A _Transformers_ movie without the human element is EXACTLY what I've been wanting to see. Especially for a series of movies about the war on Cybertron.
I think you guys missed the major story element of Questioning Authority and how blind faith damages us in the long term. Being a level of not completely trusting but willing to trust is a core element of the story that I kinda feel like you guys missed. It also sounds more like you both weren’t completely in the best mindset to watch this, I’d recommend going and checking it again as you’re likely to pick up a lot more that you probably missed.
We fans have been asking for a Transformers movie with no humans for a long time, so you guys not liking the fact that there were no humans might be a very unpopular opinion. I don't need human characters to connect with them. Especially if the robot characters already feel human as is,
I think for me, it’s a point of balance. Like, I enjoyed this movie outside of a few details. But I also love seeing humans alongside the Transformers, as they can make for some interesting similarities and contrasts. As Much flack as Bay’s later entries get, The discussion the Autobots have in the first one about Bumblebee and the humans, where Optimus calls out “Were we so different?” begs for both “show me that” and “show me your wisdom toward humanity that came from that,” and both can make great stories. Plus…imo, the tagline of “Robots in Disguise” really only works when they are in a situation where they need to actually hide….
Iroincally had the exact opposite experience to you guys on this one. All of the more straightforward dramatic story beats really worked for me, and the humor (Keegan Michael Key especially) only served to drag the film down. I really respect how this movie feels like it was made by someone with a genuine affection for Transformers, and who had a story that they deeply wanted to tell with this property.
100% agree. Long time fan, and I loved the world building of cybertron. I love the mythology behind the other primes and how cybertron was created as well as a quintisson war. The way they built out the deception logo, and how Megatron distrust all primes because of Sentinel. It was literally one of the best movies to an IP I've seen in a while.
I'm going to say you guys missed a lot of the matters for characterization. Optimus covers the need for the no violence throughout the movie. SPOILERS in the next paragraph Optimus chooses to avoid conflict with the guards at the start, doesn't fight his way through the Iacon 5000, Theres more but I don't want to nitpick too much. As an autistic person I've always related to Optimus Prime because in (nearly) every depiction, he is the gentle giant, the person who has to choose between hard issues. In the comics its about choosing cybertron and the beauty of life on earth. In this he has that conflict shown through Megatron, so when he finally fights in the climax, its his last option. What makes this movie my favourite this year is that it shows why people fight. Do they fight to protect, do they fight for revenge, do they fight to rule? EDIT: I just wanted to add about the human element. So many people in the past have felt like Transformers is about big robots going smashy smashy and leave the human element to the humans (damn it Michael Bay). The thing is, there is a beauty in having these robot characters, learning about their society. It's one of the reasons why I love using them as anolgies when I'm advocating for autism or social coaching my students.
Yeah, it's true that Optimus Prime tries to avoid violence. Spoiler free- In the movie, there's a phrase that goes like, "We need to do something, but WE NEED TO FIGHT TO DO IT." That's probably why Alan suggested that even Optimus results to violence like everyone else... To your point, though... this movie shows WHYYYY Optimus is fighting, and that's really important, and I think it actually justifies his fighting. 👍
@@Sobbleboy27 (SPOILERS) Not only that, there's a strong distinction of fighting between Optimus and Megatron. Optimus fights to reform Cybertron but never to the point of killing (unless its soldiers with no names if we want to be mega-nitpicky), Megatron fights to tear it all down cuz of a lie, no matter who dies in the destruction, innocent or otherwise.
@@Sobbleboy27 and @speesstar235, you guys gotta read the transformers comics. Both the idw (more than meets the eye/chaos theory) and the new skybound stuff. It's Incredible
I'm a lifelong Transformers fan so admittedly I have a bias but I have to disagree with a lot of your points. Specifically the "default resort to violence" point. There was a scene in the middle of the movie where they were told that they shouldn't stay and fight the grunts but to get back to Iacon to reveal the truth. Orion's plan is all about revealing the truth and trusting his fellow cybertronians will believe them and start to rebuild Cybertron. Orion also tries to talk to Starscream and reason with him before D16 resorted to violence, which Orion visibly took issue with and even tried to tell him to stop. I think there's more to this story and characters than meets the eye (sorry not sorry)
Also, if you haven't seen it go watch Peter Cullen talk about how his brother inspired the essence of Optimus Prime and what it means to be a leader. That story very much holds the essence of who Optimus Prime is for me and we have yet to really see that on the big screen. Cinematic Optimus is kind of a dick. Maybe one day we'll get that version that isn't punch first and ask questions later.
Honestly, I'm glad you guys didn't really like the movie & were brave enough to post your opinions online. I personally loved the film, but having a vastly different opinion to compare it to is exactly what I needed to solidify what worked and what didn't work for me personally.
@@LucarioShironai don’t think they said that actually. They implied that they COULD have left and not missed anything relating to plot. The ones that left throughout the movie were the kids
See, I loved this movie (so did my kid) because there was no human element. I grew up watching Beast Wars, and it was as my intro into the franchise. No humans in those seasons. I watch the "newer" seasons with my kid and I check out during the human scenes and perk up during the fights. That was always my issue with the live action movies too, I found the humans boring and want to focus on robot battles. So this was perfect for me lol.
Ok y'all need to watch transformers prime. It's my favorite transformers series and I liked this movie a lot bc they pulled a lot of inspiration from prime. Also, for everyone arguing about weather humans should or shouldn't be in the show, tfp is the perfect mix bc you get both the bots doing solo stuff & being the main characters, and also learning important things from the humans - and the humans are actually useful and engaging! They do more than just stand around in the background!
See wanting humans is the first red flag. My audience was whooping and hollering the whole time. But i respect your opinions. To you guys wasn’t the story of Cybertron living under a huge lie and the way different characters reacting to the truth in the least bit interesting to you? You kept bringing up the story not being well written but you have a collapsing friendship, a wildly manipulated class system between Cybertronians, and a civilization being ruled by a lying demigod who betrayed the previous regime to attain power. There’s so much to sink your teeth in to. And it all pays off in some fashion. What more can you want?
We want it to be executed better than it was. All of those elements are there... but the way the movie incorporated them were not always good. Especially the collapsing friendship. The end of this movie was not well executed in terms of that. It was straight up terrible.
@@Sobbleboy27agree to disagree, could they have let D-16’s flip to Megatron marinate a bit longer? yeah sure but other than that it made sense when it happened and the way they executed it. Orion made a choice to put his own life over D-16’s revenge against Sentinel Prime and D-16 resented him for it but not before he for a split second mourned the death of their friendship. Was beautiful to me.
