Special Edition Podcast

Special Edition – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Show Notes

iFanboy staff writer Paul Montgomery joins Conor Kilpatrick and Josh Flanagan to take a look at Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen.

Running Time: 00:30:44

Music:
“Robots [Live]”
Flight of the Conchords


 

Autobots, roll out!

Look, I had a fun time at the movies with the first Transformers film. Yes, the action was shot too close and cut too fast and you could never tell which giant, building-sized robot was pounding on which other giant, build-sized robot. And yes, the military stuff was totally unnecessary. I understand all this. But I still had fun, and honestly, every time I find myself scrolling through the guide on my TV for something to put on in the background while I work, if I see Transformers, I almost always pick that.

That must mean something, right?

What I’m trying to say is that when I heard Peter Cullen’s voice say “My name… is Optimus Prime” I got chills. So I’m not totally dreading this movie.

The iFanboys will be going to see this one as soon as possible — some more reluctantly than others — so we can bring you a Special Edition this Sunday.

Are you going to see it? Of course you are! So let’s talk about it!

If you haven’t seen the movie yet be forewarned — there be SPOILERS ahoy! So don’t scroll down any further if you are sensitive to that kind of thing.

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Comments

  1. I wasn’t interested in the slightest until I read io9’s review. Now I’m interested for all the wrong/right reasons.

    Transformers 1 was a pretty hearty disappointment – I expect more of the same with T2 but meh, I’ll still probably see it at the matinee or dollar theater, if only to witness the sheer spectacle of it on the big screen.

    tangent: My favorite Rifftrax joke for Iron Man was when Tony Stark was emerging in the red and gold Mach 2 for the first time. 

    "Okay, now quickly, if you take your television in both hands and shakey it like an etchasketch, you’ll have just seen Michael Bay’s Transformers."

  2. Avatar photo Jeff Reid (@JeffRReid) says:

    I listened to your review of the first movie earlier this summer, so I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.  Another reason to look forward to Sunday!  Good luck, Josh.  🙂

  3. I actually enjoyed the first Transformers film quite a bit, and am looking forward to this one. Even if this one is just more of the same robot action, Megan Fox looking hot as hell, poorly scripted Michael Bay explosion-fest (and it looks like it’s going to be) I’m certainly ok with that.

  4. I wasn’t a big fan of the first one. I’m sure I’ll see this one eventually after it comes out on DVD, especially if it’s as hilariously bad as most reviews have proclaimed.

  5. I’m not usually the kind of guy to jump on a message board and start blasting something, but that’s exactly what I wanted to do after leaving the theatre last night. I hope some people like it. It seemed like a lot of people left the theatre happy. I didn’t.

  6. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    It’s amazing how much awful they can cram into two and a half hours while maintaining a profound kind of hollowness.  

    My review’s up at Murmur:

    http://www.murmur.com/tv_film/transformers_2_revenge_of_the_fallen__aint_got_the_touch.html

  7. I went into the first one actively not wanting to see it, and because I expected shitfest ’07, I was quite please (but not buy DVD or watch again willingly pleased)  That said, I was in a friend’s dorm and everyone decided to watch Transformers, and I hated my roommate so I decided to stay, remembering that I liked it.  Now that I was expecting to get enjoyment, I was bored to the point of numbness, and almost annoyed by the fact that they had millions of dollars and this is how they decided to waste it.

    I don’t plan on seeing Transformers 2, but if I get dragged to it, I expect I won’t like it no longer has a clean slate for me.

    Also, I need to get this off my chest… I don’t find Megan Fox attractive.  She’s like an even uglier version of Angelina Jolie.

  8. I’m not sure if I’m going to see it or not. I mean, of course I will eventually, but I dunno if I’m going to run out and see it, especially given the reviews.

    Maybe I’ll wait for it to come to the drive-in.

  9. The 1st one was the worst experience of my life (seriously). So there is NO FRAKKING WAY i will watch this

  10. This movie was such utter dissapointment. I cant believe i watched the midnight viewing for this….

  11. @Smeeeeee   me too sir. it was pretty, but also racist and half assed as far as plot

  12. Love Megan Fox & Shia LeBouf, but I have to skip this.  Not interested.

  13. @ Slockhart – Thank you! I don’t see the Megan Fox thing that everyone else seems to, either. Have you noticed she is incapable of closing her mouth in any picture she’s in? It’s weird.

  14. The poster seems to suggest that this is Indiana Jones + Mummy + Independence Day + robots. The podcast will probably be a bitch fest, and I’m looking forward to it.

