Official Transformer Movie Review Thread!!! - Spoiler Free until July 4th!

[MaulFan]

If I had the time I'd be up there with you Bagel, though I did see it a second time last night, and loved every minute of it. Granted, the Autobot mode rocks most, but I equally enjoyed the automobile action too, Barracade chasing Bumblebee and all of the sharp turns and twists, a nicely shot car chase.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

If I had the time I'd be up there with you Bagel, though I did see it a second time last night, and loved every minute of it. Granted, the Autobot mode rocks most, but I equally enjoyed the automobile action too, Barracade chasing Bumblebee and all of the sharp turns and twists, a nicely shot car chase.

I hear ya man, not a lot of time myself! Just as good tonight as the first time! Just can't get enough of this movie.

 

[dekadentdave]

A LETTER TO
OPTIMUS PRIME
FROM HIS GEICO
AUTO INSURANCE
AGENT.

[SIZE=-1]BY JOHN FRANK WEAVER[/SIZE]

<!-- end byline-->[SIZE=-1]- - - -[/SIZE]​

Dear Mr. Prime,
We have received your accident-claim reports for the month of June—they total 27. I regret to inform you that GEICO will not be able to reimburse you for any of those repairs. I feel that I have sent the same letter to you once a month for the last six months, and I am now sending it again.
Since becoming a GEICO customer in January of this year, you have reported 131 accidents, requesting reimbursement for repairs necessitated by each one. You have claimed not to be responsible in any of them, usually listing the cause of the accident as either "Sneak attack by Decepticons" or "Unavoidable damage caused by protecting freedom for all sentient beings."
The only repairs for which you were reimbursed were the replacement of a cracked fender and a headlight, required after a Mr. I. Ron Hide backed his van into your truck; these cost $1,286.63. Our own investigation concluded that you were not at fault and that Mr. Hide had been drinking prior to the accident. Though police were unable to test his blood-alcohol level—Mr. Hide claimed that it would be impossible for police to examine his blood-alcohol content with a Breathalyzer, because he "doesn't breathe"—under Washington-state law, refusal to take a Breathalyzer test is equivalent to returning a result above the legal level.
But, I repeat, those were the only repairs for which you have been reimbursed, and it was a very minor accident in comparison to your other claims. I mention a few to illustrate the larger trend:

• $379,431.34 requested reimbursement for repairs to your truck cabin. You claimed the damage was caused by attacking fighter jets.
• $665,789.11 requested reimbursement for repairs to your trailer. You claimed the damage was caused by a giant mechanical scorpion, which I can only assume is some amusement-park ride, although I question the wisdom of bringing your mobile home so close to such dangerous equipment.
• $6,564,239.44 requested reimbursement for repairs to a truck part called the "Autobot Matrix of Leadership." You stated this occurred in "an ultimate confrontation between good and evil," with a Ms. Meg Atron and a Mr. U. Nicron causing the damage in question. Mr. Prime, I have checked every known car- and truck-part catalog published in the United States and have found nothing even resembling that part, never mind any part so expensive. Whatever disagreements you had with Ms. Atron and Mr. Nicron, I suggest that next time you either settle things peaceably or leave your Autobot Matrix of Leadership at home so it doesn't break. GEICO does not cover Autobot Matrix of Leaderships.

And the list goes on. Mr. Prime, I am going to remind you again: Your policy with GEICO only reimburses you for accidents that occur while you are engaged in the reasonable use of your truck and trailer. As I told you when you originally purchased the policy, GEICO does not offer Megatron coverage, Starscream coverage, Soundwave coverage, Decepticon coverage, or Energon-blast coverage. Those are just not the types of damages we would expect from reasonable use.
To sum up, GEICO has been unable to reimburse you for any repairs, but due to the high number of accidents you have been a party to this month, combined with the many accidents you have had in the preceding five months, your premium has increased to $235,567.50 per month. While that may seem like a lot, I remind you that it is a savings of $137 over Progressive and $98 over State Farm. Please have your check into our main office by the end of July.
Regards, Simon Furman
GEICO Agent

 

[p!tu]

Going to see TF again!!!! for the 7th Time!!!!! and Cant wait!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Eli26]

A LETTER TO
OPTIMUS PRIME
FROM HIS GEICO
AUTO INSURANCE
AGENT.

