Stavros Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 The whole camera spinning around someone standing still is annoying. Especially since it's used every couple minutes. I think that those shots are the sole attempt at subtext in the film. Michael Bay is trying to indicated that the whole world revolves aroud him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted June 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 I actually liked the movie. What more could you want than big robots beating the shit out of each other for two hours? What I didn't like were the seven comic relief characters. It's like they half tried to turn it into a comedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 I actually liked the movie. What more could you want than big robots beating the shit out of each other for two hours? What I didn't like were the seven comic relief characters. It's like they half tried to turn it into a comedy. I agree. I wrote up a review of it yesterday: This is not a good film. It is, however, an amazing movie. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen lacks solid character development, good scriptwriting, and a coherent plot. And yet, for all it's flaws, it's still highly entertaining. Unlike the first film, in which the the film's budget greatly restricted the amount of screentime that the transformers could be given, here we see the robots in their full glory throughout the film, even when we probably don't need to. The extreme close-up camera problems from the first film are gone, as the action is perfectly framed in Revenge of the Fallen. Revenge starts off with a brief prologue, followed by a great action scene that sets up the plot very well. In this story, Optimus Prime and his team of Autobots are working alongside NEST, a small U.S. military force led by Major Lennox, to eradicate the Decepticons from the face of the planet. The film feels very much like the original animated series, as we get the same globe-spanning (and oft-ridiculous) Sci-Fi war adventures of the Transformers. It's a lot of fun, even if it comes off as convoluted and silly. A highlight of this film is the much-improved character of Sam Witwicky. In the last film, he was an annoying boy whose entire motivation was to get a cool car and a hot girlfriend. His entire existence in the last film seemed contrived and silly, as was the film's assertion that he somehow represented the best of humankind. In this film, he is shown to be much more responsible, working right from the start towards getting his college education, and, later, saving the world. He is also given a completely plausible reason to exist in the film, which makes his scenes actually contribute to the overall plot rather than distract from it as in the first film. For the first time, I actually care about Sam. He earns his place in the film, and is an integral part of it. While Mikaela (Megan Fox) has been upgraded from "high school skank" to "worthwhile human being," she doesn't have much to do in the movie. All of her important scenes only serve to advance the plot in a very small way, and it's obvious that the scriptwriters were just looking for something to do with her. Still, she feels like she belongs in the story much more than in the last film, and her presence doesn't distract from the plot. In fact, Sam and Mikaela's relationship is far less uncomfortable in Revenge, as they have actually come to deeply care for one another at this point. It's as if this film's portrayal of its characters is a "do-over" for all the ways they failed in the last film. Major Lennox is a great character for this story, fitting in perfectly as the commander of the military task force NEST and, later, the temporary leader of the Autobots. The rest of the human cast is, sadly, there for no real reason. They, along with new Autobot "twins" Skids and Mudflap, are essentially this film's Jar Jar Binks. [Former] Agent Simmons (John Turturro) advances the plot in a minor way, but then spends the rest of the film being a terribly annoying (and sometimes disgusting) distraction. Sam's new college roommate, Leo, is a completely unnecessary character that does nothing important. Throughout the film we see Optimus Prime not as the slow, clunky old robot that he was in the last film, but as a powerful and skilled warrior. After seeing Optimus do little in the first film but give inspirational speeches and get kicked around by Megatron, it's great to see him as the great warrior that he should be. One of his fight scenes is, without a doubt, the best action scene I've seen in a long time. As a Transformers fan, that scene alone was worth the $9.50 I paid for the ticket. Bumblebee is the only other Autobot that's given much spotlight, which is probably for the best. Honestly, there's no reason for the audience to care about anyone else, so this is a welcome change. He's every bit as cool as he was in the first film, though his speech problems are becoming annoying. In the last movie, we never really got to see him in action, as he was either off-screen or crippled for all of his fight scenes, but here we can see that he's an extremely good fighter: fast and powerful. His Camaro form also gets an upgrade from the 2007 film, which is nice for the people like me who appreciate that. The two new "comic relief" characters, Skids and Mudflap, are extremely annoying. They're portrayed with a large number of racial stereotypes (which makes absolutely no sense), and serve to do nothing other than sit there and act like morons. They could have been completely taken