@@Sobbleboy27 Not really. It made sense. Megatron is a evil villain first and foremost, not a misunderstood nor tragic villain. Megatron is always a tyrant, and that was the moment he became one.
It is interesting honestly to hear that you two arent as big on transformers without humans. I look at this and go "yes that is exaxtly what i have been waiting for, i want a movie where transgormers are the main characters not the side characters, the word transformers is in the title i want them to be front and center
It's incredible to me that this video just proves that there are people going into a movie about certain characters or a franchise and all they care about is the human... I thought some reviews complaining about not enough Human focus on Sonic 2 was dumb, but this takes up to a whole another level
The division between Orion and D16 opened wounds I've been trying to cope with for years 😢 I am a 34-year-old woman and a couple of years ago I had my heart completely shattered and broken for the first time in my life when my uncle and his family completely disconnected themselves from my family. It was over inheritance and money, and it went from watching movies and playing games together to anger and threats overnight. The flashback at the end of Transformers One that shows the two as friends (literally right after they have hurt each other) broke me. This film is so important to me and for anyone who has suffered that same pain. I love it so much
I love you guys; you guys give great therapeutic advice, especially Johnathan. But I can't agree with what you said about Transformers One. This version of Optimus is the one we've been missing for years: the Optimistic Leader who gives people second chances.
After watching this movie, I am *seriously* hoping you'll do a deep dive into d-16/megatron's mind on your main channel in a 'villian therapy' episode. Please consider it one day, I beg you. Because he was my favourite character of the movie, and seeing him changing from 'appease the people in authority' and slowly start asserting himself, and showing a deep seated anger he's clearly got buried under the surface was so fascinating and made me cheer for him.
Genuinely asking here, did you guys even watch this movie? Did you guys go in expecting this film to be terrible, and using nitpicks to satify a confirmation bias against this film? Seriously, I want to know, because your criticisms are sooo off the mark. First, this movie isn't nearly as violent as any other Transformers production. Even Bumblebee and 1986 animated film had way more violence and action sequences as this one, where it's only real fight sequence is in the 3rd act. And it definitely wasn't confusing or difficult to follow. Transformers One is a more character driven story, and fleshed out it's main cast. I don't understand how you got the impression that the characterization was "thin." They had clear motivations, the friendship between Orion Pax and D-16 was compelling. The plot wasn't really simplistic either, again, it's more character-driven. It's arguably one of the best Transformers films ever released.
The thing about Transformers is that *they* themselves are the human element. It's part of why so many fans of the franchise didn't like the Bay movies: most Transformers there feel like standard Kaijus rather than characters or even just bit characters (even the humans don't interact with them as people Bumblebee is more like Witwicky's pet than his friend like it should have been). There have been attempts to make them more "alien" but they never last, in the end TFs end up treated like people with relatively normal want and needs, just filtered by them being mechanical rather than organic. They are a way to see ourselves from an external point of view, they're like us but also unlike us enough to make the similarities pop. IIRC the literary term is "estrangement", one classic example is Gulliver meeting a version of his own society made of small men and another made of giants. Tough frankly a lot might be more due to the producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura than Bay as even in Rise of The Beast several characters just don't talk, even characters like Cheetor, a character that among other traits isn't exactly the type to just shut up.
I'm with ya there. They want human elements? it's sitting right in front of their faces! It's called writing an actual character and that was my problem with the Bayformers movies a good number of Cybertronians feel like cookie cutters and the humans characters who did appear are mostly unlikable.
I was kinda hoping this movie could be another decent analysis video on the characters and their motivations, ideals and such. But seems like at least on the first watch, you were unable to capture a lot of that, so that's a bit of a shame but ah well. I'm sure people more familiar with the franchise would be able to do it so eh. I will just say as much I love this movie as a whole, pacing is definitely the movie's biggest issue with how motivations of certain characters (or I suppose ONE character in particular) shift a bit too quickly. People say the movie length is perfect, I kinda want just a bit more so these sort of things can be more fleshed out or expanded or just feel less rushed, I don't know. That's the only gripe I have but on whole, characters, performances, style, action, it's decent enough. Definitely could be better.
Huh...well I'm feeling rather sad about this one. I guess I was really hoping you guys would be able to catch one the more complex aspects of the movie and not let the fact that it's a fun robot flick bog it down. Like, I can see you noticed the concept of Idealism Vs Extremism within a classist system with Orion and D-16, It's just...Idk, I guess I was hoping for something else. 2:18 That's actually What Orion Pax is trying to accomplish, he doesn't want to just commit violence, he want proper justice, which is something deeply rooted in his character "Be Strong enough to be gentle". and he doesn't wan to forgive the bad guy, he literally says "We cannot let this new era start with an execution" which is a rather poignant line to keep in mind. Even in the final battle he feels different than how Bay Optimus eventually became, he felt less brutal and more focused on stopping the violence through non-fatal means. Yes, even when he throws a mini-missile at Megatron, (you'd be surprised how durable cybertronian's actually are supposed to be). This is displayed more clearly when he aims his axe and Megatron's cannon rather than his body. And you say there's no human element in this movie but...there is? in the form of the Cybertronians, like that's What transformers has been recent "What if our own society were big robots" Like, Is it really that hard to relate to a character just because they turn into a tank? Seeing that first meeting with Orion and D-16 right after the final battle felt like this emotional gut-punch for me Also tbh, if they DID put the more Complex political theming that the comic does, I'm not sure if it would have done as well. I think right now having TF One tell a more simplistic Origin story is it's biggest advantage. I mean, not everyone has to like it, I get that. And I can see you guys aren't trying to play it down, so I appreciate it.
As a transformer hater I absolutely loved this movie. I never liked the human aspect of the series and it was my first time being interested in the lore of transformers. I don't agree thar the movie is simplistic, I think the first act most of all suffers a little bit of over exposition but the relationship of the characters and the rift between optimus and megatron was very interesting to watch. I think they could have leaned a bit more on how huge of an influence Sentinel Prime had on D-16 to make his anger more justifiable, but the subtext was there. I think what I like the most was watching optimus learn responsibility beyond just being optimistic. He's very inconsequential in the first half of the movie, which made him more entertaining to watch than he would be if he'd just been the voice of reason perfect optimus prime from the start
Even we Transformers fan usually don't like the human aspect either. If it's good like in Transformers Prime, we'll take it. But we watch Transformers for the Transformers. We don't really care about the humans. Two of my friends are Transformers haters, and even them had to admit it was a great movie.