[SIZE=-1]BY JOHN FRANK WEAVER[/SIZE]

<!-- end byline-->[SIZE=-1]- - - -[/SIZE]​

Dear Mr. Prime,
We have received your accident-claim reports for the month of June—they total 27. I regret to inform you that GEICO will not be able to reimburse you for any of those repairs. I feel that I have sent the same letter to you once a month for the last six months, and I am now sending it again.
Since becoming a GEICO customer in January of this year, you have reported 131 accidents, requesting reimbursement for repairs necessitated by each one. You have claimed not to be responsible in any of them, usually listing the cause of the accident as either "Sneak attack by Decepticons" or "Unavoidable damage caused by protecting freedom for all sentient beings."
The only repairs for which you were reimbursed were the replacement of a cracked fender and a headlight, required after a Mr. I. Ron Hide backed his van into your truck; these cost $1,286.63. Our own investigation concluded that you were not at fault and that Mr. Hide had been drinking prior to the accident. Though police were unable to test his blood-alcohol level—Mr. Hide claimed that it would be impossible for police to examine his blood-alcohol content with a Breathalyzer, because he "doesn't breathe"—under Washington-state law, refusal to take a Breathalyzer test is equivalent to returning a result above the legal level.
But, I repeat, those were the only repairs for which you have been reimbursed, and it was a very minor accident in comparison to your other claims. I mention a few to illustrate the larger trend:

• $379,431.34 requested reimbursement for repairs to your truck cabin. You claimed the damage was caused by attacking fighter jets.
• $665,789.11 requested reimbursement for repairs to your trailer. You claimed the damage was caused by a giant mechanical scorpion, which I can only assume is some amusement-park ride, although I question the wisdom of bringing your mobile home so close to such dangerous equipment.
• $6,564,239.44 requested reimbursement for repairs to a truck part called the "Autobot Matrix of Leadership." You stated this occurred in "an ultimate confrontation between good and evil," with a Ms. Meg Atron and a Mr. U. Nicron causing the damage in question. Mr. Prime, I have checked every known car- and truck-part catalog published in the United States and have found nothing even resembling that part, never mind any part so expensive. Whatever disagreements you had with Ms. Atron and Mr. Nicron, I suggest that next time you either settle things peaceably or leave your Autobot Matrix of Leadership at home so it doesn't break. GEICO does not cover Autobot Matrix of Leaderships.

And the list goes on. Mr. Prime, I am going to remind you again: Your policy with GEICO only reimburses you for accidents that occur while you are engaged in the reasonable use of your truck and trailer. As I told you when you originally purchased the policy, GEICO does not offer Megatron coverage, Starscream coverage, Soundwave coverage, Decepticon coverage, or Energon-blast coverage. Those are just not the types of damages we would expect from reasonable use.
To sum up, GEICO has been unable to reimburse you for any repairs, but due to the high number of accidents you have been a party to this month, combined with the many accidents you have had in the preceding five months, your premium has increased to $235,567.50 per month. While that may seem like a lot, I remind you that it is a savings of $137 over Progressive and $98 over State Farm. Please have your check into our main office by the end of July.
Regards, Simon Furman
GEICO Agent

That was funny! Love it love it!

Thanks Dave!

 

[Khev]

What a great, great movie. I just had a 30 minute discussion with a good friend of mine about how entertaining that was. It certainly had a number of dumb "Michael Bayism's" (remember when "Last Action Hero" parodied having every single female character in a movie look like a supermodel; apparently Bay loved that movie but didn't get that McTiernan was winking at the audience ) but I can't believe the depth of classic Transformer references! From sound affects, to lines of dialogue, to Optimus Prime's real voice! Loved it!

Megaton had more of a Galvatron vibe in this movie (he even sounded a little like Leonard Nemoy) which was fine by me.

The cousin crashing through the sliding glass door when the FBI showed up at his grandmother's house was one of the funniest scenes I've seen in *any* movie in the last few years. Hilarious!

One thing that I thought might have made the movie better would have been if Bumblebee had been a classic yellow Bug in the beginning instead of the '77 Camaro. It would have been awesome to have seen him as his original self. Then the girl could have said, "If he's this advanced robot why does he turn into this stupid little beetle?" and wham--upgrade to the new Camaro. That would have pleased fans of the original cartoon and would have been an even more dramatic upgrade.

So many great scenes though. Did anyone else get a "Virtual On" vibe when Optimus and the Decepticon were speed skating on the freeway? Sweet!