  15. @Ottobot

    Something about this being referred to as T2 makes me want to throw up… there’s only one T2, and it’s the best movie ever made.

  16. While I actually liked 07’s Transformers despite its myriad of problems, I’m looking forward to seeing this.  I’ve read that they’ve removed from ROTF most of the elements from the first one that didn’t work, like; John Turturo, weak plot, incomprehensible action sequences, racist interpretaions of autobots, and some akward comic relief with the parents, so thank god.  Wait.

    And apparently Devestaor has balls, so.

  17. @slockhart Right on, its pretty close.

  18. I did not like the 07 movie. It was just too shallow. There was no depth whatsoever. I know that some movies you need to turn your brain off but this movie still managed to seem stupid after I’d done that.

  19. it’s weird how many comparisons to E.T. I made to Transformers.  Maybe it was just the fact that Spielberg was the executive producer and all but, I think in alot of ways it could be considered Micheal Bay’s reimaging of Spielberg’s seminal boy meets alien story.

  20. The first one is bearable and might have been just a crude way to place the transformers on earth. Now that they’re already there we can have shiny robot porn. Also removing the racist thing and the awkward comedy sounds bad – it shouldn’t take itself seriously. The "racist" stuff may happen because they listened to our radio transmissions, and they take time to travel through space. I think that maybe they actually said that in the movie. They’re trying to communicate via a language they think is the current one on earth.

    They don’t need to be your father’s transformers. They’re space robots that turn into cameras and dinosaurs.

  21. I barely remember the first one. it was kind of like a roller coaster; while i was watching it, it was enjoyable, but as soon as it was over, i instantly forgot it. So I’m not really interested in seeing this one. And I am totally over Meghan Fox. yeah, she’s hot, but every time she opens her mouth I want her to vanish. God, is she a waste of air. But I will definitely tune in to the podcast! I want them to continue to make horrible movis just to hear the iFanboys talk about them. I never have to see Punisher; Warzone, because the special edition podcast on it was 100X more entertaining than the movie could ever possibly hope to be. 

  22. @Chlop I understand that they might use a lot of slang just like Jazz in the first one. It’s the big lips, gold tooth and the fact that they’re stupid that i found offensive, not way they spoke

  23. I dont want to see this, you cant make me see this

    *phone rings, picks it up* Huh? Oh hey Chris….you wanna see Transformers 2 tonight? Sure why not. *hangs up*…..OH DAMNIT!!!

    I will watch this film when I am good and ready. But I have a very good feelings this will be bad. That and the rottentomates percentage of 25% doesnt help matters either. Roger Ebert, you always know what is good and what is bad.

  24. i didn’t want to see it until RoiVampire said the plot was racist. now i think it sounds awesome and hilarious

  25. there’s nothing racist about it, and it just proves that over sensitive politically correct morons should avoid mass media.

  26. @clintaa if i was offended and two of my black friends who think spike lee is a nut were offended then i’m pretty sure it was a least a little racist

  27. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    If you’re not offended by the minstrel show caricature, you’ll at least be offended by how devastatingly unfunny and arbitrary they are.  

  28. Yeah I have heard about these ‘racist’ characters. If they are just as bad as Jar-Jar Binks was in the Star Wars prequels. Then that is a HUGE problem with me.

  29. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    @TNC -That’s EXACTLY what they are. Twice. 

  30. I didn’t mind the first movie. I havent seen it since the theaters but if i remember correctly jazz also was break dancing at one point (maybe when he transformed). Jazz was terrible, and i was embarassed that the theater i was in laughed at such an obvious and racist joke.

  31. they’re not racists they’re ROBOTS.  no race.  just annoying.

  32. If you thought Jazz was bad prepare to squirm in your seat during this one. Easily twice as bad as Jar Jar on his best day.

  33. I think this film suffers from the studio’s inability to pick a target demographic. Every thing blow-up nice but there was to much comic-relief for an adult audience and it pushed the PG-13 so its not appropriate of the young kids that by the toys.

  34. @clintaa: So if I was to make a robot that spoke like Jar Jar and wore black face that’d be ok because he was a robot? Pretty shaky logic there. Racist is racist is racist no matter who or what is doing it.

    I’d like to point out the irony of having such a deep discussion about such an atrociously shallow film.

  35. Well my sister and her boyfriend saw this film. Of course they loved it, now I have to go watch it. *sighs*

    Okay they arent the best sources nor are they Roger Ebert….But if a family member likes a film then it’s a rule that we need to see it. Damn family and their rules. I need to be a rebel; a rebel without a cause. You know like that hipster James Dean.

