First of all, youre right, but as with many other movies, the bs in this movie will ore than likely make T3 decline emmensley in sales, getting michael bay thrown out and replaced, its happened with almost every series that occours like this.

Oh, and second, it already happened with He-man, heres a apt review of it http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/nostalgia-critic/1184-he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe

Rob, you put it well. Transformers is about more than just a toyline. The movies could have captured the best character and story elements of past Transformers incarnations but totally failed in favor of an empty, ugly and depressing universe.

A lot of Transformers fans and nerds are just having fun with it and enjoying the movies for basically being a showcase of HUGE F'N ROBOTS. Good for them.

Me? I can't stand these films and hate how much potential Bay has wasted. Even worse, the movies have made mega millions, so that's realy the end of the argument for the movie industry.

My condolences on taking one for the team and going to see this putrid movie.

"if this shit happened to my beloved Masters of the Universe (and it very well might) I would have a brain embolism"

Um they already did remember? Although brain your probably destroyed a portion of itself to make you forget ever seeing that steaming pile of crap. I wish mine would have.

I love transformers, almost all of it, ever since I was 3 years old. G1, Beast Wars, Animated especially. I liked the first movie too. Yeah I consider myself a nerd.

I went to Revenge of the Fallen yesterday. And I must say I liked it. I didn't love it, but I liked it. I was surprised that I didn't hate the twins, some of their stuff actually made me laugh. Megatron was actually a character this time around, rather than a screaming Juggernaut, and starscream had more lines too. The DEVASTATOR HAS BALLS thing everyone is screaming about is a ten second shot, at maximum. The movie has its problems most definitely, and it could have been better, but it was not a steaming turd to me.

Well, that's my two cents on the issue, since you said you wanted to know.

Everybody chill out. The movie is thoroughly enjoyable. Just shut your brain off for a couple of hours and enjoy it.

Some day's I hate you, and today is one of those days. ;)

But yeah, if you're going in expecting the Godfather, you're going ot hate it. If you're going in expecting more of the first movie, you'll love it, as I did.

I honestly had ZERO problems with the movie. Even the twins werent as bad as everyone is making out. So they talk like hoodlums. Who cares? They can talk however they damn please. The two guys who sat behind me seem to talk that way by choice. And they thought the twins were hilarious.

I liked this movie at lot, and will see it in theaters at least two more times.

And that whole 'its nots just a toy line thing' is bullshit. I feel the same about star wars. it IS just about a line of toys. And star wars IS a kids movie. They just so happened to hit the right chord and some adults actually fell in love with them (when they were kids). Is that the toy makers fault? Is that the fault of the guy who decided to make the kids movie? No. It's your fault you think of it as something higher than it is.

It saddens me when I see an internet full of people upset that an action movie about robots actually 'rapes' their childhood, and they see it as a 'spit in the face' to fans everywhere. People just need to chill out and have fun.

@Reverend

What? "The stupider you are the more you'll like it", doesn't sound like a good thing.

I personally did not enjoy being teabagged by the movie, nor having two racial stereotypes make constant rehash of gangsta lingo as if they literally came from the ghetto. Didn't like two gratuitous shots of dogs humping, nor of a Transformer humping Megan Fox's leg. As for the insipid dialogue, cardboard cut-out characters, weak plot, and millions of dollars used to render indistinguishable metal figures fighting...
...
...no sir, I didn't like it.

I saw it yesterday, and found that if you can look at it as just a action popcorn flick its not bad. You have to ignore the raping of the franchise thats all.

Transformers is a franchise that I have been a fan of since I was a little kid. When I saw the first movie I thought it was awesome. Then I saw it again on my television and not on the big screen and it was not as awesome.
I tried to turn my brain of and enjoy Transformers 2 but then I saw John Turturro's ass. At that point it almost felt like Michael Bay was daring me to walk out of the theater.

I have been a HUGE fan of Transformers since September of 1984. I watched every episode, read every comic book, got as many of the toys as I could...you get the idea. I grew up with this franchise!

That being said, I enjoyed the movie as what I would call a "fun" film. It wasn't end-all-be-all great. It was fun. I'm not a Michael Bay fan, I didn't think the dogs continually humping was needed in the least and there were too many dick jokes (one is too many with Transformers, really). But, unlike most, I understand that this ISN'T my beloved Generation 1. We got our movie back in 1986...and I still watch it to this day! I love that one!

This is an alternate universe of Transformers. Something to be consumed by the masses. I would have done things differently in both of these films, but that's just me. It's nowhere near as bad as people are bitching it is. Hell, people were clapping at the end of it (I didn't, but it was nice to see others enjoyed it).

If you don't want to see it, then don't...and spare us all your incessant bitching. If you want to see it, than go. It's as simple as that.

"Just shut your brain off for a couple of hours and enjoy it"....I am so fucking sick of hearing that. Look,I like big-budget popcorn movies as much as the next guy....hell,I even like THE ROCK and ARMAGEDDON. The difference is,even loud action movies need some sort of a plot and characters/actors you give a shit about. From what I've seen,TRANSFORMERS has neither....and the reason people are pissed is because it COULD have. Optimus Prime and Megatron are not just toys...they're CHARACTERS that have personalities and back stories and histories that make them fully fleshed out and interesting characters....and none of those things were included in the TRANSFORMERS movies...and when they DO decide to give personalities to the scrambled CGI shit they call the characters,they decide to create two brand new Autobots and have them shuck and jive like a robot version of Amos and Andy. "Turn your brain off and try to enjoy it" could also be used as good advice if you find yourself captured and tortured behind enemy lines....but I aint eager to try that either!!!

