I just got home...(Transformers: 2) - SPOILERS

Television, Movies Games and Books Other Science Fiction
#21

idk guys… i loved it. i loved seeing it in imax. I can forgive a few stupid moments, (altho i really could have done without the roomate). I posted this over in the new york meetup thread but i’ll post it here again:

non-spoiler review:
The critics, i sorta understand where there coming from, but I would actually disagree with some that say there is absolutely no plot. Id say there is a bit more plot than the first movie, so there’s nothing to worry about there. Theres actually like no way this movie is not going to win the vfx oscar this year, i just dont see how it could be outdone, and the sound will be was incredible, and it really made you feel like you were there. Meghan Fox was hot as usual. There are many many moments for you to clap and cheer, so when you go see it dont be afraid make some noise and be enthusiastic! I felt like crying in sadness and joy during the movie, it was full of alot more emotion. More than the 1st movie, and that’s what I think critics who dismiss it as just an action movie completely miss. Because that is fraking Optimus PRIME right there, are he is going to kick some sorry barb

so yea. this movie is big. everything about it is big. me? i’m still game for 2.5 hours of visual effects, huge robots, and huge explosions:-)

#22

Important question to those who have seen it
[spoiler] Didn’t arcee get owned at the end there? also who the frak were those other motor cycles?[/spoiler]

#23

totally. I didn’t see that coming. One of her sister’s names is Chromia, the other is unnamed.

#24

The second is called Moonracer according to allmighty IMDB.

#25

Thanks! cool name BTW

#26

I LOVED this movie.

That is all.

#27

You know, something has been bothering me about the movie and last night I think I figured it out:

A fiction writing professor once told me, “Solai, sometimes more is just more. If it doesn’t add value to the narrative then remove it.”

So, in the spirit that not everything is perfect and there is something to be learned by analysis I would like to begin a roundtable analysis of the movie broken up into two categories:

What added value - (Movie could not work without it)
What didn’t add value - (Could be removed with little or no impact)

…and why. Doesn’t need to be a five paragraph explanation, but it needs to be thotful. Also you need to remain in balance. For every non-value observation you need to add a value statement. I’ll start:

AV: NEST - Now I struggled with this as at first I didn’t see why they introduced this new storyline, but upon reflection it makes sense. It explains how the Autobots are able to remain on Earth and actually be a positive contributor. It helps explain how lumbering giant robots can actually remain ‘secret’.

DAV: The soliders. I love these characters, but they have no purpose. Think about their dialogue, think about their actions. I think part of the struggle of the narrative was bending the story to include these characters and then once they had figured out how to do it they struggled to make it make sense.

#28

interesting idea…non-value vs plus value

The big problem i had with the movie…wich i love 70% of the time, btw…is its uses of humor

we had…

the parents…plus value because they are mostlt funny ; and they were needed as related-people-in-jeopardy. just one of these two elements…and they become a detriment

The dogs…no value…stupid joke and the time couild have been used elsewhere by someone else.

John Turturro and sam’s roomate . plus-value because one was needed to get to the other…and they had some good comedy beats. it helped the Turturro character to redeeem himself after the first movie

The twins…very no-value…if you wanted to bring in more autobots…bringing in ARCEE and make her stay with Megan fox…jeezus…she even rides a bike in the movie…she could have then a story with bumblebee in paralele with sams’s and Micheala’s. instead…you got the idiots…who were not needed as comic relief…you had the parents and ohn Turturro and sam’s roomate, and who took frames from bumblebee and other transformers

#29

I am going to fight people tooth and nail over this movie I swear…

I can see how you would say the soldiers didn’t add anything or you but I would not take them out. They gave the human side of the war while Sam gave the civillain side.

Things I would say added nothing were the twin robots. Funny? Yes, Add anything besides that? Not really.

I am happy Sean stressed ((Doesn’t seem like people listened)) that Transformers is for KIDS so put yourself in that mindset.

The theatre was full of kids and teens and everyone laughed and had a good time.

When a certain death scene happened it went silent just like Sean said it did when he was a kid.

This was a summer action movie and a Transformers one at that if you wanted BSG you were looking in the wrong place.

Rant over… :o

#30

Can a movie be TOO skewered toward kids?

i mean…to much sugar will give you cavity

A new hope…if you look at it…is at heart a children fairy tale…but not once does it talk down to you…and the true test is that an adult can watch it and not feel some of what goes on the screen is truly not meant for adults…but for little kids.

as i said…i liked the movie quite alot…but thoses parts that were specifically made for 8-12 y old boys are just to grating to let it pass

i truly do not see how removing them would somehow make it less enjoyable for them

and trust me…thoses same kids…when they see the movie again in 15-20 years from now…will wonder why they tought that humor was funny back then

i can tell you there is no part of star wars i look at now and think…wow…what was i thinking?

my own little rant over

#31

I’m with you there. There’s plenty of entertainment that’s aimed at kids, but does it with a certain amount of smarts (the classic Warner Bros. cartoons being the best example.)

#32

Star Wars is not funny. It has a few moments but most of the humor is pretty childish.

#33

I saw the movie last night.

I am largely disappointed, and for a lot of the reasons already mentioned here. Here are my angry, spoiler-ridden thoughts:

[SPOILER]

I mostly felt like the movie was built entirely for 14 year-old boys. I recognize that there is a big target market there, but they already demonstrated the broad audience. Most of this stuff, I don’t know why they did it.

  • Humping Dogs - The dogs did nothing but hump. It was a stupid, cheap toilet-humor gag that didn’t get a laugh from me (Same with Wheelie, but he had some other value in the movie)

  • Balls on Devastator - Really? Are we so obsessed with Truck nuts and penises that we put testicles on a giant, destructive, super-robot? Also, no laugh from me.