  36. OH man, I can’t wait for the Special Edition Podcast. 

  37. Me niether

  38. so it’s more racist than first hinted at? brilliant! it’s sounds unintentionally crazy funny

  39. You know listening to josh on the first Transformers SEP for the site….I agree with every point with him on the film. It’s big, dumb fun….but there has to be somewhat of a good plot involved. Most action films that are considered classics have a good plot to them.

  40. @TNC: shhh, don’t let him know that

  41. it amazes me that they managed to screw up good robots vs. bad robots. astonishing

  42. If I was 14 I’d probably love these movies.

  43. Ah man, no love for the 14 year olds. And I think most 14 year olds can smell stinkers a mile away or at least rasicim. 

  44. Man, that movie could have trimmed an hour off.  Seriously, the parents didn’t need to be there, the college didn’t need to be as much as it was (sure, show Sam at college so we see where he’s at with his life, but do it for like a few minutes and then get on with it).  WTF was with Dwight from The Office as the professor?  He’s yapping like a stereotype of an English professor, except he teaches astronomy, you know, physics, and going on and on suggesting he bangs his students.  Then after Sam wigs out, he makes some comment about doing it in front of the Dean (with a shot of the Dean).  I would think talking about banging your female students would have been worse than Sam freaking out.  That part was just stupid, in fact, most of the comedic elements were stupid.  Didn’t need those Sambo Autobots or the Italian Decepticon either.  The good: Optimus kicking ass.  But next time, enough with the humans, develop some of the more interesting Transformers (note the word interesting, don’t make Jar-Jar-like characters).  It’s weird, because I did really like the parts I liked, which makes me feel that I enjoyed the film overall, but man, those comedic bits were pointless and lame.

  45. For the record: the best thing about Revenge of the Fallen is that Cheap Trick redid the Transformers theme for the soundtrack. I hope the guys play it on the podcast.

  46. same movie as the first:  ridiculous but very fun.

  47. i HATED this flick, i haven’t seen a worst movie since The Spirit. if you thought the first one was a propaganda film for the military (which i didn’t) then wait until you see this one, it’s 100 times worse. And it is blatantly racist, the two bucktoothed rapper robots can’t read, the black guy in the deli, the opening sequence, the whole portrayal of Egypt. I honestly hope the average public notices these things and there’s an outcry because it offended me and im not easily offended.

    oh and it was WAYYYYYY too long, i was about to walk out with 45 minutes left in the movie. that last battle sequence needed an editor.

  48. and by the way, I liked the first movie….

  49. I work as a projectionist at a movie theatre. So, on Tuesday I had to build 4 prints of this movie. Totalling 32 reels. I worked 9 hours on 4 hours of sleep, don’t really no why. Then, after work, went to a different theatre to stand in line for the midnight Imax show. Half asleep, and rolling on my third Red Bull of the day, I watched this movie. Two and a half hours later I had a G.O.B moment. "I’ve made a big mistake." Problem was, I realized in this moment, it wasn’t worth loseing that much sleep for. I had to be back at work at 8am that morning to bang out another 9 hours.

     But Optimus sure was a bad ass in fight Deceptos in the woods. *only scene i really liked.

    Also, is it me, or did they totally rip off the Danger Room from Astonishing X-men?

  50. Dom’s had a brake though. i think we could all learn from that

  51. Awesome movie! I loved every minute of this. It’s like a bloody tornado it just picks you up and never lets you go with action, robot on robot smashtastica, puny humans getting slaughtered by the dozens, some actual serious violent imagery and hell yes there was a plot! Decepticons want to slag the planet and it’s only a fragile alliance between the Autobots and Americons…err Humans that stand in their way. Couldn’t see the racism in it but now that’s it been pointed it out I still don’t agree. Rappers aren’t bad, totally little smartass punks, they can’t read an ancient language, they are ugly little bastards, but they’re loyal little bodyguards defending the humans and taking on opponents larger and stronger than them. I wouldn’t minded seeing the Egyptian army helping out in a battle on, y’know, their own soil, but hey it’s an American film, so you can’t have everything. At least the Jordanian army got to get blown to pieces and there was that one foreign soldier there for a minute or something. Oh well. Jetfire was totally a pirate. Missed opportunity in the museum sequence: Wooden transformer.

  52. Haven’t seen it yet.  Don’t want too.  The first movie blew.  All I have to say is this:  The series I loved and watched for 5 or 6 years growing up had strong characterizations of the TRANSFORMERS.  I loved scrappers like Huffer, Cliffjumper, and Ironhide.  I also loved the dissenters like Perceptor, Mirage, and Bumblebee.  Not to mention the off kilter logic and wisdom of Grimlock.  These movie have none of that.  The strongest robot characterizations are Optimus and Megatron.  I never would’ve watched the series for so long if it was always Spike carrying all the action.  It sucks and I won’t go to see it. 

