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[Groundsplitter]

All my answers based on the novel, but there shouldn't be so many differences compared to the film, I believe:

Spoiler - don't read if you haven't watched it... else it's your own fault:
In the danish translation Brawl is called Devastator !?!

Apparently that's true for the English version as well - Osku, who's seen the film says he's called Devastator in the English subtitles too. Is the name "Brawl" even said aloud? Perhaps we have a name discrepancy between the film and the toys?

And what happened to Barricade and Scorponok ?

Scorponok was killed by those missiles from the airplane in the beginning, wasn't he? Or did he manage to burrow into the ground again and escape? Barricade ... Hm, I can't remember, to be honest. Didn't Optimus take out him and Brawl/Devastator on the Autobots' way to the dam? The novel was a bit vague on that point, but I got the impression that he killed both of them rather quickly.

[SureShot]

All my answers based on the novel, but there shouldn't be so many differences compared to the film, I believe:

Spoiler - don't read if you haven't watched it... else it's your own fault:
In the danish translation Brawl is called Devastator !?!

Apparently that's true for the English version as well - Osku, who's seen the film says he's called Devastator in the English subtitles too. Is the name "Brawl" even said aloud? Perhaps we have a name discrepancy between the film and the toys?

And what happened to Barricade and Scorponok ?

Scorponok was killed by those missiles from the airplane in the beginning, wasn't he? Or did he manage to burrow into the ground again and escape? Barricade ... Hm, I can't remember, to be honest. Didn't Optimus take out him and Brawl/Devastator on the Autobots' way to the dam? The novel was a bit vague on that point, but I got the impression that he killed both of them rather quickly.

Spoiler.
In the movie Scorponk escapes into the sand but his stinger the missiles blew off... but I don't think he got killed. Barricade I only saw in pursuit after the Autobots, and the he suddenly disappered. But Prime clearly killed Bonecrusher (decapitating him).

[Groundsplitter]

In the movie Scorponk escapes into the sand but his stinger the missiles blew off... but I don't think he got killed. Barricade I only saw in pursuit after the Autobots, and the he suddenly disappered. But Prime clearly killed Bonecrusher (decapitating him).

Okay. I guess it's possible the script was changed at a late stage to let more characters escape and survive for the sequel, or perhaps Alan Dean Foster thought it was better to tie up the loose ends.

Only 22,5 hours to go now...

[Inkku]

Only 22,5 hours to go now...

*waiting the wednesday*

This post has been edited by Inkku: 1 July 2007, 22:04

[Taggenagger]

Less than 22 hours now. Just wow.

[SureShot]

Still 1hr after I feel I'm on an adren rush... "gotta go see it again"....
In a sec of pure madness I added Ratchet, Brawl, Wrekage, Bumblebee to my existing preorder on Megatron from BBTS.com.

[Protek]

Remember to watch the end credits at least until they start to roll the texts.
Starsscream is shown escaping the earth's atmosphere.

[Night Beat]

WOW !!

I've seen the movie. And it was good. The reason why i'm not overly exited is, that i maybe had bigger hopes for the movie. But i'll still give it 8 out of 10. Some of the funny parts i could have done without, seems like Michael Bay tries too hard to hit the general public.
On the other hand the faces of the robots have been comented alot on different sites, mostly bad. But i must say that i really think MB made it work big time.
IMO Frenzy have a way to big part, for the first movie.

Maybe i'll change my mind later on, when the impressions have sunken in.

+ REALLY great intro for non TF fans
+ Great special effects
+ The bond between Sam and Bumblebee, is true to the cartoon (maybe even better)
+ Great robots (all over)
+ Great voice casting for the robots

- Too many funny parts
- Frenzy is all over the place
- Optimus Prime in Sam's front garden, is too clumsy

But all in all the movie brought up alot of different emotions, and not that many do.

But at good big solid 8 out of 10.

Now i'll have to wait and see when the DVD comes out (and in how many different versions) One Special collectors super duper limited edition with a ton of bonus features PLEASE !!

This post has been edited by Night Beat: 2 July 2007, 23:00

[SureShot]

At leat the funny parts in TransFormers are fun an well placed and not stupid like in Star Wars The Phantom Menace (aka Jar Jar Binks etc)
I loved Frenzy - he's an infiltrator that's why he has an important role

[Night Beat]

I agree on the funny parts compaired to SW and Jar Jar.

Sure Frenzy has a big part of the movie, but i had hoped for some more Starscreem vs. Megatron action like in the cartoon (but that will probably happen in part 2)
And i've also had the impression that the pace of the movie to be high from start to finish, and not in so many different paces like it is. But i liked the paces non the less.

And now an hour later, the 8 has transformed it self to a 9.. It grows on me.... Bay & Spielberg have made a GREAT movie

This post has been edited by Night Beat: 2 July 2007, 22:32

[Vector_Sigma]

I agree on the funny parts compaired to SW and Jar Jar.

Sure Frenzy has a big part of the movie, but i had hoped for some more Starscreem vs. Megatron action like in the cartoon (but that will probably happen in part 2)
And i've also had the impression that the pace of the movie to be high from start to finish, and not in so many different paces like it is. But i liked the paces non the less.

