I don't know about everywhere else, but the theater near me decided to start showing it on July 2nd. I have no complaints and caught the 11:35 pm showing.

I would say that it helps, but is not necessary, to also be familiar with Beast Wars. This movie doesn't just draw from the original cartoon. If big explosions are what you want, then this will satisfy. The story was not good; it appears they took many liberties developing it. This is not meant to be thought-provoking.
I would give it a 10/10 for computer graphics mastery and 3/10 for the story. The puerile humor did not appeal to me; Michael Bay must still be 12 years old or something.

It was evident from the first picture released that this movie had little interest with following G1.  I've long since accepted that.

I have yet to see it and THE most important question bothering me is:  How does Starscream's voice actor sound?

*SIGH* I just knew with Bay directing that it would end up being explosions and dumb humor...grrr...

I fail to see why he keeps getting asked to direct! Oh well, at least this movie has brought Transformers into the limelight, so if any good comes out of it, perhaps we'll see a complete Transformers G1 DVD set released (I think thus far only bootleg complete sets were released)!

cheers,

-avatar!

Michael Bay productions always come off like movies that crap their own pants.

It actually received better reviews from critics than I anticipated

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808716430/info

of course, so far all the fans who saw it think it's great...which I know it isn't. Still, makes me ponder the sequels that will most likely come out. Maybe, the sequels will actually be good?? Yeah right! when has a sequel ever been as good as the original? (except with the Empire Strikes Back)

cheers,

-avatar!

Edit: Look at that, I just noticed apparently there's a movie based upon the Hitman video games coming out...meh!

You people are so damn bitter.  Regardless, I saw the movie and it is alright if you totally divorce the movie from G1.  Starscream's voice actor isn't right though.

And Olyphant might make a good Agent 47.

<plays "Bitter Dance" from SO3>

Aliens?  Terminator 2?  Toy Story 2?  Godfather II?

And, of course, the sequel to Jet Baby.  Because "part one was good too, but this one had more juice."

The Transformers G1 DVD sets have been out for more than 3 years now. I believe it was late 2004 when I finally got them all. But you did type 'complete'. In that sense, you are right. It's only possible to buy them season by season. But either way, it's complete, so I don't see the point in having them all in one box set. The price would probably still be the same.

I did like the way Starscream 'acted'. His complete disregard for humanity was very true to his cartoon counterpart.

The G1 DVDs are long out of print, after Rhino lost the license.  Right now it belongs to Sony, and with this movie and a new animated series on the way (which looks *awful*, by the way), I wouldn't be surprised to see Sony put out some new sets soon.

Aliens was good, but I thought the original Alien had a much better, more frightening, and (obviously) more original story -although Aliens has a ton more action (and one liners), but I prefer a solid story. In my eyes Alien is the pinnacle of space monster movies.

I thought Terminator 2 was terrible. That is, if you're looking for substance... I have to agree with David Foster Wallace who called it “special effects porn”. Consequently, I think the first movie is much better, and has an original and strong storyline, whereas the second is all about special effects (which can be OK if that's what you're looking for, but personally I'm SO tired of computer graphics this and computer graphics that).

Haven't seen Toy Story 2, and can't remember anything from the Godfather II.

cheers,

-avatar!

Well, it looks like people are asking an arm and half a leg for the G1 sets! I guess people figure now's the time to milk them for what they can... I do hope Sony releases a complete set, because it would be nice to have the entire collection in one compact box. Of course, knowing Sony they'll just release it on Blu-Ray and UMD

cheers,

-avatar!

Released early?  You know what I thought when I saw that?  The movie company is trying to get a bigger 'July 4'th' take in...which is a total gimmick.  I think this movie is gone after the first week (no longevitiy)...

I had hoped Michael Bay would do something decent but that wasn't what happened.  First off...what was up with the pace of this movie?  It was all over the place.  Literal 'wait, what is happening now?' moments happened so frequently, I began to discredit this as an actual movie, and rather a flash of stuff on the screen by the hands of a disinterested story teller.  How much did Spielberg have in the production of this movie??

Probably the best moment, was when all of the autobots were introduced by Optimus  THAT is what the entire movie should have been like...I chuckled at a few things...'One Shall Stand, One Shall fall', or...'My Bad'...but it was too late at this point.  The problem with these types of movies, is that if you 'don't care' about the characters you introduce, there's no reason to 'go along for the ride'.   There wasn't much of a movie here, sadly.  I think it's embarrasing the release plan for the movie...this was well marketed in advance, you would think they could've spent more time creating a better picture.

