Transformers (2007) (13 Viewers)

[Chris Atkins]

I forgot about the AC-130 gunship...that was a good sequence.

 

[JediFonger]

went to a 10:20PM showing last and had to work this morning. imho, it wasn't worth it. saw it with a bunch of friends, some of whom saw it twice.

the action didn't disappoint, but what really disappointed this time is michael bay. before you say anything lemme explain.

i've been following his career ever since i saw bad boys. here was a dir. who knew how to capture beautiful moving shots for film in general. he definitely has RAW talent for that... but lacked the sense to develop characters behind what they are for an action film. i think there's a lot to do and a lot of great work and potential can be had, think john woo for his HK chow yun fat shoot 'em ups. thus, every subsequent film, you see him getting a bit better @the character meanwhile he was doing LESS signature bay shots (the gimmicky ones) as time went on. pearl harbor had the LEAST, even with the bomb being dropped from the plane from way up high, it still fit the scene naturally. the rock's nic cage flare kneel is just iconic! i haven't seen the island yet...

this transformer business is a step BACKWARDS for him. first, he was growing (just a bit) with every subsequen picture to have a bit more meat character-wise, slowly but surely i was positive he was making progress, but then this came along and he just regressed to a 6 year old... although, this is kinda' whom it was made for. the boy+his car story is so cartoonish and buffoonish that even kids will find it stupid. the boy+his girl story is also handled in the typical "manly" bruckheimer+bay way, the typical mistreatment of women onscreen these pair is known for and now spielberg is joining the fray? lol anyways. it was just so awkward and cheesy throughout... but yes megan fox is, well, a hot fox indeed.

ILM did an excellent job and i am taking it for granted. the transformers did a better job @acting ONCE AGAIN than the live action humans! lol. shia's good, i saw him on project greenlight =P. waaay before he broke mainstream.

another step backwards for cinematography is the "look ma, no hands" approach. as i was saying, he was doing less showy stuff... until this one. hell, even fincher stop doing that after panic room with zodiac and managed to grow as an artist (both fincher+bay came from tv commercials/music videos). bay regressed into a child-like state with the scene of the hot chic screaming as one of the autobots stepped over her and the camera panned 180 then upside down, those types of shots just made me cringe and barf afterwards.

it was still entertaining... but @the expense of neurons. i have to say that i hadn't lost a LOT of it while watching michael bay features of the past, i really defended him a lot and took a lot heat from my friends for it! alas, this transformers film is the straw that broke the camel's arse or somn like that. i will no longer defend the charlatan he is.

 

[ThomasC]

blew is self-knowledge.

Hey, now...

 

[Stephen Orr]

Although Transformers were a bit past my time, my son grew up with them. I saw the movie last night and had a blast. Liked some of the "Bayisms", like the rotating camera shot when the little decepticon was attacking the group in the underground room. Straight out of Bad Boys 2.

Will see it again with the wife next week, then wait until it hits DVD.

 

[Holadem]

What makes Transformers great when Pearl Harbor blew is self-knowledge.

This implies that the abomination which shall remain nameless would have been more palatable with a healthy dose of self-awareness? I don't think so... They shouldn't have let Bay anywhere close to that material (though no one could have salvaged that awful script to begin with).

--
H

 

[Ray Chuang]

I finally saw Transformers last night at the Regal Natomas Market 16 in Sacramento, CA in full DLP digital projection.

WOW. Sure, there are plotholes in the movie (like other people here have said), but gawd, the special effects was the most amazing I've seen in many years. And it helped that the movie was shown in digital projection, because it really does bring out how awesome the SFX really is.

:star::star::star::star:/:star::star::star::star::star:

 

[JonZ]

While Im mildy curious about this, its good to see so many fans happy with this film.

 

[Terry!]

Question: Is this movie to much for a 4-year old? He loves Star Wars and loves the Transformer toys. He has seen the old cartoons as well. I assume this would be no different than Star Wars, but if it is too violent or cussing, I dont think I would take him.

Thanks for the information.

 

[Chris Atkins]

It's a Michael Bay film. There's talk about masturbation and Transformers urinating on people, etc.

I wouldn't take my 4 year old.

 

[todbnla]

Saw this 4th of July, 9/10, great action flick, IMHO.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It's got a goofy kid sensibility, and the violence is mostly contained to the robots. That said, it's got everything Chris mentioned, plus a pretty fair run of four-letter words. I'd definitely screen it first.

 

[Paul Arnette]

I wouldn't take my 4 year old.

I took my 4-year-old.

Granted, he'll be five on Sunday, but he loved it. There was some language and scenes that have already been mentioned that might make you a bit uncomfortable as a parent to have your child watch, but overall I thought it wasn't too bad.