TFO was a great movie for those of us who loved the series growing up and for those who enjoyed Prime. The call backs and references were for us while keeping a good story for kids. I honestly think you were too harsh on it. We don't watch Transformers for the humans, we watch it for the robots.
I walked away feeling like Megatron isn’t evil, he’s just disappointed, let down, and betrayed. He totally misunderstands and miscalculates the truth of the situation and believes he needs to tear civilization apart to repair it. Megatron, like many people we call evil, wants reasonable things (to not be betrayed and used by the people who are supposed to protect him), and he’s drawn the wrong conclusions about how to fix things. G1 Megatron was introduced to us as hungry for power and domination. Transformers One Megatron doesn’t give us that guy.
Orion had faith in the system, that it could be set right. D-16 TRUSTED the system, completely and absolutely. When he learned that the system was built to oppress him he became radicalized.
@@exceedcharge1 Precisely. G1 Megatron was simply power hungry. That’s not the same as TF One Megatron, who isn’t classically evil but, as you said, radicalized. This wasn’t so much an origin story as it was a reboot.
Saw it this weekend. Enjoyed it immensely. Disagree with some of the points in the review, but do agree the plot was a bit simplistic. However, the characterizations, visuals, and humor made up for that. 8/10 for me.
I sorta agreed with you two here. The first 30 minutes wasn't winning me over. It was a bit too goofy. Once that villain twist happens that makes Megatron start going bad, then I was more hooked. I thought the character arcs for Optimus Primus and Megatron were both pretty cool and there were a few lol moments. I did think the movie was too similar to X-Men: First Class and Bumblebee was turned into a punchline too much. I would rank Rise of the Beasts and Bumblebee above this.
I have never been a big fan of Transformers but this movie got me invested in the characters more than anything I have watched. It had an a effective story for turning Optimus and Megatron into enemies and set a solid foundation for what I assume will be a trilogy of films. I’m on board to see what else they’ve got. Great review!
Brian Tyree henry also plays Officer Jefferson Davis aka Miles Morales' dad in the Spiderverse films. For a movie based off of an 80's animated toy commercial, Transformers One may very well be the best Transformers movie. Dare I say even better then the original 80's movie.
@@directorforplastic7929 They might have referenced it there, but it is from 80s-90s series. Do a UA-cam search for TMNT Fight Foot Soldiers for the 1st Time.
SPOILERS! I actually wished you guys delved more into the character development problems I was struggling with for the movie. I love the core of the ideas for why megatron becomes bad, and I really did feel for the bots when they learned about sentinels plot, but I think the movie makes way to many huge leaps with megatron becoming violent right off the bat, which does concern me with the violence angle you brought (and that yeah, scarlet joahansons character also solved all her problems with violence) and I can kinda accept megatrons turn in the same way I see fans accepting anakins turn in revenge of the sith, but when megs says he needs to kill sentinels followers in the climax, I think it is forced writing trying to get us to the point rather than really developing it naturally, which is a shame cause unlike other transformers movies which can feel very manipulative in their emotional appeal, I really felt like this was a sincere effort to tell this story that they ended up having to rush through in a 100 minute movie. Which I don’t even know is a good excuse, cause they coulda cut down on the first half’s focus on comedy and gotten us to the dramatics faster, then I think we woulda had more time to develop Megatron decent. Like I think they needed to spend more time with the robots who become the decepticons (the high guard) and pick up the violence policy from them, cause otherwise, it looks like the movies saying the only reason megatron wasn’t even is because no one had handed him a gun yet, which is a scary message I can’t go with.
I would love to hear more elaborated upon the subject of Simplistic stories from Alan. Could you describe it a tad more on what you mean by that? 🤔 (I’ll be taking notes 😇)
Resorting to violence- you guys know this series is, historically, about a civil war, right? It feels like complaining about the violence in star wars. An animated version of transformers- transformers has always been animated, it’s the live action movies that are aberrations.
No comment about the movie b/c I haven’t seen it yet. But I did want to tell this particular corner of UA-cam that I visited Chicago in early 2002 and while there saw a performance of Second City’s JV squad company (can’t remember the proper name) because that is what I could get a ticket for. And it was perhaps fortunate that I couldn’t get a ticket for the main company because Kegan Michael Key was in the cast!! And I didn’t figure out/remember that this really famous man from the TV was in the show that I saw. I guess he wasn’t in that particular company for long before being promoted to the main cast. I lost the program and any sort of souvenir of the show years and years ago & think I only put it together when KMK did or said something- probably paired with a movement or facial expression- that reminded me of something he said or did at SC when I saw the performance. THEN I mulled it over for several weeks then had my BF google whether he was in SC (I have this weird aversion to googling people from the TV- like it’s creepy and people will be able to tell and know I’M creepy) and what the timeline was and BINGO BANGO BONGO- it all lined up.
yk what that's a fair rating and perspective because i've been a transformers fan my entire life and absolutely love this franchise to death and i would've never been able to actually see it in the light of someone who doesn't care much for transformers so yeah that's pretty fair rating and it definitely is a simple kids movie but yk dr jonathan's right for it being purely a transformers fans cup of tea also as for what i wanna hear is both of your thoughts on D-16's change. what did alan not like/ did like about it and what jonathan's opinion is as to D-16's transformation emotionally/mentally? Was it justified enough?
I was suprised to see a video of a movie that just come out. Thinking you would wait until when you got video on it. But to bad you did´t feel for the depth of this movie. I thought it was a really well made movie with insigt on politics, class war among other things. Megatro and Optimus viewpoints felt so real and that they both were right. In lots of parts in history Megatron would be seen or is seen as a war hero liberating the opressed people. It´s diffrent yet uses the lore behind Optimus and Megatron as how they were before the big Cybertron war. Yes it´s a lot of action I agree, easier to follow than some but yes there were a few parts it was hard but then again some of them were suppose to be hard to track, I could see every character moving. I think the humor was on good level, not too much. I love Bumblebee so was afraid he would be like Donkey from Shrek but no he had his serious moments and parts where he was quiet. WOW I always am sad I have to praise when a movie can be quiet and calm. Now this is a very PG-13 animated movie I have to say based on the language. Did´t see it in English but I know they said "Badassatron" quite a few times and that counts as a swear. It´s also brutal with Megatron wishing to kill and murder, not the word destroy he said kill quite a few times. Now sure tropes I don´t like. "Record the bad guy saying they are evil". Even if it makes sense with them being robots but still and the obvious pretty boy had something up his slevees. But I love the lead up, it was tragic if they make Two and Three I am sure they will be much darker becuse things will not go well when the Transformers have to fight. I felt the characters held this movie togheter.
