Transformers 3 Discussion

[Andrew Rieger]

Oh goodie gumdrops, another Transformers movie. As I was watching Shia Ladouche beat Dr. McDreamy with a concrete encrusted pole, I kept thinking to myself, "Wow Mr. Bay, nice of you to show up late to the party, April Fools Day was three months ago". This film literally left me speechless. Usually, you'll need duct tape and chloroform to get me to stop talking about the film I just watched but I honestly had nothing to say to my peers as I walked back to my car. What could I say? This is what we call entertainment in this day and age. This is what happens when you give $250 million to a child. I take that back, calling Michael Bay childish would probably be an insult to most children.

Watching Transformers 3 is like watching some nut unveil a large scale model of the Empire State Building constructed out of uncooked pasta. The final product is technically impressive and the sheer level of insanity is admirable but you can't help but say to yourself, "Wow, this guy just spent three years of his life building a model out of pasta, what a moron." I am not sure if I should condemn Bay or give him a round of applause for creating possibly the biggest cinematic joke ever spewed out from the bowls of Hollywood. I think I will go with a round of applause. Well done Mr. Bay, well done.

You know what toy line Bay should tackle next with his signature winning combination of schlock and grotesque amounts of money? Dino Riders, F%#* Yeah! Who wouldn't want to see that in glorious IMAX 8K 4D? I smell box office gold.

 

[Michael Millichamp]

I agree with most everything you say, but what did you expect going into a movie about fighting Robots mixed with Michael Bay?

Just take it as it is and don't get really judge it.

 

[Andrew Rieger]

I agree with most everything you say, but what did you expect going into a movie about fighting Robots mixed with Michael Bay?

Just take it as it is and don't get really judge it.

Someone else asked my why I went to see it in the first place and this was my response:

I lost a bet.

Actually, I went to go see The Tree of Life but it was so dim in there with those stupid 3D glasses that I accidentally walked into the wrong theater.

Ok, I'll come clean. I am madly in love with Megan Fox and I wrongly assumed that she would be in the next Transformers film cause, you know, she was the only reason why I saw the other two. I kept thinking, "Who the hell is this british bloke? Where is Megan Fox! I wan't Megan Fox back!". There, I said it.

 

[Johnny Friday]

....Here's what happend to me and my gfriend. at 1.5hours we kept checking our watches and wondering when this thing was going to die. why so long and so much robot fighting.....and all the stupid little jokes just kept on coming.....sure, what do you expect? umm....entertainment that keeps me from peeping my watch for one!

 

[Michael Moreno]

Andrew
It is bad enough that Bay ruined my Transformers
but you had to bring my Dino riders into the same conversation..
You owe me triple what Bay owes you.. Triple
Hollywood is going through my comics and my toys like a movie style FBI agent looking for E.T.
"Money.. the root of all evil" - Chappelle show
Oh no.. I just ruined Chappelle show for someone else..
Damn
Well I'm sure Will smith's kid will murder that story in the future
sad times..

 

[Peter Arnold]

I saw the restored version of "Taxi Driver" a few days ago. I am still blown away by the power of that movie. There is nothing in the cinemas right now that comes even close to Mr. Schraders screenplay, Mr. Scorcese's genius behind the camera or Mr. DeNiro's performance in front of it. So why waste time watching something like Transformers 3D or Pirates 4 3D or Average Blockbuster part 9 3D. These movies are made to impress a bunch of 12 year old's. And you all knew that way before you bought the ticket.

The true power of cinema lies somewhere else and it has nothing to do with CG or 3D and hundreds of millions spent on advertising.

m2c

Peter

 

[Harva Raj]

Oh goodie gumdrops, another Transformers movie. As I was watching Shia Ladouche beat Dr. McDreamy with a concrete encrusted pole, I kept thinking to myself, "Wow Mr. Bay, nice of you to show up late to the party, April Fools Day was three months ago". This film literally left me speechless. Usually, you'll need duct tape and chloroform to get me to stop talking about the film I just watched but I honestly had nothing to say to my peers as I walked back to my car. What could I say? This is what we call entertainment in this day and age. This is what happens when you give $250 million to a child. I take that back, calling Michael Bay childish would probably be an insult to most children.

Watching Transformers 3 is like watching some nut unveil a large scale model of the Empire State Building constructed out of uncooked pasta. The final product is technically impressive and the sheer level of insanity is admirable but you can't help but say to yourself, "Wow, this guy just spent three years of his life building a model out of pasta, what a moron." I am not sure if I should condemn Bay or give him a round of applause for creating possibly the biggest cinematic joke ever spewed out from the bowls of Hollywood. I think I will go with a round of applause. Well done Mr. Bay, well done.