 

[DarthNeil]

What a great, great movie. I just had a 30 minute discussion with a good friend of mine about how entertaining that was. It certainly had a number of dumb "Michael Bayism's" (remember when "Last Action Hero" parodied having every single female character in a movie look like a supermodel; apparently Bay loved that movie but didn't get that McTiernan was winking at the audience ) but I can't believe the depth of classic Transformer references! From sound affects, to lines of dialogue, to Optimus Prime's real voice! Loved it!

Megaton had more of a Galvatron vibe in this movie (he even sounded a little like Leonard Nemoy) which was fine by me.

The cousin crashing through the sliding glass door when the FBI showed up at his grandmother's house was one of the funniest scenes I've seen in *any* movie in the last few years. Hilarious!

One thing that I thought might have made the movie better would have been if Bumblebee had been a classic yellow Bug in the beginning instead of the '77 Camaro. It would have been awesome to have seen him as his original self. Then the girl could have said, "If he's this advanced robot why does he turn into this stupid little beetle?" and wham--upgrade to the new Camaro. That would have pleased fans of the original cartoon and would have been an even more dramatic upgrade.

So many great scenes though. Did anyone else get a "Virtual On" vibe when Optimus and the Decepticon were speed skating on the freeway? Sweet!

Great points... but you just referenced Last Action Hero.

Please move along.

 

[bagelsncheesey]

Great points... but you just referenced Last Action Hero.

Please move along.

"The big ticket for '93"

 

[Khev]

Great points... but you just referenced Last Action Hero.

So did Michael Bay.

 

[DarthNeil]

So did Michael Bay.

That's still no excuse. If Michael Bay made a movie about giant robots that turn into cars would you go see it?... Wait a sec... Bad example...

If Michael Bay jumped off a bridge (to avoid a large fireball explosion) would you do so as well?

 

[Radagaster]

Saw this the other day, and I'm in DekDave's camp.

Now, I noticed after reading through all 55 pages of notes, that the jury either falls into 2 camps: die-hard TF'ers, and not-so die-hard TF'ers. Now . . .granted, I was in college when TF was going strong. I can understand why Bay honored all the TF history -- and I think that's why all those who've seen it a couple of times are tickled pink. TF movie is the TF geek's version of Titanic of the teenage girl.

Despite Bay's honoring of TF fans, I still can't get over the hump of him insulting my intelligence by riddling inane threads into the movie. Here I present my case-in-points:
1) Did he really need the Desert scenes and seeing troops getting their butts served? --- the only reason I can see with this is that we get to see 2 Decepticons create carnage -- so maybe Bay was honoring TF fans on that one.
2) Did we need to see a hot blond decipher signals? This must be a Bayism, as there's no hot blondes in any TF shows as far as I can recall. Actually, to further insult our intelligence -- how probable is it that high school kids (that's what they referred to themselves as) get recruited by the government for signal analysis???
3) Did we need to see said hot blond crash a couple of high-level meetings and have the ability to make an SD copy of gov't data while in a top-security building?
4) Did we need to see a comedic episode involving said hot blonde taking said data to a guy who leaves with his grandma and seeing his cousin fall into a pool??
5) Did we need to see said guy eat a plate of donuts and go flabby on the knees later?

You can see that if the movie didn't involve the hot blonde and deciphering -- more could be dedicated to bot-whooping!

I could go on and on (Sector 7, Sec of Defense, Frenzy), but these mindless dreck just came in left and right at me, FORCING me to think about what happened instead of leaving my brain on autodrive to enjoy what the movie should stay focused on: Bots kicking other bots' behind!

I'm really happy for your TF fans, because Bay kept his promise of honoring your childhood dreams. And I have to give Shia the nod for maintaining a sense of sanity while all this mindless dreck was going on. And mad props to Megan Fox -- a great diversion I didn't mind.

Ok, so, at the end of it, girls who were with me did not enjoy the movie. I'd place TF at the same level as POTC3, but below Die Hard.

And . . .for the record, the number 1 film this summer for me? Ratatouille. Again, Pixar knows how to make a plot. And the animation is just icing.

For the record, I don't hold much hope that they'll make an animation movie about my childhood cartoons like Popeye, and Herculoids.

 

[Vader AL]

good points that i noticed too while i was watching the movie but i overlooked them. should i have to overlook them, no, but i did and enjoyed it none-the-less. that's a guys opinion and he's entitled to it....doesn't mean anything to me though.

To be honest I wish Spielberg would direct and Bay would coordinate the action scenes. The next one needs to focus on the bots more than the humans...I hope Bay understands that.

