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LORDFLUFFY
A relative absolutist, principaled miscreant, fervent moderate and opinionated idealist.
Articles Posted: 23; Links Seeded: 11
Member Since: 9/2008Last Seen: 11/27/2009
Member Since: 9/2008Last Seen: 11/27/2009
18 Comments
PrintOptimus Prime Still Held Hostage by Michael Bay; Proof of Life Coming in 2011
News Type: Event — Wed Oct 7, 2009 11:06 AM EDT
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As consumers, we really have no one to blame but ourselves for the quality of entertainment to which we have access. Every dollar is a vote, every movie ticket is a silent approval of the film we are about to see. We spend money, producers pay attention and movies get made.
But sometimes, it's just unfair.
For myself and many other children of the 80's, there are certain icons that step beyond the status of 'toy' or 'character' and into something akin to worship. The Transformers are (Optimus) prime examples of this. These are characters that don't just sit on lunchboxes or t-shirts and look cute, these are characters that became part of us and as such stepped beyond the screen and into our minds and hearts.
There is a reason why the characters have persisted and why adults will pay significant sums for things like a 20th anniversary edition of Optimus Prime. It's the same reason why regardless of who makes the film, many of us will go see it so long as our childhood heroes are up on the screen.
And this puts people like Michael Bay in a rather terrifying position. He has our childhood. And he can do anything he wants with it.
The first Transformers live action film was solid, an action packed update to the characters, visually overwhelming and true enough to the original to win the support of elder fans and cement a lasting (and potentially lucrative) bond with new ones. The film had its flaws, mostly revolving around every part of the movie that didn't involve the Transformers or Megan Fox's abs, but they weren't so egregious that we couldn't overlook them. Michael Bay had brought our childhood heroes to life and that was enough.
The first film's success was enough to ensure a second, and there was hope it could be good as the first one had passed the test of appeasing a two decade old fan base. But that's where it turned bad. Like a colonist who had made a foothold in an occupied country, promised riches and then brought disease and oppression, Michael Bay took the approval he had earned with his first film and expanded it with bad racial stereotypes, vertigo inducing camera angles, leg-humping robots and the worst use of truck nuts in film.
Fans, myself included, walked away from the film betrayed. But like a girlfriend with a jerk boyfriend she can't break up with, it was obvious that as soon as Michael Bay announced the next installment we'd all show back up, ready to believe that this time it would be different and if we would just buy another ticket, he'll be good to us like he was before.
The announcement has come that the filming for the third installment of the Transfomers franchise has begun as of October 1st. And the fans, myself included, will line up on July 1st, 2011 to pay our share of the ransom Bay can demand for our memories. We will wait until then and pray to Cybertron that this one is actually the step up we'd wanted to see in Transformers: Rise of the Fallen.
There are a number of characters and artists that have this dysfunctional relationship with us. We have the power to stop them by just saying no, refusing to pay as they treat our childhood memories like a very profitable napkin, to be soiled and then tossed aside when no longer of use them. But we won't, because in the twenty-first century we're getting the films that we wanted to see in the twentieth and as long as they have those characters to hold over our heads, we'll show up dollars in hand and butts in seats.
Just please, please this time... no truck nuts?
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{"commentId":9919924,"authorDomain":"LordFluffy"}
I'm waiting for his next film after this: Strawberry Shortcake: The Apocalypse
{"commentId":9919924,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"LordFluffy"}
- 1 vote
#1 - Wed Oct 7, 2009 11:08 AM EDT{"commentId":9921571,"authorDomain":"syntactictree"}
I want to see the Fraggles save Earth from a meteorite impact.
P.S. An excellent article.
{"commentId":9921571,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"syntactictree"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":9921626,"authorDomain":"LordFluffy"}
{"commentId":9923398,"authorDomain":"Hider5000"}
I saw the first film and thought it was fairly mediocre myself. If the second was a step down from it as you indicate, I'll likely pass on the rest of the franchise. This of course withstanding it's not the best fair offered by the HBO channels on some uneventful late night in the future (the previous itself withstanding flipping through Cinemax doesn't transform anything into a semi before I get there...Oh!)
It's not much of loss in my case though, and I know I likely be denounced in many a chic-geek circle for saying this, but I've always been more of He-Man/Ninja Turtles aficionado myself. Luckily, I've had decades to heal over the big screen exploitation of my childhood darlings... Just be glad yours didn't star Vanilla Ice.
Excellent article.
{"commentId":9923398,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"Hider5000"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":9925283,"authorDomain":"LordFluffy"}
{"commentId":9921640,"authorDomain":"tempestnam"}
Yeah, it was a horrid movie. In terms of movies, just not good at all.
*But...Americans being who they are fall for shiny things all the time. And it was CGI epic to say the least, hot body filled, and mindless entertainment.
Bay is just a terrible director. Always has been, always will be. It's a almost a shame Shia Labeouf is wasting his acting talent with this. But at the same time, it's made him in Hollywood for the next 10-20 years of his career. (I also thought he squandered his talent in the New Indiana Jones, but that's not his fault, Lucas and Spielburg really did a number there)
On the movie. Storyline was terrible, Acting terrible, Dialogue terrible, etc. It's like Michael Bay was in caveman mode..."Robot Big! Robot Shiny! Robot Awesome!" Aside from Shia, there was near 0 acting talent in this movie, at least the first one had Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson, and a few other good bit players.
I was also miffed by the exlusion of the "founders" who first found the cube, I wanted to see that story from the first movie. They did a close in on the pictures, and you get a sense of something from the past...but not 10,000 BC...