I don't know. I loved that it didn't have shaky cam.. Aunt, it was complex and that the combat made sense for a alien and somewhat cybernetic environment.. And I guess if you've played high action video games then I guess the combat makes a lot more sense. But if you're not used to extremely high paced action, then I guess it can get confusing..
I feel like a lot of the issues with the movie come from the shorter runtime, especially in terms of the character development, but i think the worldbuilding and overarching ideas of the film were really well executed. Overall, I really liked the movie and even though the character arcs were all over the place the performances came through to represent the characters well.
For a no spoiler review, um big spoiler almost right off the bat! Was there violence? Yes but to say it was their default without trying to reason it out, did we watch the same movie? Orion tried so hard to stop D-16 but when someone gets the point that D-16 was, there is no reasoning. I cried when I saw the exact moment D-16 became a Megatron as I felt Orion's heartbreak. Losing a best friend over something that you felt you should have been able to Save them from, I've been there. These robots were lied to from birth by a physcotic, egomaniacal narcissist and you think it was shallow? First time I have truly disagreed with you and maybe you should talk to someone who has lost their best friend over lies and couldn't forgive.
I feel them thinking the robots resorting to violence first was when they were fighting unnamed grunts and such. I've interacted with someone thinking it was hypocritical of Optimus telling Megatron not to resort to fighting when he himself fought prior and I was thinking "when was that a thing?", then I presumed they were thinking of all the numerous soldiers they beat up and shot at before that point.
Me sad...you didn't like it? I LOVED it! Though....there were some things in the film that could have been done better. BUT. I am a HUGE Transformers fan....well, maybe not HUGE but I have loved the series since I was a kid though the 1986 film....I haven't watched it since it came out in theaters aaaaaaall those years ago. Will NEVER watch it again. This film.....I can't even tell you how many times I've watched it now. I've sooooooo thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm curious on your 'therapeutic' reaction to it and a 'deeper' dive into the characters. I'm also hoping that Hasbro or Paramount releases more of the cut scenes as that might help flesh out some elements of the story that did feel like they were lacking.
I hope you actually do a Cinema Therapy episode on this movie, after rewatching it, because I feel like you missed a lot of what it was actually about. I know this is a spoiler free review so maybe you just weren’t talking about some of the maybe spoiler-ish parts of it, but it still feels you you either missed them or didn’t get them.
I’m a 50 year old fan. The movie is an hour and 45 minutes long. This first hour 35 minutes was childish good. The last 10 minutes was great. 1986 movie is still the best.
I'm glad Jono and I are on the same page about the best Transformers movies being just Bay Transformers 1 and Bumblebee, makes me feel intellectual tbh. Lol
Ok. I cant talk as a father, I am just an uncle but..this film AINT that violent. I mean, yes,, it has that scene you mention and some others but..thats pretty average? Is no different from stuff we saw while growing up. How old are your kids? Out of curiosity.
Yeah, this movie wasn't that violent. Although there were two scenes were I did feel like the movie went from PG to PG-13. (Spoilers) When Megatron shoots Optimus, tearing him apart, and when Megatron rips Sentinel in half. Other than that, it was pretty tame.
Honestly jonathan decker, i would love to hear you elaborate more on what you mean exactly by sinplistic. Just saying sinplistic equals bad doesnt really say much
Between Beetlejuice, the Mario movie and this, i have realized we don't need movie reviewers. Just watch what you want and if you like it, that's what counts.
Nah, I need reviewers so I don’t waste my money/time. I don’t always agree with the reviewers, but after enough reviews I can get a sense of where our tastes agree and differ. Some things I’m gonna go see regardless (Fast & Furious franchise), but reviewers help me decide when I’m not sure.
My biggest confusion why they made bumblebee closer to Optimus' age. Other gripes are that i hoped they made animation more like the opening of Bumblebee movie or the War for Cybertron games which i hope that it will transition to later to darker more mature storyline for older audiences such as later tweens teens as the director said the characters will slowly get closer to their traits in the previous movies.
Honestly thought this was easily the best transformers movie I've hated all the Michael Bay movies and Rise of the Beasts, Bumblebee was OK but not great. I was glad to have no humans they are the weakest part of all the films.
Alan telling me that *Optimus Prime* is just defaulting to violence to solve his problems in this movie, tells me that the people in charge of this movie entirely missed the point of his character. I think that's all I needed to know that I wouldn't want to see this movie, unfortunately...
@@bfgkaikai I might be misreading his comment at the beginning that the characters tend to jump to violence as the default solution then, but still, Optimus Prime in particular works when he’s a paragon.
The thing is, if he's saying Optimus in this movie just defaults to violence to solve his problems, then he's simply incorrect. Some of characters do seek violence and head straight for it. Optimus is not one of them.
@OptimusNiaa Optimus explicitly says in the actual script that, "I have a plan, but we will need to fight to do it." Granted, he has a good reason for it.
I was born in 83 and grew up watching the original G1 Transformers cartoons and toys. I enjoyed the early live action Transformers movies and Bumblebee solo movie. The last couple movies sucked. I took my son to see Transformers One last weekend. In my opinion, the plot was fine for a new take on the origin story. The animation was excellent. The whole transformers that can't transform and are forced into slave labor was a very odd choice. The fight sequences were a bit jarring at times. Overall the movie was ok for me. My son is 13 and he loved this movie and has seen the live action movies as well as the original 86 movie. As Jonno said the story is simplistic. I feel like they were trying to rush a new origin movie out in time for the 40th anniversary of Transformers and didn't spend enough time building the plot and characters.
I think us true transformers fans want no humans because we're tired of companies making humans. The focus when the entire point is to watch a movie about giant robots smashing each other.. with also emotional themes thrown in there for good measure.
I'm a big Transformers Fan and basically agree on all your points. Kind of disappointing for me. Bumblebee is still the closest we've gotten to a good Transformers movie for me. And I'm not sure what's worse. A Bumblebee that can't speak, or a Bumblebee that can't shut up.
Honestly, I'm mega bored of voiceless Bumblebee. I don't hate what they've done thus far with him having no voice, but I honestly rather have him talk. They only time I didn't like it when he talked was in The Last Knight out of nowhere, but that movie is a whole mess in many ways so it doesn't have a lot of bearing on it.