 

[Eli26]

Now, I noticed after reading through all 55 pages of notes, that the jury either falls into 2 camps: die-hard TF'ers, and not-so die-hard TF'ers. Now . . .granted, I was in college when TF was going strong. I can understand why Bay honored all the TF history -- and I think that's why all those who've seen it a couple of times are tickled pink. TF movie is the TF geek's version of Titanic of the teenage girl.

Love the Titanic comparison.

Despite Bay's honoring of TF fans, I still can't get over the hump of him insulting my intelligence by riddling inane threads into the movie. Here I present my case-in-points:
1) Did he really need the Desert scenes and seeing troops getting their butts served? --- the only reason I can see with this is that we get to see 2 Decepticons create carnage -- so maybe Bay was honoring TF fans on that one.

MY ANSWER: Well, lets see, there were Generation 1 episodes were Transformers thought against human led armies and were sometimes fought in the desert. Just like the scene were we are led to a water dam, that too was in an original G1 episode from one of the earlier episodes. Remember the shot were Megatron is attacking Prime with his power mace and Prime has his power axe?

2) Did we need to see a hot blond decipher signals? This must be a Bayism, as there's no hot blondes in any TF shows as far as I can recall. Actually, to further insult our intelligence -- how probable is it that high school kids (that's what they referred to themselves as) get recruited by the government for signal analysis???

MY ANSWER: My perception was that the character that made that comment was just exaggerating. If not, well it is a sci-fi/action/comedy about walking talking robots that transform into vehicles and back that also speak coherent english on top of that. Can't take this film too seriously. Also, almost every female in every G1 episode was your generic beauty. Slender build, pretty face, complete with Farrah Fawcett hair. You can really tell you haven't seen any of those old episodes in ages. lol

Also, of course this film will be chaulk full of hotties. What pop corn block buster isn't full of them? This isn't any different from your Pirates of the Caribbean or Spider-Man 3.

3) Did we need to see said hot blond crash a couple of high-level meetings and have the ability to make an SD copy of gov't data while in a top-security building?

MY ANSWER: Again, this is just supposed to be a fun movie about robots that transform into vehicles. Can't get that point out any more.

4) Did we need to see a comedic episode involving said hot blonde taking said data to a guy who leaves (LIVES!!!) with his grandma and seeing his cousin fall into a pool??

MY ANSWER: No, but it sure did make for a fun entertaining scene.

5) Did we need to see said guy eat a plate of donuts and go flabby on the knees later?

MY ANSWER: Predictable, but again it was executed well. Both times I saw it at the theatre the audience laughed so the intent of the scene was executed well.

You can see that if the movie didn't involve the hot blonde and deciphering -- more could be dedicated to bot-whooping!

I could go on and on (Sector 7, Sec of Defense, Frenzy), but these mindless dreck just came in left and right at me, FORCING me to think about what happened instead of leaving my brain on autodrive to enjoy what the movie should stay focused on: Bots kicking other bots' behind!

I'm really happy for your TF fans, because Bay kept his promise of honoring your childhood dreams. And I have to give Shia the nod for maintaining a sense of sanity while all this mindless dreck was going on. And mad props to Megan Fox -- a great diversion I didn't mind.

ELI26: Now he gets it!

Ok, so, at the end of it, girls who were with me did not enjoy the movie. I'd place TF at the same level as POTC3, but below Die Hard.

ELI26: Yes, but were those girls Transformer fans and did they grow up watching the cartoons and with the toys? Also, did they like them back then? If all your answers point to N-O!, then there's a good chance they wouldn't see the value in this film.

And . . .for the record, the number 1 film this summer for me? Ratatouille. Again, Pixar knows how to make a plot. And the animation is just icing.

ELI26: Ratatouille will be a much smarter movie I am guessing, since I haven't seen it yet. However, Transformers comes from my childhood and the movie (despite the character designs) pretty much match the old G1 episodes I used to watch as a child back in the 80's.

For the record, I don't hold much hope that they'll make an animation movie about my childhood cartoons like Popeye, and Herculoids.

 

[Radagaster]

Eli, you've confirmed what I thought.

Ohh . . .and for the record, I did enjoy ID4, because Will Smith's gravitas (or lack of it) carried the film. Let's just say ever since "Prince of BelAir", every Will Smith movie already impends a lot of tongue-in-cheek comedy. It's one reason I didn't bother watching his "Pursuit of Happyness" cos I just can't picture him any other way.

Going back on-topic to TF, I suppose Bay didn't do as good a job of appealing to a bigger crowd from the die-hard TF'ers, unlike what the X-Men, LOTR, and Spidey franchises have been able to do. I wish it was otherwise.