I saw it yesterday and surprisingly I didn't kill myself, but the rage was still there so since I had no one else to blame I took it out on my own body and went to Denny's.
The trick is to already accept that the robots aren't going to be like the ones we know and love. Just set your expectations to extremely low and you will survive.
MattK makes some good points and I agree with them completely. I, personally, could have done without the shameless plug of Bad Boys II.
u_nick I see where you're coming from but Star Wars, Transformers, etc. they've all evolved (if you will) beyond being simply about just toys. They ARE a franchise now. You need to not think this stuff is just for kids. Comics, video games, toys, etc. they are NOT just for kids anymore.

The main problem, from my POV, is that Bay did the 1st movie for himself not the fans; it was all about how HE envisioned it. For Transformers 2 I felt like he tried to trick hardcore fans/nerds by throwing us a few things of notice but it came off as him trying too hard because in the end it was all about him.

I feel like I need to say this although I didn't hate the movie I only really felt it was worth watching because of Megan Fox. Is that a stupid reason? Maybe, but I don't care she hot.

I really can't wait to read his after show meltdown of a review.

My husband is a big Botcon-attending, bookcases of toys-having Transformers nerd. I loved Beast Wars and especially Beast Machines. Talk about good writing and character development with transforming robots!

The movie is entirely enjoyable... while it is playing. You don't "turn off your brain," you just CAN'T FUCKING THINK because the room is exploding. That's fine. You shouldn't be able to think in an action movie. You should be mesmerized.
Things explode entirely too dramatically and large. Fine.
Megan Fox's lips are impossibly glossy for in a desert. Fine. The transformers are much larger than could possibly fit into their vehicle modes. Fine. Certain characters are annoying. Fine.

After the movie, especially about an hour after the movie, you realize how bad it was.

Why didn't they just...?
What was that thing in that place...?
How do you merge things with dead sparks...?
Why wouldn't he...?
Why doesn't...?
This makes no sense...
How would he...?

All these thoughts race through your head and you wonder at why they didn't just make a better movie? There were all the pieces! Enough avenues for humor, the capacity for great drama, the budget for mind-blowing action.
You don't get that.

You get the insatiable desire to list plot holes. Did I miss one? Oooh that's right I almost missed how wrong that was.

That is what nerds crave: Lists!

Mr. Bricken- I think you need to fill this desire.

Good luck!

I saw the 2007 Transformers movie in the cinema, and enjoyed it at face value... It had fast shiny cars, good special effects and plenty of big explosions. But as part of the Transformers franchise, I don't feel it served its purpose very well at all. It somehow TOTALLY failed in catching the spirit of Transformers. No idea how Bay managed to fuck it up so badly, but he did. He's quite good at the fucking up thing.

So I'll be seeing the new movie, probably. And maybe I'll even enjoy it if I try not to think too hard. But I very much doubt that I'll be respecting it as a legitimate part of the Transformers franchise. It's something very different, made for the masses. And I guess it serves its purpose when you look at it like that. The masses do seem to like it!

Good luck. After what I've heard, I'm not sure I'll see it on HBO.

If I want to shut my brain off for two hours, I'll take a nap.

I don't understand why people who know they won't like Revenge of the Fallen are even going? For all its flaws, I still kinda liked the first movie but the sequel looks horrible. Originally I had planned on going, but after reading all the reviews I think I'll pass till it's on netflix.

Are people going to this just so they can complain about what a giant piece of crap it is?

"Mr. Bricken- I think you need to fill this desire."

Don't get too excited, Rob; she's married.

;-)

Ugh, after saying I wouldn't see it I got a free ticket to see it on IMAX yesterday and went. The forest fight was pretty cool after that my brain turned off. Way the fuck too long.

"Are people going to this just so they can complain about what a giant piece of crap it is?"

If you run a site that needs to post a review even if it pains you, you do.

http://io9.com/5301898/michael-bay-finally-made-an-art-movie

It's a summer movie, so shut off your brain and enjoy it???? Seriously folks, we've crossed the Rubicon on this idiotic argument. For the past few years, mere "popcorn" movies have gone out of their way to tell an intelligent and (in the case of any pre-existing properties) faithful story; Dark Knight, Wal-E, Up, Spidermans 1 and 2 to name a few...

I think we need to get beyond the argument that "brainless summer movie" = "good, so shut the fuck up" and hope and pray that we're not having this same conversation in August when G.I. Joe opens....

I've seen it. And I enjoyed it. Yes, it's retarded. Sometimes you can't tell what the fuck is going on when transformers brawl (though I noticed some improvement, compared to the first movie). It's highly offensive to science, history and archaeology. The optimus ressurrection (spoiler, but who's reading it anyway) is totally gay.

I never fooled myself. I expected the same shit from the first movie, now with a 50,000,000 budget bonus, and I was not disappointed. This is not transformers by Paul thomas Anderson (thomas, not W.S.), it's not like iron man, that got things just right. It's the most expensive morning cartoon ever, yet another ILM cg fest, but I can take it. Hell, I may actually see it again.

I won't attack anyone for hating it, it's perfectly comprehensible when your childhood memories are eviscerated for everyone to see.

I still believe wolverine was the biggest frustration of 2009, because I expected so much.

And the first half of terminator was fucking great, then they decided to come up with a plot and it went all down the drain.

