[Movie] Transformers Movie (07-04-07)

Yeah, I have to say that the "lips" are shit. I know some Transformers like Megatron and Ultra Magnus had human facial featues in the toys and animated series. Other Transformers like Bumblebee had human features in the series but had a mouthguard as a toy. Optimus Prime however in all incarnations even in the crap (everything after Gen 1), always had a mouthguard. In the series it moved up and down or vibrated when he spoke and was cool. While as I obviously had to open myself up to many changes for this movie I think the way Prime's lips move here is a step in the wrong direction.

As for Peter Cullen's voice well you have to underatand that all ol' Pete has being doing for the past 10 years or so is voicing Eeyore in the countless Winnie The Pooh productions. That kind of torture on the vocal chords is bound to do some permanent damage and I don't think they've altered the voice at all

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Prime doesn't look THAT bad without the faceplate. Hell, the scene could've been taken completely out of context (remove the faceplate temporarily in an effort to humanize himself before Shia, who's clearly shitting his pants?). I do hope that he keeps the 'plate on, as it simply wouldn't look right without it.

As for his voice, who knows. It'll probably be changed or altered in the final bit, as he only slightly sounds like the Optimus we all know.

My hopes are still high: if anything, it'll be an exciting robot royal rumble.

YouTube Video

Frank Welker, the original Megatron VA, is in the game, but his voice has (obviously) aged quite a bit. Still pretty cool hearing it again.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Like it has been said before, I will go in expecting a good action robot flick, just not a Transformer movie. Other than the names, not much of what I have seen looks like what I remember from the series.

And yeah, the lips on Optimus are horrible.

I was speaking idiomatically.

What the man said.
Well, guess I expect something like new BSG compared to old BSG.
Only not quite as good as new BSG. And way more... Patriotic.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Genthar

Yeah, I have to say that the "lips" are shit. I know some Transformers like Megatron and Ultra Magnus had human facial featues in the toys and animated series. Other Transformers like Bumblebee had human features in the series but had a mouthguard as a toy. Optimus Prime however in all incarnations even in the crap (everything after Gen 1), always had a mouthguard. In the series it moved up and down or vibrated when he spoke and was cool. While as I obviously had to open myself up to many changes for this movie I think the way Prime's lips move here is a step in the wrong direction.

Well the old Japanese manga had Prime with a face after the faceplate gets cracked:


I liked the spot and have no problem with either Cullen's voice or the "lips" but then I don't have high expectations to begin with anyway since I wasn't a huge fan of the animated series.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Mudkips

Prime doesn't look THAT bad without the faceplate. Hell, the scene could've been taken completely out of context (remove the faceplate temporarily in an effort to humanize himself before Shia, who's clearly shitting his pants?). I do hope that he keeps the 'plate on, as it simply wouldn't look right without it.

As for his voice, who knows. It'll probably be changed or altered in the final bit, as he only slightly sounds like the Optimus we all know.

My hopes are still high: if anything, it'll be an exciting robot royal rumble.


Frank Welker, the original Megatron VA, is in the game, but his voice has (obviously) aged quite a bit. Still pretty cool hearing it again.

heh, I think that's the first time I ever saw Frank Welker. He looks kinda like Ray from the Ghostbusters cartoon in the flesh. Yeah, it was pretty damn cool hearing those voices again.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I think if the lips were a bit higher set, and reduced a little so that they didn't look like bad collagen plastic surgery, I could live with them......... On OTHER transformers that is

I honestly hope that Prime's faceplate stays. It's part of his character, and adds the air of mystery and deep hidden wisdom that he was classically renown for. I don't believe he needs lips to emote. There are numerous examples of characters with hidden faces being able to emote more than adequately. Furthermore, I don't think it's necessary to have an "unmasking" of a character in a film. I believe V for Vendetta demonstrated this perfectly.

On another note, I'm happy with what I've seen of Prime's transformation so far, and I can live with the alt-mode alt-mode (although the flames.... )

I was really happy when they announced that Welker would be voicing Megatron in the game. Also, from the looks of things, Activision seem to have a bit more leeway to make nods to the fans, so both Welker's and Cullen's voices should hopefully get through relatively unadulturated. Can't wait to see their other nods to the fans as well (like hidden characters, etc ).

I still wish that Welker could've voiced Megatron in the movie, and on one hand am disappointed at him not being chosen... Especially given that from the video on the game website he is obviously more than capable of performing the role with strength, range, and talent. On the other hand, Hugo Weaving is a good second-best, and I have faith that he will do a good job... Even if his choice was influenced by the unecessary need to have an A-list actor doing a voice-over

Originally Posted by Mudkips

Prime doesn't look THAT bad without the faceplate. Hell, the scene could've been taken completely out of context (remove the faceplate temporarily in an effort to humanize himself before Shia, who's clearly shitting his pants?). I do hope that he keeps the 'plate on, as it simply wouldn't look right without it.

As for his voice, who knows. It'll probably be changed or altered in the final bit, as he only slightly sounds like the Optimus we all know.

My hopes are still high: if anything, it'll be an exciting robot royal rumble.

If they decide to make that the only scene with temporary removal of the faceplate, I could live with it. I'd agree that it makes sense and would fit Prime's character of showing care for the needs of other sentient beings.

However, there was a viewing some weeks ago of 30 minutes of footage from the movie to select press representatives, and all reports discussed a separate scene where Prime was not in "battle-mode" and yet still had his faceplate removed.

