|
I thought watching that clip would tide me over til Saturday, but it didn't work. They need to hurry up and leak the whole episode. So, yesterday, I went around to my local Targets and picked up Snarl, Blurr, and the two two-packs. Blurr is my favorite, but Shockwave looks really cool, too. Is anyone else having trouble getting Shockwave to keep his head up? Mine keeps slouching, which makes him look really shy.
|
| # ¿ Apr 7, 2009 19:38 |
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 23, 2013 18:10 |
|
|
I just got back from the Columbus Toy Show, where I among other nifty stuff, I picked up an Animated Ultra Magnus, which I have not been seeing in stores. Also, I just learned that I bought it from the guy that does that blog Plastic Crack.
|
| # ¿ Apr 19, 2009 20:54 |
|
|
Oh, I forgot to mention, I picked up this old suitcase for $8 while I was at the show. Upon much googling, I have turned up exactly zero record of its existence. There's a little lock on the zipper that you can lock and unlock with a fingernail, although I suspect there was originally a key that went with it.  Did anyone have one of these as a kid. I'm a little curious if it's rare or something, but, then again, it's a suitcase, so I doubt it's some secret treasure. Still, anyone know anything about it?
|
| # ¿ Apr 19, 2009 23:19 |
|
|
I was watching MSNBC and during a commercial break, I noticed that Peter Cullen had done the VO for a Coors Light Commercial pretty much in his Prime voice. My worldview has totally shifted. Now, I imagine the Great War went something like this: PRIME: Quick, Autobots! The Insecticons have hacked into the defense computer at Iron Mountain. CLIFFJUMPER: Look, Prime. The mountain. It's turning blue! PRIME: That means its as cold as the rockies! BUMBLEBEE: I'd bet my external hard drive that Megatron is behind these insectishenanigans. MEGATRON, appearing on top of the mountain: And you'd be correct, Autobot. Now, taste the wrath of ultimate power at the cold hands of the new, Nuclear Powered Megatron. (Aims gun, which is connected by a large cable into the mountain itself). PRIME: No, Megatron! Stay your hand! Not even your frame can resist the smooth, refreshing taste of rocky mountain cold, Coors Light. Megatron fires the gun, but it backfires because the Insecticons were chewing on the power cord. KICKBACK: It's just so refreshing, refreshing. MEGATRON: Decepticons! Retreat. SIDESWIPE: Alright, we did it! I bet we won't be seeing that cannoned aluminum can of Retroturkey for a long time. PRIME: I only wish I could believe that Sideswipe. All I know is that I can believe in the taste of an ice cold Coors Light, kept even colder by its new easy tab can. Let's celebrate! (Ka-spprrsh!) AAhhhh...
|
| # ¿ May 14, 2009 16:24 |
|
|
So, after reading all of the reviews and having allowed the first film to settle in my mind for two years, I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to wait until this is on DVD at the library, so the makers won't get any more of my money. When the first movie came out, I was sort of able to enjoy it for what it is, a big, brainless robot bashing fest. However, that's not what I want out of a transformers movie. The first film was enough brainless robot bashing. I want something that is as well-written as Animated or Beast Wars.
|
| # ¿ Jun 24, 2009 22:48 |
|
|
robot roll call posted:Bulkhead I may have missed this in an earlier post but is this leader class Bulkhead/Loose?/Complete?
|
| # ¿ Jul 14, 2009 13:48 |
|
|
robot roll call posted:Trypticon, he's voyager Bulkhead. I'm Sorry, I'll have to pass on it. I've decided to only get the leader class one since he seems more in scale with the other Autobots. If anybody has both can they tell me whether or not this is actually true? Which one is the better figure? On the plus side, I finally found a Wreck Gar at my local TRU yesterday. I found one at a Walmart months ago, but didn't buy it because I'd felt I'd been spending too much money on Transformers. I still feel like that, but now I have a better appreciation of how hard it is to find a Wreck-Gar.
