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Transformers

  • Jun. 28th, 2007 at 3:44 PM
When I was a kid, I really dug Transformers. I loved the cartoon show. I owned the toys. I loved the movie. I know such idiotic tidbits such as Orson Welles dying before he finished his part and the fact that most of his lines are taken from early samples and that Leonard Nimoy reportedly added more. Also, in later years, I have spent adult money on ebay tracking down toys I could never afford as a kid. I still do it. With that said, however, my love for the franchise is limited. In Transformer terms, I'm strictly a Generation One (G1) kind of viewer. Beast Wars was okay, but I've never been able to connect with any of the other stuff. In the last year, I have even been enjoying the Transformers comic, which has seen writer Simon Furman take the original characters and fit them nicely into a science fiction, universal war slash espionage storyline. These are some of my favourite comics, currently. I don't expect you all to understand. I don't really need you all to understand. It's my thing, not your thing, and I like it being my thing. It's one of those things, y'know?

I'm telling you this because, quite clearly, I have no critical capacity in regards to Transformers. The toys. The comics. The movies. I don't read the books, but that's a different thing. But the point here is that I'm not to be trusted.

I enjoyed the film.

It went for two and a half hours.

It had explosions. It had big set action scenes. It had a beautiful girl.

It was everything a Michael Bay film is.

With big robots.

Transforming.

Fighting.

And blowing shit up.

The ten year old in me loved it.

The thirty year old has complaints about giant robots hiding in bridges, non-existent characterisation, and the sequel set up, but the ten year old has taken him, beaten him with a bat, and locked him in a basement. His lips have been sown together. His hands broken. He will not be heard on the subject.

Fuck you, says the ten year old. Fuck you all. It was cool. It ruled.

Comments

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[info]jody_macgregor wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 05:49 am (UTC)
Does somebody really rollerblade through a bus? That is all I need to know.
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 05:53 am (UTC)
one of the decepticons plows through one (or two or three) while transforming. that's probably what people are referring too. i wouldn't have called it rollerblading, though.
[info]angriest wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 06:14 am (UTC)
Of course the important question is how does this Transformers movie compare to the last one? I don't see Orson Welles in Michael Bay's version.
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 06:41 am (UTC)
it's lower on the bodycount, this film, and can't match the first thirty minutes of the original, if you ask me. but really, they're not that comparable. jon voight makes a nice gun totting secretary of defense, and jon t is funny.

optimus prime is the only robot with any characterisation.
[info]angriest wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 06:48 am (UTC)
The opening bloodbath of the original film is one of the standout moments of 1980s childrens cinema to me. It's just so brutal. I wish I'd seen it in the cinema rather than on video, because the target audience must have been remarkably upset.
(no subject) - [info]jlundberg - Jun. 28th, 2007 07:28 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]angriest - Jun. 28th, 2007 07:42 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:06 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:07 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]jlundberg - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:55 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 09:49 am (UTC) Expand
[info]bluetyson wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 07:43 am (UTC)
Who cares about the other robots?

:)
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:07 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]bluetyson - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:12 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:14 am (UTC) Expand
[info]porphyre wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 06:24 am (UTC)
My boy did some of the VFX on that. Alas. Yorick. Etcetera.


*sighs*
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 06:42 am (UTC)
okay.

i'm going to get in my car. i'm going to drive to your place. i'm going to take you to the all night hardware store. i promise to smile on the way out this time.

*hug*
[info]porphyre wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 06:53 am (UTC)
Really, he's worked on a hell of a lot of things, so that wince response will be around a lot. I think so, at any rate. he's hideously hugely responsible for Gwen Stefani's What Are You Waiting For, which is one of my most favourite videos. Ah sigh.

Really what I want is chinese food, ice-cream, and for him to call me.
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:10 am (UTC) Expand
[info]catsparx wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 07:33 am (UTC)
we gonna see it on Sunday
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 08:07 am (UTC)
it rulz.
[info]catsparx wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 08:08 am (UTC)
apparently so.
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:09 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]catsparx - Jun. 28th, 2007 08:10 am (UTC) Expand
[info]hollowpoint wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 07:39 am (UTC)
You've pretty much summed up my attitude towards Transformers, there. I need to see that movie.

<3 Simon Furman.
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 08:09 am (UTC)
furman has done a really good job with the latest comic series, i think. i've been quite impressed. every transformer comic i'd read before that i'd known sucked--especially the dreamwave ones, which, while pretty, were awful. but his reimagining has been really on the money, for the most part.
[info]hollowpoint wrote:
Jul. 8th, 2007 12:23 pm (UTC)
Oh, heh... I thought you were talking about Furman's run on the original UK comics. I forgot he'd been working on material more recently. Looks like I have something else to check out.
[info]crookfactory wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 09:21 am (UTC)
"ch-ch-ch-ch-ch" (that btw was my lame attempt at the "transforming" noise ha!)

I think I prefer the 10 year old Ben Peek more than the 30 year old one.
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 09:50 am (UTC)
it's cause he's more violent, yes?
(no subject) - [info]crookfactory - Jun. 28th, 2007 11:55 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 12:00 pm (UTC) Expand
[info]detritus2099 wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 10:05 am (UTC)
Using Peter Cullen for Prime again was a beautiful touch too.
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 10:09 am (UTC)
yeah, that worked nicely.

your thundercats icon is so wrong right now :P
(no subject) - [info]detritus2099 - Jun. 28th, 2007 11:01 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 28th, 2007 11:09 am (UTC) Expand
[info]tigersmeleth_86 wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 03:43 pm (UTC)
*blinks* Benpeek gave a good movie review. Now I'm definitely excited to see the movie!
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 11:35 pm (UTC)
heh. it doe happen. i like a lot of movies, really. it's just most of the ones lately are kinda shit.
[info]timmydisorder wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 06:33 pm (UTC)
Jazz got plenty of characterisation; I mean, he has a sword. A sword.
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jun. 28th, 2007 11:36 pm (UTC)
and sword means giant penis and giant penis means gay and gay means him and bumblebee in a relationship!
(no subject) - [info]lucius_t - Jun. 29th, 2007 03:51 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]timmydisorder - Jun. 29th, 2007 05:04 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]lucius_t - Jun. 29th, 2007 05:18 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]timmydisorder - Jun. 29th, 2007 02:59 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 29th, 2007 05:49 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]lucius_t - Jun. 29th, 2007 03:17 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jun. 30th, 2007 06:24 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]timmydisorder - Jun. 29th, 2007 04:49 am (UTC) Expand
[info]vampyrichamster wrote:
Jul. 3rd, 2007 07:25 am (UTC)
Having neither the toys nor the comicbooks, and only dimly remembering Transformers TV/movie from my childhood, I still wanted to really watch this back when I saw the trailer in January.

Then I did go to see it, and I came out of the movie and I am still flailing around at the entire coolness of it.

Only upsetting point: I'm sure the Decepticons didn't get enough airtime.
[info]benpeek wrote:
Jul. 3rd, 2007 12:14 pm (UTC)
you totally need to read the comics for the decepticons. the latest ones have made megatron out to be seriously cool--the first book is called ESCALATION, i believe.

but yeah, i could have done with a bit more decepticon time. a bit more time for all the robots, actually.
(no subject) - [info]vampyrichamster - Jul. 3rd, 2007 07:55 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]benpeek - Jul. 3rd, 2007 11:36 pm (UTC) Expand
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