Prime removing his faceplate as a temporary attempt to bridge an initial gap and to try to seem less imposing to an obviously distressed human makes sense, and I fully agree with. However, Prime with his faceplate down for no other reason than to "emote" in all non-battle scenes I think detracts from his character. Prime is a leader, and a leader in his position should always be battle-ready. For him to lower his guard at any time would need to be for a significant event or reason... or at least that's how I feel

As for the voice, I hope that you're right. I guess it is just a leak afterall, so there may be a chance (however small) for some slight adjustment.... and it's rumoured that this was purposely "leaked" by the film-makers to get some feedback... If so, let's hope they got it

Anyway, I definitely agree that it'll be a great film to see at the cinema. Will I be there on opening night? Well, let's not kid ourselves, hell yes But will I see it multiple times at the cinema? That depends on how much I like the movie (I haven't gone for multiple cinema viewings for a 4 years... I hoping that his movie will be the one that drives me to that length )

Most amazing jew boots

In Hollywood, if you can get an A-Lister onto your project, you stand a MUCH greater chance of getting that movie made with some nice financial support from producers and other sources. While Hugo's not as big as say, Brad Pitt or hell, even Keanu Reeves, his roles as Agent Smith and that Elf guy from LOTR pushed him into the public eye enough.

This is probably why shitty movies like the 'Ocean's' keep getting made.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Simo

Well the old Japanese manga had Prime with a face after the faceplate gets cracked:

My God!! I think thats just something you're never supposed to see, like Judge Dredd's face... ...And, they ruined the Judge Dredd film by showing his face.

I read when the first production art was leaked before Christmas that the movie Megatron's faceplates retracted when not in "battle-mode". Ass mentioned here earlier, maybe they'll do the same from Prime?

Most amazing jew boots

I just hope the don't screw with the original too much. I'm no purist or anything I just like the way it was done before and I want to see it redone right.


Maybe that does make me a purist...

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Genthar

I read when the first production art was leaked before Christmas that the movie Megatron's faceplates retracted when not in "battle-mode". Ass mentioned here earlier, maybe they'll do the same from Prime?

Yep, pretty much.


Here was the Prime artwork:


I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Simo

Yep, pretty much.

The head design of Megatron has been changed slightly since that image, thanks to efforts of Don Murphy (who also fought to get us Cullen's voice for Prime). What you see as "Battle-mode" in that picture is now his "Standard Mode".

I've taken some shots from the prequel comic that show what Megatron's new Battle-Mode looks like. I think it's a definite improvement ^__^




What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Simo

Here was the Prime artwork:

I'm not too happy about this. He looks like a mechanical monkey.

FELIPE NO

I just took a glimpse of the tv spot, and I personally have no problem with the face guard removed. Optimus in the old Beast Wars cartoons would have a moving mouth when he talked, and the face guard would only come on when he was fighting. The point being, Optimus was still Optimus, and he was just fine on that show.

The trailer didn't have the best angle either, so I see no reason to complain so much about it. I did find his voice to be very strange though, and have no idea why they did that. It's true that Cullen sounds a bit older now, but my goodness is that the best sound editing they can do with their enormous budget?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Newbie1234

I just took a glimpse of the tv spot, and I personally have no problem with the face guard removed. Optimus in the old Beast Wars cartoons would have a moving mouth when he talked, and the face guard would only come on when he was fighting. The point being, Optimus was still Optimus, and he was just fine on that show.

To be fair, the Beast Wars version wasn't actually Optimus Prime It was Optimus Primal who was a transformer who pretty much worshiped Prime's way of leadership and so tried to model himself off Prime as much as possible.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by DukeBox

To be fair, the Beast Wars version wasn't actually Optimus Prime It was Optimus Primal who was a transformer who pretty much worshiped Prime's way of leadership and so tried to model himself off Prime as much as possible.

I swear the Beast Wars plot made absolutely no sense to me. :/

I didn't even see the difference between the two for a long time..

How ya doing, buddy?

Slight bump to this thread with some new CG shots of the Autobots and Decepticons:








High Resolution versions available HERE

There's also supposed to be a new trailer attached with POTC3: At World's End when it opens May 25th. Here's the teaser poster also:


Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Shonos

I swear the Beast Wars plot made absolutely no sense to me. :/

I didn't even see the difference between the two for a long time..

It made little sense to me as well,but it was ok.I like how in the end

Spoiler:

it was really earth of the past they were on

but what happened after that just sucked bug time.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Some new images from the film have cropped up online today:
















I was speaking idiomatically.

New exclusive trailer at Yahoo!
here

The effects and action look awesome. I hope they don't fuck up on story like Spider-Man 3 or something.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Oh, great. The sound effect when they transform are right now.
Have to change my pants >=(

FELIPE NO

That does look rather good doesn't it? I hope that the story doesn't disappoint.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Requesting downloadable 1080p version of the new trailer.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Soldier

Requesting downloadable 1080p version of the new trailer.

I'll seconded that request

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Hopefully, someday I'll have the opportunity to kick Michael Bay in the balls and scalp him. The dude needs a haircut.

Why are the words "a Michael Bay film" above the title on the movie poster... as though Michael Bay is a bigger than Transformers itself? Bay is an arrogant prick who thinks he makes good movies cause retards pay out the nose for his shitty work. The only decent thing he's ever done was the Aaron Burr milk commercial.

I've started to re-watch the original series so I can see exactly how far he's missed the mark. What's sad though is the fact that the movie will make $100M+ opening weekend just cause it's a summer blockbuster. And because of this, Michael Bay will think he's done justice to the intellectual property.

The 1986 flick had an all-star cast of voice actors including Orson Welles, but you certainly didn't see a movie poster that read, "Orson Welles in, Transformers the Movie" I hate seeing directors or actors thinking they're bigger than the movies that they work on.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.