And now an hour later, the 8 has transformed it self to a 9.. It grows on me.... Bay & Spielberg have made a GREAT movie

yes it grows on you,right...just wait `til the morning,you be craving movietoys like never before

[Groundsplitter]

After having read the novelization I gave the film a weak 4 as a Transfan, and 3,5 as a non-Transfan (I don't remember if it was on the public side of the board, or in the staff area). After having seen the film yesterday, I can raise the grade somewhat to a straight 4 as Transfan, and possibly a strong 3,5 as a non-Transfan.
Does this mean the film fell short of a 5? No, because I don't believe the Transformers concept could ever score a 5 in the cinema. The concept is just too alien to be made accessible to a broad audience. I was reminded of that when the Allspark was brought into the center stage of the story. Alien but vaguely humanoid robots that speak English and change shape into Earth-based vehicles requires a big stretch of imagination, so much that you've pretty much already passed beyond the farther border for suspension of disbelief. The inclusion of the Allspark and its abilities, no matter how important it is to have a goal for the robots to fight for, causes the scale to tip over to the ludicruous side.
With that in mind, the film managed rather well to fulfill its goal. It could have been better, but never so good that it could hope for a 5.

In my opinion the film had two big flaws: One is that most of the humans were cardboard characters, pretty much all of them with such weird flaws that it was difficult to feel sympathy for them. Like for instance the Witwicky parents, who seemed to be depicted as if we saw them from Sam's own pubertal eyes - I have to wonder if such parents exist for real.
The second is that it was difficult to follow what happened. Not just because the action and the cuts was very fast, but also because lots of the action was "hidden" behind smoke, dust clouds, falling debris, or flashes of light. Three examples: Scorponok, who kept underground most of the time, was fatally(?) injured by a barrage of missiles - but you could barely see anything until something dived down into the sand towards the end of the barrage. Archibald Witwicky was blinded when Megatron imprinted his glasses with an intensive datastream - but we didn't see anything of what happened because of the bright light. And finally when Sam inserted the you-know-what into you-know-where. We didn't really see what happened, because of the bright light. It makes me wonder if they consciously saved on special effects by hiding what happened behind smoke and light.

Some notes: The most positive surprise was Frenzy. Remember how disgusted people were early on when they heard how small and vulnerable this character would be? Turns out he was one of the most memorable characters, especially among the Deceps.

There wasn't much "Hugo Weaving" in Megatron's voice. As we commented afterwards, it was a very David Kaye-like voice, so why didn't they get him instead? Still miles better than what Frank Welker can accomplish these days though. Welker's rubbish Megatron would have damaged this film.

The best scene by far was when the Autobots visited the Witwicky's house. Great comedy there.

The insertion of some familiar quotes worked much better than I had thought. Their inclusion seemed too artificial in the novelization and the trade paperback, but didn't bother me at all in the actual film. I still don't like the initial and final speeches by Optimus Prime though. The first one should have been cut completely, and the final one cut in half, in my opinion.

And unfortunately there was a poor example of American toilet humour that I really, really wish they had cut. I don't think I have to describe which one I mean.

[Wave]

Lars: How would you rate the movie in comparison to other super hero concepts movies today? How does it stand next to, say, Spider-Man?

[Groundsplitter]

Lars: How would you rate the movie in comparison to other super hero concepts movies today? How does it stand next to, say, Spider-Man?

Spider-Man 1 and 2 were more successful, both in its ability to appeal to a broader audience, and in fulfilling the promises of the original vision. It was better than the patchwork Spider-Man 3 though.

[predaking]

POST CONTAINS SPOILERS

Does this mean the film fell short of a 5? No, because I don't believe the Transformers concept could ever score a 5 in the cinema. The concept is just too alien to be made accessible to a broad audience. I was reminded of that when the Allspark was brought into the center stage of the story. Alien but vaguely humanoid robots that speak English and change shape into Earth-based vehicles requires a big stretch of imagination, so much that you've pretty much already passed beyond the farther border for suspension of disbelief. The inclusion of the Allspark and its abilities, no matter how important it is to have a goal for the robots to fight for, causes the scale to tip over to the ludicruous side.

My friends that are not transfans do not agree with you on that, and neither does most of the reviews that have been published so far. It is not more alien than X-Men or Star Wars.

In my opinion the film had two big flaws: One is that most of the humans were cardboard characters, pretty much all of them with such weird flaws that it was difficult to feel sympathy for them. Like for instance the Witwicky parents, who seemed to be depicted as if we saw them from Sam's own pubertal eyes - I have to wonder if such parents exist for real.

Really? Because I think that is one of the best things about the movie - that all the dialogue and all the characters have a "larger than life" feel, very much like the original cartoon.

The second is that it was difficult to follow what happened. Not just because the action and the cuts was very fast, but also because lots of the action was "hidden" behind smoke, dust clouds, falling debris, or flashes of light. Three examples: Scorponok, who kept underground most of the time, was fatally(?) injured by a barrage of missiles - but you could barely see anything until something dived down into the sand towards the end of the barrage. Archibald Witwicky was blinded when Megatron imprinted his glasses with an intensive datastream - but we didn't see anything of what happened because of the bright light. And finally when Sam inserted the you-know-what into you-know-where. We didn't really see what happened, because of the bright light. It makes me wonder if they consciously saved on special effects by hiding what happened behind smoke and light.

Again, I don't understand the problem. I did not have a problem with the scenes you mention, but I can say that the scorponok fight couldn't have been much different. He was hit with a gazillion grenades, and that is going to cause a lot of smoke. But I do think that some action scenes happened so blazing fast that it was difficult to see which robot did what at times. The intricate desgins does not help in that respect. It helps watching it more times, but I think the movie will be a good reason to get a HD dvd player when it's released on disc.

And unfortunately there was a poor example of American toilet humour that I really, really wish they had cut. I don't think I have to describe which one I mean.

Everybody laughed every time I watched it.