  53. Furthermore, Megan Fox is in the new millenium what Gwyneth Paltrow was in the 90’s.  THE VILLAGE BICYCLE!!  Everybody’s had a ride.

  54. I don’t know why everybody dislikes the military scenes so much. Josh Duhamel as Major Lennox was annoying as hell. But seeing Agent Pierce as a Four-Star was cool, and nobody does bad ass military tech porn like Micheal Bay. The orgy of military tech, Optimus Prime’s bad ass scene in the woods and Megan Fox were the only parts of this movie that I even enjoyed.

         
  55. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    Human military scenes at the expense of robot action though? The Transformers themselves take too much of a back seat in their own film.  

  56. @Paul you hit the nail on the head right there

  57. Explosions, boobs, comedy and robots. What’s not to love? You can nit-pick all you want, but at the end of the day it was a perfect summer movie, and you know you loved it.

  58. I envy you mountainwindcat. 

  59. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    @mountainwindcat – No. No, I didn’t. It was not fun. 

  60. I’m interested to see this one.  I enjoyed the first one, but was surprised they actually found a way to make a sequel.  It will probably be terrible, but I’ve been in a "turn off the brain and laugh mercilessly at dumb fun" kind of mood lately.  I’ll be seeing this one next week.

  61. it was fun, i just think there needed to be a few…slower moments.  it doesnt stop moving, and not in that Ridley Scott "Black Hawk Down" way, but in it’s own category.  Hell, even "The Rock" had some nice slow moments.  I think there was alot that was unnessasry, and it does start to feel long in the last hour, but it was still fun and enjoyable.  listen, you dont go to a michael bay movie to see art, you go to see hot girls and shit blow up.  hot girls?  check.  shit blowing up?  check.  its mindless fun, maybe not at it’s best, but certainly not at it’s worst.

  62. half the time, i couldn’t understand what was going, both in the visuals and in the audio. It’s hard to decipher what’s going on when two robots are banging away at each other and the camera is so close up. that’s why the Optimus woods battle sequence worked, the camera moved away and you could tell what was going on. also, three quarters of the time i couldn’t understand what the robots were saying because their voices were distorted. sure, robots with distorted voices makes sense but that doesn’t mean it works. finally, the human cast talked wayyyyyy to damn fast, there was about 4 hours worth of dialogue cramed into a 2 and half hour long movie. everyone was talking a mile a minute (and by everyone i mean mostly Leboeuf, his roommate and John Tuttoro)

  63. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    Now that you’ve seen the film, check out my Murmur review! Even if you disagree with my take on it, let me know what you think.

  64. @PaulMontgomery – GI Joe will compensate on the lack of robots hopefully, so you’ll get what you want. eventually

  65. Like the majority of people on this thread, I didn’t like it (but can’t object to Megan Fox).  In fact, after watching it I wanted to cleanse myself with something French, black and white and subtitled.  However, people may be looking at this wrong.  For a start, they’re making movies out of toylines!!!  Not comics, not novels, but things designed for children (yes, I’m afraid they were originally meant for kids!) to battle with in the back garden.  My 7 year old has been waiting desperately since we watched the first trailer, and for him it did not disappoint.  He sat on the edge of his chair the whole time.  Also, while part of me might have worried that this kind of thing might damage his sense of culture for all time, he also loves watching Brave and the Bold, Batman TAS (as well as reading the comics) and the original Star Wars trilogy. It’s true there wasn’t enough robots, but for the movie itself I have to fall on the argument of "it is what it is", and just accept it.

  66. @odare77: You know that comics were designed for children, right? I hate when people dismiss adaptations because of the source material.

  67. I’m gonna throw this out there: Megan Fox can/could/should be "hot", but she is not attractive. Come and get me internet. 

  68. @Adam: I agree with that. She’s made to look hot and just by looking at the trailers you can tell a bunch of teenagers were heading the costume department for this. But overall as a person and just looking normal….she’s not ‘attractive’. Kinda like an early version of Pamela Anderson…..okay no not that skanky…

  69. @Adam – totally. She’s a G Sasha Grey.

  70. I think the movie was over-sexed, the pretender had poor CGI, the college scenes were awful, and the twins were too goofy looking.  The move was a dissapointment, but it had some pretty good parts.  I don’t understand the over-sexed + raunchy language…this movie could have been such an easy homerun but they cheapened it!  I’ll go with 3/5 stars.  I do LOVE the first one however…

  71. $60.6 million in one day

    http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=27206

    And every response being "Why did I waste my money!?" 