Also, MICHAEL JACKON JUST DIED.

I waited an hour in the blazing South Texas sun to buy my ticket, then another hour waiting for the theater doors to open. Totally worth it.

I'm (jokingly) called a nerd very frequently by my friends, but that's mainly due to my toy collecting and knowledge of the useless information. I consider myself a Transformers fan, but I refuse to use the term "true fan" because that's just a useless term tossed out by ignorant people trying to get everyone to agree with them.

At the same time, I'm not one of those "I love EVERYTHING" fans. I like G1, but it can't hold my attention; I loved Beast Wars, but not so much Beast Machines; Robots in Disguise was cool; I didn't care for the Unicron Trilogy; and I am a big fan of the live-action universe as well as Animated.

The only nitpick I have about the movie would be that while they used Frank Welker to voice Soundwave, they didn't alter his voice so he sounds like Dr. Claw. Still cool, though.

It wqas the dumbest shit I ever say, EVERY scene (that wasn't pure axtion) had a comical relief character running around fucking up the suspense.

(Yeha, Sideswipe saying; "damn, I'm good" after cutting some random decepticon in half makes him a motherfucking comical relief character since tht was the only God damn liner he had in the entire movie. Movie... This wasn't a movie, this was a fucking abortion, a travesty of a movie.

If you liked Devestators balls, Jetfires pirate-slang, his fart, Bubmlbee's crying/dancing, Skids/Mudflaps "Oh-we-so-black-motherfucker-talk", the professors german accent (How original, a "mad scientist" with a german accent, (I've never seen that SHIT before) and a bunch of robots that were impossible to tell apart (since they all looked excatly the same) and not to mention how the "upgraded" Optimus Prime kicked everyones ass in less than 2 minutes. If you liked that, wll than my friend, you're a fucking retard, as well as a douche, and you shouldn't be allowed to frequent movies.
No, fuck turning your "brain off", take a mothefucking calss in filmhistory and learn how Hollywodd is point it's middle finger right in your face with their stereotypes and retarded safe bets.

People who enjoyed Transfomrers 2 are the kind of people who enjos shitfuck movies who tell you when to laugh with a retarded set-up and a Danny DeVitoesque unch line, like, Uh-Oh, or Ooops!

I FUCKING HATE YOU ALL, YOU DESERVE TO DIE AND I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL!

I don't know how to turn my brain off, so I'll guess I lack the ability to watch this one. So, is TF2 an action film or a Sci-Fi film? I always thought Sci-Fi was a thought-provoking genre.

@swampy

Bayformers is very thought provoking. It makes you think about things like:

-When is this shit-stain of a movie going to end?
-Could I get a refund if I walk out now?
-Where are all the Transformers and why are there large piles of animated scrap metal walking about on the screen?

Don't bother writing a review of this, io9 already did and it's the BEST MOVIE REVIEW EVER.

Evil Monkey Pope posted the link above.

Sorry bout the spelling in my previous post (I've been out enjoying some hard drinking with one of the annual 9tails.se meetings) and not only am I trying to recoperate from the shock of seeing the pardoy of a movie called Revenge of the Fallen, as I come home I am cock-slapped by the death of Micahel Jackson. A great tragedy it is.
No matter what Whacko Jacko might have done during his life, and whatever your opinion of him was, there is no denying that his music had a deep impact on every human being, nerd as well as none-nerd and I think it's pretty damn sad that he died far too early.

Damn, AfterGlow...

As for Michael Jackson... Totally surreal.

So there's this camp of TR posters that just say "turn off your brain and enjoy the movie". I understand what they mean. I have guilty pleasure movies I like too. It's hard to convey to them why fans like me can't see it from their perspective. Vice versa as well. Us fans just have to realize that the "turn off your brain" crowd treat these genre movies like porn. As long as the effects and explosions hit the spot they can ignore all the other stuff.

I'm actually totally cool with that. If you realize that Bay movies are basically action/special effects porn for the brain that's fine. The point in which I step in and start to argue is when someone tries to tell me that Bay's Transformers is quality entertainment. That's when I'll disagree.

Here's a great review that (in the third paragraph) sums up well counter arguments to things Bay defenders usually come up with.

http://movies.msn.com/movies/movie-critic-reviews/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen/

Anyways, for me personally . . . I will not be seeing this movie. Sure, my absence would surely not be felt at all in the ticket sales, but that fact still doesn't convince me to go anyways. No amount of boredom or curiosity will get me to pay to see this. That's me. I'm a fanboy.

When video games, books, and old cartoons leap to the big screen, I want them to be respectful to the original IP. I don't understand why those in opposition to this sentiment find it hard to understand. Now, I know some things I have to be updated and re-imagined, but you still gotta keep certain core elements and deliver it all in a skillful cinematic way. Where Abrams was able to do this with Trek, Bay & di Boneventura did not. That's why I'm not seeing this movie. I'm not being unreasonable, I just have standards I'm not willing to compromise on.

"I'm not being unreasonable, I just have standards I'm not willing to compromise on."

Amen.

kevin n, I saw it because I love Tansformers and sadly the movie made me wish I didn't. Then I read the War Within and was glad again that I do like Transformers.

godspeed, and let us know your thoughts after

I remember Transformers. When I was a kid that show was freakin' awesome. I loved it. The question is, have you watched that shit recently? Un. Fucking. Watchable. That show is fucking terrible. I'm sorry; I'm not six anymore.

