Originally Posted by
eike8832
Well, you said review so I'm guessing we can make these actually longer than what most people are doing with just one sentence, plus in the "rate the movie" forum they asked for some depth what and why we thought about certain aspects.
Story (8/10) -
I liked the story; I remember the mood of the theater during the forest scene and as soon as Optimus got killed, you could tell people were shocked. Definitely liked the Matrix of Leadership being brought into play like it was in the cartoon, although in a different way.
Setting (10/10) -
Some of the most beautiful filming I have ever seen. Shots that were once unheard of were shot during this movie, nearly the whole Egyptian setting was amazing. I actually verbally worded to my friend that "you don't see shots in movies like this, that's amazing." Some of the shots involving the military were incredible as well, I can't even imagine how much it would have cost if there wasn't military support for this movie.
Characters:
Sam (9/10) -
I think Shia did an even better job of acting during this film. His relationship with Megan Fox in the movie is great, yet not over-done to the point where we forget it's all about the robots. The scene where was Sam was dead and Mikaela was yelling at him was great, you actually got a the feeling of empathy for the situation. Sam's relationship with Bumblebee and vice versa is incredible. When Sam is talking to Bumblebee during the campfire scene you actually get a feel for how much they mean to each other. Seeing Sam get killed and then Bumblebee rushing over to them and Bumblebee falling to his knees, definitely gave me that feeling of sadness where in The Patriot, Mel Gibson's son is killed in front of him. I don't think a lot of people realize how hard it is to act like you are going crazy such as while he was in school. The eye twitching, the studdering, and the rapid speech aren't easy things but I think Shia pulled it off great.
Mikaela (9/10) -
I think Megan Fox's character Mikaela was implemented into the movie very well. I was a little concerned how she would be used in the movie with her new "hottest girl in the universe" title. But she wasn't over-done and I was really happy about that. The Sam and Mikaela relationship gives a witty/loving feel to parts of the movie where it was definitely needed, i.e. little quips throughout the movie about loyalty, the campfire scene, and the "I love you" scene. For what she was asked to do, I think she did a great job at it.
Sam's Parents (10/10) -
Definitely funny. I think some of the funniest moments in the film are due to this couple. The scene where Sam's father is proclaiming that they are all going together was really well acted by Kevin Dunn.
Misc Human Characters (8/10) -
John Turturro was good, just like usual. Ramon Rodriquez's character Leo made for some good laughs, I don't think he was essential to the story in any way but he was a fun addition for the small part he played. The military characters did their part well, nothing special from my point of view. Isabel Lucas's character Alice is a smokin' hottie, and that's all I think she is really there for, just some added drama and it ended up involving some action. Who would have thought?
Optimus (9/10) -
I give him a 9 simply because he wasn't actually there for half of the movie, but when he was there he didn't disappoint at all. The forest fight scene...I don't really even know what to say about that. Epic. That's about the only word I can think of. When Optimus said "I'll take you all on!", I actually got a weird feeling in me that I have never gotten from a movie before, I felt like standing up and yelling out-loud for Optimus to beat their asses like it was live or something and he needed some people to root him on (even though we know most every person was already rooting for him simply because he is Optimus Prime) like it was a sporting event and he was the underdog athlete that everyone wanted to win. After he died and was brought back to the military base, I actually laughed when they just dropped him. It's not like he was being dropped out of a plane, it was a helicopter, they are used for dropping things off carefully. If I was an autobot and I saw that I would be pissed they just dropped my dead leader from 100 ft onto an airstrip. Oh well, no big deal with that, just thought it was funny when it definitely shouldn't have been. The combo with Jetfire was cool, a nice shout-out to the cartoon except this round Jetfire killed himself to combine where in the cartoon that wasn't the fact. I was hoping the fight with the Fallen would have lasted a little longer, could have been an amazing fight. Plus I would have liked to have seen another 1 on 1 with Megatron and the newly reborn Optimus. During the fight with the Fallen and Megatron where Optimus was whooping Megatron's ass, I was happy to see his butt kicked. But I would have liked to have seen Optimus just pound him into the ground. No one else involved, just Optimus beating the crap out of him. I was hoping to see the scene from the 1986 animated movie where Megatron is begging for mercy and Optimus says, "I thought you were made of sterner stuff!" while continuing to beat him to a pulp. The Optimus dialogue was kinda off and on I think. Some of the dialogue sounded like good ol' Optimus Prime, but then at some points his one-liners would just sound kind of funny. I also wish there could have been more common dialogue from Optimus than just the beginning and end of the movie, such as actual conversation with the other autobots and not just one-liners. Other than that, you can't get enough of Optimus Prime.