{"commentId":9921640,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"tempestnam"}
#2 - Wed Oct 7, 2009 12:19 PM EDT{"commentId":9924622,"authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
And this puts people like Michael Bay in a rather terrifying position. He has our childhood. And he can do anything he wants with it.
No he can't - my childhood was done a long time ago. All he can do is appeal to my memories of it. Either I'll enjoy the movie or I won't. That won't change my memories of what I enjoyed as a child (quite frankly that is more likely to happen by re-watching those same cartoons now).
Truthfully though I thought the 2nd movie was better than the first. While the first movie was okay - it was plagued with shaky cam and most annoying of all not letting you see the frakking fight. They resurrect the "One shall stand, One shall fall" speech from the animated movie but do you get to see Optimus kicking Megatrons arse - noooo, we have to see it from the human point of view.
TF2 has its problems but at least Bay learned the value of actually showing the fights. Beyond that I thought the story was at least as good as TF1. The acting the same. Perhaps though for TF3 Bay will learn to dial back the crude humor.
{"commentId":9924622,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
- 1 vote
#3 - Wed Oct 7, 2009 2:17 PM EDT{"commentId":9925266,"authorDomain":"LordFluffy"}
...most annoying of all not letting you see the frakking fight.
Funny, that was one of my big problems with TF2; during the forest battle, I got a great view of LaBeouf and robot feet and that was about all.
Thanks for the comments.
{"commentId":9925266,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"LordFluffy"}
#4 - Wed Oct 7, 2009 2:41 PM EDT{"commentId":9925492,"authorDomain":"k-joy"}
Great article, L-Fluff...I thought Revenge of the Fallen was a much better movie than The Transformers. Based on the first movie I wasn't too sure if I wanted to give it another chance, I am glad I did and I am looking forward to the next adventure.
{"commentId":9925492,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"k-joy"}
#5 - Wed Oct 7, 2009 2:49 PM EDT{"commentId":9925619,"authorDomain":"LordFluffy"}
{"commentId":9927251,"authorDomain":"killfile"}
I find myself having an easier time resisting these sorts of films than I really expected. Partially that's because, when Transformers were king of the toy market, I was young enough (or maybe old enough?) that I made up my own stories to go along with them rather than paying much attention to the ones presented to me.
{"commentId":9927251,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"killfile"}
#6 - Wed Oct 7, 2009 4:05 PM EDT{"commentId":9930978,"authorDomain":"whochkn515"}
I'll go see the third one if they do the following....
1.) Get rid of Megan Fox's whiny a**--I know there is a greater chance of Michael Bay getting a sex change than this happening. Hey, all the boys need their eye candy. But her character is beyond annoying and serves no purpose other than to run around half-naked in slow motion. I'm sorry, but I grew up watching Transformers and I don't remember any talentless girls who dress like bimbos in the cartoon.
2.) stop having explosion after explosion. Seriously, it's anti-clamactic. Plus the half hour of Shia and Megan running got old fast. They could have cut about 45 minutes of that out and it would have been fine.
3.) Less parents, please. Did we really need ten minutes of Mom high on a hash brownie? borrrring!
I actually enjoyed the first one. What i really really REALLY want to see as live-action on the big screen (as long as Bay doesn't get his grubby little hands on them) are the following:
He-Man (although I gotta give it up for the awesomely bad Dolph Lundren/Courtney Cox version, lol) Voltron and Thundercats. But I want them done well, and not with a shi**y story and bad actors. These movies can be done if they are done right.
{"commentId":9930978,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"whochkn515"}
#7 - Wed Oct 7, 2009 6:49 PM EDT{"commentId":9951507,"authorDomain":"jfrank"}
Voltron would be awesome.
{"commentId":9951507,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"jfrank"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":9953747,"authorDomain":"metallimozart"}
This shows how old and how much of a geek I am. I'm going to ask "Which Voltron?"
I'm one of the few that remember not only the one with the lions and the androgynous Pidge, but also the one that had the robot formed from the vehicles.
The Land-team, the Sea-team, and the Air-team. They were all parked and their drivers/pilots lived happily on a huge space station. It was cool, but short lived due to the arrival of the series with the lions.
Hey, just to take my geekiness one step further. Who remembers Tranzor-Z?
{"commentId":9953747,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"metallimozart"}
#8 - Thu Oct 8, 2009 8:05 PM EDT{"commentId":9954038,"authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
This shows how old and how much of a geek I am. I'm going to ask "Which Voltron?"
I'm one of the few that remember not only the one with the lions and the androgynous Pidge, but also the one that had the robot formed from the vehicles.
Ah but do you remember that there was a third Voltron (known as Voltron II) that made it out as a toy but never made got its shot on TV because Voltron I failed compared to Voltron III (I do seem to recall there is like one scene with all 3 Voltron).
Anyway if the Voltron movie does get made it will probably be based on the Lion Voltron, which is a shame because I preferred the Vehicle Voltron - but the 5 member team would be easier to translate to a SFX heavy movie that is probably going to have a relatively small budget.
{"commentId":9954038,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"fdbryant3"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":9957087,"authorDomain":"jfrank"}
Lion Voltron please.
{"commentId":9957087,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"jfrank"}
{"commentId":9955221,"authorDomain":"thegobots1"}
why no gobots movie? :( the gobots had a two word theme song how cool is that.
{"commentId":9955221,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"thegobots1"}
#9 - Thu Oct 8, 2009 10:02 PM EDT{"commentId":9955233,"authorDomain":"thegobots1"}
the gobots the gobots THE GOBOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!
{"commentId":9955233,"threadId":"695237","contentId":"3357469","authorDomain":"thegobots1"}
#10 - Thu Oct 8, 2009 10:03 PM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"695237","isPrivate":false}
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