These movie toys are so hideously ugly, though. My kids had a very brief Transformers interest and I couldn't believe the absolute shitshow that toy line is/was. There were toys from the movie, toys from the cartoon, and toys made to look like the original line. All crammed into the same section in the toy aisle, with their own logos, branding, and packaging. It was like the cutting room floor of a marketing department. The movie line toys were by far the most garish. Taking all that CG detail and reducing it to a melted pile of plastic results in some trashy looking stuff.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Transformers: The Last Knight review thread
- Thread starter Biggest-Geek-Ever
- Start date
These movie toys are so hideously ugly, though. My kids had a very brief Transformers interest and I couldn't believe the absolute shitshow that toy line is/was. There were toys from the movie, toys from the cartoon, and toys made to look like the original line. All crammed into the same section in the toy aisle, with their own logos, branding, and packaging. It was like the cutting room floor of a marketing department. The movie line toys were by far the most garish. Taking all that CG detail and reducing it to a melted pile of plastic results in some trashy looking stuff.
I don't look any further and I am still disappointed.
I am fine with the first,and the second I can still find a way to have fun with for the most part. But man...it's been pretty steadily downhill. I actually got straight up bored at the last one. it just seemed to drone on endlessly.
Messofanego
Banned
Like seriously, if these Transformers movies really were just 2 hours of just non-stop action, I'd actually watch them. I love any action film with lots of action in it.
That's why I prefer Baby Driver, Dredd, The Raid, Kingsman, Mad Max Fury Road, and John Wick to the overly convoluted 2.5 hour blockbusters with too many characters and plot threads. All of these films clock in at around 2 hours. They don't have more than 3 screenwriters. They're pure and they know exactly what they're trying to do.
That's why I prefer Baby Driver, Dredd, The Raid, Kingsman, Mad Max Fury Road, and John Wick to the overly convoluted 2.5 hour blockbusters with too many characters and plot threads. All of these films clock in at around 2 hours. They don't have more than 3 screenwriters. They're pure and they know exactly what they're trying to do.
Martinski43
Member
Dunno if posted but Mr Sunday Movies review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQXmiVi0kN8
He hated it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQXmiVi0kN8
Alter_Fridge
Member
Not that Bay makes it about the robots fighting anyway, that would be silly
The Sum of Zero
Member
Still going to see it next week.
Martinski43
Member
And all i wanted was a decentish movie to see at IMAX in NYC.. well might catch Baby Driver instead then.
Chained Prometheus
Member
I mean, I'm only paying $4 to see it on IMAX (T-Mobile, what up)... could be a worse way to spend 2hrs 30mins on a thursday when I'm off work.
It's a Bayformers film... nobody expected it to be an actual good film, did they? Okay, I know the first one gets a bit of a pass but yeah.
Bring on the mindless popcorn chomping action.
It's a Bayformers film... nobody expected it to be an actual good film, did they? Okay, I know the first one gets a bit of a pass but yeah.
Bring on the mindless popcorn chomping action.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I got into a discussion once with someone who legit thought they were good films.
Pop-O-Matic
Banned
All those movies have comprehensible action, though. The Transformers movies idea of action is just unidentifiable blobs of CGI mashing into each other while the camera shakes like a goddamned earthquake is going on. You'd get a comparable experience by watching analog TV static for 2 hours.
People expect a Transformers movie. They still haven't gotten one since 86
People like crappy things? Bay knows how to pander to middle America and international audiences? Plenty of explanations.
No, but we expect decent movies and most are horrible!
27% would be a good Transformers score. Dark of the Moon was the best reviewed sequel at 35%, and it had the benefit of being one of the first films post-Avatar to have good 3D effects. It also had the series best action sequence in Chicago.
I think this one is o/u 20%. I'm going to go with 15%.
It's a free country right? Maybe it's a sin giving my tens dollars every time,but I'm going to hell regardless.