|
| # ¿ Jul 15, 2009 02:32 |
|
|
robot roll call posted:Although I am trying to sell you the toy, I liked the Voyager one better. He has a better Animated aesthetic despite being a little out of scale. Plus he doesn't have a sawblade hand. Okay, you guys convinced me I should give this figure a shot. I can go 15 shipped. How does that sound? edit: And I guess if you're still interested in getting rid of the Animated Cybertron mode Optimus, I'd be interested in the two for $21. Trypticon fucked around with this message at Jul 15, 2009 around 19:58 |
| # ¿ Jul 15, 2009 19:47 |
|
|
robot roll call posted:Deal for both! paypal is sdwarren@uwm.edu, email is sdwarren2@gmail.com, gimme your address. Sent the payment, plus an email. Thanks!
|
| # ¿ Jul 16, 2009 00:48 |
|
|
I don't know if this is just local, but the Kroger in my area is about to do a reset of their toy section, so some stuff is on clearance. I picked up Universe Sideswipe, Ironhide, Acid Storm, 2 packs of those little robot heroes, and Red Tornado from the Batman Brave and the bold line for only $20. If you have one of these places in your area, check it out.
|
| # ¿ Jul 22, 2009 05:37 |
|
|
robot roll call posted:I went to the post office a few days ago. It should all be there very soon. I got my Optimus and Bulkhead today! Still figuring out how to transform them, but anyway, thanks!
|
| # ¿ Aug 2, 2009 03:28 |
|
|
GrimGypsy posted:So I just found my copies of the Micromasters comic series DW did. You think its confusing to read? When it first came out, I had volunteered to help with the Seibertron database and they asked me to create a character list for the mini-series. I had to go panel by panel, trying to figure out who each of those little guys actually were. Ugh. I have no idea if Seibertron ever ended up using it, but its out there somewhere.
|
| # ¿ Sep 14, 2009 12:29 |
|
|
Does anyone know of any program out there that lets you catalog toy collections or specifically, Transformers? I've been searching around and I can't seem to find anything that's free. Lately, when on the rare occasion I've been on ebay looking for new stuff, I find it hard to remember just what I already have. Is there any program you guys use?
|
| # ¿ Feb 22, 2010 21:47 |
|
|
catch22 posted:http://www.shmax.com/ Holy crap, this is the best thing ever.
|
| # ¿ Feb 22, 2010 22:49 |
|
|
As far as source material, not necessarily for the content of the story, but for the quality of storytelling and the way things are conveyed, I think the four best pieces to ever come out of this franchise are: 1) Simon Furman's Run on the US Marvel Comics, 2) Season 2 of Beast Wars, 3) The 1986 Movie, and 4) Animated. Unfortunately, all four of those things take place late in their respective stories (Aside from Animated as a whole of course), but if someone would just study why those things work, which they do. . . really well, and apply these principles to a big screen movie. Just to name a few things about each of these. . . 1) The focus is on Character development. When Simon Furman took over, the comic stopped being "And Now, The Throttlebots!" and started following Optimus as he struggled with leading a struggling army on two fronts during the apocalypse. He had some real internal struggle. He lost friends. He made friends. I never thought I would be moved by the death of Scorponok, but man, when I read that. This doesn't even have to apply to just the humans. Sari is one of the most enjoyable characters to come out of Transformers. In fact, I would submit that she is really the only likable, well-rounded human character in any Transformers anything ever. If you're going to do humans, look to her. She may be a child, so all of her concerns fit within that realm, but they're just so well done. Maybe I didn't like the teenage bit at the end, but that was when the show was getting canceled, so I can forgive that. And of course, in the second season of Beast Wars, there's a ton of good character work. I've always loved Silverbolt and Blackarachnia's relationship. Rampage was a good character, especially in the way he connected with Transmutate. And my God, Code of Hero is just about the shining pinnacle of anything Transformers. It's a whole episode of Dinobot weighing his options, his destiny, his motives, and then dying heroically in moving action sequence which revealed his true self and had some great dialogue. The 86 movie is probably the weakest of the 4 as far as character, but it has some good things. The back and forth between Hot Rod and Kup. Magnus' struggling with leadership. 