And what exactly DID Megatron transform into?
Well, that takes care of my desire to see live-action robots beating the crap out of each other. Yes, I succumbed to the stupid and saw Transformers today (at the Laurelhurst, at least, so I was more supporting a local theater and not so much supporting director Michael Bay).
I watched the bulk of the film with a not-buying-this smirk on my face.
The pacing is off, the film assumes we're idiots (not only over-identifying Qatar with the subtitle "Qatar -- the Middle East," but doing so twice?), the special effects usually happen too fast (I kept wanting the action scenes to be overcranked so they'd be slower on-screen), and the emotions are completely counterfeit. And before anyone complains "you're expecting too much to want genuine emotions in a film about fucking machines fighting!," I call shenanigans because Terminator 2 pulled that off. Of course, James Cameron A) is a much better director than Michael Bay and B) was emotionally invested in his story. Didn't Bay say that he mainly did Transformers so he could start a franchise?
But OK, hearing the voice of icon of my childhood Peter Cullen thunder over the speakers ("My name is Optimus Prime") was kind of great. Still, that's the nostalgia talking.
I hope the writers of this did a MUCH better job with their Star Trek script. (And if the rumor I heard was true, then I feel good that they did.)
I still agree quite a bit with Dawn Taylor's critique of exactly what's wrong with Transformers, as well as with Rick Emerson's notes from when he saw it.
I watched the bulk of the film with a not-buying-this smirk on my face.
The pacing is off, the film assumes we're idiots (not only over-identifying Qatar with the subtitle "Qatar -- the Middle East," but doing so twice?), the special effects usually happen too fast (I kept wanting the action scenes to be overcranked so they'd be slower on-screen), and the emotions are completely counterfeit. And before anyone complains "you're expecting too much to want genuine emotions in a film about fucking machines fighting!," I call shenanigans because Terminator 2 pulled that off. Of course, James Cameron A) is a much better director than Michael Bay and B) was emotionally invested in his story. Didn't Bay say that he mainly did Transformers so he could start a franchise?
But OK, hearing the voice of icon of my childhood Peter Cullen thunder over the speakers ("My name is Optimus Prime") was kind of great. Still, that's the nostalgia talking.
I hope the writers of this did a MUCH better job with their Star Trek script. (And if the rumor I heard was true, then I feel good that they did.)
I still agree quite a bit with Dawn Taylor's critique of exactly what's wrong with Transformers, as well as with Rick Emerson's notes from when he saw it.