that he wanted to stick to the schedule, no matter what. "We had to because I want to make my date. I'm not going to let the strike take me down."

At this point, "Transformers 2" is scheduled to hit theaters on June 26th, 2009.

[torgosPizza]

"And then we have a giant fireball, and it's all like GRAAAAAWWWW!!  And a motorcycle jumps over a helicopter and it's like, RAWWW GRAAWWW!!!"

[SaucyRossy]

"And then we have a giant fireball, and it's all like GRAAAAAWWWW!!  And a motorcycle jumps over a helicopter and it's like, RAWWW GRAAWWW!!!"

"and then a giant mac truck runs into all these cars and it's all GRAAAWRRR and BOOOMM"

[SmilinJackRoss]

"And then we have a giant fireball, and it's all like GRAAAAAWWWW!!  And a motorcycle jumps over a helicopter and it's like, RAWWW GRAAWWW!!!"

"and then a giant mac truck runs into all these cars and it's all GRAAAWRRR and BOOOMM"

And then while the cars are going all KRIIIIISHHHH I'll shake the camera around a lot, until there's a big KA-BLANG!!!

[Tripe]

Can I watch a small part of this carnage, put my hand to my mouth and gasp "My god!"

[NinjaComic]

Just so long as they work the bit in from the more recent comic.  The bit where Megatron steps on an armed guard in the jungle.  That was awesome.  You can even add a fireball if you really need to.

[esoobaC .T bocaJ]

"And then we have a giant fireball, and it's all like GRAAAAAWWWW!!  And a motorcycle jumps over a helicopter and it's like, RAWWW GRAAWWW!!!"

"and then a giant mac truck runs into all these cars and it's all GRAAAWRRR and BOOOMM"

And then while the cars are going all KRIIIIISHHHH I'll shake the camera around a lot, until there's a big KA-BLANG!!!

Edit - forgot to add the smiley

[SmilinJackRoss]

Ah.  Foot inserted into mouth. 

[Fig Neutron]

"Those aren't ideas, those are special effects!"  Love that clip.  Man, did Bay wreck the action finale.  There was that great scene on the highway, then, literally just a bunch of random, disorienting "BRRRRAAAWWWW!  I swear Optimus was wailing on Bumblebee at one point.