I went to the early access event. The visuals were great but I was disappointed. They oversimplified some characters motivations and I was upset at what seemed like to me at the times certain characters being automatically be able to do certain things or possess certain "weapons". Then I did something I didn't think I would do. I saw it again. This movie happened to have a 4DX showing and I started doing 4DX reviews this year. I ended up liking the story more. Not because of the 4DX but because it made more sense. Since I was familiar with the plot I was able to see details I missed. Some were just easter eggs I missed but one in particular was important. The main problem with this movie is its fast pace. The movie is about an hour and 45 minutes long but the stuff so much in it visually and quickly. There was one scene in particular that was brief but alluded to what would be "bestowed" on certain robots from "other" robots that were all displayed in one scene holding their weapons. If you blinked you might miss it. The one thing I would say about this video that is not true is that you will not miss anything if you leave at certain points and come back. After catching that one detail I enjoyed the movie more and started theorizing about the possibilities of seeing this concept in future movies and possibly video games. Remember Hasbro is in charge of this and I would not be surprised if they will incorporate this with their toys if they haven't already. I still had some issues with the movie like certain plot points and the use of certain terminology associated with Earth, like "born". Different people will have various reactions to this movie.
I'll tackle some of your points. (Spoilers ahead) "They oversimplified some characters motivations and I was upset at what seemed like to me at the times certain characters being automatically be able to do certain things or possess certain 'weapons.'" I disagree. I think they got the characters fairly right. I've been a longtime Transformers fan and the characters felt in line with how they usually do. Optimus felt like Optimus, Bee felt like Bee. Sentinel definitely felt like Sentinel. Starscream. was the typical Starscream. I did feel like Megatron's turn was too sudden, but I think that might be the point. He felt so betrayed that it pushed him over the edge that intensely. Made him sympathetic, but still clearly evil, which is exactly who Megatron is. Using Earth terminology is unavoidable, I think. Remember this movie is still for kids. Use a lot of made up terms and a lot of people, adults included, will struggle at understanding certain concepts. You already have sparks, transformation cogs, Matrix of Leadership, Primus, the Primes, energon, the Quintessons, etc. I had no problem getting all that because I'm a Transformers fan, but this is all new stuff for the casual audience. I feel like they don't need more alien terminology sprinkled in. Why use another term for "born" when they pretty much ARE born. Transformers is first and foremost a toy brand, so you can bet they already made toys of it. Hell, they made them months ago. They announced a Transformers game like two years ago and they haven't showed anything else since then. They already made toys of that game.
I watched it a few hours ago... The cinematography and animation for this movie were amazing... but I weirdly had the exact same opinion as Alan. I thought the characters were very surface level and had no way that I could connect with them... mostly because the writing for this movie is surface level. It's amazing how many random, "cut to black... open the screen on a new setting" transitions there were. The story was so complex, but the plot was so simple and convenient. There are also key lines of the story that are written with 5 word phrases... they are supposed to encompass the entire complex story and make an impact. I thought those lines didn't work and just sounded cheesy and unimpactful. I also hated the violence. 😒 I don't like violet movies, so I get excited when I see PG movies in theaters, since that means they won't have violence... *internal screaming and disappointment*😑😑😑😑😑 Transformers One was more violent than A Quiet Place and I Am Legend. There are so many dismembered robots in the movie, and even gore in the form of oil spatters that set me off. I legit wanted to walk out of the theater because of the violence. But I stuck through it... only to see the stupidest character development ever in the last 15 minutes of the film. Terrible character writing. Terrible. 4/10, liked the animation and not much else. Disliked the story, plot, and characters.
Mate, don't watch anything Transformers ever again. You'll hate it. Even back in the original cartoon, it was pretty violent. Hell, when the animated movie came out in 86, one of the first things they did was massacre an entire ship of Transformers, one getting shot point-blank right in the face, with a cannon. There's not a lot of Transformers media that doesn't include violence, which is to be expected since the main conflict of the franchise is a planet-wide civil war. When it comes to character development, it felt a bit rushed, but it still felt right. You're clearly not a Transformers fan, so I'll just say that it was always going to end the way that it did.
@@roguescorner9042 the character development felt random. It was literally, "Oh no! I love you! I need to save you! I care about you!" Then he blinked and totally changed his mind in an instant. It was so stupid.
For me, the initial first act made me assume the movie would deal with issues like the exploitation of a working class, or prejudice against the less privileged, and how it would lead to resentment and eventually some of those oppressed people will violently rise up, such as Megatron, which will clash with Optimus and his more peaceful ideals. But no, Megatron just wants revenge against 1 dude. And all the so-called societal problems by the end just get solved by the mcguffin’s magic. I fully agree the movie has a simplistic story to it, which I supposed is fine for kids.
A _Transformers_ movie without the human element is EXACTLY what I've been wanting to see. Especially for a series of movies about the war on Cybertron.
exactly, the Bayverse focused too much on humans when it's a series about alien robotic beings
It's like watching Beast Wars. Just focus on the bots and we'll be just fine.
Yo watch Transformers prime there are humans but they play a small roll especially in later seasons
I think you guys missed the major story element of Questioning Authority and how blind faith damages us in the long term. Being a level of not completely trusting but willing to trust is a core element of the story that I kinda feel like you guys missed.
It also sounds more like you both weren’t completely in the best mindset to watch this, I’d recommend going and checking it again as you’re likely to pick up a lot more that you probably missed.
Yeah, it is about overthrowing the white supremacist Imperial Empire that oppresses us all.
The removal of the sparks was an allegory for brainwashing/indoctrination. The Matrix had that same allegory.
We fans have been asking for a Transformers movie with no humans for a long time, so you guys not liking the fact that there were no humans might be a very unpopular opinion. I don't need human characters to connect with them. Especially if the robot characters already feel human as is,
Couldn't have said it better myself
I agree
I agree
I think for me, it’s a point of balance. Like, I enjoyed this movie outside of a few details. But I also love seeing humans alongside the Transformers, as they can make for some interesting similarities and contrasts. As Much flack as Bay’s later entries get, The discussion the Autobots have in the first one about Bumblebee and the humans, where Optimus calls out “Were we so different?” begs for both “show me that” and “show me your wisdom toward humanity that came from that,” and both can make great stories.
Plus…imo, the tagline of “Robots in Disguise” really only works when they are in a situation where they need to actually hide….