Bumblebee (9/10) -
Bumblee is great, always has been. His interactions with Sam are really good, it gives you the real feeling of friendship and compasion between the two of them. I was starting to worry if Bumblebee wasn't going to get his fair share of butt-kicking in as the movie drew closer towards the end, but I was glad to see he got it in fighting some random decepticon that I still don't know the name of (I'll discuss that later). The fight scene he has was in was very well done but some of the moves and such were too much of a blur to actually comprehend and appreciate, the slow motion helped it out some.
Ironhide, Sideswipe, Jetfire, Arcee, Ratchet (6/10) -
I gave this the rating I did because I think there was so much more potential for the characters in this movie. I really REALLY liked the character Sideswipe and I wanted to see him with some 1 on 1 action (opening scene didn't count) as well as a lot more dialogue. I really liked the way he sounded, I just wish he got more dialogue. Ironhide wasn't a big player, same with Ratchet. I like the addition of Arcee to the group as she is the only female autobot, but she still didn't really have a major part. But I can see that since she really didn't have a major part in any of the cartoons as well. She was always just kind of..."there", not really there. Jetfire was changed a lot from the cartoon, liked his part as an old man. Definitely liked the hook-up with Optimus at the end as a shout out to the cartoon. I wish every autobot had as much dialogue as Jetfire. When you think about it, he talked more than any other autobot throughout the whole movie, and he was in it for half the time. Maybe it's just me and my relation to the old cartoon where there was A LOT of dialogue between the autobots, but I think more dialogue between the autobots would have really made this one in a million. Maybe next film? Oh well, no harm done.
Jolt (0/10) -
Sorry but I had to throw him in here. He wasn't there, then he was there, then you didn't see him for a while, then he was in the desert helping Optimus link with Jetfire. If you don't know who I'm talking about, its the blue autobot who had electricity sparking from his hands in some scenes. Looked like a really cool character, but honestly I wish he wasn't there. He didn't say a word, no one even mentioned his existence or even his name. I just don't see a point in having him there if his whole point in the movie was to have him help link Optimus and Jetfire. :wtf
Skids and Mudflap (5/10) -
What can I say, Skids and Mudflap add SOME fun to the movie. Their comments like "bitch-ass" and calling Leo a "pussy" got some laughs, but overall I think their antics were taken a little too far. Not gonna lie, they seemed pretty racist, but maybe that's what added to the humor of them. I don't really understand why they of all people had the second most dialogue of any of the autobots behind Jetfire. Really? Skids and Mudflap with that much dialogue? I think maybe if they cut their dialogue in half their effect would have been much better on the audience. I honestly would have much rather listened to the NEST group (Ironhide, Arcee, Sideswipe, Ratchet, and Jolt) talk about anything than listen to Skids and Mudflap get into twin fights. This smilie directly relates to my feeling about the over-use of the twins (beating a dead horse in the balls repeatedly).:deadhorse1:
Megatron (8/10) -
Gotta love some Megatron. I like his new transformation into a tank, it gets closer to his original transformation when he could transform into a stationary cannon. For some reason I didn't get that genuine sense of evil this time around from Megatron. Loved the forest scene. Liked the dialogie for the most part. I don't know, overall he was good, there was just something missing this time around.
Starscream (8/10) -
Oh Starscream, when will you just betray Megatron already?! I finally thought it was going to happen at the end of the movie when Megatron got his ass kicked through some walls and he yelled out for Starscream. I wanted Starscream to come over to him and make fun of him and kick him while we was on the ground like the 1986 animated movie. Maybe beat the crap out of him more, and then leave him to die. The forest scene was great from all who were in it. I don't know, maybe it's just me but I didn't get much of a feeling of evil from Starscream either. His parts in the movie were done well, nothing really to complain about.