2) In aiding character development, there is a small, central cast Yes, some of these things may have long lists of characters that appear, but they all have a focus on just a few. Furman's comics: * Optimus * Scorponok * Grimlock * Bludgeon I would say, despite the fact that the entire G1 toyline was fighting and dying in the background of every frame and there were individual issues, such as during Matrix Quest, that focused on other characters, these 4, especially the first 3, really form the backbone of the story. BW Season 2: *Silverbolt *Blackarachnia *Megatron *Dinobot *Optimus Again, while there's all this poo poo happening around them and other characters share the spotlight, you can point to a select few who really form the story in their thoughts, actions, feelings, and decisions. Those 5 are the reason why this is so interesting. And yes, there are episodes devoted to others, but they are devoted to others. There are no episodes that are so far all over the map that they splooge out all the characters just for the sake of giving everyone a few lines. 86 Movie: *Hot Rod *Kup *Ultra Magnus I would say that these three are the main characters of that film, especially Hot Rod. After the group splits in two, which further allows for a deeper focus, sort of like in Empire Strikes Back (In fact, I'm sure that movie is the reason the writers split the team up in this one), we really get a good story about these couple and all of the other characters just are there to be entertaining and flesh out the experiences of these main ones. The movie is really Hot Rod's story. He's involved in every event that has any impact. 4) Animated: I can't really list all of the characters in the series, but it has some defined tiers. The characters in Animated are generally really interesting, are given appropriate amounts of focus when the story is about them, and just like with all these others, making connections with the past of the Franchise gives it a very well-thought out feel. You know, as much as I'd like to think I'd like to see a super-serious Transformers war epic, I don't think it would work. There has to be a certain light-heartedness to everything. Animated and Beast Wars do this very well. When the story needs to get serious, we still take it seriously enough where everything works. But these shows have that awareness that they are kids shows about giant robots. There are things that are just inherently funny about that and so to take it seriously all the time is to rob it of some campy enjoyment. But again, there is a particular balance between moving, well-developed story and deconstructing the show itself through humor. What Bay and co. have done is taken this idea that Transformers can't be taken seriously (which I just agreed with to a point) and decided that because of this they have to make the movie actively dislike itself. It's like they think everything has to be purposefully stupid in order for audiences to sit down and watch a dramatic action film that just happens to be a little funny to, oh, and it has robots. These stories are supposed to be mythic, exciting, and moving. Without all three, you have nothing. I thought the first Bay movie was entertaining in the same way that watching a fireworks display is entertaining. Not a 4th of July display, that has too many emotional associations. Just a regular one, like at the end of a baseball game. It was pretty and explosive. In 3 seconds it was gone, as it had no substance, but while it was there, it was enjoyable, although not a deep or memorable moment. The second movie, which I couldn't even get 1/4 of the way through, was like someone trying to do the same thing again, but after it had started raining. It was just a dud. Even for the low bar it was aiming for. I hope someday that someone comes along and tries to tell a real story using this rich universe of characters. I mean, I'll be the first to admit that like 85% of Transformers is stupid poo poo, but if you just sift out that 15%, well, you have enough good material to tell quite a story.
|
| # ¿ Mar 3, 2010 16:15 |
|
|
dbaz posted:I pretty much agree with everything you said there apart from the bit about the first movie I thought it had more than that personally. I'm not very attached to my assertion that the 86 movie doesn't have as much going on. If most of the people on here think it does, than I'm inclined to agree with them. It is my favorite movie of all time. I also agree with your assessment of Furman's work. The UK stuff was pretty much all-around good. I only singled out the US stuff because it can be seen a single chunk of story (Events leading up to Unicron->Unicron->Aftermath). I have to admit, I was an avid follower of the IDW stuff all the way up until Revelation and that's when I stopped. I have a few issues of AHM, but I just assumed that the series would never recover from that. Has it gotten better? Should I start catching up with it?