  72. There’s an The Onion sketch there somewhere.

  73. @Jurassicalien: Judging by the reaction at my theater, I doubt that most think that.

  74. @conor: I probably just hang out with far to many cynics. 

  75. This movie is great.  US soldiers have allied with the autobots. And together they have to defeat a large number of decepticons?  Awesome.  How many times did we imagine the last battle as kids?  Its a Saturday morning cartoon made into a movie.

  76. This movie was BIG.  I do not know what the objective of the film was, but it was definitely big. 

    I can’t give a objective opinion on the film because as soon as I heard Soundwave’s voice I regressed to a six year old and smiled.

  77. Back in 1987 the Transformer fanbase was shocked when Spike yelled "Shit!" as his spaceship was being attacked. In 2009 Skidz(?) very nearly dropped the F-Bomb and people laughed. My how things change.

    and that’s all I could think about each time vulgarity was thrown carelessly about.. Isn’t this supposed to be a kids’ movie?    

    As a ‘real’ (Gen-1) Transformer fan it’s important that I convey to you what we see, ‘real’ fans that is:

    What we see is something lightly mocking that which we have so loved. You’ve got Optimus Prime!  And you have a bunch of other robots who share the name of many a beloved character, yet look nothing like their counterparts. Bumblebee, for instance. Why call him bumblebee if he’s not a Volkswagen bug? Why?!

    Any Transformer fan with tenure knows that acceptance is just part of the game though. Every 2-3 years they reinvent the TF Universe. Remember Gen-2, Beast Wars, Beast Machines (which Dan Didio was involved with), Armada, Robots in Disguise, etc.

    A good discussion could be made about whether the reimagining that came about after the first (animated) movie was the demise of the early franchise. When Optimus first died, when Megatron became Galvatron, when the seeker jets became Swoops. It was so ahead of its time. How bold of the writers and creators to make such grand changes.

    we just weren’t ready.

    Michael Bay’s reimagining dissapoints me because he had so much history to draw from, but decided to force feed me the All-Spark instead. Anyone in the know could tell you the All-Spark’s just a loose translation of Vector-Sigma. Don’t believe me? Just ask Alpha-Trion.

    And who’s The Fallen? It’s the Quintessons you wanted to show. How cool would that have been? What’s worse is in most scenes I couldn’t tell Megatron and The Fallen apart. Besides, everyone knows Megatron’s true master is Unicron anyway. Don’t they?

    You’re lost, I know. That’s just the point. I’m lost too. I shouldn’t be. I’ve loved these characters for twenty-five years! But when I see these new films I’m not sure what I’m seeing. They call it Transformers, and it is, yet.. it’s not. I guess I’m just happy they’re giving me something.

    In light of racist arguments I must say your points contain some gravity, but can’t just be one way. Transformers has always brought with it flagrant stereotyping. Be it Perceptor, who’s intelligent and prissy because he’s got an english accent, Grimlock, who speaks and acts as most retards do, Ironhide and Huffer, your token rednecks, Tracks, who was just a little funny, if you know what I mean.

    It can’t just be racist when it involves someone who acts as a black person might, but it often is. Try to keep in mind that it’s about characterization, not persecution.       

    I liked this movie. I didn’t love it. So much so I looked forward to seeing Devastator in action, but when i did I couldn’t tell apart his face from his ass. These character designs are just a mess. To me they just look like a bunch of jagged metal.

    If there was anything I did enjoy about this film, other than Megan Fox (yeah, let me see any of you actually turn her down), it had to be the brutality of Optimus Prime. Wow! He really didn’t see the need to hold back, did he? Overall a 3.5 out of 5. And it really only gets the additional .5 because I’m a lifelong fan.

     

  78. I just don’t have any connection to this franchise so I doubt I’ll see it.  The toys came out after I was already in High School… I think.

  79. There’s a film I want to see: Beast Wars.

    Hands down the best Transformers show ever.

  80. @TNC

    HELL YEA! Beast Wars was the SHIT! it used to be my favorite show as a kid. but lots of ppl dont know it cause its an age thing. Im 19 now so when i was like 8-10 this show was the BEST!

  81. The Producers wanted the Beast Wars in this film, but the writers, from what I read pretty much said "Dinosaur robots? Dumb." So we get a robot that poops out a parachute instead. 

  82. @Jurassicalien: ‘Dumb’? How can those guys say that having animal transformers is a dumb idea? You were fine with the last film having a Hummer or Xbox 360 transformer. Oh so product placement is fine but not animals?

