What is it about Transformers 2, Transformers 3, and Transformers 4 that makes people say things like "You are stupid for thinking that any Transformers movie made after the 2007 film (which is not a critically panned adaptation of a franchise) is a good movie?"
Transformers 2 is the soul reason why everybody turned their back on this series. The humor was over-the-top stupid: robot balls, humping dogs, farting robots etc. etc. the robots got almost no screen time, the story was a mess, and Skids and Mudflap being illiterate gangsta bots wasn't doing the film any favors either.
But with Transformers 3 & 4 it's like Michael Bay has been doing everything in his power to make up for Transformers 2. the tone of the last two movies were far more mature than even the first movie, the Transformers got plenty of screen time, the plots actually made sense, at least as much as any other blockbuster coming out these days. But nobody cares, because he dug his own grave with Transformers 2 and nobody wants to see him climb out. they wanted him to be forever known as the guy who put robot balls on devastator. Back in 2009 the robot balls was the biggest travesty to ever happen to the world of cinema, nowadays barely anybody talks about it anymore.
so to put it simply: most people are just jumping on the hate bandwagon, because everybody else is doing it.
People have a hate-on for them because Bay & Co. continue to wipe their backsides with years of character building and franchise backstory so that he can create his own adventures. If someone made a reboot of Star Wars and had Darth Vader wear goggles instead of a helmet, speak with an Australian accent and made his primary weapon a battle axe, and omitted Han Solo from the story altogether, there'd be a big hate-on for that too. You can't give fans the gist of something and change everything else and expect them to like it. Applying a popular name to a character doesn't automatically make it that character.
Frankly the first one wasn't great either. If people feel more positively about it than the rest it's only because it struck a chord in the nostalgia department. I was amped to see it at the time, totally pumped, and the balloon popped a few short minutes into the movie when I was introduced to an unknown Transformer. All they needed to do was use Starscream as Transformer #1 and fans across the world would have melted into goo in their seats with excitement. First impressions would have been off the charts. The writers didn't, and don't, have a clue.
One of the main things that people universally liked about the first three movies they actually changed in the fourth: the robots don't look like vehicle parts any more, they just look like generic robots! They don't transform any more, they just turn into dust and reshape as something else. The mass shifting, which people did not want to see, is now in full effect (how is Lockdown, a Lambo, the same size as Optimus, a Western Star?!?) The "visual logic" in the movies was great and they managed to destroy even that.
The hate bandwagon is a figment of your imagination. People don't like the films and they pick them apart like crazy because Michael Bay has simply given us every reason to. I still haven't seen #4 in its entirety and I don't care to--it was awful.
The current comics radically change a lot of things about Transformers lore and fans love them. And it's supposed to be in the same continuity as the cartoons.
Right now we are supposed to decide whether Starscream or Arcee should be a new Prime.
Lockdown is a tribute to his two toys in the Animated and ROTF lines that were deluxe class but managed to fold out to be almost as big as leader Optimus. In fact, his AoE toys was disappointing because it did not do this.
Maybe they're trying to pander to nostalgia by ignoring the laws of physics for transformations. After all, Megatron turning into a handgun that could be wielded by Starscream was officially the most ridiculous idea ever (almost as much as Optimus with his magical trailer which vanished and reappeared at will).
shareIma huge transformers fan and I wanna disagree with you but sadly I can't. This is one of the best explanations I've read about why people don't like the series. And you're right. These movies could have been like the Star Wars series in terms of "loved" and "epic" and "best movies of all time" but they aren't and won't be. Part 2 and 4 are terrible. 3 wasn't too bad and 1 was ok. But I agree with you for the most part. : /
shareIt's interesting how many people love to nit pick over even the most minor flaws in the Transformers movies and claim it had so much potential to be something great. If anything, it had far more potential to be a lot worse, especially considering the type of adaptation it is (live-action cartoon) and the many failed attempts by major Hollywood studios to adapt cartoons into live action in the past (Masters of the Universe (1987), The Flintstones (1994), Casper (1995), Mr. Magoo (1997), Inspector Gadget (1999), The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000), Scooby Doo (2002), Garfield (2004), Underdog (2007), Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007), Dragonball Evolution (2009), Yogi Bear (2010), The Last Airbender (2010) and The Smurfs (2011) just to name a few).
And let's not pretend like the cartoons were anything truly special. They were entertaining, sure, but never anything more than than the television equivalent of a McDonald's Happy Meal, and the main reason for their existence was to sell merchandise. But because so many people grew up with this franchise, they hold it to some kind of higher standard.
^Yay, someone actually makes sense. Yeah, these movies are big stupid toy commercials just like the cartoon. Hell, the 1986 movie has the most blatant marketing I've ever seen. Hey kids, we're not making these toys any more so bang bang bang, they're all dead. But hey, here's 20 new characters to drain every last spare cent from your parents' bank account!
shareI agree with your rating of the series.
1) The first movie had nostalgia support. The first movie really isn't that great, but nostalgia pushes it to ok.
2) The RoF is stir fried garbage.
3) DoM's pacing and action made it tolerable. DoM was good as a mindless action movie.
4) AoE is bad to the point of offensive. A ten minute segment dedicated to a legal loophole for sex with a minor... The transformers have about 30 minutes of screen time. The acting is cringe worthy at times. The action is reduced to a white noise of explosions. Editing, characterization, cinematography, plot and story all rate weak to bad.
5)Paramount targeted foreign markets with AoE. Domestic audiences are no longer responding in huge numbers. AoE is Paramount giving up on making a good movie. If money can be made in in foreign markets with a bad movie why care about domestic.
6) The first few movies were supported by fan blindness. *Fan Blindness* When you love the characters even if the movie is bad. All four movies have problems structurally. I am talking movie making basics like editing. Still if you love the characters, a lot of errors will get a pass. BvS of last year is a prime example of fan blindness. The theatrical cut of BvS has major structural flaws. AoE has lost most of fan blindness for general movie goers.
Transformers: The Last Knight
Nothing to indicate a change in format. Actually this movie may be the worse one yet. Transformers trailers are usually very exciting. The Last Knight trailer did not have any hype. This the fifth movie and people only recognize two characters.If this movie gets any negative reviews prior to release it will bomb domestically big time. There's too many good movies coming out to waste time with another bad Transformers movie.