I think if this movie were to be a Cinema Therapy episode, the subject would probably be about broken friendship.
Iroincally had the exact opposite experience to you guys on this one. All of the more straightforward dramatic story beats really worked for me, and the humor (Keegan Michael Key especially) only served to drag the film down.
I really respect how this movie feels like it was made by someone with a genuine affection for Transformers, and who had a story that they deeply wanted to tell with this property.
100% agree. Long time fan, and I loved the world building of cybertron. I love the mythology behind the other primes and how cybertron was created as well as a quintisson war. The way they built out the deception logo, and how Megatron distrust all primes because of Sentinel. It was literally one of the best movies to an IP I've seen in a while.
I'm going to say you guys missed a lot of the matters for characterization. Optimus covers the need for the no violence throughout the movie. SPOILERS in the next paragraph
Optimus chooses to avoid conflict with the guards at the start, doesn't fight his way through the Iacon 5000, Theres more but I don't want to nitpick too much. As an autistic person I've always related to Optimus Prime because in (nearly) every depiction, he is the gentle giant, the person who has to choose between hard issues. In the comics its about choosing cybertron and the beauty of life on earth. In this he has that conflict shown through Megatron, so when he finally fights in the climax, its his last option.
What makes this movie my favourite this year is that it shows why people fight. Do they fight to protect, do they fight for revenge, do they fight to rule?
EDIT: I just wanted to add about the human element. So many people in the past have felt like Transformers is about big robots going smashy smashy and leave the human element to the humans (damn it Michael Bay). The thing is, there is a beauty in having these robot characters, learning about their society. It's one of the reasons why I love using them as anolgies when I'm advocating for autism or social coaching my students.
Yeah, it's true that Optimus Prime tries to avoid violence.
Spoiler free- In the movie, there's a phrase that goes like, "We need to do something, but WE NEED TO FIGHT TO DO IT."
That's probably why Alan suggested that even Optimus results to violence like everyone else...
To your point, though... this movie shows WHYYYY Optimus is fighting, and that's really important, and I think it actually justifies his fighting. 👍
@@Sobbleboy27 (SPOILERS) Not only that, there's a strong distinction of fighting between Optimus and Megatron.
Optimus fights to reform Cybertron but never to the point of killing (unless its soldiers with no names if we want to be mega-nitpicky), Megatron fights to tear it all down cuz of a lie, no matter who dies in the destruction, innocent or otherwise.
@@Sobbleboy27 and @speesstar235, you guys gotta read the transformers comics. Both the idw (more than meets the eye/chaos theory) and the new skybound stuff. It's Incredible
Prime, Bee and Elita kills the drones, not citizens... Megs commited magnicide
It’s nice to see another person on the spectrum loves this franchise as much as I do!
I'm a lifelong Transformers fan so admittedly I have a bias but I have to disagree with a lot of your points. Specifically the "default resort to violence" point. There was a scene in the middle of the movie where they were told that they shouldn't stay and fight the grunts but to get back to Iacon to reveal the truth. Orion's plan is all about revealing the truth and trusting his fellow cybertronians will believe them and start to rebuild Cybertron. Orion also tries to talk to Starscream and reason with him before D16 resorted to violence, which Orion visibly took issue with and even tried to tell him to stop. I think there's more to this story and characters than meets the eye (sorry not sorry)
I didn't like there take at all. I thought the movie was fantastic
Also, if you haven't seen it go watch Peter Cullen talk about how his brother inspired the essence of Optimus Prime and what it means to be a leader. That story very much holds the essence of who Optimus Prime is for me and we have yet to really see that on the big screen. Cinematic Optimus is kind of a dick. Maybe one day we'll get that version that isn't punch first and ask questions later.
"Be strong enough to be gentle"
Honestly, I'm glad you guys didn't really like the movie & were brave enough to post your opinions online. I personally loved the film, but having a vastly different opinion to compare it to is exactly what I needed to solidify what worked and what didn't work for me personally.
except that they decided to walk off on purpose. Doesn't give them credibility for their review since they clearly missed important plot points
@@LucarioShironai don’t think they said that actually. They implied that they COULD have left and not missed anything relating to plot. The ones that left throughout the movie were the kids
See, I loved this movie (so did my kid) because there was no human element. I grew up watching Beast Wars, and it was as my intro into the franchise. No humans in those seasons. I watch the "newer" seasons with my kid and I check out during the human scenes and perk up during the fights. That was always my issue with the live action movies too, I found the humans boring and want to focus on robot battles. So this was perfect for me lol.
Ok y'all need to watch transformers prime. It's my favorite transformers series and I liked this movie a lot bc they pulled a lot of inspiration from prime. Also, for everyone arguing about weather humans should or shouldn't be in the show, tfp is the perfect mix bc you get both the bots doing solo stuff & being the main characters, and also learning important things from the humans - and the humans are actually useful and engaging! They do more than just stand around in the background!
Fun fact, the music composer for Transformers Prime is also the composer for Transformers One.
@@taqresu5865 I noticed that too!
See wanting humans is the first red flag. My audience was whooping and hollering the whole time. But i respect your opinions. To you guys wasn’t the story of Cybertron living under a huge lie and the way different characters reacting to the truth in the least bit interesting to you? You kept bringing up the story not being well written but you have a collapsing friendship, a wildly manipulated class system between Cybertronians, and a civilization being ruled by a lying demigod who betrayed the previous regime to attain power. There’s so much to sink your teeth in to. And it all pays off in some fashion. What more can you want?
Yeah, this review is coming off as "I can't see any positives cause I'm wearing a blind fold"
We want it to be executed better than it was.
All of those elements are there... but the way the movie incorporated them were not always good. Especially the collapsing friendship. The end of this movie was not well executed in terms of that. It was straight up terrible.
@@Sobbleboy27agree to disagree, could they have let D-16’s flip to Megatron marinate a bit longer? yeah sure but other than that it made sense when it happened and the way they executed it. Orion made a choice to put his own life over D-16’s revenge against Sentinel Prime and D-16 resented him for it but not before he for a split second mourned the death of their friendship. Was beautiful to me.
@@backfandangoX the part with hanging over the cliff edge... that's the part that was bad.
@@Sobbleboy27 Not really. It made sense. Megatron is a evil villain first and foremost, not a misunderstood nor tragic villain. Megatron is always a tyrant, and that was the moment he became one.