out of the story and the film would have been better for it. Jetfire, perhaps the most important of the new Autobots, is portrayed in an odd fashion. Whereas he was a powerful (and relatively young) Autobot in all of his previous appearances in Transformers lore, here he is shown to be an ancient transformer that can barely move. As a fan, I'm somewhat disappointed with this portrayal, as Jetfire is one of my favorite TF characters. Here he serves the purposes of exposition and little more. His entire introduction scene is actually one of the major subplots that did not need to be in the film. The rest of the Autobot cast is relatively ignored. Ironhide and Ratchet are given only a few lines in this film, and serve as background characters along with Arcee, Jolt, and Sideswipe. While this might seem sad, it ultimately works, as they really are mere soldiers in a war, and aren't extremely important characters anyway. The villains this time are actually shown in their full glory outside of battle, rather than only glimpsed as in the 2007 film. It's nice, even if they're a bit silly and not very deep. They really only serve as the threat, not actual characters. However, as that threat, they serve their purpose well. The aforementioned amazing fight scene comes in the middle of the story, and honestly is the high point of the entire film. The film's climax isn't anywhere near as interesting, but the endless number of explosions and mini-battles keep the intensity high. It's been said by some that a film is filled with depth, while a movie is superficial entertainment. By those definitions, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a terrible film, but an amazing movie. 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted June 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 In the original script Sam's roommate played a bigger role. He should have been written out of the movie. Good review except for the Jetfire stuff. Your personal feelings about how he used to be shouldn't affect a review. Otherwise the whole movie must be crap because almost everything is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 Good review except for the Jetfire stuff. Your personal feelings about how he used to be shouldn't affect a review. It didn't affect my overall review; it was just a personal side-note. The other stuff they changed didn't bother me. I prefer Soundwave as a satellite rather than a cassette player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 I prefer Soundwave as a satellite rather than a cassette player. You, my god sir are off the Suavestar sends christmas cards....too much list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koete Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 The other stuff they changed didn't bother me. I prefer Soundwave as a satellite rather than a cassette player. But...but how can he shoot transforming cassettes out of his chest if he's a satellite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 You, my god sir are off the Suavestar sends christmas cards....too much list! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 You, my god sir are back on the Suavestar sends christmas cards....too much list! But I still can't believe your blasphemy. But...but how can he shoot transforming cassettes out of his chest if he's a satellite? shakehead.gif Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 You, my god sir are back on the Suavestar sends christmas cards....too much list! But I still can't believe your blasphemy. But...but how can he shoot transforming cassettes out of his chest if he's a satellite? Exactly. Maybe he's a satellite/spaceship/cassetteplayer/robot quadruple-changer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 So what, he's not good to have a cup holder for the multi tasking psychotic robots on the go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 So what, he's not good to have a cup holder for the multi tasking psychotic robots on the go? He was banished to space for doing his "old man Megatron" voice impersonation one too many times. Now he floats in space, repeatedly listening to his tape of "I'm So Lonely." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 27, 2009 Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 He was banished to space for doing his "old man Megatron" voice impersonation one too many times. Now he floats in space, repeatedly listening to his tape of "I'm So Lonely." He did do it one to many times at partys..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightAngle04 Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 I actually liked the movie. What more could you want than big robots beating the shit out of each other for two hours? What I didn't like were the seven comic relief characters. It's like they half tried to turn it into a comedy. 7? Theres like 12 comic relief characters in this piece of shit. I would almost recommend people seeing this movie just to see how badly someone can kill a franchise from my childhood. Lots of gay jokes, lots of dick jokes, there is some out and out racism, No plot whatsoever, scenes that don't go anywhere or drag on too long, "Comedy", massive logic holes. I mean it really has to be seen to be believed. Its terrible just terrible, this might be the Worst Michael Bay film ever. And that is saying something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted June 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 I actually liked the movie. What more could you want than big robots beating the shit out of each other for two hours? What I didn't like were the seven comic relief characters. It's like they half tried to turn it into a comedy. 