You know what toy line Bay should tackle next with his signature winning combination of schlock and grotesque amounts of money? Dino Riders, F%#* Yeah! Who wouldn't want to see that in glorious IMAX 8K 4D? I smell box office gold.

Deep down inside, wants to be Michael Bay so badly.

 

[Erik Franzén]

People, not on here thank god, keep trying to explain "it's not smart" and "it's just about robots smashing robots" but, while that is all fine and dandy, that still doesn't explain why then this isn't a movie about, you know, robots smashing robots. No. Instead we have to endure this ridiculous, stupid, incoherent mess of a plot about a guy that is down in his luck, out of a job, but still has a smoking hot girlfriend (?!) and squeezed inbetween that we got robots smashing robots.

Really? Why can't we just have Decepticons vs. Autobots and an awesome Optimus Prime? Oh. Right. Because that's not how the first movie played out. Stupid me, forgetting how the laughingly so-called 'writers' decided to reuse everything they could down to the bones. Smoking hot girl? Check. Protagonist who is down in his luck money wise? Check. Crappy car? Check.

I mean hell, the first one was at least plausibly enjoyable. This was just torture to sit through (and yes, I almost walked out the theater after the first couple of scenes just based on how stupid they were - unfortunately, I was with my brother and two friends so no-go there...)

Suppose I got my expectations set way too high just because Nimoy was going to voice Sentinel Prime. But c'mon, all I wanted was something equal to the first one - how the hell can you fail to manage even that?!?

 

[Brook Willard]

Everybody loves to hate Michael Bay and his movies. Lame plot, bad acting, absurd drama, comically ridiculous action sequences and dialogue, you name it. Take that and couple it with his on set persona and his oft deplorable approach to dealing with humans and the hatred writes itself. Critics love to hate him, seasoned moviegoers love to hate him, crew members love to hate him, etcetera.

The thing that gets to me is that all of these things are known quantities at this point. When one goes to a Michael Bay film [or works on a Michael Bay film], one knows what they're getting into. If somebody goes into one of these pictures expecting anything different than what has been served up time and time again... it's idiotic. It's good sport to hate his pictures for how cliché they are but I can't help but remember that the man invented this cliché. His movies are what they are but there is no denying that they are an astonishing spectacle to witness and that, for lack of a better term, they kick ass. The man can blow things up like nobody else. The man is an auteur in the truest sense - if you give Michael a movie, you know that what you will get is a Michael Bay Film and nothing short of it. His dedication is unparalleled and his scope is astronomical.

I choose not to hate Michael, I choose to enjoy his films for exactly what they are - awesome. I don't mean awesome in the high-five sense, I mean awesome as the word is defined. Transformers isn't Taxi Driver, it isn't The Godfather and it isn't Saving Private Ryan. The thing that people seem to overlook is that this is no accident - his films are designed to be exactly what they are. It's a purpose-built sugar goblet full of equal parts gasoline and adrenaline. I don't anticipate ever shedding a single tear at one of his films... and I'm good with that. I didn't go to Transformers to have my world rocked, I went to Transformers to see the kinds of action sequences and set pieces that no other storyteller chooses to create. He's the best of the best at what he does. If one is sick of that sort of thing... don't go see his movies.

I enjoyed the hell out of his movie because I took it at face value. That's what Transformers is all about. Shit exploded, people screamed and the sun set for 2.5 hours.

 

[Mark Collins]

I'm gonna be that guy and say that I actually enjoyed Transformers 3.

Why? Because when I see summer blockbuster movies like this I don't go into them expecting oscar winning scripts or performances. I go into these things to watch shit blow up in increasingly ridiculous ways, to watch hot chicks prance around in skimpy outfits and to watch sweet cars do insane stunts. So, given that, Transformers 3 is a win for me because it met my expectations.

It's actually the most mature of all 3 movies, which isn't saying much as yes, it is simply insane as a concept. That doesn't make it any less fun.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I don't go to these movies as a filmmaker, I go as a consumer, because that's who these movies are for.

 

[Frank Cueto]

I can say that I did enjoy one particular aspect of this film.

The Casting. ;-)

 

[Brad Webb]

Complaining that a Michael Bay movie is terrible is like whining that a McDonald's hamburger doesn't taste like beef. You know what you're getting into.

 

[Liam Hall]

I can't believe intelligent adults willingly hand over their hard earned cash to watch this over-blown, cynical, misogynistic dross. I'd rather stick pins in my eyes...

