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[jason10mm]

Just got back from the new CG Transformers One flick and it is WAAAAAY better than it has any right to be, bordering on being actually good! It's not as kiddie as the trailer suggests, with some fairly deep themes about workers vs elites, being red pilled (this is strongly brought out by having Lawrence Fishburn as a character), and a lot of deep state manipulating you type stuff that, while being aimed at kids, really hits for adults watching. The "Optimus Prime and Megatron were once friends" bit is done fairly well, not quite a perfect landing but works well enough even when you know where the film is going. I loved all the classic Transformers call-backs, most of the humor hits, and the "go-bot" insult....oh that was a classic

For a modest 75 mill I thought it looked great, the action was well done, and I could definitely stand for a sequel exploring the alien guys and fleshing out the autobot/decepticon dynamic. I long for the classic voices but we sorta get there and they do throw in the old transformer sound a bit. A nice pairing with the more recent live action films which I think really hit the 80's vibe. Not sure if there is a single vision at Hasbro for these recent films but it gives me GREAT hope for the upcoming Transformers/GI Joe movie if it can carry the torch.

Still don't think the Transformers ecology makes any sense but no Cybertron based show has ever really cracked it IMHO so it is what it is.

And it had a trailer for Sonic 3, goddamn that one looks good! But the trailer for "The Wild Robot" has the animals talking, for some reason that really killed interest for me and my son, not sure why. But it got my daughter on board, not sure why Moana 2 looks like more of the same, so that's on my dance ticket as well, I guess.

 

[Dacvak]

Is it a reboot, or is this part of the Shia LaBeouf movie series?

 

[Big Baller]

Shia stopped after 2 movies lol

 

[Rockondevil]

Taking my kid to see it today. Considering it in 3D as he hasn't seen a 3D movie.

Is it a reboot, or is this part of the Shia LaBeouf movie series?

From what I can tell it's just a story of how Optimus and Megatron came to be Optimus and Megatron.

 

[jason10mm]

Yeah, there isn't any real connection (or foreshadowing from what I can tell) that this film would tie into the Bay transformers stuff, even though Bay and Spielberg are listed as producers. I'd be pretty happy with this being a series of cybertron based transformers adventures with no humans. They could do some "cosmic adventure" stuff pretty easily or just delve into cybertrons past as its basically a post-apocalyptic setting already.

 

[ManaByte]

Yeah, there isn't any real connection (or foreshadowing from what I can tell) that this film would tie into the Bay transformers stuff, even though Bay and Spielberg are listed as producers. I'd be pretty happy with this being a series of cybertron based transformers adventures with no humans. They could do some "cosmic adventure" stuff pretty easily or just delve into cybertrons past as its basically a post-apocalyptic setting already.

The Bay universe is dead. It was rebooted with Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts.

 

[jason10mm]

The Bay universe is dead. It was rebooted with Bumblebee and Rise of the Beasts.

I'm sure they would work in elements if they could, though not sure how (or why) they would need to. Wouldn't surprise me to see Josh Duhamel or Tyrese or the other soldier types show up as old Joes though, would be kinda cool. I actually liked the Joe films, zany as they were, so some light nods to those films would be ok. A little Sienna Miller as Baroness (if she could still fit into the catsuit) would always be nice Def not a fan of the Bay Transformers "jagged shards of metal" design though.

Anyway, in this series I'm not bound to slavish devotion to what came before. The last 2 Transformers films were great and I prefer that series continue.

But get Marky Mark to be Zartan or Major Bludd, that'd be a hoot. I actually think a coked up Shia would be an AWESOME Tomax and Xamot

 

[Wheeljack539]

I saw it earlier today and was surprised myself. The original series is a childhood love so I admit to being heavily biased towards it in the extreme. The first Bay movie was fun but each just got worse as it went on and Bumblebee and RoTB were a step up from those. This one was easily better than than the last two though I felt that it took a bit to really get going and was a bit predictable in several parts.

For some reason they decided to have what were the worst parts in the trailer as the rest was a lot better. I am extremely happy that they let the serious scenes later on stay serious as I was just waiting for something stupid to happen but was thankful that it didn't.

And since I'm part of that first gen that watched I found myself looking at every background character to see who they were and ended up pretty much picking them all out.

 

[DeafTourette]

I hope I get to see this on theaters

 

[Rockondevil]

Just saw it with my kid. I wasn’t keen based on the trailers but it was actually really good.

Definitely recommend a watch for anyone that likes transformers.

 

[Vyse]

Most likely going to catch this next week. Glad to hear it’s getting good word of mouth.

 

[AJUMP23]

How long into the movie until they transform. And what are they called prior to becoming transformers?