Ultimately, it depends on what you're comfortable with (a lot of the things mentioned I feel went right over my son's head as he was too enamored with really cool robots), but, perhaps more importantly, with what you feel your child is capable of handling. Apart from being occasionally wound up by violent shows, he's shown a lot of maturity when I've let him watch things that are a bit outside the 'age-appropriate' guidelines.

 

[William Ward]

I took my boys and I think the adult humor stuff went over their heads. I mean, they didnt even understand why Bumblebee switched to an 09 Camaro. Their ages range from 7 to 11.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Re-read my comments. I said I often LIKE Bay movies. I certainly know what to expect, but Bay didn't deliver with this one. It was boring...

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Boy, I REALLY wanted to like this movie, partially because I dragged my Dad to it. I was out visiting them in AZ and wanted to go to a movie, but TF was the only interesting thing I'd not already seen. The Old Man clearly didn't want to go, but did so to placate me, I guess.

I dearly wanted to say "told you it'd be fun!" at the end. However, all I could say was "let's not talk about it". He was right, I was wrong...

 

[Robert Crawford]

I never knew a thing about Transformers before watching it on opening night at 10 p.m., and for the life of me I don't know how you can call this boring? It's definitely not Terminator 2 or Aliens, but it was far from boring to me. I even watched it a second time yesterday and again, I wasn't bored by it. I guess different strokes for different folks. Both times, the audiences I attended the shows with, were really into the film. Two different type of crowds too, one with the diehard Transformers fans on opening night and less of the diehards at the matinee showing.




Crawdaddy

 

[TravisR]

Yeah, I have next to no interest in this movie but it's cool (and refreshing) that most fans seem to be happy with it.

 

[Cory S.]

This might be Bay's best film only because the it suits his talents well. After three viewings, I can finally say that I think it's quite good but could've been one for the ages had a few things, at the script level, been changed (ie, streamlining the plot and a few human characters a bit).

As far as the action goes, I think the action in this film is one for the ages. The visual effects have pretty much destroyed the damn bar and the only film(s) I see on the horizon that could surpass these are Cameron's Avatar and the Transformers sequel (which by the way, I'm advocating for a remake of the '86 animated film split into two parts with Part II ending with the death of Prime and Megatron. And yes, I think it should include Unicron.)

Shia is a star. Megan Fox can be a star if given more to do but she did well for what she was given here.

Again, it's not Terminator 2, Die Hard, or The Rock, but it's pretty much one of the best action spectacles in a few years, by far....

 

[Quentin]

this transformer business is a step BACKWARDS for him. first, he was growing (just a bit) with every subsequen picture to have a bit more meat character-wise, slowly but surely i was positive he was making progress, but then this came along and he just regressed to a 6 year old... although, this is kinda' whom it was made for. the boy+his car story is so cartoonish and buffoonish that even kids will find it stupid. the boy+his girl story is also handled in the typical "manly" bruckheimer+bay way, the typical mistreatment of women onscreen these pair is known for and now spielberg is joining the fray? lol anyways. it was just so awkward and cheesy throughout... but yes megan fox is, well, a hot fox indeed.

ILM did an excellent job and i am taking it for granted. the transformers did a better job @acting ONCE AGAIN than the live action humans! lol. shia's good, i saw him on project greenlight =P. waaay before he broke mainstream.

another step backwards for cinematography is the "look ma, no hands" approach. as i was saying, he was doing less showy stuff... until this one. hell, even fincher stop doing that after panic room with zodiac and managed to grow as an artist (both fincher+bay came from tv commercials/music videos). bay regressed into a child-like state with the scene of the hot chic screaming as one of the autobots stepped over her and the camera panned 180 then upside down, those types of shots just made me cringe and barf afterwards.

If there's anything I know about Michael Bay, it's that he doesn't do "the script thing". He might throw out an idea or two during development, but it will likely have to do with a shot or stunt sequence. He's not a story/character guy. He's a talented visualist with a ton of enthusiasm (I swear...I don't think he sleeps).

So, he can't really take any steps backward on story and/or content. He films what he's given for the most part. You want a Bay film with a good story? Give him a good script.

As for his visuals getting less showy? I saw The Island, and it had TONS of showy shots and outrageous stunt sequences. Hot women (has Scarlett looked better?), hot cars (nice proto-Caddy), nice machines, and huge explosions. Bay's visuals will always be showy. But, there is no one better. This film really sets the bar for action/stunts mixed with CGI.

 

[JoeyR]

I'm happy I dont go to these forums before I see a movie because I cant believe half the posts here

If your a fan of Transformers and action, you'll love it, if not you need to look in the mirror and repeat "I'm not Siskel and Ebert", repeat until you start enjoying movies again