|
| # ¿ Mar 3, 2010 17:14 |
|
|
Captain Invictus posted:That to me is really sad. How much quality cinema have you watched? Or are you saying it's your favorite....animated? kid's? something other than all-encompassing (I hope) movie of all time? There is a massive difference between "favorite" and "best." I saw the movie a million times as a kid. I could watch it in my head by the age of 7. I still enjoy it a lot on the occasions that I do watch it. I think it has good-looking animation, a nice script, and an alright story, plus a pretty catchy soundtrack. It's a pretty dumb movie. But, it's still my favorite. No, believe me I've seen countless movies that I think are better. I just "like" this one the most, if that makes any sense. edit: Let me put it this way: If I've got the flu and all I want to do is bundle up on the couch and feel happy, I'll put in Transformers, not Citizen Kane, despite the fact that the latter is in an entirely different universe of quality. Trypticon fucked around with this message at Mar 3, 2010 around 18:31 |
| # ¿ Mar 3, 2010 17:37 |
|
|
DJPM posted:ROTF Bludgeon- 14 Which ROTF Bludgeon is it? There's the good Voyager one that I've been unable to find and then that crappy one in the two-pack that seems to be everywhere.
|
| # ¿ Mar 26, 2010 12:43 |
|
|
DJPM posted:Its the voyager one, the samurai What sort of shape is he in? btw, I sent you an email with further questions and stuff.
|
| # ¿ Mar 27, 2010 22:18 |
|
|
Ensign_Ricky posted:Wish I could get away with not touching the camera, it's just my digital one. Does it have a timer on it?
|
| # ¿ Mar 29, 2010 20:11 |
|
|
dbaz posted:Blurr Looks Amazing He looks kinda nifty, but I have to imagine that all that kibble might get in his way. It might weigh him down, too. I love darkmount, though. edit: I like the face and gun for Blurr, though. Too bad the Animated Blurr was just so amazing that I'll never need another Blurr again. Trypticon fucked around with this message at Jun 27, 2010 around 14:31 |
| # ¿ Jun 27, 2010 13:27 |
|
|
Veg posted:The DVD set for season 3 I mean. It hasn't been announced. Yeah, back when the first two seasons were coming out on DVD, amazon had a listing for season 3, but it eventually died.
|
| # ¿ Jul 5, 2010 13:20 |
|
|
I actually stopped reading the IDW comics for like a year after AHM. Only very recently did I pick up the Last Stand of the Wreckers and realize that the series had gotten way better again. Still, I was pissed that they truncated all of that amazing work Simon Furman had done for just something so lovely as AHM. It wasn't even just that they threw out all of their previous work. I would have been disappointed, but I still would have kept reading if it was good. It wasn't, though. AHM is literally the worst Transformers comic ever written. I have read all of marvel from both sides of the ocean and all of dreamwave, too. AHM is worse than all of that. You know, at least when Alien 3 slapped Aliens in the face during the opening credits, at least it was still a pretty good movie taken on its own merits. AHM is literally sixteen issues of vague angst. It's not even angst that I can tell what they are whining about. Granted, I've only read the first nine issues (so I guess I can't proclaim sixteen), but that's over half the series. AHM sounds like it was written by someone for a high school creative writing class. You know, I'd blame Shane McCarthy for making GBS threads it up, but I really liked his work on Spotlight: Blurr. He also did Cliffjumper, which I can't really recall that much of at the moment, as I only read it one time, but I remember just really being impressed with Blurr. So, there must have been something other than a lack of talent at work. I imagine with the level of editorial interference that it took to soft reboot the whole drat comic, though, that it had to do with that. But. . . I have forgiven them because everything that's come out since AHM has just been absolutely fantastic. I love the ongoing, I love Wreckers, Ironhide is pretty good, and I will soon be picking up the 'bee TPB. In my head, I have to kind of consider it almost a separate comic from the Furman IDW stuff, even though it still tries to maintain continuity, but I really like what they're doing now when taken on its own merits.