7? Theres like 12 comic relief characters in this piece of shit. I would almost recommend people seeing this movie just to see how badly someone can kill a franchise from my childhood. Lots of gay jokes, lots of dick jokes, there is some out and out racism, No plot whatsoever, scenes that don't go anywhere or drag on too long, "Comedy", massive logic holes. I mean it really has to be seen to be believed. Its terrible just terrible, this might be the Worst Michael Bay film ever. And that is saying something. I didn't see any racism, and I only remember one testicle joke. The seven comic relief characters are The twins, Sam's parents, the sector seven guy, the little robot, and Sam's roommate. Those seven characters did nothing but do stupid and/or funny things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackFetch Posted June 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Paramount’s sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” grossed an estimated $201.2 million from 4,234 theaters at the domestic box office to score the best five-day haul ever after “The Dark Knight.” http://www.variety.com/article/VR111800546...=1&nid=2562 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Paramount’s sequel “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” grossed an estimated $201.2 million from 4,234 theaters at the domestic box office to score the best five-day haul ever after “The Dark Knight.” http://www.variety.com/article/VR111800546...=1&nid=2562 There goes Star Trek's "movie of the Summer" title. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venneh Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Is this worth going to see on someone else's money? Friend wants to see it and is offering to pay for my broke ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Is this worth going to see on someone else's money? Friend wants to see it and is offering to pay for my broke ass. Definitely. As long as you go in with very low expectations, you'll enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Is this worth going to see on someone else's money? Friend wants to see it and is offering to pay for my broke ass. Yes. Haven't even see it and I'm saying yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DCAUFan1051 Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Is this worth going to see on someone else's money? Friend wants to see it and is offering to pay for my broke ass. Definitely. As long as you go in with very low expectations, you'll enjoy it. see even though I'm a Transformers Fan and everything I see the issues with this movie. If you're looking for some action and stuff like that sure go see it. If you are looking for a good story/plot, whatever then it sucks. This will be the last film I see in the theater this year only because it's a pain in the friggin ass to get to the closest theater. I did enjoy it and thought that there were several good scenes overall I'd rate it a 9/10 for action and a 4/10 for the story. I'm praying that another director picks up TF3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuaveStar Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 Not going to happen, if Bay wants to come back, they'll let him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venneh Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 UGH. Just got back. I think that this may have been the worst movie I have seen in a few years. Several things: -Never be a female below forty or so in a Bay film, human or robot. You will either function as a sex object, or die. -WHY THE HELL DID THERE NEED TO BE DECEPTICON BALLS?! -Those locations are, in fact, not anywhere near each other in Egypt. Learn geography plz. -Why did Sam go to Robot Heaven? -Why could the five Decepticons who combined to form Devastator be seen fighting separate from each other and Devastator while he was wrecking the pyramids? -Why did all the ethnically-accented robots only function as comedy relief/were the only ones to die? -What the hell was with all the bad gay jokes? -Why was the robot being more or less in a slave/master relationship with Mikaela humping her leg? -Don't even bother applying logic. It doesn't work. -The scene with the probe-bot almost made me throw up in the theatre. Apparently I don't do well with that. And probably several other things that I forgot in my rage. In short, awesome battle scenes, even if I couldn't tell half of the robots apart half the time, horribly written dialogue and plot. Also, OPTIMUS PRIME DIED FOR YOUR SINS!!!! Does this make Sam Mary Magdalene? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Also, OPTIMUS PRIME DIED FOR YOUR SINS!!!! Does this make Sam Mary Magdalene? Since he was instrumental in Prime's resurrection, I think it makes him the Holy Spirit. O_O You're totally right about all the negative stuff. In truth, I just didn't care about any of that. ANY and ALL quality I found in the non-action scenes of that movie were a pleasant surprise, so I ended up having a pretty good experience watching it. =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venneh Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 What happens with me is that I will usually go into a movie looking for not only good visuals, but a good plot to compliment it. If it has one but doesn't have the other, then I usually have a hard time enjoying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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