 

[jason10mm]

How long into the movie until they transform. And what are they called prior to becoming transformers?

Early plot spoilers some transformers can always transform, they are the larger "elites". But the story focuses on smaller 'cogless' robots that can't transform because they were 'born' without a cog, so they are the menial laborers instead, working endlessly to mine energon in the hopes of getting promoted up

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

Early plot spoilers some transformers can always transform, they are the larger "elites". But the story focuses on smaller 'cogless' robots that can't transform because they were 'born' without a cog, so they are the menial laborers instead, working endlessly to mine energon in the hopes of getting promoted up

Sorry that last part made me chuckle lol

"In the hopes of"

Edit: Haven't seen it yet

 

[AJUMP23]

Early plot spoilers some transformers can always transform, they are the larger "elites". But the story focuses on smaller 'cogless' robots that can't transform because they were 'born' without a cog, so they are the menial laborers instead, working endlessly to mine energon in the hopes of getting promoted up

The old class warfare.

 

[Punished Miku]

Shia stopped after 2 movies lol

His spirit lives on.

 

[Kadve]

Early plot spoilers some transformers can always transform, they are the larger "elites". But the story focuses on smaller 'cogless' robots that can't transform because they were 'born' without a cog, so they are the menial laborers instead, working endlessly to mine energon in the hopes of getting promoted up

Well to be fair. Transformers has been about class divides ever since the G1 days with the whole "Quintesson building Deceptions as military hardware and Autobots as menial ones" bit.

 

[jason10mm]

The old class warfare.

Yeah, pretty much.

There isn't much from a 'normal' transformers POV, its all from the cogless miner bots (and I can't help but see "miner" and "minor", especially given their smaller size compared to the 'adult' transformers, being a subtextual theme of child labor in mines). So all the regular transformers we see are bad guys, the leader, his spider girl Friday, and (literally) faceless minions, the couple overseers. So are all the 'coged' transformers in on the plan to deprive some of their cogs and make them slave labor? Or where they somehow convinced it was necessary based on the loss of free flowing energon? Or are they as much in the dark, all mind wiped or just ignorant of what it was like before the Primes fell?

But there is certainly a strong labor vs elites vibe, which is odd since we are kinda seeing a flip of those demographics with political alignments, so they do a good job keeping it apolitical (there is no obvious MAGA or obama imagery, for example) but a fairly youth centered perspective of the haves and have nots.

Even the bit with Arcee (or whatever the ScarJo one was called) being "better than you at everything" was still in service to Optimus' story, they threaded that needle to keep from being a girlboss but still having her be a supreme fighter (they all basically are). But she is a distinct support character.

 

[yet_another_alt]

I haven't seen it yet but it sounds like it's actually closer to the IDW comics where your alt form dictated your role in society. It even uses similar origins of the Autobot and Decepticon name.

 

[wondermega]

Just got back from it, it was fine. I guess better than I would have expected it to be, but if my friends hadn't dragged me to it, I would have happily waited to catch it on streaming. As a kid who grew up with these in the 1980s, it's been fascinating to watch the genesis of the line and see where it has wound up today (still relevant!) I got pretty spoiled by the opening sequence of Bumblebee many years ago and was hoping beyond hope that we'd see something more approaching that. Obviously this was way jokier/kiddy, but I mean - it IS a film about toys, that's really gonna have to be their main demographic for this, and I can understand that! Anyway, way more watchable than most of the Bay films, and of course that dull/bleak Netflix show.

I definitely have some criticisms about the plot but it was fine for what it was.

 

[Big Baller]

His spirit lives on.

 

[MayauMiao]

Honestly I thought it was a Netflix movie made for kids given its cartoony character design and I don't recall seeing any ads for this lately.

 

[Toons]

Shia stopped after 2 movies lol

Shia did 3

Also yes this new one is excellent. Maybe the strongest transformers film that has been done to date.

 

[Codes 208]

I love seeing most reviews and journalists giving it 7-9 out of 10 and then theres IGN giving it a 5.

I personally really enjoyed it, easily the best movie since the original movie

Shia stopped after 2 movies lol

3 movies. Dark of the Moon was the last one he was in.

It was implied he was killed before the events of age of extinction

 

[tamago84]

it actually was enjoyable. i never put a single minute toward the IP but it wasnt a bad movie at all

 

[qbxwhi]

some parts were budget constrained, but then others were decent sakuga.
overall it was good and didnt expect that considering the shit trailer

 

[Zephyranthes]

It was actually pretty good, and while it didn't exactly blow up at the box office, it did at least make back its budget (latest report I saw had it at $110M globally vs a $75M budget), so a sequel isn't totally out of the question.

 

[TVexperto]

It was amazing, I hope it gets a sequel!

