Comments on: What Michael Bay can learn from Transformers: Prime

By: Ruby

Ruby — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:03:42 +0000

I agree – I hate fight scenes where I can’t tell what’s going on. The only time that is okay is when the whole point is not knowing what happened (as in Batman Begins, where I guess you’re supposed to feel the bad guys’ disorientation when Batman attacks). But even when it’s intentional, it’s not fun to watch.

By: ImRight

ImRight — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 17:19:42 +0000

You forgot the most important thing. In Transformers Prime you can actually understand what is going on in the action scenes, and the robots are not twice the size of the Empire State Building. If you like Michael Bay’s incoherent, extreme close up, blurry action scenes, have at it. You might as well watch rocks in a blender with one eye pressed against the glass.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 08:28:43 +0000

Great article because it makes the point that good writing is the engine that drives the movie,the animated movie,play etc and is the fuel that allows the actors to bring to life memorable characters while telling their story with energy and passion in well rounded performances! Good writing combined with good acting should leave you wanting to know more long after the screen credits have finished!

By: Workman

Workman — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:25:25 +0000

Agreed. I was excited about the first Transformers movie, even though Michael Bay was directing it and the then-inevitable sequels and the fact that it starred of all people Shia LaBeouf. And I liked the first Transformers movie, so much so that I actually have it on DVD. My problem with Michael Bay Transformers is largely with RoTF and DoTM, but your points do apply to the first as well and do agree, regardless.

Now, if there’s one thing I like about Transformers Prime it’s that unlike G1 Transformers where they freely, if with some difficulty and inconvenience, travel between Earth and Cybertron and pretty much everybody knows about them, it’s that in Prime they’re pretty much stuck on Earth and they’re still largely under the radar. While all of what you suggest would make Transformers 4 much better than the previous 3, if nothing else, since everybody knows about them in Bay-verse Transformers, in my opinion they should at least continue to leave Cybertron out of it.

By: Harry

Harry — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 14:24:03 +0000

Very good analysis and thoughtfully put!

By: Ruby T.

Ruby T. — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 03:11:13 +0000

Gracias, Andrea!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:48:25 +0000

Simplemente, ERES UN GENIO. Te felicito y ojala Michael Bay, por respeto a los fans de transformers, te haga caso.

By: Ruby T

Ruby T — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:24:38 +0000

Hi, Nevermore. I actually agree with the second half of your comment, and I wish Lennox and Epps had been the main human characters instead of Sam and friends. As for the first half of your comment, I don’t think I mentioned any of those things (Macguffin-hunting, etc.) as strengths of Transformers: Prime. Obviously the show has its flaws, some of which are due to the fact that it’s made for children. I never said Bay should copy everything that Transformers: Prime does; I was pretty specific about the particular ways he could improve.

By: Nevermore

Nevermore — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 08:29:17 +0000

Yeah, that’s what we need. Two and a half hour of pointless McGuffin-hunting that ultimately leads to nowhere, robots endlessly shooting lasers at each other with little effect, Optimus Prime being a distant boring flawless leader type who will turn even the most trivial observation into an Epic Heroic Speech Of Qutability, baffoonish villains who do a better job at tearing each other apart than the Autobots ever will, and an annoying girl getting herself in trouble because she will never learn a lesson ever.

Don’t get me wrong. The movies have a lot of flaws, but so does Transformers: Prime. Both also have elements that could be combined into something better. For example, if there’s anything the movies do RIGHT, it’s the interaction between the human military and the Autobots. Lennox and Epps are the human characters who are the least out of place in any of the three movies. Do I like how easy the human military can kill Decepticons in ROTF and DOTM after having so much trouble with just one of them in TF’07? No. Do I like how Lennox and Epps treat the Autobots as fellow soldiers? You betcha. The two also happen to be the most realistic, non-cartoony human characters in the Bay movies. (Also, while I agree that Glenn was annoying, I actually liked Maggie and think she should have been the female lead instead of Megan Fox or Rosie Whatsherface.)

By: Ruby T

Ruby T — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:41:03 +0000

You’re right, Brian – stupid mistake on my part. In my defense, I wrote this between 3 and 4 a.m., going on two days with no sleep. I’ll get it fixed.