It is interesting honestly to hear that you two arent as big on transformers without humans. I look at this and go "yes that is exaxtly what i have been waiting for, i want a movie where transgormers are the main characters not the side characters, the word transformers is in the title i want them to be front and center
It's incredible to me that this video just proves that there are people going into a movie about certain characters or a franchise and all they care about is the human... I thought some reviews complaining about not enough Human focus on Sonic 2 was dumb, but this takes up to a whole another level
The division between Orion and D16 opened wounds I've been trying to cope with for years 😢 I am a 34-year-old woman and a couple of years ago I had my heart completely shattered and broken for the first time in my life when my uncle and his family completely disconnected themselves from my family. It was over inheritance and money, and it went from watching movies and playing games together to anger and threats overnight.
The flashback at the end of Transformers One that shows the two as friends (literally right after they have hurt each other) broke me. This film is so important to me and for anyone who has suffered that same pain. I love it so much
I don't know about you but maybe I'm just too much of a transformers fan. This movie was excellent.
It's like Prince of Egypt except transformers...
@MrCOLBSTAH pretty odd comparison, but okay. 🤣
This ain't an emotional musical drama... it's a sci fi action movie.
I see what you mean though.
Hilarious comparison. The movie was literally a masterpiece
You can tell they missed a lot by saying they walked out and thought they didn’t miss a lot
I love you guys; you guys give great therapeutic advice, especially Johnathan. But I can't agree with what you said about Transformers One. This version of Optimus is the one we've been missing for years: the Optimistic Leader who gives people second chances.
After watching this movie, I am *seriously* hoping you'll do a deep dive into d-16/megatron's mind on your main channel in a 'villian therapy' episode. Please consider it one day, I beg you.
Because he was my favourite character of the movie, and seeing him changing from 'appease the people in authority' and slowly start asserting himself, and showing a deep seated anger he's clearly got buried under the surface was so fascinating and made me cheer for him.
Genuinely asking here, did you guys even watch this movie? Did you guys go in expecting this film to be terrible, and using nitpicks to satify a confirmation bias against this film? Seriously, I want to know, because your criticisms are sooo off the mark.
First, this movie isn't nearly as violent as any other Transformers production. Even Bumblebee and 1986 animated film had way more violence and action sequences as this one, where it's only real fight sequence is in the 3rd act. And it definitely wasn't confusing or difficult to follow. Transformers One is a more character driven story, and fleshed out it's main cast. I don't understand how you got the impression that the characterization was "thin." They had clear motivations, the friendship between Orion Pax and D-16 was compelling. The plot wasn't really simplistic either, again, it's more character-driven. It's arguably one of the best Transformers films ever released.
The thing about Transformers is that *they* themselves are the human element.
It's part of why so many fans of the franchise didn't like the Bay movies: most Transformers there feel like standard Kaijus rather than characters or even just bit characters (even the humans don't interact with them as people Bumblebee is more like Witwicky's pet than his friend like it should have been).
There have been attempts to make them more "alien" but they never last, in the end TFs end up treated like people with relatively normal want and needs, just filtered by them being mechanical rather than organic. They are a way to see ourselves from an external point of view, they're like us but also unlike us enough to make the similarities pop.
IIRC the literary term is "estrangement", one classic example is Gulliver meeting a version of his own society made of small men and another made of giants.
Tough frankly a lot might be more due to the producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura than Bay as even in Rise of The Beast several characters just don't talk, even characters like Cheetor, a character that among other traits isn't exactly the type to just shut up.
I'm with ya there. They want human elements? it's sitting right in front of their faces! It's called writing an actual character and that was my problem with the Bayformers movies a good number of Cybertronians feel like cookie cutters and the humans characters who did appear are mostly unlikable.
@@LucarioShirona Exactly. They are the human element. They may not be human themselves, but they are still people.
I was kinda hoping this movie could be another decent analysis video on the characters and their motivations, ideals and such. But seems like at least on the first watch, you were unable to capture a lot of that, so that's a bit of a shame but ah well. I'm sure people more familiar with the franchise would be able to do it so eh.
I will just say as much I love this movie as a whole, pacing is definitely the movie's biggest issue with how motivations of certain characters (or I suppose ONE character in particular) shift a bit too quickly. People say the movie length is perfect, I kinda want just a bit more so these sort of things can be more fleshed out or expanded or just feel less rushed, I don't know. That's the only gripe I have but on whole, characters, performances, style, action, it's decent enough. Definitely could be better.
Actually alan, i would love to hear what exactly you mean by simplistic
Huh...well I'm feeling rather sad about this one. I guess I was really hoping you guys would be able to catch one the more complex aspects of the movie and not let the fact that it's a fun robot flick bog it down.
Like, I can see you noticed the concept of Idealism Vs Extremism within a classist system with Orion and D-16, It's just...Idk, I guess I was hoping for something else.
2:18 That's actually What Orion Pax is trying to accomplish, he doesn't want to just commit violence, he want proper justice, which is something deeply rooted in his character "Be Strong enough to be gentle". and he doesn't wan to forgive the bad guy, he literally says "We cannot let this new era start with an execution" which is a rather poignant line to keep in mind. Even in the final battle he feels different than how Bay Optimus eventually became, he felt less brutal and more focused on stopping the violence through non-fatal means. Yes, even when he throws a mini-missile at Megatron, (you'd be surprised how durable cybertronian's actually are supposed to be). This is displayed more clearly when he aims his axe and Megatron's cannon rather than his body.
And you say there's no human element in this movie but...there is? in the form of the Cybertronians, like that's What transformers has been recent "What if our own society were big robots" Like, Is it really that hard to relate to a character just because they turn into a tank? Seeing that first meeting with Orion and D-16 right after the final battle felt like this emotional gut-punch for me
Also tbh, if they DID put the more Complex political theming that the comic does, I'm not sure if it would have done as well. I think right now having TF One tell a more simplistic Origin story is it's biggest advantage.
I mean, not everyone has to like it, I get that. And I can see you guys aren't trying to play it down, so I appreciate it.
As a transformer hater I absolutely loved this movie. I never liked the human aspect of the series and it was my first time being interested in the lore of transformers. I don't agree thar the movie is simplistic, I think the first act most of all suffers a little bit of over exposition but the relationship of the characters and the rift between optimus and megatron was very interesting to watch. I think they could have leaned a bit more on how huge of an influence Sentinel Prime had on D-16 to make his anger more justifiable, but the subtext was there. I think what I like the most was watching optimus learn responsibility beyond just being optimistic. He's very inconsequential in the first half of the movie, which made him more entertaining to watch than he would be if he'd just been the voice of reason perfect optimus prime from the start
Even we Transformers fan usually don't like the human aspect either. If it's good like in Transformers Prime, we'll take it. But we watch Transformers for the Transformers. We don't really care about the humans.