I hate to be the one to say it but even if Bay made a movie true to the show, whatever the fuck that means, it would still be a horrible, horrible film. Even though he did not and created a horrible movie all on his own, it is still an improvemnt over the old cartoon.

Watch the cartoon on youtube for two hours before you go to the movies if you don't believe me.

Have to agree with MOnkey there,and burn me in a stake for saying it if you want,but many of the bots made more sense in the movie than in the series

I saw it. I regret doing so. When they really only get to the plot of a movie in the last 45 minutes, something has gone wrong. Its effectively racism, leg-humping robots and John Turturro's ass for the first hour and a half. I honestly don't give a shit what other people say anymore. For some reason, every movie nowadays has to have fucking comic relief in every scene. I want a serious movie with a legitimate plot, along with the explosions and hot girls. It can be done. But never will be.

I like Transformers, but I would by no means say I am obsessed.
With that, I am disgusted by the way Michael Bay has blatently disregarded some of the source material. And also, how he went ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY BATSHIT WITH HIS FUCKING CREATIVE LICENSE AND MADE THE WORSTEST MOST HORRIBLE MOVIE EVEREVEREVEREVEREVER!
I'm done.

I grew up with G1 and have to admit, there's more to Transformers than Maya Animated polygon meshes.... HOLY SHIT! F@$K BAYFORMERS 2. SEGA MOONWALKER IF F&$KEN DEAD!!!!

ok everyone, go to you utensils drawer, dump all of them in metal pot stair into the pot and shake them for 2 hours and thirty minutes. That is Transformers revenge of the fallen.

I just saved you fools the price of admission.

"Yes, the cartoon could be goofy as hell. But it could also be serious and action-packed and cool and sometimes even a but moving. Yes, the cartoon had an episode where Seaspray began a relationship with a mermaid."

Well, you kinda lose me here. I would just prefer that movies not be deliberately and wantonly stupid. Of course that probably means that movies based on cartoon franchises would use those cartoons as inspiration, and not merely rip them off to shove a load of shit up movie-goer's asses, so I guess the result is the same.

I feel like this is split down the middle with people, From those who feel their childhood was raped by Michael Bay and those that feel like it's just a movie get over it.

Personally I didn't hate the first one all that much, but again I never felt like watching it again. It was like I wanted to see what it would be like, and I did. It never had the pull to make me watch the movie all over again.

I watched transformers since I was a kid, so I know how the people who feel like their hopes and dreams they had for something like this not be like they expect. I don't feel like they are being nit picky since they do have valid points about the Movie in general.

To the people who say shut your brains off and enjoy the movie, I can do that with Sponge Bob, believe me I am sure their is some franchise out there you will love to see be made and if they F it up you would be pissed. How about Avatar the Last Air Bender if they screw that up would you be mad. How about Neon Genesis Evangelion what if they don't do this justice (I think they have to try on that one).

He's something what if they made the next batman movie as bad as the Forever or Batman and Robin movies. I bet you would be upset than. Would you just say well oh well shut your brains off and enjoy the movie. Their are plenty of movies out there you can watch to shut your brains off at, there's more than enough entertainment shows for you to do that.

UGH. really? "what if they made the next batman movie as bad as the forever or batman and robin movies"....THEY ALREADY MADE THOSE REMEMBER?! jesus please us. they sucked. we dealt with it.

the thing is, i enjoyed the movie. YES i am a nerd. i loved transformers as a kid. i kind of grew out of it as i got older, but i just don't see how people are SO offended by this. honestly, it's a LOT more faithful than a lot of movie/toy/comic/whatever adaptations.

and actually, i wasn't totally wowed by it. it had its moments and was overall enjoyable, but i liked the first one better. the thing is, i didn't hate it for any of the reasons most nerds seem to. devastator balls? who cares? a two second throwaway joke. planters can? what planters can? wheelie? the twins? cheap laughs. what annoyed me was just the fact that eventually i couldn't tell exactly who was battling who and what was blwoing up what.

i don't feel that there is all this heavy serious stuff to find in transformers. personally i dont' think there ever was. it started off as a 20 minute commercial for toys. that's what the basis of this whole series is.

i think people blow this shit out of proportion. i don't think enjoying the live action TF franchise makes me lose my nerd cred. i think the implication of that is pretty ridiculous, frankly.

Yes i consider myself a nerd and yes i consider myself a transformers fan. I saw the movie and loved it. People that hate this movie only hate it because they are going into the movie wanting to hate it, its almost a trend now because people talk on the internets and bitch and moan about what they don't like and its all recorded and stored so if they wound up having fun and admitting to it their ecred will suffer.
Facts: skids and mudflap are not racist, their hilarious. The movie is a action packed summer flick, that any fan of action can enjoy. the story line while a little unbelievable at times(its a fucking movie about robots from space you fucking tightwads)its still solid and fun.
Don't go in expecting anything more than a fun action packed robots fighting robots flick and you will have a blast. For those of you that wanted something more, lighten the fuck up and stop taking shit so seriously.

I haven't seen Transformers 2 yet, but I admit that I'm looking forward to it. So are my girlfriend and my roommate, both of whom are huge Transformers fans from way back. Our apartment is covered in Transformers toys - old and new - and they both watched the cartoons religiously, so I trust their opinions and they're both about to die of excitement.