|
| # ¿ Jul 11, 2010 23:54 |
|
|
SpikeMcclane posted:You like the ongoing and the Bumblebee mini? I enjoy pretty much anything with a cool robot in it, but even I hate those. I haven't read the bumblebee mini yet, I was waiting until the TBP since I missed the series entirely. Yes, though, I really like the ongoing. You know, when I was reading the tfwiki entry for issue 4, it seemed like there was a definite negativity in the writing of the article. Is this the general consensus? It was especially present in the summary of Thundercracker's monologue, which I actually particularly liked (His intro more than his resolution at the end, though, if you want to split hairs). In his original Tech Spec from the 80s toy, it mentions that he's not entirely on board with the Decepticons. I always figured that this is because it was easier to convince him to hate Autobots than it was for him to hate other races/species/whatever. Once they come into play, he start's questioning himself. For years, I've been dying to see a story that explores that a little and while that one was kind of short and maybe melodramatic, it was interesting. There are so many little scenes in the ongoing that I like. Some of Spike's exchanges with OP were good reads. I love the idea that Bombshell and Rampage have turned the Decepticons into a social experiment in Megatron's absence. To me, that is a way more intriguing turn than just having them sit around and moan on Char. I liked the whole "Rodimus Prime" bit. Yeah, the premise for the Autobots getting all split up was a little thin, but I still liked the results. It was like a really creative kid arbitrarily dumped his toys on the floor, but then managed to spin a good story around it in his subsequent play. I mean, sure, it's not perfect, but I think it's pretty drat good. Am I missing something? What makes you hate it so much? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt with bumblebee. I remember reading that it's aimed at a younger audience, but I just assumed that I would like it because I've been pretty happy with every else post-AHM.
|
| # ¿ Jul 12, 2010 01:34 |
|
|
You know, it's interesting. All of the complaints people have brought up about the series are entirely valid. Personally, they are things I've managed to brush off when reading, but I completely agree. Especially on the point about the art being inconsistent. I think I've just gotten so used to the constant state of flux that I don't care anymore. The art definitely went way down after the first arc of the ongoing, but it didn't have quite the same impact on my reading experience as you're mentioning. As for the level of interest, I think the newer stuff is interesting for different reasons than the Furman stuff was. I like the ongoing because of the way it uses the existing tools to fashion a more appreciable story. I guess it's like this: I feel like every Transformers franchise has so many ups and downs, so many little details, that having viewed/read most of them gives me this kind of abstract idea of what Transformers is supposed to be. It has never existed exactly as I imagine it, nor do I know exactly how I imagine it. Just whenever something taps into that common knowledge of what Transformers really is, I feel gratified. I also feel extremely nerdy for having written that. It's like, when Bay and company put their movies together, sure they can be entertaining as movies, but they ask you, as WaynesWorldGirl said, to check your fandom at the door. It's impossible to take any existing knowledge of Transformers into those movies and not come out feeling like someone has exploited your passion for money. For me, and I think this is probably true of a lot of fans, without even trying, I walk around with the script to Transformers: The Movie in my head. I know all of the animations errors in it. I know when Snarl's in it. This is just from having watched it a lot. I read TFwiki for fun. I can recognize Furmanisms. I know how the different franchises relate to each other. I'm not bragging, I'm just laying out that I get the impression that Mike Costa (Ongoing's writer) gets these things as well. When there's a reference to an obscure thing from 20 years ago that only a fan would get, it doesn't feel like an easter egg that was thrown in to appease me so I'll still buy the comic/DVD/whatever. So, even though I have never once wondered where the IDW story is going now, it's still fun to read the current issues just to see the way that these writers will use their accidentally acquired knowledge to shape this thing into a new story, to make it better. I think the major difference between Furman and Costa is that Furman wrote his original TF stories as a hired comic book writer. Yes, he got really into it and is the closest thing we have to a saint next to Peter Cullen, but he came to Transformers writing from the outside. After all, he wrote and defined it in the first place. Hence, his project is to take the story in new places. Now that he's not with Marvel, he doesn't have to include certain characters in order to push their toys. He could do with the story what he wanted and get as in-depth as he wanted. Still, he must have grown up speaking the language of other franchises because this one wasn't around until he shaped it. Meanwhile, I get the impression that Costa and the other writers grew into their writing from the POV of the fandom. They wield Furman's past work differently than he does. He builds on it, while they deconstruct it. So, after spotlight Nightbeat, I was intrigued beyond belief, wondering how all of what he was setting up would unfold. Now, I look forward to the next issue because it lets me read into other people's thoughts on the franchise. Animated worked that way and I think that's why I liked it as well. Jeeze, I'm a nerd.