The Fallen (8/10) -
Reminded me a lot of Darth Sidious from Star Wars. The evil master of the evil apprentice. Had one of the coolest moments in the movie (I think) where he was on top of the pyramid and pulled all of the military vehicles towards him, and then just dropped them. Incredible shot and CGI. I think he could have been utilized a lot more in the final battle with Optimus, that could have really shaped up into a fight just as good as the forest scene.
Contructicons/Devastator (7/10) -
Ok Constructicons, you confuse me. I know you transform into Devastator, but is it just me or were other people confused that there were two construction vehicles that werent part of Devastator? The front plow that let out Sam's parents/fought Bumblebee and the giant green dump truck that could be seen fighting the military away from Devastator. Yeah, maybe I'm wrong but that confused me. Devastator is a big bad beast of a decepticon and I feel like he is THE greatest achievement CGI has ever accomplished, I just wish we could have seen his full potential. Yeah he sucked up some stuff and he beat the crap out of the pyramid, but some Autobot vs Devastator action would have been sweet (I don't count Skids and Mudflap).
Soundwave and Ravage (8/10) -
I give him an 8 simply because he wasn't used a lot. I love Soundwave, always have, and I think Michael Bay and the writers did nearly all that they could do to bring him into the movie. You can't make him a boombox like in the old cartoon, and I think a satellite is a good idea since Soundwave was the decepticons main transmissions and communications guy in the cartoon and thats exactly what a satellite does-tranmissions and communications. Not gonna lie, it felt great to here that monotone voice again. Ravage is a classic character, I liked how he came out of Soundwave just like in the cartoon. He had his moments that were cool, not much you can really ask from robotic tiger. His best scene was probably when Bumblebee ripped out his spine, sorry Ravage.
Random Decepticons (4/10) -
Here im not discussing the decepticons that flew down just for the final battle. Im talking about the random decepticons that actually took the form of a human vehicle but yet we had no idea who they actually were. In the scene where Mikaela and Sam run up a small thing of stairs in the Egyptian battle scene, there is a yellowish orangeish decepticon with what appears to be a ball and chain weapon that hits the stairs right after they run up them, I have no idea who this is. In one scene you actually see Bonecrusher from the first movie driving in his vehicle form through the fray of battle. Didn't he get killed? How did he come back? The Audi R8 Sideways, come on...that fight between Sideswipe and Sideways could have been awesome, but yet he got cut in half like a pansy within 2 minutes from when he started running. Whatever happened to Barricade? He wasn't killed in the first movie. Scorpinok made his appearance for a less than 30 seconds and did some damage. Wheelie, well...nothing to really even say about Wheelie. I guess my main thing here is the possibilities that could have been made from these additional decepticons and the questions that were left from the ones who didn't really seem to have a place there. All in all these characters weren't bad by any means, they just weren't anything special.
All in all, this movie was great. I have seen it in IMAX twice, once at the midnight showing and once in the morning after with my dad. I have never watched a movie and been so drawn in like I was in this movie. I would literally have to remind myself to breathe at some points. I bought popcorn, and I couldn't even take a bite the whole movie I was so focused in. Some moments left me with confusion, but no where close to the amount that left me saying "did that really just happen?", or "holy $^!7 that was awesome!!!" The movie left me thinking about transformers for the next few hours before I went to bed, it actually took a couple hours because the adrenaline was still rushing and I couldn't focus on sleeping. After seeing it the second time, I am to the point where I drove by a yellow construction vehicle on my way home and the first thing I expected to see it do was transform. Then I had to pop back in reality and realize nothing cool like that ever happens haha. All in all, I give this movie a 8/10. No one does action like Michael Bay, and that will stand until the release of Transformers 3, when he outdoes himself again. This movie should have no competition for the Oscar for Best Special Effects. I hope the best for this movie I really do, it was a ton of fun to see, especially on IMAX. If you haven't seen it one IMAX, you definitely should, it's worth every penny to see it like that at least once. I don't know if you read any of these comments Michael Bay, but keep up the good work. Maybe a lil more dialogue and involvement from the full cast of autobots next time? Oh well, as a Transformers fan my whole life, I think you have done the name proud. Thanks for another awesome experience.
Re: Verdict
:wtf
Re: Verdict
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