1 Star

Was that a Parappa reference?

I agree with Ryu, here. What the f--- were you people expecting? A Lord of the Rings epic grand scale world shaking experience? You all said before how much you hated Michael Bay (who doesn't deserve a lot of the shit said about him), and then you act affronted when this movie turns out to be not what you wanted.

Transformers has never really had a story to begin with. Good guys, bad guys, and some stuff gets blown up in the middle of it all. This is EXACTLY what the movie was. So technically, you can call it extremely faithful to the source material.

And so what if Optimus had flame decals? What of it?

In closing, as a popcorn filler summertime funride, I thought it succeeded beautifully.

I actually like some of Michael Bay's movies (The Island, Armageddon)...There was still hope after we found out who the director was..

Could be the extra '24' years of life, but this one didn't have any of the 'magic' the cartoon movie did.  Did ANYONE notice the soundtrack at all?  It was so buried, and what I did hear was instantly forgettable...This should have been a 'quiet' December release. instead of a Summer 4th of July. And did they really need to 'brain-wash' us for over 2.5 hours?  There are better  (and shorter) popcorn movies to be had.   It's refreshing to see a good movie every once in a while...1408 was such a movie

I seem to remember that new releases are supposed to be coming. In a way, I hope they are exactly the same as the Rhino, so I have NO incentive to rebuy em...

-Joshua

That's the main issue.  I'm choosing not to go see it at all, because to me Transformers *IS* Generation 1.  If everything from G1 is disregarded then it's not going to match MY vision of Transformers, so I'm not going to give Bay the reward of a ticket purchase.

Honestly, it seems Hasbro and Takara both are quite interested in letting G1 go, as is evident from every version of Transformers released after Beast Wars (at least Beast Wars attempted to expand the timeline of G1).  However, if you watch any of the comic book movies you really have to do the same thing... even the much lauded Spider-man and Batman movies stray so far.

I've known very few people who emphasize the special effects as Terminator 2's only merit, instead agreeing that it functions as a helpful asset in telling the story.  That you would call the original better because of its strong story is odd, as T2 is a sequel meant to further the existing plot.  If anything, it strengthened the first film's place as a preface to the conclusion of what's legitimately considered a two-part series.

I've read David's article before, and while I concur on some of his stated principles, there are others that I do not.  Quite obviously, I don't agree on the whole with his T2 review, but as for his tirade (and your own) on special effects and computer graphics..... Yes, it can be frustrating nowadays to see special effects used to such extents where it compromises a good story, but I hope you don't write off every movie with even a hint of CG as a bad one.   In the right hands, it can be an extremely useful tool for telling a great story.

Oh, I totally agree! In fact, Pan's Labyrinth which is the best movie I've seen in a LONG time had some obvious CG here and there. In this case, the CG were used as an aid to the story, they did not the movie make! It's too bad that many movies these days are ALL about special effects, which just gets a yawn from me. However, interestingly enough, I've seen TV shows that make perfect use of CG! Two series that readily come to mind are "Band of Brothers" and "Walking with Dinosaurs". Both (two distinct television productions of very high quality) used CG in superb ways! In fact, I highly recommend both shows to anyone who hasn't seen them, and furthermore the music (available on CD) is top notch!!

cheers,

-avatar!

Carl, you'll live. There are far better movies out there without even a lick of CG. Heck, some of the low budget Korean movies I've seen from the 80s are better than any film with CG. I know that few people would side with me, but I prefer a movie that gives me something to think about. If you get a chance, find almost any movie by Kim Ki Duk or Hong Sang Soo or Lee Chang Dong.

I thought Terminator 3 was terrible. But part 2, how could anyone not like it? Up until that point, you had seen a liquid metal killing machine before? I have dreams about that damn thing. It's as cool as lightsabers or portable blackhole past viewers. How could you not like it? And without CG, how do you recommend creating a liquid metal terminator? Ask a large globule of mercury to cooperate for a while?

Transformers
-I think the movie looks terrible, and while I had hoped to avoid seeing it, it doesn't look like that's going to happen, so I'll post my impressions after I'm subjected to it.

T1 vs. T2
-Terminator 2 is a decent movie, but it is far inferior to the first one since the entire concept of the Terminator becoming a good guy flies in the face of what made the first one so good.