|
| # ¿ Jul 12, 2010 04:20 |
|
|
Veg posted:No, the entire story is ignored. Start from the 2nd Dream Wave series where Shockwave arrives on earth. If you're going to track them down, definitely do this. Just don't expect an ending. There isn't one.
|
| # ¿ Jul 20, 2010 18:23 |
|
|
I just noticed that there's a huge clearance sale on Transformers going at TRU.com. I don't know if it's in store as well, but there's a lot of Animated and ROTF stuff in there if you want to take a look.
|
| # ¿ Jul 26, 2010 15:22 |
|
|
I have yet to pick up Ongoing #10 yet, but from what you guys have been saying, I'm kind of dreading it. 9 wasn't very good at all. As far as Ironhide goes, though, I love the way they're doing Alpha Trion.
|
| # ¿ Aug 15, 2010 01:56 |
|
|
Keldroc posted:Make it two. It wasn't the best TF arc ever written, but I thought it was alright. Three. Honestly, I thought the ongoing was pretty good up through #8. Yeah, the art's been pretty inconsistent, but they've had some interesting ideas for cool moments with the characters. I loved Thundercracker during the first arc. Also enjoyed the Decepticon twisted game preserve thing even though that seems to have been dropped as quickly as it was mentioned. The Ironhide mini was great. I absolutely love what they did with Alpha Trion. I think they really are trying to recover from AHM, even if they're stumbling a bit in the process.
|
| # ¿ Aug 21, 2010 02:02 |
|
|
Ingram posted:What about the fact that Ratchet is also very similar to his animated design? Hell he even still has the same logo on his doors. Things like this are just superficial details, though. I watched the first two episodes of Prime on youtube and, while I didn't think it was bad, I found it pretty lackluster. The creative team behind Animated seemed to be informed by a lifelong passion for Transformers and as such, a pretty thorough knowledge of the franchise. They liked what they were doing and it showed in the product. With Prime, I just don't get that vibe. To me, that is the defining vibe of Animated. This new show has yet to really hook me. I'm going to give it a chance, though. I remember hating the animated art style when I first saw it in the promos and it wasn't until partway through season 1 that it really won me over. In fact, after I watched the Animated Pilot movie the first time, I almost wrote the whole thing off because it seemed kind of silly and they killed/brought back Prime again, but now all in the same episode. It wasn't until Thrill of the Hunt aired and people started raving about it that I bothered to catch up. Now, for me, the holy trinity of TF animation is G1/BW/Animated. Because of this experience, I'm not ready to drop Prime down to Beast Machines status or lower yet, but those first two episodes didn't really give me any indication that I was in for some sort of artistic treat. The characters were given very little definition and the story was very human-centric. Now, "human-centric" isn't such a curse word to me as it used to be, since Sari was pretty well done as a character, but I didn't really like any of these new kids yet. They didn't annoy the poo poo out of me, either, though. Everything was like that. Just kind of okay. Cliffjumper died, which I suppose was dark, but it wasn't at all moving. And TF deaths can be moving. The villains didn't intrigue me. The heroes seemed to be in the background to the kids and Arcee, who took a leading role, seemed to me, a pretty one note character with some rather cheesy lines. I kind of liked some of Ratchet's lines, but not so much that it won me over or anything. Still, I think I'll give it a couple episodes before I pass judgment.
|
| # ¿ Nov 29, 2010 17:16 |
|
|
Strafe is pretty cool too. He's got one of the more aesthetically pleasing future space jet/whatever modes to come out of G1, if you ask me. At least with the original design.
|
| # ¿ Jan 6, 2011 08:30 |
|
|
I don't know if this has been pointed out elsewhere or if it is even going on elsewhere, but my local Walmart has put all of its Powercore combiners on clearance.