So yeah, we all consider ourselves nerds and frankly, I kind of wonder if your vendetta against the movies isn't just because you hate Michael Bay. Seriously, there have been WAY worse nerd movies coming out recently and you haven't shit half the bricks over those that you have been over Transformers. And you're not even a big fan? Come on, man, just admit that you have Michael Bay (there's no shame in it, he's a douche) and quit pretending that it's all about unsullied perfection of the original Transformers franchise.

A Few Notes on Transformers 2:

So anyone notice the camera seemed to not stop moving. EVER!

I was glad for a few slow down and talk scenes to help me grasp what was going on (big improvement from the first movie)but still the camera almost made me sick.

Some of the jokes did make me laugh. I thought Wheelie was actually pretty funny until he humped Megan.

Megan and Shia again had good back and forth when fighting but that's where the good acting ended.

Matrix of Leadership = Awesome - poor execution and lack of Stan Bush.

I HATE that other kid.

Turturro was decent, as in he was the only part of the first one I really liked. He did the same in this one as well. Mainly because I would think that would be me in the Transformers world. A bumbling, egocentric agent for a defunct government agency.

Final Thought: I understand the people who did like it though. They just come for shit blowing up and robots fighting, that's all they want. We few nerds do actually go to these movies hoping to see the human side of these robots fighting and the good moral messages that the cartoons expressed. Yet, in the overall world we few are the minority because mindless violence is what people expect from a blockbuster. They can't all be Dark Knights, even as hard as we want them to be.

But I say that we still must go see these movies, to unite as a fan base and show that we as fans will sit through thick and thin to enjoy our favorite characters on screen and in the flesh (or CGI in this case). As in, for me, I will go see the abortion that will be the G.I. Joe movie because god damn it I want that movie to be good enough to warrant an even shittier sequel and eventually someone will make a better movie down the line.

Why? Because I love G.I. Joe to death goddammit.

Then when its over I can come to this fucking fantastic website and cry with everyone else who had to endure it and pick it apart like the nerds we are!

That's true love friends.

Take care of yourself, and love each other.

as a kid i reread the marvel comic miniseries so many times the pages fell apart. young enuf not to know the plot devices, i really believed shockwave killed the autobots in the fourth book and that was the end of it.

in the animated movie i was shocked to see optimus die, and bewildered at all the new and weird-looking cybertronian transformers. despite their immediate charms, they were strangers to me, unwelcome guests at a table that no longer had any hosts. the fight scenes were nothing like the cartoons, brutal, wordless, and quick; everyone i adventured with for years died in minutes, and stayed dead. nerdy as it sounds, my first feelings of loss in someone's passing were of fictional robots from cybertron.

so i grew up. but...

i also fell away from the comics, they became a showpiece for the latest transformer rather than a real interest in the characters or the adventures. i didn't get into the later incarnations of the cartoons either. it wasn't because they defiled the originals; i just couldn't get into them.

i've passed from the franchise for some time now, long enuf that any movie with a weak plot and dimly living robots doesn't matter too much. that said, i'm not a nerd. i don't freak at new interpretations because i don't still play with the dolls in my head and don't believe there is one way to tell the story. and if plot and characterization is the real issue, we do ourselves the diservice of paying, one ticket at a time, for the plotless movies and the indistinguishable shards of metal.

if any of this is familiar to anyone else, please throw some change in my cup. no spitting, please.

the worst moment of Tran3 is the moment you find they learned nothing from 1 and 2 about the need for a plot, or scenes that make sense, or a compelling story, because we paid them not to.

that answer would've been too sober for a shirt, yes?

Look, the movie was enjoyable just like the last one was. All the people that are complaining about it just need to go see a proctologist and hopefully have them remove the giant splintered tree trunk that's up your collective asses.

"I think nerds/TF fans had the right to get that, and be angry when they didn't."

I think the problem is that nerds are pretentious, dishonest fucktards who don't realize they're getting all of the best qualities of their beloved G1, which is the only part of the franchise they fucking care about. The outrage of over not having the G1 voice for Prime and Megatron was huge, even though neither actor reprised those roles for more than 20 years and in between large numbers of Transformers fans were treated to Gary Chalk as Prime and a number of very talented actors as Megatron, such as David Kaye's excellent Megatron in Beast Wars and Beast Machines.

"I say nerds have every right to freak out when a movie fucks with their franchise."

Except it didn't, not the way you mean it. It fucked over the franchise by not being anything but G1, ignoring everything afterwards.

"but what makes me so furious about Bay's movies is that they don't seem to be for the fans at all"

You have to understand that the fans just want G1 all over again, and that these are people who fucking sent death threats to Bob Skir to the point where the man won't attend conventions anymore. You people fucking earned getting ignored by acting like fucking babies and worse.

I thought Transformers 2 was quite good; not as good as the first, but that's only because the first introduced everything and everyone.

Who cares how Skids & Mudflap talk! My white friend who's 30+ has been talking and dressing like that since high school. It's embarrassing at times, but I love him regardless. There are plenty of kids (and adults) that act like this in real life, so if this bothers you that much then it's a problem with you.

Devestator's scrotum? Funny! Mojo dominating Frankie? Funny! That R/C transformer humping Mikela's leg? Funny! Bumblebee balling his eyes out because his best friend is leaving him behind? Funny! Mikela & Sam dancing around who will say they love the other first? Tender AND funny!

To me it sounded like everyone in the theatre was laughing and having a good time. Then again maybe the theatre was full of people from Bizarro Earth where everything is backwards...