    Besides….it’s a friggen robot series!! Now there has to be rules in terms of how a robot can transforms? They sound dumb to me…

  83. Beast Wars only featured one Dinosaur: Megatron’s, then, current inception. Dinobots are primarily a Gen-1 thing.

    The most credit I’ll give Beast Wars is for its being a frontrunner in the field of CGI animation. It took initiative in being one of the first Saturday morning CGI programs. The only other one I can recall before that, or at the same time, was something called Reboot.

    But if you still think Beast Wars so great I dare you to watch the series again. The CGI, compared to contemporary standards, is now laughable. I can’t say much for the content of the entire series as I threw in the towel after the first six episodes. About a year ago, thanx to Netflix, I took the time to watch Beast Machines in its entirety (because it only lasted one season/24 episodes) and I don’t know that the franchise has ever been worse than it was then.

    Transformers has reinvented itself so many times in the last 8-9 years I could barely keep up. The true heart of the series is in its first three Gen-1 seasons. Any real appreciation for the franchise has to come from there and Simon Furman’s comic work.

    Seriously, though, if you can make it thru season 2 of Gen-1 and into the original movie, you’ll shit yourself at the changes that took place. And, if you can stand the heartache of seeing Optimus die in the animated film, season 3 is actually pretty damn good, too. It’s not to say that every episode’s perfect, but many of them provide a lot more depth in character origin and background. Maybe a tad too much for your average ten year-old fan though, Then, of course, came the Headmasters which ultimately sealed Gen-1’s U.S. soil fate.

     

  84. I’m a BIG Transformer fan when I was young but I realize that these movies are not a part of my childhood anymore. The same goes for the prequel Star Wars movies, its not the same and it wasn’t made for me. I think when product placement (Toys and merchandise) gets involved, the target audience will not be the fans who drove the popularity of the show. It will always be the next generation who wants the toys and merchandise.

  85. I think we all need to get over product placement in movies.  Its not the 90s anymore: selling out is an outdated concept.  Just bc they are GM cars is not a negative.  Just bc Matt and Kim are in a Bacardi commercial …. is not a negative (heck they are on a Bacardi concert tour).  Same goes for Bob Dylan in Victoria’s Secret commercials.  No one considers them sell outs anymore, so who cares if Witwicky has a dell or w/e. 

  86. You certainly can’t get upset about product placement in a movie as commercial as this one.

    However, it can be distracting when it stands out.  Again, not in this movie, because, what do you expect?

  87. Product placement is a way of life for big media now.

  88. You get upset if you still have to pay a high price for the ticket. It is now on book covers and games for small kids as well – that one really pissed me off (a pepsy cola one if I remember correctly).

  89. I just thought of this but with all the military stuff this movie is a perfect example of what a GI Joe/Transformers movie would be like.  Actually they could totally do a GI Joe/Transformers movie because they’re both Paramount and Hasbro.

  90. @ TheNextChampion Totally agree with you Beast Wars was the Best Transformers series ever

     

     

  91. You could totally have a ‘Beast Wars’ transformers in the next film. Just have a bunch of the robots land in a museum and they will take the appearence of the respected animals. Bam! I should be a writer 🙂

  92. just watched the movie, rather enjoyed it…i guess it comes down to age and expectations. Didn’t expect anything spectacular but a big dumb action movie that i could turn my brain off to and enjoy. I admit that i was too long and many of the humor moments annoyed me, especially Devastator having balls which is clever considering what he’s made up of but is far to juvinile and coming from a guy who though the MyWay Enterntainment parodies hilarious that’s something. The robots not getting top billing is a matter of choice, i would have enjoyed them spending more time elaborating on the various autobots many like Arcee, Jolt and Sideswap who were in the movie in sort name only rather than Sam’s new sidekick Leo who from the beginning irked me. However the plot for this movie was far better than the last one and the final culminating battle was better thought out as well, honestly the first movie had the characters knowingly head to a crowded city rather than a secluded area for the final battle.

  93. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    It comes down to age? How so?  

  94. Well i guess i’m more or less a younger fan that most…and came out enjoying it more than alot of people i’ve talked to older then me

  95. And how old are you?

  96. I’m 18 and I hated it. It seriously gave me a headache. Michael Bay needs to learn how to zoom the hell out and to stop mounting his cameras on giant gyroscopes. Those 360 degree spinning shots were the most annoying shots I’ve ever seen. They actually made me dizzy and this is coming from someone who was perfectly fine when watching Cloverfield.