It looks like it's another one of those movies that has crazy aspect ratio changes because of IMAX. Cutting back and forth from IMAX shots and letterboxed shots in the same scene. There's one in a promo clip where it's Wahlberg, Hopkins, and Laura Haddock where only Haddock is shot with IMAX, and the rest is letterbox. I wonder why Bay wanted to film only her with IMAX cameras...?
Pai Pai Master
Banned
Yep I just love those two racist caricature robots, they're so fun!
MagnaderAlpha
Member
This! the "Citizen Kane" report is just as lame as the "Were you expecting Shakespeare" bullshit.
ChemicalCutthroat
Member
That's fair.
I can dislike the movies, but I'm not gonna give someone crap that likes them. I like plenty of movies that other people can't stand.
I'm still not gonna forgive him for Ninja Turtles.
CassidyIzABeast
Member
Excellent reviews.
To the people wondering why other people like these movies: it's because they're fun. Sometimes you just want to see some nice explosions while hot women and dudes say crappy one liners and jokes. Michael Bay knows what he's doing and he does it well. Whiplash is probably my second favorite movie all time (Dark Knight #1 because of childhood nostalgia) but sometimes I just want to munch on some popcorn and look at pretty things.
biggersmaller
Banned
I know right? Only movies that define the medium for 100 years get favorable reviews anymore.
I made a huge post about this insane phenomenon last year:
Thread here.
Yup. It's a horrible argument and the Transformers movies stand out as GARBAGE movies in a sea of well reviewed summer blockbusters. Yet people still go out and see them for some reason.
"It doesn't matter if it's shit, you're all going to watch it anyways and they're gonna make billions of dollars either way."
You'll often see this line of thinking just before the release of a highly anticipated film, whether it's on social media, GAF or speaking to your friends in real life. Reviews are shitting all over the film, but it doesn't matter, right? Marketing is all over the place. The IPs are well known and beloved. It doesn't matter if the critics hate the film, it's still going to make a killing.
Well, as we've seen recently with Batman v Superman, and many other similar films, this is not always the case. Social media is a massive force, and now more than ever, negative word of mouth can make or break a film. Whether you read it yourself, or simply heard it, you knew the buzz going into Batman v Superman's opening weekend: the critical response was the absolute shits. While such negativity usually isn't enough to slow down a massive opening weekend, these films usually get hit the hardest in the second weekend and beyond, with massive, 50%+ drops.
Now, a film that was virtually guaranteed to gross a billion dollars worldwide looks like it will struggle to get passed $850 million. Batman v Superman, a critical flop starring the two of the most recognizable and beloved pop culture icons in the world, will not pass Deadpool, an R-rated, low budget, C-tier superhero movie at the domestic box office.
Today, word of mouth is everything. Critical response to a film spreads faster then ever. The word WILL get out there: If your movie is shit, the audience is going to know, and they aren't going to watch it.
Lets take a look at the top 15 highest grossing films of all time:
With the exception of 4 films on this list, all of them are certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes, meaning a score of 75% or more after a certain amount of time. Jurassic World comes close, with a 71%.
To me, two films stand out on this list like a sore thumb: The two Transformers films.
Look at my quote at the beginning of this post. It's usually followed by "Just look at the Transformers films!" Michael Bay's Transformers have all been absolute monsters at the box office, despite EXTREMELY negative critical reception. This series, now at four films, with another three already confirmed, seems to be the only consistently bulletproof "rotten" franchise at the box office.
Lets quickly take a look at the four films.
I remember the conversations going into the first Transformers film basically being summed up as "How the fuck are they going to do a live action Transformers?"
In the end, with the help of ILM, they made it work. Transformers was the huge summer blockbuster of 2007, and gave birth to the film franchise we now lovingly refer to as "Bayformers".
Somehow, this film just made a killing at the box office. While it seems so obvious now, at the time, we didn't know how well an 80s cartoon would translate to box office success. It certainly wasn't a homerun guarantee to make over $500 million.