 

[Vader AL]

i'm on like the 30th episode of the G1 series TF...only like 55 more to go! (i watch an episode during lunch everyday.) good stuff, i highly recommend getting the complete collection(the one from China).

 

[Eli26]

Eli, you've confirmed what I thought.

Ohh . . .and for the record, I did enjoy ID4, because Will Smith's gravitas (or lack of it) carried the film. Let's just say ever since "Prince of BelAir", every Will Smith movie already impends a lot of tongue-in-cheek comedy. It's one reason I didn't bother watching his "Pursuit of Happyness" cos I just can't picture him any other way.

Going back on-topic to TF, I suppose Bay didn't do as good a job of appealing to a bigger crowd from the die-hard TF'ers, unlike what the X-Men, LOTR, and Spidey franchises have been able to do. I wish it was otherwise.

You are right, Transformers is more for the die-hard TF fans, and here the TF fan elite thought they were being ignored when the movie was in the production stages, yet they weren't. It was the masses. Ironic isn't it?

Well, not really, because despite what I said I know a lot of people who are not big fans of the Transformers universe thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Including the girlfriend. Scratch that, she had an Optimus growing up, and watched the cartoons.

MOVING ALONG!

So how is Rags doing today?

 

[MaulFan]

I'd say I'm a non fan who thoroughly enjoyed this film. My TF evolution has been as such:

1) Grew up watching the G1 episodes and owning a boat load of the toys and loved it all, then moved onto other things and sold off the toys at a very early age ala yard sale, pre-eBay times.

2) Heard a TF movie was being made and became curious.

3) Saw the film-based toys and some film stills and had reservations about the new design of Optimus Prime as he was always my favorite and the only character I could identify from the cartoon.

4) Read Dusty's review of the film and saw a lot of promise in it and decided to put my reservations aside and go see the movie.

5) Saw TF on opening day and had the most fun watching a movie that I've had in a long time.

6) I have become once again interested in G1 cartoons and started collecting toys from the film and G1 based figures.

So basically, I grew up watching and loving TF, lost touch with it, Michael Bay's movie brought me back to it, and now I love it again.

 

[TOE]

I just saw the movie last night and this is my opinion of it:

I give it 3/5 stars

The moment the movie opened up with Peter Cullen's voice, I literally cried, seriously. I just can not believe that Optimus Prime is in the movie screen and my favorite autobots were choosen to be part of the movie

Best about the film:

-Peter Cullen as the voice of Prime
- CGI is awesome
- action-packed, kept me in my sit
- humorous

Down side, IMO:

- story was not well-developed
- they should have used the Combaticons name instead...ex: Devastator (brawl) = tank
- Characters of the robots were not well-developed. The movie should have concerated more about the robots than the humans. I did not even sense Starscream deviousness as compared to the original series.
- what was the whole point of having those "hackers" ??? I was expecting them to play more of a major role like putting virus on the Decepticons or something.

Overall, it was a good movie. Best summer movie, yet.

Since Megatron died, I am expecting Galvatron in part 2, if there is a part 2.

 

[Khev]

The moment the movie opened up with Peter Cullen's voice, I literally cried, seriously. I just can not believe that Optimus Prime is in the movie screen and my favorite autobots were choosen to be part of the movie

I hear you. I hadn't been following the development of this film too much and thought I had heard somewhere that Jon Voight was voicing Optimus Prime. When the movie opened and it really *was* Optimus Prime my mouth hit the floor! My favorite Autobots were always Prime, Bumblebee, and Jazz. I was very, very pleased to see them not only in the movie but so well represented. I love how Megatron was kind of a combination of Galvatron and Cyclonus.

And bypassing cliched FA-18's in favor of A-10's and a C-130 Gunship in the desert scenes was awesomely cool.

 

[tylerd]

saw the film last night and all i can say is, it gave me serious eye strain. did anyone notice that a majority of the camera shots had you looking directly into either smoke or light? especially from the second half on. every couple of seconds you were either looking into the sun, a spotlight, a flashlight, an explosion, or fire. And just as your eyes were adjusting, another flash would make you see spots again. now i don't know if it's the director, michael bay, or the lighting guy who is responsible, but it made it very difficult to follow the fast moving action. i mean jesus, it was like it had been filmed by a guy in film school that didn't know better not to look into the sun. it kind of pissed me off because i could have really enjoyed it if it wasn't for that. but megan fox was UNBELIEVABLE!!! WOW!!! what a hottie!