|
| # ¿ May 18, 2011 01:20 |
|
|
Everybody sign this petition!: http://www.petitiononline.com/tf81idw/petition.html Simon Furman and some people started it to get IDW to let him pick up the original Marvel comics and continue them with #81. It sounds like he already has the story laid out and everything. Here's an interview about it: http://www.allspark.com/content/view/8901/16/ Also, the facebook support page: http://www.facebook.com/TF81fromIDW?sk=wall Man, I would just love it if he got to do this!
|
| # ¿ May 25, 2011 19:16 |
|
|
I don't know what to make of the reviews. Ebert, who I often give a great deal of credence, except when it comes to certain nerd films, hates it. Everyone at Ain't it Cool thinks it's amazing or at least very fun and certainly better than ROTF, if not the first film. 2/3s of the people on Rotten Tomatoes think it sucks. Scott Mendelson, who I go to for nerd movie reviews and box office analysis, thought it was pretty enjoyable and the best of the three. Who is right?! Back in 2007, I saw the first movie three times two days because I thought it was so fun and I had managed to detach it from any TF fandom I had lying around in my head. It's really not a Transformers movie. Bay hates Transformers. How could he be expected to capture it correctly? Instead, he made a fun movie about vaguely transformery giant robots. That's fine and it was fun. I resolved not to see ROTF in the theater. I paid 75 cents once to rent it and couldn't get through the first half hour because it seemed like it was more about dogs loving and pot jokes than what made even the first movie fun. Then, I got it for free out of the library and I didn't even make it that far. I am a TF fan who can't even bring himself to see it just to say he did. It is just not worth the hours of my life that it would take. If this one's fun, though, I may see it in the theater, as it is a pretty "big" movie. There's a cheap place nearby that has it on Thursday. Still, it sucks that Michael Bay has caused one of my real life idols to say that he will never care about one of my fictional childhood heroes. It's so hard to listen to respectable people talk about Transformers when their only exposure to it is the Bay films. Optimus' character is not at all present in the films. Whatever. Nerd angst. I just wonder if this new movie will be fun. Besides, didn't Bay say a few days ago that this was his last TF foray for certain? -------------------------------- Unrelated: Getting caught up on TF: Prime. All I'd seen before was the five-parter opener, which I remember finding underwhelming. Everything since then is really good, though. It's not up there with BW or Animated just yet, but I like it at least as much as I liked the good parts of Beast Machines.
|
| # ¿ Jun 29, 2011 03:59 |
|
|
Rei_ posted:TRANSFORMERS: A MICHAEL BAY FILM, there are your expectations for the god drat movie right there. Oh, I agree. I was only commenting on the tendency of some reviewers to disparage Transformers as a franchise in its entirety based only on what is currently its most visible part, the Bay films. I agree that the explosions are the fun part. That's why I'm still thinking of seeing the movie. It sounds like it has done those well.
|
| # ¿ Jun 29, 2011 04:24 |
|
|
I am absolutely loving this discussion. I haven't seen DOTM and I'm not sure if I will, but I just had one thing to add. I'm surprised no one has brought up Optimus Prime the father figure. In G1, he was always this very fatherly character, although depending on what part of the G1 franchise you are viewing, the perspective on this role changes. In the cartoon, he was a father from the point of view of a child. Sure he made mistakes, but they were lovable, good mistakes, ones which existed to reinforce just what a responsible, protective, and mature figure he was. My favorite example of this is at the end of "Master Builders" when he gives Grapple and Hoist an authoritative pat on the shoulders and tells them to clean up after themselves. Another is the phrase, "Even the wisest of men and machines can be in error." This is absolutely something a father would say to his son. Optimus was the father we all see before we know anything about being an adult. In the comics, and here I'm specifically thinking of Simon Furman's run toward the end of the US issues, we get the inside view of this fatherly mind. Children don't grow up to become the perfect protectors they see as children, they grow up to be flawed men just like everyone else. Internally, Optimus goes through all sorts of turmoil and struggles which I feel represent the trials a father goes through out in the world to maintain the peace, wealth, and security of his home. He even deserts the Autobots at one point for part of an issue until it becomes apparent that they