In the end, while Transformers 1 wasn't a masterpiece by any means, I do think it exceeded expectations and people generally liked the film. A 57% isn't great at RT, but as you can see by the audience score, people certainly LIKED the film, and I remember word of mouth being very positive that Summer.
With the sequel confirmed, surely it's onward and upward from here.
FUCK.
They followed the decent Transformers 1 with this fucking turd. Racist charicatures that would make Jar Jar Binks blush. Just a terrible movie.
As you can see... the RT and audience score reflected that. The box office went UP, but I chalked that up to the overall awareness and popularity of Transformers being WAY higher since 2007 thanks to the first movie. Social media wasn't as big as it is today, and people wanted to check out the big summer blockbuster movie with robots and explosions.
Well, they did. And they saw the shits.
Transformers 3 is going to feel that pain.
And now we reach the reason why I made this thread. Transformers fucking 3. I should have known better after watching the absolute shit that was 2, but I did watch 3 in theatres, hoping 2 was just some sick misstep and that this new film would go back to what I liked about the first film. Maybe even improve it?
No. 3 was just as bad as 2, maybe worse. I seem to remember losing consciousness with my eyes still open while watching it. What a piece of shit.
The most baffling piece of this puzzle is the box office. TF3 grossed nearly $300 million more than TF2, making it the first Transformers film to hit a billion dollars. While most of that money came from overseas business, and the domestic take was actually down from TF2, THAT'S STILL A LOT OF MONEY FOR A HUGE PIECE OF SHIT.
The fact that TF3 managed to do this kind of business after the absolutely terrible TF2 is nothing short of remarkable. Not even fucking STAR WARS could follow a horrible entry with a huge box office performance like this. How was Transformers so immune to such criticism and negative word of mouth?
At this point, I think most people accepted that these films were just bulletproof when it came to the box office. And then TF4 rolled out...
Christ.
After what was literally the worst film I've ever seen in theatres in Transformers 2, they crank out two more pieces of garbage that manage to gross over a billion at the box office worldwide and land in the top 15 highest grossing films of all time, mostly in the company of films that are actually well made and beloved.
Amazingly, Transformers 4 lost a solid $100 million at the domestic box office... which was made up entirely by the overseas market.
I think the overseas market is another good discussion point for this thread. While the domestic market cools on these shitty films, overseas Transformers seems bigger than ever. Does the overseas market just not care much about critical reception? Does word of mouth not effect them?
Of course, that's ridiculous. There are plenty of shitty, big budget films out there, Batman v Superman included, that certainly bet on big business from overseas markets... and they were having none of that.
So GAF, lets open this up. Why are the Transformers movies so successful, despite toxic critical response and word of mouth? Well, on the surface it seems pretty simple:
-recognizable IP
-sick cars
-sexy ladies
-guns
-explosions
-impressive CGI action
But is it that simple? Many have tried to replicate the success of Transformers with that general blueprint, and none have even managed a fraction of its success.
So what is it, GAF? How can Transformers withstand such negativity and manage two, billion dollar films in a row while a Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman cross over film can't even come close? Do I just live in a weird bubble where the internet/critics/all my friends and family hate the Transformers films, but in reality everyone actually loves them? Is Michael Bay just a genius? Does China, in fact, not care? Will Transformers 5 continue the trend of $1 billion+ garbage Transformers films? I know we have some box office experts on GAF, I'd love to hear your take on it!
Thread here.
Yup. It's a horrible argument and the Transformers movies stand out as GARBAGE movies in a sea of well reviewed summer blockbusters. Yet people still go out and see them for some reason.
Revenge of the Fallen and Age of Extinction are definitely not fun movies.
Martinski43
Member
Yep i get this sentiment, but these movies since revenge of the fallen has been boring and has dull action and are just terrible overall. Dark of the moon put me to sleep twice. Havent seen AoE.
