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Transformers: The Feature Film

I thought those car ads with the dancing and ice-skating robots were as good as a teaser trailer for the thing. Pity the ads didn't work so well as to make me recall the brand they were advertising. Was it Renault? Or Citroen?
 
I wonder if they'll say "shit" in the new movie?
 
On a particularly sad note , I have to admit to having listened to the Transformers soundtrack CD today....it rocks in a strangely enjoyable way.Legions of failed metal bands churning out craptastic tunes. :D
 
Music might be good but, let's face it ... it is based on a cartoon marketing junket! Kids might go for it ... or adults who refuse to admit they are adults. The basic premis of the cartoon is battling robots (poss. sentient), some good some bad, who for no real logical reason can turn into racing cars, motor transporters, etc. Great if you want to sell toys to toddlers/adults without an interesting life but as a film?

Gargh!
 
I prefer that line when it appears in Dirty Job by Faith No More.
 
Stormkhan said:
Music might be good but, let's face it ... it is based on a cartoon marketing junket! Kids might go for it ... or adults who refuse to admit they are adults. The basic premis of the cartoon is battling robots (poss. sentient), some good some bad, who for no real logical reason can turn into racing cars, motor transporters, etc. Great if you want to sell toys to toddlers/adults without an interesting life but as a film?

Gargh!
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I am just hoping they come with an explanation, like being able to transform into cars in order to move freely without being suspicious (of course, a car driving itself would be very strange). Anyway, I am waiting for this movie, it's coming like 20 years too late for me, but I still want to wacth it.
 
Stormkhan said:
I prefer that line when it appears in Dirty Job by Faith No More.
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How can you prefer that line in Faith no more than the classic Transformers. :shock:
 
A lot of people write off Transformers as just a gimmick to sell a toy, as they write off so many such cartoons, with generalised cynicism of the 'one size fits all variety'.

I personally think that is a gross generalization, in this case. What the long running Transformers series did, which many other cartoons tied to products did not, was to take a very simplistic product and actually shape a mythos and a storyline around it - which compared to a lot of the toy lines which have tried to ride on its coat tails, by following a similar principle, reads like Shakespeare in comparison. :D

Before the series really began, let's be honest, the toys weren't even that great. They had a concept, but it was a loose one. Buy this robot, it transforms into a vehicle, or household object. If you rub your finger on this heat sensitive sticker you'll find out if it's good guy or a bad guy.

But that's pretty much as complex as it got. They were cheap to make, cheap to knock off if you could get hold of a mould, and never designed to be much bigger than that. In fact several early Transformers as they were packaged up, had been seen in other toy lines before - simply painted up or labelled up differently.

The cartoon changed all that. When it took off, each toy was given a personality, a character role, and purpose. In fact within a couple of years, those shoddily made early toys were being remade, newly restyled to look more like their cartoon counterparts.

The story of the cartoons, and subsequently the movie, and whole second generation of cartoon series which followed it, while not exactly groundbreaking, was at least thought through.

Two races of robots, fighting on a distant planet, one warlike, and deceitful the other peaceful, but weaker for war due to having some concept of moral fibre and compassion.

The 'Good guys' are losing the war, and find themselves fleeing their home planet, in order to survive. But even after leaving they are chased by the leader of the 'bad guys' who wants to finally snub out the whole race, and never suffer them again. His attempt to do so forces both sides into crash-landing on Earth.

Obviously realising that on a planet full of organic life forms they stick out like a spare prick at an orgy, both sides go into hiding, and adapt to their surroundings, shape-shifting into native vehicles, and objects to fit in.

And here, on an alien planet, the war continues, as before. The good guys try not to let the natives get involved, while they try to figure out a way of getting their ship up and running, in order to get back home. And the bad guys realise that they can take their time snubbing out their opposites, while they take advantages of the Earths natural resources to create potent fuel, which can be used and sold back on their homeworld.

Sure, it's not exactly the Odyssey, but the Transformers story certainly wasn't bad, and grew and expanded by the time they got their own movie, which in turn wasn't that bad either.

There's plenty raw material to make a half decent movie out of this.

Sadly, when you see Movie Turkey Puppeteer Michael Bay's name lit up just as big as the Movie Title on the trailer, it wouldn't be wrong to assume this may not come out as well as it could.

A certain song from Team America World Police echoes at the back of my mind... :roll:
 
<pouts>

I want my ANIME!!!!!!!!