    And if the humour is so "for kids" then why is there swearing all over the place?! The movie had the maturity of a horny 12 year old, but the word "s***" was thrown every which way. GAH!

    I would love to see a Beast Wars film, but I won’t allow the Transformers writers and Michael Bay to ruin my childhood! 

  97. Didn’t like it or hate it, just meh.

  98. Lets see ,  I grow up on Transformers.  I am also 29 years old.  I am also black. and see the move at the very loud Studio Movie Grill in Arlington,Texas , I had a great time seeing this movie.   The theater laughed the whole time and even clapped at the end. 

     On the business side.  in three days it made $125 million. Either Harry Potter or Transformer swill be the number 1 in sales for 2009 (Worldwide,probable Harry)

     

    Overall , I love the movie and had great fun watching it. 

  99. This is a better GI Joe movie than the GI Joe movie is going to be.

    I was surprised by how much fun I had.  My expectations had gotten pretty low by the time I got to see it.  Optimus Prime is a friggin’ movie star, baby.  Everytime he spoke everybody in the theater went silent.  Major screen presence.  Peter Cullen would be a great movie trailer voice.

  100. @ultimatehoratio   I agree.  Peter Cullen is a star.  When Prime spoke , we all listened.   And was that Soundwave orginal voice actor?

  101. @xisheert – yes, that was the original vioce actor for soundwave. he’s also the same guy who did Megatron in the original animated series. unfortunately, time hasn’t been very forgiving to his voice so his Megatron ain’t what it used to be. a shame really because the new Megatron voice sux.

    i did see it for a second time last night and really enjoyed it. i’d also like to mention that everybody else in the theaters i’ve been in really seemed to enjoy it as well, laughing at all the vulgarity and clapping at the end each time.  

  102. Ten minutes (or fewer?) of Optimus Prime badassery do not make up for the two hours and twenty minutes of garbage.

    Also, I’d care more if I could tell the robots apart. Terminator Salvation was better than this steaming dogpile. At least I could tell who was who in that one.

    The io9 review hit the nail on the head.

  103. Isn’t it funny that this movie and Star Trek had the same writers?

  104. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    That was the crux of my review.  

  105. There’s no way in hell I’m going to bother with Transformers 2 but I have to say, Paul, that was one seriously excellent review of it.

  106. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    @llash – Glad you liked it!  

    One thing I forgot to mention in the Murmur review and on the podcast is that, while I don’t recommend that anyone on the fence go out to see this film for fun, you can learn a lot from a bad film. We watched LXG in school (or at least the insanely long first act) and this movie might be just as useful in a discussion of storytelling mechanics. I went in with very low expectations, but that doesn’t mean I was hoping it would be bad. It’s really hard to make a great film, and it’s also hard to make a terrible film. given that perspective, I find it very difficult to relish a failed project. It can be fun and worthwhile to ask "why?" it failed though.  

  107. @Paul: I agree entirely that bad films are often very worthwhile seeing. The problem is though is that by this point there is little left to uncover as to why Michael Bay is such a awful director. And the thought of sitting through two and a half hours of robots hitting each other is just too much for me. Though yeah, figuring out what the hell happened to the guys who wrote the thoroughly terrific Star Trek, on the other hand, is definitely a mystery worth investigating.

  108. Excellent musical choice, gentlemen.

  109. you know, i reacted very angrily to the film.

     i thought it was offensive, racist, lacked any writing or structure and didnt even pay attention to what had happened in earlier scenes.

    but people in the theatre lapped it up and laughed at everything. So what do i know?

  110. There is so much stuff in this movie that I hated but really it’s not much different from most other movies that come out that I can’t stand. The stupid jokes, the stereotypes, the cliche oversexed male, etc etc… In any other movie, I’d just shrug and not really care. I thought Superbad was HORRIBLE. Not funny in the least. I can’t relate to those types of characters, or the sort of humor that comes out of those type of movies. When one of those comes, I usually don’t see but even if I do – I don’t feel the need to realyl say anything about it, I just don’t like those movies.

    But this should have been a TRANSFORMERS MOVIE before a [DIRECTOR’S NAME HERE] MOVIE. It’s a movie derived from a children’s toy line and series of cartoons that has been "adultified" into somethingt hat is largely unsuitable for children. I think this movie and all of its swearing (from Autobots, much of the time) and racial stereotypes and drug references and all of it don’t belong in a TRANSFORMERS movie. 

    I would not take my younger brother or my nieces to see this. What is there for them, now? Just Pixar. every other children’s franchise has been stolen from them, it would seem. And, aside from Pixar, I don’t see many others popping up.