There are fun and dumb action movies that does it right. John Wick movies for example.
MiamiWesker
Member
Reposting from the other thread:
I saw this last night, I thought it was pretty terrible, worst since 2. Normally I can enjoy these movies for the sheer spectacle of them all but this one was way too melodramatic and trying way too hard to create lore that is awful. Huge chunks of the movie are just humans chasing clues and artifacts about nonsense. The transformers history has been rewritten like 5 times already, none of it makes any sense. There is no where near enough transformers on transformers action, way too much focus on humans, more than usual.
And worst of all, that whole ad campaign about
I saw this last night, I thought it was pretty terrible, worst since 2. Normally I can enjoy these movies for the sheer spectacle of them all but this one was way too melodramatic and trying way too hard to create lore that is awful. Huge chunks of the movie are just humans chasing clues and artifacts about nonsense. The transformers history has been rewritten like 5 times already, none of it makes any sense. There is no where near enough transformers on transformers action, way too much focus on humans, more than usual.
And worst of all, that whole ad campaign about
Optimus prime being bad, complete total bullshit, you have seen the entirety of it from the previews alone. Also Optimus is in like 15 minutes of the movie only.
LucidMomentum
Member
Just gimme two hours of Evil Optimus wrecking the other bots.
That I'll pay money for.
Not whatever sexist and racist caricatures Bay comes up with as an excuse for a human aspect.
That I'll pay money for.
Not whatever sexist and racist caricatures Bay comes up with as an excuse for a human aspect.
Poor GRIMES
Banned
Movies don't need to be on the level of Citizen Kane to get decent to good reviews, as, y'know, most films will show you.
Don't make me cry man...
Dash_Riprock
Member
This is one of the dumbest posts I've read all year. And take note, I've debated with some of the (very few) Trump supporters on this site.
If by two hours, you mean less than 15 minutes, we got ya covered!
MiamiWesker
Member
Yeah about that...
Gai Murakumo
Member
This is really worse then Age of Extinction? Wow I never thought the movies could get any worse. However this will still make mega bucks.
The Sum of Zero
Member
Not to you. But some people may find them to be so.
Daffy Duck
Member
That makes me sad.
The funny thing is critics pan the series yet it obviously resonates with people as they earn hundreds of millions.
As posted earlier films like BvS flop at the box office, so does Ghostbusters, but these don't.
Maybe premature for this one as anything is possible, burn i bet it still makes a billion.
By now people know what they are about and if they weren't popular they wouldn't make the money.
I know it's a losing argument.
Dude Abides
Banned
If Mark Wahlber had been involved, this movie wouldn't have gone down like it did.
cr0w
Old Member
I dunno, I had a shitload of fun with 3 especially. It's possible to be entertained by shit, look at how many people love G1. Objectively, G1 is shit. It existed only to sell toys, and it accomplished that. The only reason the movie was made was to usher in the second wave of characters for the toyline.
Big difference is people are okay with G1 being shit because they loved it as kids and they still get the warm and fuzzies when they watch it as adults. People aren't okay (on the internet, at least) with the movies being shit because there's no nostalgia associated with them. There's no shit filter that turns the shit movies into nostalgia, they're just shit movies. It's harder to forgive them when you have no investment in them.
Personally, Optimus Prime with a sword and shield riding a giant robot dinosaur is something I can totally get behind, much the same way I really enjoy jamming some '80s hair metal or eating some Oreo O's. It's complete trash but dammit if I can't enjoy sugary trash entertainment to balance out the heavier aspects of life I'll drive myself insane.
I want you to expand on the lore that's going on in this movie. Seriously. How is it being rewritten? What's going on in the plot now?
I get that it's stupid, but I'm always fascinated by the lengths people go to when they're crafting a universe.
Gimme the crazy Wesker.
Yeah, not a whole lot of people since they are hated so much!=p