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A discussion on Revenge of the Fallen
16 years ago
General
Hello all
Well today I watched transformers 2
I rather enjoyed it.. was it a great movie? no not by any means but it was an entertaining movie. You don't have to, as some of the more vocal detractors have said, turn off your brain and just enjoy it but it was not high melodrama. And realy who would go into a transformers movie expecting Shakespearean high drama.
Maybe it helps that I'm not a fevered transformers fan boy, I'm not one of those who fondly daydreams of the G1 stories and see's them as the be all and end all of history... I vaugly remember some of it, and have fond memories of playing with transformers toys. But I haven't obsessed I've more or less enjoyed the various retellings as the transformers come back to tv every few years, Robots in disguise, beast wars, energon, and even the lates animated series that so many people seemed to hate for it's animeish art style. I myself rather enjoyed it the stories were interesting seeing optimous not as a great leader, but rather a troubled bot who had the potential to become a great leader. Not in charge of an army of seasoned warriors but rather a small rag tag repair crew.
Also this won't be a movie review this will be my attempt to try and discuss some of the arguments that a few purists have been bitching and moaning about on the blogs I've seen
To that point there will be spoilers so beware
First one of the things I rather liked.
Soundwave as a com sat. that was a good choice and seemed very fitting. the fact that they also included a similar voice to the original and the ability to launch smaller bots such as Ravage was also a cool shout out to the g1 story line
now onto the arguments
One point is the sophomoric humor spread through out the movie... the dogs, Wheelie and the girls leg, Devastator's balls.
Yes at times it did get old, and yes it was low brow but so what. So are a lot of people or else "Truck Nuts" wouldn't be so damn popular. and Devastator was made of construction vehicles , part of his disguise was a solid metal wreaking ball and ball crane hook. they had to be placed somewhere in the finished machine the fact that there location was played up for laughs doesn't changed that.
Anouther was Jetfire's Cane and Accent
Personaly it seems perfectly logical to me.
Jetfire had been alive for centuries longer then any of the other transformers in the film. He was old. the fact that he's a machine doesn't change that. he was in disrepair and had been dormant. It seems that part of the transformers systems include the include some measure of almost automatic reconfiguring of them selves based on there disguises. seen mostly in bumblebee crying windshield washer fluid or peeing coolant. So if a transformer was having trouble walking and the damage was beyond it's automatic systems immediate repair skills the thought that it would fashion a crutch or cane from it's disguise isnt that far fetched. How is the cane from part of the landing strut any different from the swords from plan wings or serrated whips from caterpillar treads. automatic systems constructing tools to suit the moment from the materials at hand.
Now for his accent... well what of it. from the evidence in the movie seekers had been on earth longer then the others. decades maybe even centuries. He'd probably heard the accent at some point and liked it. Why would an alien machine talk that way? well why not?
Another question is Why are all human machines hostile when turned into transformers.
This is a two part answer to me and while not explicitly explained in either movie seems quite logical to me. One is simply the shock of awareness. these new creatures spring into life in an instant. one moment they are unthinking machines and the next they are suddenly self aware and surrounded by a strange world of motion and light thats got to be frightening and unnerving so they lash out. Second in the first movie it was explained that a number of modern advancements were reverse engineered from megatons body not the simple machines like motors and pistons screws and the like that have been around for ages but rather the complex microcircuits. so maybe something in these reverse engineered designs contains some trace of genetic memory of the decepticon cruel, and violent nature.
ehh oh well I've run out of steam... I'm sure there was more to say but for now I've forgotten it. take care every bunny and sorry to ramble sometimes you just have to get it all out of your head you know? but if you have something about the movie you'd like to talk about or some counter argument you'd like to make on any of my points feel free to post but please be civil
Well today I watched transformers 2
I rather enjoyed it.. was it a great movie? no not by any means but it was an entertaining movie. You don't have to, as some of the more vocal detractors have said, turn off your brain and just enjoy it but it was not high melodrama. And realy who would go into a transformers movie expecting Shakespearean high drama.
Maybe it helps that I'm not a fevered transformers fan boy, I'm not one of those who fondly daydreams of the G1 stories and see's them as the be all and end all of history... I vaugly remember some of it, and have fond memories of playing with transformers toys. But I haven't obsessed I've more or less enjoyed the various retellings as the transformers come back to tv every few years, Robots in disguise, beast wars, energon, and even the lates animated series that so many people seemed to hate for it's animeish art style. I myself rather enjoyed it the stories were interesting seeing optimous not as a great leader, but rather a troubled bot who had the potential to become a great leader. Not in charge of an army of seasoned warriors but rather a small rag tag repair crew.
Also this won't be a movie review this will be my attempt to try and discuss some of the arguments that a few purists have been bitching and moaning about on the blogs I've seen
To that point there will be spoilers so beware
First one of the things I rather liked.