This movie is what it is. It's not being marketed as 'Schindler's List with Robots', so I didn't expect the deepest of plots. It did a pretty good job of honoring the cartoon I loved as a kid, and that's great.

I'm totally open to seeing it again.

I've read and seen everything posted on Transformers and expected the worst. When I saw it though i was pleasantly surprised. It was actually good. Not Dark Knight good but not Crystal Skull bad either. Though I could do without the constant cussing, it was over the top.

I'm totally for turning off your brain and enjoying a movie. Hell I actually like The Rock, and like I said I really liked the first Transformers movie, but from every review I've read I just don't think I can turn my brain that far off.

Besides if I saw it and liked it I don't know if I would be able to look all my G1 transformer toys in the eyes when I came to work the next day. that's right, I have sunstreak and sideswipe on my desk at work. I have a window office too... living the dream...

i dunno. it wasnt nearly as bad as i anticipated. after reading horrifying detail after racist detail on this site, i was expecting fecal matter. ultimately this didnt happen. the first one was better. michael bay does suck, but most of what i had read was overblown.

except the incredibly annoying racist twin robots. dude....bay is going to hell

I agree largely with ninja6fett.

I am a TransFormers fan of 25 years, most of my life, even during times that there was nothing to latch onto. Though I prefer to think of myself as a "geek," rather than a "nerd," it's all semantics in this respect.

I found the film enjoyable. I went in expecting the worst, and my theater even had a guarantee that if I didn't like it, then I could redeem my stub after the movie and get a free pass for another movie. I did not take advantage of that, as I felt it would be wrong to.

There were parts I didn't like. Some stuff made me roll my eyes or facepalm, but there was a lot to enjoy, and I actually think in some ways that it was better than the first. Of course, part of it may involve that I've been following the movieverse outside of the actual movies, courtesy of the novels and IDW comics.

But overall? I enjoyed myself, as did many others in the theater I was in. Sure, it could have been better, some parts could have been improved or done away with, but it was overall good for me.

Oh, and I forgot to mention-- being as big a fan of TransFormers as I am actually helped my enjoyment, I think.

The movie in a nutshell.

Megatron: I LIVE AGAIN AND I'M A MOTHERFUCKING FLYING SPACE TANK.
Shia Lebouf: I JUST MADE OUT WITH A ROBOT.
Megan Fox: DIE, ROBOT BITCH!
The Fallen: ONLY A PRIME CAN KILL ME. -wink-
Starscream: I LIVE TO SERVE, OH MIGHTY MEGATRON.
Megatron: I AM MIDDLE MANAGEMENT.
The Fallen: WE NEED WHAT'S INSIDE THAT BOY'S HEAD.
Megatron: BRAINS!
Optimus: I NEED YOU, SHIA LEBOUF. WE NEED YOU. ... OOPS, I AM NOW DEAD.
Jetfire: BLAHBLAHBLAHENERGONBLAHBLAHBLAHDETROYTHESUNBLAHBLAHLOLSENILE.
The twins:
That one guy: SHIT, WE'RE GOING TO DIE.
John Turturro: NOT ON MY WATCH. IMMA CHARGIN MAH LAZAH.
Devastator:
Soundwave: WHY AM I HERE? WHY HASN'T ANYBODY FIGURED OUT I'M UP HERE?
That Army General Guy: SOMETHING'S NOT RIGHT!
Sam: I CAN RESURRECT OPTIMUS WITH THE MATRIX OF LEADERSHIP BECAUSE THAT MAKES SENSE.
Megatron: GOTCHA BITCH!
Shia Lebouf:
Megan Fox: I LOVE YOU.
Shia Lebouf: I'M ALIVE AGAIN.
Ghost of the Primes: FULFILL YOUR DESTINY, SHIA LEBOUF.
Optimus: HEY, I'M ALIVE.
The Fallen: I'LL TAKE THAT. HEY LOOK AT ME, I HAVE PSYCHIC POWERS AND I CAN TELEPORT VIA SPACE BRIDGE.
Jetfire: I'M DYING ANYWAY. TAKE MY PARTS, OPTIMUS. FIGHT THA POWAH.
The Fallen:
Megatron:
Optimus:
Starscream: TACTICAL RETREAT TIME?
Megatron: SHIT.
Optimus: SHIA LEBOUF, LET'S POSE FOR THE CAMERA WHILE LINKIN PARK PLAYS US OUT.
Shia Lebouf: LET'S.

All you people saying the movie was good but wasn't great need to get your head out of each others asses.

How much fucking money was pumped into the movie??? With the ammount of infinate resources available to a studio to make a movie of this scale its should be mind blowingly epic. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

If the team working on it can't produce the goods, fuck them off and bring someone else in that will deliver an end product worthy of the ammount of time and money pumped into it.

Nuff said.

i went to see the film .. that was the best film i ever saw in my entire life a breath taking film.. not only was it a good action movie it was a good heartfelt movie and im tired of people saying sdtupid things that dont make since yall know that the movie was good so just shut your mouth ok., and leave us transformer fans alone.