Exactly. The first one is a relentless hunt - tense and scary. The second one is about a robot who learns to love a little boy. The thumbs-up at the end is a visual representation of everything that's wrong with that movie.

Hahaha..that was pretty cheesy in hindsight...That was Cameron pushing the 'connection with the father, John never had'.  Maybe there was an underlying 'NAMBLA' reference there...lol, let's hope not.....

I thought, at the time, T2 was a great movie.  That nuclear holocost scene is still amazingly scary. Box office wise, it certainly sold alot of tickets, more than part 1.    T3 was pretty much reckless abandonment.  I mean, I watched it, because it was a 'Terminator' movie....There are more coming btw. 

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, not sure how we got off point here, but,...Transformers the movie blew, for any 'old school' fan...I say, if you're a fan, don't skip it (how can you??) but wait for video...and expect pure bastardization of the transformers universe.

Pure bastardization?  Have you ignored what all Hasbro has done to the Transformers in the last 20 years?  Even Beast Wars (which I admittedly like now, but not when it first aired) seemed to retcon G1 material into it only after it had been on for a season.

Seriously, people, how many of you still think it is 1986?  Beast Wars/Machines (although it attempts to retcon itself into G1 continuity), Robots in Disguise, Armada/Energon/Cybertron... even the description of the new animated series (and Spongebob is doing Starscream's voice!?) has me thinking the movie might be the only highlight for the future of this franchise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers_series

Firstly, I believe brandonk's closer with the idea of paternal love, as far as pegging an emotional subtext to the overarching theme.  But it's the opposite; it's John who develops love for the T-800, not the other way around.  And secondly, the primary theme of T2 isn't about the love between John and a machine per se, but rather, the humanization of a machine who learns the value of life -- that technology itself is apathetic, but can be given purpose depending on how it's used.  They kind of bludgeon you over the head with that concept all throughout the film - didn't pick up on it?

And I thought T2 was every bit about a relentless hunt as T1; the final sequence in the steel mill is still one of the most tense games of cat and mouse that I've ever seen.

Well this movie did HUGE...Since opening, it's grossed $152 million domestic (US), setting a new record for a big July 4'th opening (surpassing Spiderman 1)...  As mentioned, the studio got some 'extra' days in for the total gross, however, the amount of money this movie made in such a short time, is no small feat...Expect at least one more Transformers movie to be made

I'm going to have to watch it again...

Ok, I saw it.  And you know what?  It was ok.  I'm not really sure why, but it was.  I mean, it was cheesy and brainless, but I kind of liked the quaintness of the human parts of the story.  My memory of the original cartoon (which I watched a lot of as a kid) is vague and piecemeal, so any changes that may have been made are more or less lost on me.  Maybe I would have been as offended as the friend who went with me if I still had an attachment to those memories, but I guess I don't.  Also important, I think, is how this movie doesn't even begin to take itself seriously.  It's completely ridiculous, it knows it is, and it goes with it.

Expect two sequels:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers_(film)

"On May 30, 2007, Dreamworks greenlit two sequels to Transformers,[103] and Shia LaBeouf,[104] Megan Fox[105] and Peter Cullen[39] signed on to return. Producer Tom DeSanto has envisioned a storyline introducing the Dinobots, the Constructicons, and Soundwave.[15] Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman may not return, as "Star Trek... is taking up kind of all of our time."[26] Michael Bay has not signed on, "trying to keep some leverage for the negotiations",[39] but already has ideas, including an aircraft carrier character.[106]"

That Star Trek movie is definitely something I'm not liking.  Rebooting the franchise is not a good idea, imo.

..... I hate knowing that people are such suckers.

I'm not sure how this is making all that money. Some of my inferiors at work are teenagers and they don't care about Transformers. If their attitude is indicative of the normal teenager, then the money generated is likely coming from those with memories of the cartoon. Seriously, this could've been rated 'R'. Few people younger than 20 probably even care, or are aware of, Transformers. If not for the fact my 8 year old self spent every Saturday morning watching the cartoon, I probably would've had a mild interest and waited for a DVD rental. But it is important to remember that the spin-offs had a long life span and could be responsible for some of the attention with the younger crowd. Transformers is interesting in that sense, since it hit my generation in the 80s and got another one in the late 90s. It's actually a fairly robust series, if one counts all the related parts.