<goes off to play with her action figures.>

Seriously though, from the UFOlogical POV, an alien jets a lot less noticable than a 100ft giant robot.
 
gncxx said:
The new trailer:

http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/transformers/

Frustrating in that you don't get a good look at any full transforming.
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Nah, that would ruin the film.

Im looking forward to this film, call me a big kid but i can't help it :p

I know it's always too over the top and all CGI etc (as hollywood does), but what ya gonna do?
 
CuriousIdent - close but not quite correct. Since I read the comics from the beginning up until the end of "generation 1" (the origional transformers before beast wars, Takara etc).
And desipte what people think it was not horribly simplistic, it had an entire mythology and history. This is from memory alone so may not be precisely correct in minutae but basically it is.


Millions of years ago there existed two god-like beings of energy, one called Unicron who was trying to devour and destroy the entire universe and one called Primus whow as created by the universe itself to protect itrself from Unicron. During the battle, entire solar systems were beign destroyed and everything Primus fought to save was being destroyed. Unicron was also stronger. So Primus tricked him into thinking he was escaping and opened a portal to which Unicron followed him through. Instead of escaping Primus caused them both to be trapped within two massive planet-sized rocks.
Unicron gradually managed to change the matter to form his machine transformer body (see Transformers the animated movie) and Primus changed into the machine world of Cybertron and created the mechanical Transformers, placing his life force in what became the Matrix.

After millions of years the transformers spearated into warring camps, The evil Decepticons and the heroic Autobots. While the decepticons were more ruthless and powerful they suffered from infighting. After millions of years of battle their combined energy sources were running low and the autobots were making an energy transfer run.
A force of decepticons attacked the cybertronian shuttle called the Ark and it crash landed in a volcano in the US, where it would lie dormant until a landslide or something awakened it. The Ark then scanned the earth and scanned the mechanical mechanical beings that ruled this world. (Cars, aircraft, trains etc it thought were the dominant lifeforms). Damaged as it was it reconstructed the Autobots and Decepticons alike, being unable to tell the difference, with the ability to transform from cybertronian robot to Earth-alternate forms (as opposed to Cybertronian ones) so they could blend in successfully.
(All save the Dinobots which where reconstructed in prehistoric times, but then that's another story)

So yeah, there is a good reason why transformers can look like cars :)
 
I'm very much looking forward to this film, as I am a massive Transformers geek (eyes up cabinets filled with toys, comics and videos) and I'm leaning to the opinion that it will be one of the biggest films of next year, even with Spidey 3, Potter and Die Hard 4 as competition...

As far as I can tell, the whole backstory has been re-written to appeal to an audience older than the current toy line aims for. Looks quite violent and action-filled.

It should effectively re-launch the franchise as a mainstream contender once again!

But unfortunately it does mean more cool toys for me to fritter my wage on... :?
 
Stormkhan said:
I prefer that line when it appears in Dirty Job by Faith No More.
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Sorry to play way off topic Faith No More fan, but that's We Care A Lot by Faith No More. :oops:
 
I'm a Transformers geek too - and nearly wet myself at the prospect of a film potentially using the models from those Citroen ads. But then Michael Bay got involved. And I read a script review. And then I saw Megatron...

...and he just looks stupid. Where's the menacing original look from the 80s? He just looks like a shocking attempt at something 'scary and evil'. And 'battle mode'? :wtf: Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! :splat:
 
Well, they casted Hugo Weaving for Megatron, so I'm happy. I would have prefered David Kaye though.
 
Saw Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, OK but not as good as Bumblebee. Might be because Bumblebee was aimed at more of a teen audience whereas here the bar is lower and it's pitched at kids level. Indeed some scenes were dropped because they were "too dark".Still good effects though, especially the Maximals beasts. As always great transformations from cars and bikes into fighting robots and fighting animals in the Maximals case. It;s set in 1994 and some of the casual racism of the time will likely go over kids heads but it's pertinent. Chases and quests from New York to Peru. There's even An Autobot Air-Soldier, Stratosphere, who transforms into a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar cargo plane and transports the Transformers and their human allies around the world. Good adventure fun although the dialogue is a bit stilted at times.. Directed by Steven Caple Jr. from a screenplay by Joby Harold, Darnell Metayer, Josh Peters, Erich Hoeber, and Jon Hoeber. 7/10/

In cinemas.
 
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