Soundwave as a com sat. that was a good choice and seemed very fitting. the fact that they also included a similar voice to the original and the ability to launch smaller bots such as Ravage was also a cool shout out to the g1 story line
now onto the arguments
One point is the sophomoric humor spread through out the movie... the dogs, Wheelie and the girls leg, Devastator's balls.
Yes at times it did get old, and yes it was low brow but so what. So are a lot of people or else "Truck Nuts" wouldn't be so damn popular. and Devastator was made of construction vehicles , part of his disguise was a solid metal wreaking ball and ball crane hook. they had to be placed somewhere in the finished machine the fact that there location was played up for laughs doesn't changed that.
Anouther was Jetfire's Cane and Accent
Personaly it seems perfectly logical to me.
Jetfire had been alive for centuries longer then any of the other transformers in the film. He was old. the fact that he's a machine doesn't change that. he was in disrepair and had been dormant. It seems that part of the transformers systems include the include some measure of almost automatic reconfiguring of them selves based on there disguises. seen mostly in bumblebee crying windshield washer fluid or peeing coolant. So if a transformer was having trouble walking and the damage was beyond it's automatic systems immediate repair skills the thought that it would fashion a crutch or cane from it's disguise isnt that far fetched. How is the cane from part of the landing strut any different from the swords from plan wings or serrated whips from caterpillar treads. automatic systems constructing tools to suit the moment from the materials at hand.
Now for his accent... well what of it. from the evidence in the movie seekers had been on earth longer then the others. decades maybe even centuries. He'd probably heard the accent at some point and liked it. Why would an alien machine talk that way? well why not?
Another question is Why are all human machines hostile when turned into transformers.
This is a two part answer to me and while not explicitly explained in either movie seems quite logical to me. One is simply the shock of awareness. these new creatures spring into life in an instant. one moment they are unthinking machines and the next they are suddenly self aware and surrounded by a strange world of motion and light thats got to be frightening and unnerving so they lash out. Second in the first movie it was explained that a number of modern advancements were reverse engineered from megatons body not the simple machines like motors and pistons screws and the like that have been around for ages but rather the complex microcircuits. so maybe something in these reverse engineered designs contains some trace of genetic memory of the decepticon cruel, and violent nature.
ehh oh well I've run out of steam... I'm sure there was more to say but for now I've forgotten it. take care every bunny and sorry to ramble sometimes you just have to get it all out of your head you know? but if you have something about the movie you'd like to talk about or some counter argument you'd like to make on any of my points feel free to post but please be civil
I was looking at a yahoo review of it and... *shakes his head* lets just say who ever wrote it nit picked too much.
Between asking "How could Soundwave see all over the world from one position?" to technical issues between the key being hand fitting for both the fallen and Sam.
First the Soundwave issue whats to say that after linking to the sats he didn't just leave a transmitter/receiver for him to use and let them float in their obit or that he only used them to hack earth's ground based networks and in turn hack lan lines. All things that would have taken time away from the main story (it would have turned the movie into "Hack time with Soundwave")
As for the tech issues they happen look at most movies and you'll find them.
Example : Independents day had that scene where the sound tech was caught on camera getting his coffee. (look at the scene where Jeff Goldblum's character makes the call to his ex. the tech is in the bottom left on the ground when she turns to go to the window.)
I will say this some people want every minute detail spelled out for them when some times you just have to think for yourself why, and if it works for you then that's what counts.
Sorry, I guess I should have went and made that journal.
One thing that does bug me in the movie is how prime after all is done and the fallen has... well fallen, prime merely shrugs and discards Jetfire's sacrifice. (it hit me kind of like prime almost had a "hmm that was fun. What's on tv" attitude.) Then again for one and two, prime is trailerless so may be in 3 they will add the trailer and have jetfire's parts stored there.
I have to say my favorite parts of the move would be described as thus:
Pot head mom, Woodland rumble, and Robo hump.
Also in the first one I didn't like Starscream's new design but in two I did like his new camo (still don't like his robot chicken impersonation though).
While it gave a much needed power boost to Prime it also might have required alot of effort to maintain and could have even been a painful or uncomfortable situation. So once the battle was over and the danger past the effort and energy needed to maintain the connection might have been to much for the newly resurected prime. Think of a solder full armor, with say chem suit and hard trauma plates. needed in certian situations but not the thing to wear all the time.
Also there might have been some personal revulsion on Optimus's part. Prime is a soldier and a pragmatist but he also revers life. While Jetfire did what was needed to save all of earth and carry the day against the enemy the thought of wearing the flesh of a fellow transformer, especially an ancient and revered seeker might have been well revolting to Prime. and the shrugging off of Jet fires parts could be seen as the mechanical equivalent of his flesh crawling at the thought now that the moment of emergancy is passed.
Granted I know I'm over thinking this and I doubt that anyone working on the movie may have put anything near to this level of thought into this one scene but it's just how my mind seems to flow around the point