 

[Graeme Nattress]

Come on - Dino Riders? I want Thundercats - the Movie.

Graeme

 

[Andrew Rieger]

Come on - Dino Riders? I want Thundercats - the Movie.

Graeme

Careful what you wish for Graeme:

 

[Graeme Nattress]

I forgot to add "live action" - I don't want it animated - make it real!

Graeme

 

[AnthonyFlores]

Everybody loves to hate Michael Bay and his movies. Lame plot, bad acting, absurd drama, comically ridiculous action sequences and dialogue, you name it. Take that and couple it with his on set persona and his oft deplorable approach to dealing with humans and the hatred writes itself. Critics love to hate him, seasoned moviegoers love to hate him, crew members love to hate him, etcetera.

The thing that gets to me is that all of these things are known quantities at this point. When one goes to a Michael Bay film [or works on a Michael Bay film], one knows what they're getting into. If somebody goes into one of these pictures expecting anything different than what has been served up time and time again... it's idiotic. It's good sport to hate his pictures for how cliché they are but I can't help but remember that the man invented this cliché. His movies are what they are but there is no denying that they are an astonishing spectacle to witness and that, for lack of a better term, they kick ass. The man can blow things up like nobody else. The man is an auteur in the truest sense - if you give Michael a movie, you know that what you will get is a Michael Bay Film and nothing short of it. His dedication is unparalleled and his scope is astronomical.

I choose not to hate Michael, I choose to enjoy his films for exactly what they are - awesome. I don't mean awesome in the high-five sense, I mean awesome as the word is defined. Transformers isn't Taxi Driver, it isn't The Godfather and it isn't Saving Private Ryan. The thing that people seem to overlook is that this is no accident - his films are designed to be exactly what they are. It's a purpose-built sugar goblet full of equal parts gasoline and adrenaline. I don't anticipate ever shedding a single tear at one of his films... and I'm good with that. I didn't go to Transformers to have my world rocked, I went to Transformers to see the kinds of action sequences and set pieces that no other storyteller chooses to create. He's the best of the best at what he does. If one is sick of that sort of thing... don't go see his movies.

I enjoyed the hell out of his movie because I took it at face value. That's what Transformers is all about. Shit exploded, people screamed and the sun set for 2.5 hours.

Actually Brook I kinda agree with you. I think that's a big problem with many critics, they don't assess the movie for what it's INTENDED to be. Now, I'm not saying that Michael Bay couldn't or shouldn't improve his scripts or his stories ... but his movies are what they are, and not intended for the Oscar race. Same with the Ferrely Bros, and others. They must be judged by how funny or entertaining they are. Or whatever they are meant to be.

Pretty interesting article here as well about Bay - made me not hate him quite as much:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6706646/in-defense-michael-bay

I know that when I go, I'm primarily going to be looking at the Stereography and quality of 3D -- since I heard that it was supposed to be amazing and had more "depth" that has been typically done in many features.

Would you agree with that Brook? Actually, given your experience of working on big 3D sets, would love to hear your impression of how this film looked and what the visual experience was like.

Thanks in advance for your .02

 

[Andrew Rieger]

I can't believe intelligent adults willingly hand over their hard earned cash to watch this over-blown, cynical, misogynistic dross. I'd rather stick pins in my eyes...

My cousin (8 years old) was in town from New Mexico and that's what he really wanted to see so believe me, this was not my choice. This is coming from a guy who saw The Tree of Life a few days before.

 

[Johnny Friday]

I saw the restored version of "Taxi Driver" a few days ago. I am still blown away by the power of that movie. There is nothing in the cinemas right now that comes even close to Mr. Schraders screenplay, Mr. Scorcese's genius behind the camera or Mr. DeNiro's performance in front of it. So why waste time watching something like Transformers 3D or Pirates 4 3D or Average Blockbuster part 9 3D. These movies are made to impress a bunch of 12 year old's. And you all knew that way before you bought the ticket.

The true power of cinema lies somewhere else and it has nothing to do with CG or 3D and hundreds of millions spent on advertising.

m2c

Peter

I'll take that BET and annie up with Sergio Leone's little film....the remastered version is just a work of art: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.....

 

[Tobias Straka]

Heheh... Oh well, I liked it. It was stupid as hell, dialogue was a joke, the girl was clearly nothing more than a model (I read a critic stating that that Megan Fox compared to this girl was like Meryl Streep). But I knew all that going in, and I had a great time... I loved the 3D, VFX were great, I do like explosions and c'mon, it's fighting robots - in my book, that's cool. Perfect for turning off your brain.