Why does everyone pick on this movie?

[Just Some Guy]

And then there were the plot lines that went no where, the fact that characters only do things because they're in the script, the disappearing and reappearing fake drivers, and I haven't even started on the technical nitpicking because when you've got such a rich mine of terrible movie pointing out that A10 Warthogs have been out of service for years and networks don't work that way and that President Hoover had nothing to do with the Hoover Dam is just redundant.

[Sideswipe]

Actually, yes, they still use A-10s.  Now there were F-14s on the carrier that were recently taken out of service.

[kuribohfett]

What about the great fight choreography and photo realistic special effects?  You know, the kick ass robots?  What about the great performances of Shia LeBouf and Peter Cullen?  What about the great humor?  What about the incredible detail and authenticity in terms of the military?  What about taking something that has been around for twenty years and perfectly updating it to a live action form, while still preserving what made it so awesome in the first place?  Your nitpicking is flawed and overzealous for the hating of this movie.  It may not have been perfect, but no one said it was.  Yes there were problems.  But It was exciting, fun, and a great movie. 

[Edward J Grug III]

I enjoyed the movie. A lot. And I have even enjoyed some other Bay movies. But I still recognize that it is SILLY. And I can still very much understand people not liking it.

[Sideswipe]

Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime makes up for the stupid goofs like the electricity in the house for me.

[Jonny Jit]

Wow!

How can one take something a like a movie about robots so seriously.  It just seems there are deeper things in life to worry about.

Good luck with your crusade.

[kuribohfett]

I care about Transformers because its a big part of me.  That is, My love of Transformers is a big part of what makes me.  Just as my love for Mystery Science Theater, Acting, and many other things.  And I don't mean just the movie in particular.  No, I love all of the twenty year history of Transformers.  (And I didn't grow up on it in the eighties.)  I know it  must seem very weird to normal people.  However, I know I took this riff to personally, and for that I apologize.   A small portion of the fandom was incredibly vocal and negative about every aspect of the movie, every development, frequently with out reason.  I'm afraid instead of taking it as the joke it was, I relapsed to  the time when I had to constantly fight with other people who were supposed to be fans like me. 

Mike, Bill and Kevin are all comic geniuses, and I idolize them all.  There were parts of the riff that made me laugh, and a few parts that I disagreed with.  But that's ok, you know?  Opinions differ, and that's just part of life.  It was nothing personal, just business for my favorite riffers.  And that is where I was wrong.  I apologize.  Please don't judge all Transformer fans because of me. 

I'll continue to love and delve into Transformers the movie...and continue to buy Film Crew, MST3K, and...well, basically anything these guys do!

Once they do Spidey 3, I'll be fine 

[RoninFox]

Just remember, things could have been worse even if there was a Transformers "purist" in charge.  When they were fighting in the desert we could have heard from President Abdul Fakkadi from the country of Carbombya.  (Yes, a country called "Car Bomb Ya" don't blame me that's an ACTUAL TRANSFORMERS G1 REFERENCE)

[Sideswipe]

He speaks the truth.  President Abdul Fakkadi from the Arabian nation of Carbombya

[Jinto]

Yeah, as much we rag on the recent movie, let's be honest, the cartoon had some weird as heck stuff too. Very riffable material all through that series.

[Crowmeus]

He speaks the truth.  President Abdul Fakkadi from the Arabian nation of Carbombya

The character that caused Casey Kasem to quit the series. Not that they used Cliffjumper much anyway after the movie.

[Sideswipe]

And they destroyed the Ark and Teletraan 1 right after the movie so the didnt need to replace him for that voice either.

[Doctor Manhattan]

I enjoyed the movie. A lot. And I have even enjoyed some other Bay movies. But I still recognize that it is SILLY. And I can still very much understand people not liking it.

I agree 100% It is almost the same way I feel about Kill Bill (Not that Q.T. is on M.B.'s level of film making, but that he was just having fun with that movie(Those movies, whatever) and it's not to be taken seriously)

[Edward J Grug III]

Yes! Exactly! That's exactly how I look at it too. Like I quite like The Fifth Element, but man, what a silly, silly film.

[NOHC]

I got into a discussion about the "big" movies that I'd never seen on another board and said this.

I *was* able to say Michael Bay's 'Transformers' up until yesterday, but Mike Nelson(of MST3K fame) did a commentary track for it and a friend of mine came down to watch it yesterday. I know I throw out the phrase "that truly chips at my will to live" a lot, but damn...that was singlehandedly one of the worst movies I have EVER had the misfortune of seeing. The only thing that made it bearable was Mike's Rifftrax on it.

Well, I TRIED to like it...I wanted to give it a chance, I wanted to really like it, but it seemed to me that it was nothing more than a chance for Michael Bay to show off idiots who had no business doing a high school play production, much less a multi-million dollar movie and how much the man could alienate anyone who'd been a fan of the Transformers from way back when. I mean, was the theme of the robots' look "spikey stuff piled on top of a LOT more spikey stuff"?  The only thing that might have rivaled it was the lead guy's overacting.  Michael Bay took a franchise and turned it into something that was uniquely Bay, a loud, screaming, flashy, explosion filled CGifest with no soul, no heart and most of all, damn near no direction whatsoever, other than the occasional "Hey, can you look a little more detached and distant when you interact with the bluescreen"? 

I liked the old cartoon, too, but it didn't rise much above sequences of giant robots fighting each other wrapped into a lame plot that attempted to steer viewers away from the fact that it was almost entirely a toy commercial.  There were giant robots blowing shit up wrapped up in a lame plot contrivance to get them to buy the toys in the movie too.  That was the only thing Bay's crapfest had in common with the cartoon we all know and love.

But when you have scenes like the big mouth drooltard chick stopping the tow truck to rest her head on the steering wheel to consider her situation for about 5 minutes before coming to the revelation that she just needs to drive the damned truck, it only serves to show that Michael Bay has NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER making movies.

There was almost NO connection to the source material from which it originally came.  At least Don Simpson & Jerry Bruckheimer try to make their mindless action flicks appeal to who they know will be watching them. 

I really do feel that Michael Bay has no business making movies. It's anyone else's prerogative to disagree, more power to you if you do, but no amount of arguing for the positive merits of that movie will ever convince me that it was nothing more than a Bay style orgy of flash, glitz and bullshit that was poorly acted, badly edited and about as good a movie as anything I could pull straight up out of the local wastewater treatment facility here.

Michael Bay has singlehandedly raped and molested every Transformers fan's inner child with that botched abortion of a movie.