(Please note: the following blog was originally posted on my old blog
Why Yes I Am Quite Random, Why Do You Ask?, a blog I can no longer
access for some unknown reason. This is being put at the start of
each blog I'm uploading, in case anyone comes across the blog and
accuses me of plagiarism. This is explained further in my
introduction blog.
The following was originally posted on Friday, January 6th, 2012 at 7:52 pm )
This probably won't come as a shock to
anyone, but I am a Transformers fan. Now, while I know next to
nothing about Transformers: Prime, Animated, Armada or its sequel
series, I have seen every episode of the very first animated series
(commonly referred to as G1), Beast Wars and the sequel to that,
Beast Machines. Though, these days, most people will think of the
Michael Bay directed film trilogy (with a fourth installment being
planned).
Now, I enjoyed all three films, some
more than others, but when looking at the trilogy as a whole, there
are certain aspects they share that either never get fixed or choose
to hide for certain movies and pop back up when they please.
So, below is my list of the top ten
problems I have with the trilogy as a whole, starting with number
ten. Only rule here is I won't be singling out anything found in one
movie and one movie only, or at least not as its own entry. For
example, the idea that the American government could cover up the
battle from the first film with such a flimsy reason in Revenge Of
The Fallen. That is a problem with that movie and that movie alone.
Also, expect spoilers here and there.
- Blight of the Bumblebee
At the end of the first film, the
formally “mute” Bumblebee has his ability to speak restored,
meaning he no longer has to rely on soundbites from films, radio,
etc. All well and good, even if it's never made clear what cured him
(some say the Allspark, others say Ratchet's medical tool). For the
next two films, however, he's gone back to using soundbites. The
reason given in-universe (meaning the explanation through the
characters) is that he's “being cute”. Now, there is a comic
tie-in which suggests he had is vocal units damaged again but either
way, it's kinda cheap. You had him speak for a couple of lines in the
first movie, was it really that hard to keep Mark Ryan around? Yes,
he alternates between radio and his own voice in Dark Of The Moon but
that just makes it harder to tell.
- Where the frag is Frank?
The casting of Peter Cullen in the role
he originated was a smart move, as it gave the series credibility and
if I ever make a list of positives across the series, Peter's voicing
of Optimus Prime would make the list undisputed. Back when the first
film was in production, Frank Welker was considered to reprise his
role of Megatron. Ultimately, Bay felt his voice had aged too much
for what he wanted.
But... Frank would later go on to voice
Megatron for most of the game tie-ins and in the latest TV series,
Transformers: Prime. Yes, the series isn't connected to the films,
but clearly the love we have for Frank Welker (the untouchable when
it comes to voice acting. Seriously, Fred from Scooby-Doo, Nibbler
from Futurama, Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget, Thaddeus Plotz and
Ralph the Guard from Animaniacs and various animals and animal
noises amongst many others) is uncontested. And yes, Frank did voice several of the
smaller characters in the last two films, as well as reprising his
role as Soundwave (one of the positives, again, even if they forgot
to alter the voice like they did back in the original series, which
explains why Soundwave sounds like Dr. Claw) but if we can hear him
as Megatron in the games, we should have him in the films. So, he may
be around, but if you don't play the games, you're probably not going
to notice.
Doesn't help that Hugo Weaving (while awesome) doesn't really seem to get into it very much, it's almost like he's not all enthused about the project.
- Now you see them, now you don't
While this will contrast with what I'll
say later, this needs to be said. Between films, some characters that
don't die just vanish with no explanation. Now, this can be handwaved
by something like “Well, with the main character being at a
different place in his life, these characters are no longer needed”.
I'm not saying I want a gigantic reunion, but one or two lines of
dialogue. Really, is that too much to ask?
Take Leo Spitz, for example. OK, I
wasn't that big a fan of his character. Or a fan at all, but
considering how he was originally supposed to be in Dark Of The Moon,
would a line about what he was doing since the events of Revenge Of
The Fallen have killed the script writers?
But some of the worst offenders have to
be the Transformers themselves. Between Revenge Of The Fallen and
Dark Of The Moon, the characters of Jolt, The Doctor and possibly
half/three-quarters of the Constructicons vanish without a word of
their fate. Hell, Barricade is absent from the final confrontation of
the first film and doesn't reappear until Dark Of The Moon! And
briefly, at that! And I swear some characters disappear in the movies
that introduce them...
- And it ends... now!
Mostly applying to the second and third
films, the ending takes a long time rolling around. Revenge Of The
Fallen has a lot of, to quote the Nostalgia Critic, firing in the
desert. And slow motion shots just to drag it out. And I wasn't even
in the cinema for that one. I was for Dark Of The Moon, though, and
toward the end, when the Autobots weren't on screen, it really felt
like the movie was shuffling its feet to reach a conclusion.
- I see fields of gray...
While the Autobots are mostly in
bright, vibrant, distinguishable colours, the Decepticons could very
well be mistaken for each other when gathering for a group photo. In
the first movie, it's not so bad, as the ones that don't have colour
schemes have other distinguishing features (like Scorponok being...
well, a scorpion) but as the ranks grow higher, it gets harder and
harder to tell the Decepticons apart. Megatron, Starscream and
Soundwave largely escape this due to screentime and status but what
about guys like Sideways and Grindor (who I actually thought was a
resurrected Blackout at first. I mean, some of the underlings went
into the ocean to get Megatron back online, so why not all their
fallen brethren?) I mean, did everyone need to be gun-metal grey? And
don't give me the whole “striving for realism” schtick. It's a
series about giant alien robots, I can suspend my disbelief for more
colours on the palette.
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