cannot look after themselves. The idea of a psychotic Optimus Prime is ridiculous to me. It takes the father and reduces him to a childless soldier. A weapon. This is what made me so sad about Roger Ebert's saying he will never care for Prime. Optimus may never be my out and out favorite Transformer, but as far the franchise's stable of characters goes, he is one of the deepest and most compelling. And, yes, I am aware that on viewing most any one issue or episode of G1, it looks like I'm reading way too much into this. That's why I don't think Roger Ebert could ever be convinced that Transformers is worthwhile, because there's no one concise piece of fiction, or even a handful, which convey the real depth of the series. You have to have seen all of it and spent two decades mulling it over to come to the conclusion that this piece of pop culture that's meant to sell toys has been used by actual writers and artists to produce something of real worth. Maybe it doesn't even take that much work, but that's my experience, so it's all I know. You can't just tell someone "watch Beast Wars" or something. There's too much. That's the particularly disappointing thing about these films. They are an adaptation of this humungous whole. A film based on a franchise of this size is meant to harness all of its purest parts, sift them out from the carwashes of doom and the "What wacky troubles will Cheetor get into this week" and unify them in a single experience which tells anyone who watches it, "this is what Transformers is and why it is worthwhile." The Michael Bay movies do the exact opposite. That said, I absolutely love this reading of the films as un-self-aware ultra-conservative expressions of culture. I agree with Gammatron, though. It's pretty disgusting. And yet, maybe fun movies. Trypticon fucked around with this message at Jul 1, 2011 around 04:20 |
| # ¿ Jul 1, 2011 03:44 |
|
|
That's pretty much what I was trying to say. G1 Prime (At least in the cartoon) may have been a hero for six year olds, but that doesn't mean that the adult version of an idealized father figure is just a remorseless killer. He would be a father figure who has to try much harder and face much greater obstacles (both externally and within himself) to fulfill that same role. I don't think the Autobots or any of the humans in the Bay movies see Optimus as a father. I don't think he thinks of himself that way. I wasn't saying that he is disappointing because of weird father issues, it's just that he isn't any kind of father at all. A father is who Optimus is, whether he's up to it or not. That's who he's supposed to be. I feel so much more gratified by this discussion. Four or five years ago, when the first images of Optimus' flame decals leaked, I was grappling around for a way to describe how out of character that was. It seemed silly at the time, though. Who cares if he looks "cool," as long as he's still Optimus on the inside. So much of the discussion on here and the Don Murphy board back then was dominated by two counter points: 1) All of the alt-modes and designs are changing. Therefore the essence of the story is lost. vs. 2) The alt-modes have no effect on the essence. They're just cool cars from the 80s and a tape player. Who cares if they change? Now, we can look past the superficial aspects of this discussion and really understand why these films fail.
|
| # ¿ Jul 1, 2011 19:04 |
|
|
Honestly, I don't think there's really any big names out there who's work already fits with Transformers. If you ask me, give it to an up-and-comer who actually likes and has a passing knowledge of the franchise to begin with. It seems silly that there are a legion of people across the country who have an encyclopedic knowledge of this story and yet the person in charge of it would need a surface-level crash course in it just to do the work.
|
| # ¿ Jul 4, 2011 02:14 |
|
|
WaynesWorldGirl posted:The Bay movies don't piss on G1 as much/hard as Beast Machines pisses on Beast Wars. If the Bay movies were meant to be a direct, in-continuity sequel to G1, I'm not sure you would say that. Besides, despite all the characters being wimps and Nightscream being kind of annoying, and Savage/Noble being a lovely name for a character, and plantformers, and plant planet, and half the BW characters being dead or suddenly evil for no reason, I still enjoyed that show more than the Bay movies. At least it had a nifty atmosphere and some parts of the story that weren't so bad.
|
| # ¿ Jul 6, 2011 06:11 |
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 23, 2013 18:10 |
|
|
SpikeMcclane posted:Anyways, is there anything better than tfu.info for trying to figure out what missiles go with which toy? http://shmax.com is the best site I've seen for this kind of organizing.
|
| # ¿ Jul 7, 2011 03:43 |
|