First of all, I think it is hilarious when hardly anybody from either side can even f**king spell. Secondly, Bad Boys, Armageddon, and The Rock used to be some of my favorite movies of all time and I used to spend my time trying to explain to everyone who didn't "get it" why Michael Bay was AWESOME. Then Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys 2, and The Island came along and I couldn't argue quite as fervently as I had before. Then I was thrust into the throes of geek anticipation as it was announced that one of the most iconic cartoon series of all time (yes I am aware that it was conceived as a straight cash grab to sell toys) as well as the one I most identified with my childhood was being made by Michael Bay. I told everyone who would listen (and some who wouldn't) that this was going to be Mr. Bay's opus - his comeback supreme. I mean, who better to direct a mindless summer actioner about giant alien robots that transform into cars and kick each other's ass for 2 hours? Needless to say, I was so, soooo wrong. Never mind the fact that it is just as much of a commercial than the cartoon ever was - the list of wrongs has been revisited time and again. I see at least 50 movies a year with my family, and this is normally the kind of thing that would be right up my alley. Never before have I been so apathetic toward a big, shiny, summer spectacle. I think I will just go see Star Trek or Up again and be reminded just how that type of movie should be done.

To get a few things straight:

I don't care if you hate the movies, that's a right, I respect it.
I have yet to see it if it's a steaming pile or a highly enjoyably movie, I think it's the latter. (I'm not expecting the next Citizen Kane or Matrix, but I expect to be entertained and amazed by the visuals, just like the previous one)
But I hate the fact that you say I'm not a Decent Transformers-fan or Nerd if I like these movies. That's shallow and goes against the notion that opinions should be respected, even if they're not your own, something I live by.

wait, wait ... i just realised something ...

Transformers: R>/b>evenge of the Fallen

it's only missing the "L"!

Transformers: ROTFL

i think that says it all.

Film was BORING!!

Oh, and loud and stupid and a waste of time.

I was just amazed that the 'story' had 3 people working on it.
Were they stoned?????

I thought the action in T2 was genuinely amazing, and a part of me doubts that if I weren't a nerd I would think differently.I also didn't think it was too long.

However,the amount of pathetic attempts at humour (dogs humping, etc) along with child-like staging of the scenes (snails and mimes in paris, camels in Eygpt) almost outweighs the amount of awesome in the film. This takes away so much from a film which could have been really, really awesome.

Overall, I give it 5/10. A shame.

"But I hate the fact that you say I'm not a Decent Transformers-fan or Nerd if I like these movies."

Sure you are, you are however an idiot without sense for what makes a good movie if you found that load of racist-sterotypical-comical-relief-in-every-scene-as-well-as-every-God-damn-cliche-in-the-book-FART-JOKES enjoyable.

Calling me an idiot for liking a less-then-intelligent movie franchise?(I recognise that, that wasn't my point.) One word: Shallow.

I consider myself a nerd in many ways. Loved "Star Wars" and had all the toys. Love "G.I. Joe" and had all the toys. I understand completely what Rob is saying. I think my first real taste of it was when I went to see "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace." It was problematic for many reasons - and most of which apply to any of the "fan" movies we've all been talking about:

1) To me, "Star Wars" was "Star Wars". The start. The first. Not "A New Hope". Don't CARE if it was labelled in the opening credits as Episode 4. It was the first.

2) MY generation was the fanbase that kept it alive and going. NOT the generation born in the 90s and needed to be appeased with CGI, video-game potential, and cheesy, dumbed down characters. Lucas (and it seems other directors of these fan films) don't give a damn about where their success came from. So, "Transformers" doesn't give a damn about what kept it going. The toy company doesn't care, the director doesn't care, HELL the people in the film aren't even old enough to REMEMBER the the TV show. Just like with "Star War"... 11 year old kid sees "Phantom Menace" and says, "I need to go watch the original movies. This is pretty cool." Sorry kid, there was no Jabba the Hutt in "Star Wars". There were less TIE Fighters as well. And that picture of Obi-Wan at the end of "Return of the Jedi", that ain't Alec Guiness!

3) We always want good story lines that follow what we remember - because for us as kids growing up playing with our toys, it's kick-ass to finally be able to see what was in our heads being done on screen. This goes for Marvel and DC heroes, for Transformers, for G.I. Joe, and for Star Wars. Unfortunately, the only thing that matters today is action, fast camera motiion, sex, and CGI. Always going to be a let down. Let me ask anyone reading, what looked more real... Yoda as a Frank Oz puppet or the CGI abomination? I think we all know the answer.

4) We always get ourselves worked up and our expectations high. Only to have them dashed. In all honesty,if these film makers din't call it G.I. Joe, aside from the true geeks that actually remember it, it would indistinguishable from any other action movie. We all need to just try as hard as we can to see it for what it is and not for what we want. That's the only way we won't get disappointed.

I agree with what may TR readers have commented upon looking at several of the Fan Films that Rob has shared with us over time - the Batman fillms, the "Hunt for Golem", etc., etc. THIS is where the future lies. If these true artists would create larger and more expansive works, I know I'D pay to see them. They are truly what a fan expects and enjoys. We need to encourage them as often as we can. Screw the Bays, Lucases, and Speilbergs. They are in it for themselves and no one else. That's fair. It's not fun, but it's fair.

We just need to show how displeased we are by not going to their damned abominations they call movies.

I love the anger and vitriol that is spewing from both sides about this movie. Why insult the people that don't like it or don't want to watch it? That's their choice and I see no reason to attack them for it. Conversely, why attack the people that enjoyed the film? Any attacks on any aspect of their personality/intelligence/fan loyalty, etc. are completely suspect for one simple reason, YOU DON'T KNOW THEM. The attacks from both sides are so full of assumptions about each other that my head is spinning with the logical fallacies.

What happened to presenting opinion on the subject matter? Did you like it? Why? Did you hate it? Why?

