Transformers Film that feels like Transformers!?
- Thread starter X-SOLDIER
- Start date
- AKA
- TresDias
Well, since this is the last Transformers movie in the Bayverse, and they're planning to reboot in a few years ... no. 
Dark and Divine
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- D&D
It's obvious that this movie isn't directed by Michael Bay, because this really feels like a love letter from a fan to the original G1 series...
...ando also because there aren't any explosions in that trailer
...ando also because there aren't any explosions in that trailer
Dark and Divine
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- D&D
OMG the G1 Feels!!!!
- AKA
- X
HOLY. SHIT. I can't believe that the thread title actually turned out to be genuinely perfect for this.
I'm genuinely excited for a Transformers movie again! Also, the director is Travis Knight who directed Kubo and the Two Strings, and was the Lead Animator for The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, & Coraline, so I really DO have faith that this could be an awesome film.
X
I'm genuinely excited for a Transformers movie again! Also, the director is Travis Knight who directed Kubo and the Two Strings, and was the Lead Animator for The Boxtrolls, ParaNorman, & Coraline, so I really DO have faith that this could be an awesome film.
X
Never been a huge Transformers fan, so I wouldn't say I'm excited. But those designs are wayyy better. They even look like they have some structure/architecture, instead of just being writhing masses of metal bits.
- AKA
- X
Michael Bay understands spectacle and the Bayformers are all just that. The only way he differentiates the Transformers is by attaching them to tropes, because ultimately they're all just means to an end for delivering a certain level of spectacle on screen. That's why things felt the way they did in his films, and as they built upon each other it became more and more painfully obvious as well as difficult to ignore.
The primary thing that makes the difference for THIS film is the fact that Travis Knight is someone who comes from the background of being an animator. He understands what's necessary to frame animation to make it readable to an audience. As someone coming from stop motion, he VERY clearly understands what speeds you can deliver information at, and how much is too much. On top of that, he also seems to have a firm grasp on what's necessary to make animated characters stand out and make them matter, without just pinning a trope to them. That's why we suddenly have characters that we can visibly recognize, transformation sequences we can follow, and Transformers who feel like they're characters.
X
The primary thing that makes the difference for THIS film is the fact that Travis Knight is someone who comes from the background of being an animator. He understands what's necessary to frame animation to make it readable to an audience. As someone coming from stop motion, he VERY clearly understands what speeds you can deliver information at, and how much is too much. On top of that, he also seems to have a firm grasp on what's necessary to make animated characters stand out and make them matter, without just pinning a trope to them. That's why we suddenly have characters that we can visibly recognize, transformation sequences we can follow, and Transformers who feel like they're characters.
X
- AKA
- TresDias
I will say I thought the first Bay movie was plenty good fun and delivered a 90 percent satisfying experience to me as a lifelong Transformers lover -- and the third movie was actually quite good as well (though it felt firmly in the "Bayverse").
Still, "characters that we can visibly recognize [and] transformation sequences we can follow" are severely overdue.
Still, "characters that we can visibly recognize [and] transformation sequences we can follow" are severely overdue.
- AKA
- X
I quite enjoyed the first one when it came out. The first film also has to establish characters & concept, so it spent the most time on them. Additionally, Blackout's transformation at the start of that film was my favourite in the series, because of how they spent time with it and let you feel like it was a real thing and not just whirling VFX smoke & mirrors. I think that understanding the differences in the strengths of the directors will inform you a lot about why you'd see things in this you haven't seen before, despite the series desperately needing it.
X
X
- AKA
- X
Transformers films by release & their RottenTomatoes score:
X
- Transformers 58%
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 19%
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon 35%
- Transformers: Age of Extinction 18%
- Transformers: The Last Knight 15%
- Bumblebee 97%
X
- AKA
- X
Saw this last night, and by the gods. It REALLY IS as good as you could ever hope it to be.
And let me reiterate how strong that is – it still has some of Michael Bay's classic tropes in it that it manages make NOT ONLY so that they're not uncomfortable, but that they're all genuinely believable, honest, and endearing:
Like... Not only does it do that, but literally EVERYTHING ELSE that it does that are all unique things to this film are all spectacular, too.
X
And let me reiterate how strong that is – it still has some of Michael Bay's classic tropes in it that it manages make NOT ONLY so that they're not uncomfortable, but that they're all genuinely believable, honest, and endearing:
The main girl character is a girl who knows how to work on cars and she mentions that she is 18.
Her love of cars is because her and her dad were working on a car, and he suddenly died of a heart attack, so she's been obsessing over fixing the car, because she never got to say goodbye to him, and her age is mentioned because she finally wants to get away from her home because her family lives with her new step dad, and everyone but her seems to be moving on from it aside from her.
There is a budding romance between a nerdy kid and the main girl character, where they have a number of awkward and clumsy interactions, and they situationally end up teamed up together as a result of the Transformers related circumstances that help bring them closer together. None of those interactions are at all creepy or cringy, nor do they feel like they were transparently orchestrated as a self-insert part of the script to put young, hot teens on display.
There is a tough military dudes who does tough military things and ends up in a weird place between with the Transformers & Decepticons. John Cena is the main military guy, and he utterly nails every facet of the military dudebro, the genuinely concerned & distrustful soldier, and the person who's willing to finally see the bigger picture in a way that isn't immediately obvious from the outset.
Her love of cars is because her and her dad were working on a car, and he suddenly died of a heart attack, so she's been obsessing over fixing the car, because she never got to say goodbye to him, and her age is mentioned because she finally wants to get away from her home because her family lives with her new step dad, and everyone but her seems to be moving on from it aside from her.
There is a budding romance between a nerdy kid and the main girl character, where they have a number of awkward and clumsy interactions, and they situationally end up teamed up together as a result of the Transformers related circumstances that help bring them closer together. None of those interactions are at all creepy or cringy, nor do they feel like they were transparently orchestrated as a self-insert part of the script to put young, hot teens on display.
There is a tough military dudes who does tough military things and ends up in a weird place between with the Transformers & Decepticons. John Cena is the main military guy, and he utterly nails every facet of the military dudebro, the genuinely concerned & distrustful soldier, and the person who's willing to finally see the bigger picture in a way that isn't immediately obvious from the outset.
Like... Not only does it do that, but literally EVERYTHING ELSE that it does that are all unique things to this film are all spectacular, too.
X
jazzflower92
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- The Girl With A Strong Opinion
I do say it feels more like a Transformers movie than the previous transformers. And this is what it should have been from the start.