  111. @FACE: I grew up with ReBoot and Beast Wars and both are still some of my favorite shows to date. Beast Wars is probably my favorite Transformers series and, yes, I’ve watched all of G-1 (And watched the movie endlessly growing up, owning it on VHS as far back as I can remember).

    And I love Beast Wars more than the original series. I also enjoyed Beast Machines more than you, from the sound of it. Though why you’d try and watch that when you didn’t like Beast Wars I don’t know. I’ve also recently watched Transformers Animated and had a blast; I really liked it. I probably had just as much fun watching that then I do when I rewatch the original or Beast Wars DVDs – just a different kind.

    Though I guess I don’t like the franchise nearly as much as you since you only really like G1! Why are fans of the same thing always so splintered within?

    "Any real appreciation for the franchise has to come from there and Simon Furman’s comic work." 

  112. @ Horatio: Yes indeed.  That was a great musical choice, gentlemen.

  113. So, I just lost 5 hours of my life going out to see this movie. I would have gladly paid the same amount to just see a 30-minute trailer.

    I’d say I’m a sadist except I honestly forgot how much I disliked the first one. No, scratch that. I thought I could handle it this time. I was wrong.  

  114. LOS ANGELES – Alien robots have transformed into box-office superstars with $200 million in domestic ticket sales in just five days.

    "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" took in $112 million in the sequel’s first weekend and $201.2 million since opening Wednesday, according to Sunday estimates from Paramount, which is distributing the DreamWorks movie.

    It was well on the way to becoming the year’s top-grossing movie.

    That was a few million dollars higher than other studios were expecting for the movie, and the figures could change a bit when final numbers are released Monday.

    Still, it was a colossal start for the "Transformers" sequel, whose opening five days amounted to nearly two-thirds of the $319 million domestic total the franchise’s first movie did over its entire run in 2007.

    Now playing in almost every other country except India, the movie added $185.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $387 million. That’s well over half the $708 million global total for the first "Transformers."

    That first movie began with a $70.5 million weekend. Based on how well the sequel has done, "Revenge of the Fallen" could join the handful of movies that have topped the $400 million mark domestically.

  115. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    @$%*@&$^%!!!!!!!!

  116. hahahaha

  117. Oh dont get me started on Reboot aka ‘The show that revolved around my childhood’. I need to do a murmur article on that….

  118. It’s because Optimus Prime is a mother-effin’ STAR, baby!

  119. Optimus Prime as Captain America maybe?  Dude has gravitas.

  120. Avatar photo Paul Montgomery (@fuzzytypewriter) says:

    He’s hardly in the movie!

  121. Yes, but like Kim Basinger in LA Confidential, he makes the most of his time.  He owns it!

  122. woah I’m drowning in all the Transformers negativity here…

  123. Ron, who is Anton Mitchell? I was thinking that you were talking about Anthony Anderson, but I’m confused.

     

    Can we get an RSS feed for comments, BTW? I probably will not be able to remember to come back and get an answer, if I get an answer. 

     

    My cousin and my brothers wanted to meet up with me so we could all see this movie, and I’m kinda glad our plans fell apart.

  124. Anton Mitchell was Anthony Anderson’s character’s name in the Shield.  Best role he’s ever had by a long shot.

  125. And I called you Ron by mistake. Wow, what a post i made.

  126. I have no interest in seeing this movie, and after listening to this podcast, I’m even more secure in that decision.

    However, I do know that the college is definitely not Harvard — it was shot half at Princeton and half at UPenn.  But not even shots of Princeton are enoug to get me to watch this thing.  I’ll to go Across the Universe or A Beautiful Mind for that.

  127. i love that song.

    le boufe or however-you-spellit would play a kickass yorick.

  128. well, should I go see the movie or not?  I guess everybody hates it, so I shouldn’t.  I’ve got an oppurtunity to go see it for $6 tomorrow after I eat some dollar burgers.  What does everybody think?  Yeh or neh?

  129. @ Josh: Someone has not seen the Gems he had in Disney film "Kangaroo Jack"  now that was inspiring

  130. Correction  It was out of MGM along with the earth shattering work In Agent Cody Banks 2

  131. Just saw this and…meh. I could live with the Bay shooting style, but almost all of the Decepticons were nameless drones, Devastator was too wierd looking, and the crude bits were unnecessary (just as they were in Star Trek, but there were far less of them in that movie). Really, did the robot have to hump Megan Fox’s leg? And don’t get me started on the logical inconsistencies. I take it back, it was worse than meh. Unless a 3rd film has Unicron, I’m out.

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