 

[Toots]

Shia stopped after 2 movies lol

The Shia Labeouf cinematic universe will never die

 

[AJUMP23]

IT is alright. I think it is weird that Optimus is not a Prime from the beginning. I think he has always been a Prime. But was the story of friendship and rivalry good. Sure.

Though he tries I think Peter Cullen is the best Prime. But that is years of conditioning.

 

[DeafTourette]

IT is alright. I think it is weird that Optimus is not a Prime from the beginning. I think he has always been a Prime. But was the story of friendship and rivalry good. Sure.

Though he tries I think Peter Cullen is the best Prime. But that is years of conditioning.

Even in the Gen 1 toon, they Showed Optimus being Orion Pax. He wasn't always a Prime. He had a beginning. Vector Sigma or Alpha Trion (I forget which) gave him the Matrix of Leadership.

 

[AJUMP23]

Even in the Gen 1 toon, they Showed Optimus being Orion Pax. He wasn't always a Prime. He had a beginning. Vector Sigma or Alpha Trion (I forget which) gave him the Matrix of Leadership.

Thanks for the refresher.

NERD

 

[SJRB]

Is the whole movie like this? Because this is great.

 

[jason10mm]

Is the whole movie like this? Because this is great.

A fair bit of it hits like this. They wrote it for the middle aged dads and then covered their kids as well.

 

[Blade2.0]

Shia stopped after 2 movies lol

It was three, actually. The first trilogy was his

 

[Ishma3L]

Still doesn't top the good old '86.

 

[Wheeljack539]

IT is alright. I think it is weird that Optimus is not a Prime from the beginning. I think he has always been a Prime. But was the story of friendship and rivalry good. Sure.

Though he tries I think Peter Cullen is the best Prime. But that is years of conditioning.

Agreed on Peter Cullen. It's only easier to accept when it's a different iteration but this one being so close in design by the end is a little off-putting. Chris did do a great job though.

As for the Prime moniker in the early days Prime was just part of his name. It didn't really get any significance until the '86 movie with Rodimus Prime's introduction. Though I'm of the opinion they did that more for the fan benefit rather than establishing any lineage.

The comics though took the idea and ran with it and their own continuity lore did clash with the cartoon of that time.

 

[ReBurn]

Though I'm of the opinion they did that more for the fan benefit rather than establishing any lineage.

They did it because the Optimus Prime toy was being discontinued and Rodimus Prime was the toy replacing it as the leader toy. The whole purpose of the movie was as a marketing vessel to introduce the new line of G1 toys and they did the changeover by having kids/fans watch most of the original characters get killed off in the first 20 minutes of the movie. Not much fanservice in that movie.

 

[DeafTourette]

1984, Orion Pax before and becoming becoming Optimus Prime (thanks to Alpha Trion)

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

I actually think a coked up Shia would be an AWESOME Tomax and Xamot

Holy shit...that instantly painted a picture of him in my head as those two...well done! He would be GREAT...they could kill one of them 1/3 of the way through then Shia could just talk to himself the rest of the movie doing both characters. Brilliant

 

[Wheeljack539]

They did it because the Optimus Prime toy was being discontinued and Rodimus Prime was the toy replacing it as the leader toy. The whole purpose of the movie was as a marketing vessel to introduce the new line of G1 toys and they did the changeover by having kids/fans watch most of the original characters get killed off in the first 20 minutes of the movie. Not much fanservice in that movie.

I should have been a bit more clear but that's pretty much what I had meant. Prior there had been nothing (and even after as Rodimus having the name Prime could have been a one off) saying that the leaders had the name Prime in it.

Lord knows the Japanese series didn't use the idea after Rodimus Prime/Convoy bugged out of the series in Headmasters.

 

[jason10mm]

Holy shit...that instantly painted a picture of him in my head as those two...well done! He would be GREAT...they could kill one of them 1/3 of the way through then Shia could just talk to himself the rest of the movie doing both characters. Brilliant

Thats the kind of GI Joe re-imagining with a bit of a grittier take that we need!

Or there is NO TWIN, it's always just the one and any scene with both present is in the mind of the single person. Obviously this has been done in other films but it's always a fun twist if played well.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Thats the kind of GI Joe re-imagining with a bit of a grittier take that we need!

Or there is NO TWIN, it's always just the one and any scene with both present is in the mind of the single person. Obviously this has been done in other films but it's always a fun twist if played well.

YEEESSS! Of course Dr. Mind Bender would play the double thing up to him the whole time while everyone else just knows that he is psychotic. Would watch.

 

[ManaByte]

Loved how they mirrored “Rise Rodimus Prime” with the “Rise Optimus Prime”