  • Hot girl death robot - You know, the girl that was a robot? The girl was played for pure sexuality. This character served no purpose but for boys to check out yet another nearly naked girl. All in all, this just reminded me of the “Species” movies series. That wasn’t any good either. What was this supposed to be, a “Pretender”?

*The Twins - Someone else mentioned this, and my wife did too last night. The twins are the “Jar Jar” of transformers. They were cheap, worthless one-liner characters that offered nothing. I admit openly that I was pleased when it looked like they were going to be inhaled by Devastator. I was disappointed when they weren’t.

*Arcee - I like Arcee. I would’ve like Arcee if she was actually in the movie. I was ready for it. I was looking forward to it. The only line we got to hear from one of the Femmes didn’t come from her!

Things that I liked.

Jetfire - After reading what you have above, I’m sure you’re waiting for me to complain about Jetfire being an old Fogeybot. I’m won’t. I liked the character. I liked his dialog, his transformation, and even his cane (yeah, it’s a bit silly). I loved his blatant statement of “Well, I’m switching sides!” Throwback to the G1 Cartoon. He also qualified a point about Transformers, and that is that they aren’t inherently good or evil, they aren’t permanently fixed that way, and the ideals that Autobots or Decepticons started out with may not be the ideals they hold now.

Devastator - Awesome. Not quite what I was expecting, but awesome. I love that instead of just turning into a giant robot, Devastator was more beast-like.

Ravage - Awesome. The nano-bots he dropped were cool too.

Simmons - Excepting the underwear, I’m glad his character returned. He’s a funny guy.

Optimus Prime taking on Megatron, StarScream, and that other dude all by himeself - This is the sort of thing that shows the courage and character of Prime, and it’s the sort of thing that I loved about the first movie.

The background story - My wife thought it was dumb, but I loved it. It’s a very human story. The dissension of the one Prime to becoming “The Fallen” because he placed his wants and desires above the liberty and life of others is a common theme found throughout our own history.

Things that were okay:

Soundwave - I would have liked it if he were more involved in the action, and I think they could have done the voice with just a little more synthesized vocoding to give it some pitch, but all in all, I thought he was pretty cool.

Megatron having a “master” - I’m not sure how to take this. In most every other form of Transformers, Megatron doesn’t take orders from anyone, or if he does, it’s only because it serves his purpose, and he’ll probably overthrow them anyway. I didn’t get that impression from this Megatron here. I’m okay with Megs having an ancient leader… I think.

The length - I think they could’ve kept it to about 2 hours and not have lost anything.

I enjoyed parts of the movie, but it felt mostly like some 8th graders got together and said, “let’s make a movie”, and then somehow got a multi-million-dollar studio to sponsor it. It’s full of stupid jokes, cheap gags, and Maxim-scale porn. Instead of making a solid movie with a strong plot, they went to the bottom of the barrel and scrapped out the humor for the least common denominator. They could have come up with something funny, but they decided it would be easier just not to try.

I love transformers. I understand the there are different branches in the Franchise, and I remember seeing the first images of the 2007 Movie, and being horrified. That movie was wonderful. I was wrong about it. This movie makes me want to punch Michael Bay in the face.
[/SPOILER]

#34

Saw it last night. It was OK. I liked the first film better. Sircastor your points are spot on, especially about the Fallen. The saving points in this film for me were Optimus, Bumblebee and Simmons. The anoying sidekick roommate was unnecessary.

#35

Alright, I saw it yesterday afternoon. I saw it with my 10 year old niece & 6 1/2 year old nephew. We all really enjoyed ourselves. I enjoyed the movie but I have several nit picks about it. Some have been mentioned others have not.

Twins, dogs, parents until the desert…all gratuitous, all unnecessary, for all the reasons already mentioned. In addition to those:

[spoiler]US troops just landing & blowing shit up in the middle of Egypt without even a token mention of having been in contact with them getting their OK. Kids can & do understand that. There is only so far I can go on this type of thing in my suspension of disbelief. You can’t go into another country & just destroy it without a by your leave at least!

Wanton destruction of in valuable ruins throughout the country side. This made my soul weep!

The defiborlator scene was just unbelievable. They could have at least made it SEEM realistic. Portable AED’s tell the person using it when they are ready to hit the juice on it. Even a token voice of this & the soldier yelling “CLEAR” would have made it much more believable. Perhaps I’ve been working in a hospital too long, but it completely took me out of the movie.[/spoiler]

And finally my feminist nit picks Casilda can appreciate.
[spoiler]Megan Fox rendered the helpless female when Sam needs medical attention. I am so sick of the female lead being reduced to pulling her own hair & screeming when she’s perfectly capable of giving CPR.[/spoiler]

#36

I forgot one!

[spoiler]I did not need to see John Tuturro’s ass![/spoiler]

#37

Gah! That may be a deal-breaker…

#38

quoted for troof

#39

Regards to numbero dos, dude was trained and maybe she wants. So meh

#40

The problem I had with it, DP, is that once again. The main female role in an action movie has reduced her to being effectively useless when the craaaaap hits the fan. She’s simply eye candy with barely any other function. I personally have problems with that. I do not expect a Kara Thrace on every outing. But I do want to see a woman who is capable of contributing instead of freaking out when things get bad. Considering she is the only woman besides her mother associated with the Autobots, this makes it even more egregious.

Now again, I liked the movie, but as many “minorities” will tell you, I want to see me represented & done well. Not a one dimensional piece of fluff.