Why does it have to be about tearing down those that feel differently? Haven't we progressed beyond that self-destructive behavior as a society, or a subset of the society? When will nerds stop hating nerds?

Also, I watched every episode of G1 and between my brothers and I, owned the majority of the toys. I bought almost every G1 comic that came out recently until my cashflow dried up. I consider myself a FAN of G1. I loved the first Transformers movie and thoroughly enjoyed this one.

"Everybody chill out. The movie is thoroughly enjoyable. Just shut your brain off for a couple of hours and enjoy it."

why would we want to shut off our brain? If that is a requirement of movies these days, why bother with them? Its the brain dead moments that takes the viewer out of the show and back to reality..

If you want to use money making as a determination for how good a movie is, wouldn't DVD sales be a better indicator?

J said:
"But seriously, have you watched the animated series recently? I have, it is terrible as a movie-concept...hell it wouldn't even do well with kids on tv these days. Three words summarise why the movies are good: Giant.Fighting.Robots. - I'm not the first to say that (obviously) and not the last. You sound like one of those emos who starts hating his favourite band because they went mainstream and everyone loves them.

Get your head out your ass."

A Bay fan telling us to get our head out of our ass? Interesting.

I've seen this argument come up a lot. The whole, "have you seen the old cartoon recently?" As if, since the old cartoon was silly its okay for the new live-action movie to be silly too. Really? It's okay for a movie to suck if the original source material sucked too?

Let me tell you something. Transformers is a cool property because at its core...the very core of it, is very cool. That's why Spielberg, di Boneventura decided it was worth bringing to the big screen. Just because a lower budget cartoon from the 80's had flaws doesn't guys with a bigger budget and the hindsight of looking back get to mess up.

Remember "Pirates of the Caribbean"? Before that movie came out everyone was all, "why the frick are they making a movie out of a ride at Disneyland?" That ride had no deep story or characters and yet ... bam, the movie (the first one anyways) was a big success and....wow, entertaining to watch. It had fight scenes I could follow, I understood why people were doing what they were doing . . . all this from a ride a Disneyland.

So if Gore Verbinski, Ted Elliot, Terry Rosio, and friends could do it why can't Spielberg & Bay do it with "Transformers"? So enough with this "the cartoon was cheezy I'm glad they didn't follow it" argument. I don't think it holds when other creative teams are doing a good job with their big screen adaptations.

Oh by the way, for a stupid cartoon, here's a few things they did smarter than Bayformers.

1.) The Transformers crashed on Earth on a ship. In Bayformers, they just hurl themselves through space like asteroids , hit our atmosphere, burn up, and crash. That's fine if they were so uber tough they could do that. However, later on we find out they are weak to HEAT rounds. Huh?

2.) Teletran 1 (the autobot's computer) sent out a probe to scan various vehicles on Earth then rebuilt the damaged Autobots so they can travel about the new "alien" planet (our Earth) in disguise. Its obvious that rebuilding your body to tranform into one form is pretty rare and quite the undertaking. Most Autobots had it happen to them only once.

However, Bayformers can do it anytime they want. Bumblebee can just scan a passing Camaro and change into it. That amount of reconfiguration is on the scale of nano tech. Which is fine if that's the direction they're going with, but if you're made up of nano-tech why do you need moving wheels, shocks, bars, at other large parts? Why don't you just look like the t1000? Bayformers ability to constantly reconfigure is crazy unrealistic considering Bay said he wanted the robots to transform as realistically as possible. Guess not.

The WolfMan said:

"Now the major problem here is that Rob can't seem to embrace the reality that we live in. Could they have made a transformers movie that didn't completely suck and stayed very close to the canon? Yes. Would it have made them anywhere close to this amount of money? No. If you feel like arguing that point then you definitely don't understand why movies are made. They are made to make money."

Yeah true. But Spiderman 2 made a lot of money and it was pretty faithful to the comicbook. Same with Batman Dark Knight. You CAN make a lot of money and still be faithful to an IP. Your argument is a bit weak.

Anyways, like a said before on the pre-review rant post, I don't mind if you wanna "turn off your head" and go see Transformers 2. I've come to accept that people sometimes treat movies like porn. As long as they get their "money shots" they don't care how much of the rest of the movie is horrible. Tranformers is effects porn for the masses. I'm fine with that. Just don't try and tell me what Bay is doing is smart. Or that he's a highly skill artist of his craft. Also don't tell me that I'm being unreasonable or have a stick up my @$$ just because I think its garbage. I don't eat at White Castle for a reason. I don't see Bay movies for the same reason. They both give me diarrhea.

It was good, a big dumb action movie. If only the vacuum robot was able to suck up the twin racial stereotypes it might have been better.

I have dug through every bit of Revenge of the Fallen trash you've posted. Mostly I've been laughing my face off because I relate too well. Thank you for giving me an excuse to never ever ever see this movie. And your run down of bad 80's fantasy movies answered a question I've been asking from the age of four.

Even with the laser Unicron destroys the Deathstar. And Picard won the moment Q arrived.

Some movies are a economic success but spending a lot of money in the process.

I live in the remote country and still here, we can see ads about transformers 2, in the newspaper, tv, subway and bus station. And you knowns, ads is not for free.

So, Transformers 2 may be they earned over 600m but you can bet that they spend a lot more, so the profit margin is not as big as 600m.

Right there with ya dude.
Michael Bay said he hates the Dinobots too.
Well ya know what,Michael Bay can go an f*** himself!
He can shag himself rotten with a rusty spoon.