Two of my friends are Transformers haters, and even them had to admit it was a great movie.
TFO was a great movie for those of us who loved the series growing up and for those who enjoyed Prime. The call backs and references were for us while keeping a good story for kids. I honestly think you were too harsh on it. We don't watch Transformers for the humans, we watch it for the robots.
I walked away feeling like Megatron isn’t evil, he’s just disappointed, let down, and betrayed. He totally misunderstands and miscalculates the truth of the situation and believes he needs to tear civilization apart to repair it. Megatron, like many people we call evil, wants reasonable things (to not be betrayed and used by the people who are supposed to protect him), and he’s drawn the wrong conclusions about how to fix things. G1 Megatron was introduced to us as hungry for power and domination. Transformers One Megatron doesn’t give us that guy.
Orion had faith in the system, that it could be set right.
D-16 TRUSTED the system, completely and absolutely. When he learned that the system was built to oppress him he became radicalized.
@@exceedcharge1 Precisely. G1 Megatron was simply power hungry. That’s not the same as TF One Megatron, who isn’t classically evil but, as you said, radicalized. This wasn’t so much an origin story as it was a reboot.
"Transformers fans are idiots for wanting Transformers movies to be about Transformers" Is basically the review
Saw it this weekend. Enjoyed it immensely. Disagree with some of the points in the review, but do agree the plot was a bit simplistic. However, the characterizations, visuals, and humor made up for that. 8/10 for me.
I sorta agreed with you two here. The first 30 minutes wasn't winning me over. It was a bit too goofy. Once that villain twist happens that makes Megatron start going bad, then I was more hooked. I thought the character arcs for Optimus Primus and Megatron were both pretty cool and there were a few lol moments. I did think the movie was too similar to X-Men: First Class and Bumblebee was turned into a punchline too much. I would rank Rise of the Beasts and Bumblebee above this.
I have never been a big fan of Transformers but this movie got me invested in the characters more than anything I have watched. It had an a effective story for turning Optimus and Megatron into enemies and set a solid foundation for what I assume will be a trilogy of films. I’m on board to see what else they’ve got. Great review!
Brian Tyree henry also plays Officer Jefferson Davis aka Miles Morales' dad in the Spiderverse films.
For a movie based off of an 80's animated toy commercial, Transformers One may very well be the best Transformers movie. Dare I say even better then the original 80's movie.
I mean i have not watched the film yet, but honestly i like the world of transformers so i think i am going to have a fun time
if you guys do a react of some kind, include a Transformers fan or cast members
The talk of violent robot death reminds me of the 1980s TMNT series when they learn that the Foot soldiers are robots. "Robots? Let's rock!"
Wasn’t that the 2012 series?
@@directorforplastic7929 They might have referenced it there, but it is from 80s-90s series. Do a UA-cam search for TMNT Fight Foot Soldiers for the 1st Time.
SPOILERS!
I actually wished you guys delved more into the character development problems I was struggling with for the movie.
I love the core of the ideas for why megatron becomes bad, and I really did feel for the bots when they learned about sentinels plot, but I think the movie makes way to many huge leaps with megatron becoming violent right off the bat, which does concern me with the violence angle you brought (and that yeah, scarlet joahansons character also solved all her problems with violence) and I can kinda accept megatrons turn in the same way I see fans accepting anakins turn in revenge of the sith, but when megs says he needs to kill sentinels followers in the climax, I think it is forced writing trying to get us to the point rather than really developing it naturally, which is a shame cause unlike other transformers movies which can feel very manipulative in their emotional appeal, I really felt like this was a sincere effort to tell this story that they ended up having to rush through in a 100 minute movie. Which I don’t even know is a good excuse, cause they coulda cut down on the first half’s focus on comedy and gotten us to the dramatics faster, then I think we woulda had more time to develop Megatron decent. Like I think they needed to spend more time with the robots who become the decepticons (the high guard) and pick up the violence policy from them, cause otherwise, it looks like the movies saying the only reason megatron wasn’t even is because no one had handed him a gun yet, which is a scary message I can’t go with.
I would love to hear more elaborated upon the subject of Simplistic stories from Alan. Could you describe it a tad more on what you mean by that? 🤔 (I’ll be taking notes 😇)
Resorting to violence- you guys know this series is, historically, about a civil war, right? It feels like complaining about the violence in star wars.
An animated version of transformers- transformers has always been animated, it’s the live action movies that are aberrations.
No comment about the movie b/c I haven’t seen it yet. But I did want to tell this particular corner of UA-cam that I visited Chicago in early 2002 and while there saw a performance of Second City’s JV squad company (can’t remember the proper name) because that is what I could get a ticket for. And it was perhaps fortunate that I couldn’t get a ticket for the main company because Kegan Michael Key was in the cast!! And I didn’t figure out/remember that this really famous man from the TV was in the show that I saw. I guess he wasn’t in that particular company for long before being promoted to the main cast. I lost the program and any sort of souvenir of the show years and years ago & think I only put it together when KMK did or said something- probably paired with a movement or facial expression- that reminded me of something he said or did at SC when I saw the performance. THEN I mulled it over for several weeks then had my BF google whether he was in SC (I have this weird aversion to googling people from the TV- like it’s creepy and people will be able to tell and know I’M creepy) and what the timeline was and BINGO BANGO BONGO- it all lined up.
I loved it. My son loved it. We are big Transformers fans.
We've been hearing that a lot. So glad you loved it!
I know this might not have been your guys favourite movie this year, but I hope we still get to see an episode about it on the main channel.
yk what that's a fair rating and perspective because i've been a transformers fan my entire life and absolutely love this franchise to death and i would've never been able to actually see it in the light of someone who doesn't care much for transformers so yeah that's pretty fair rating and it definitely is a simple kids movie but yk dr jonathan's right for it being purely a transformers fans cup of tea
also as for what i wanna hear is both of your thoughts on D-16's change. what did alan not like/ did like about it and what jonathan's opinion is as to D-16's transformation emotionally/mentally? Was it justified enough?
Alan must be on side of IGN then
Everyone I know who's seen this has loved it. I expect when I see it on Thursday, I'll also love it.
“It was like a well done Saturday morning cartoon…” YES. That’s what we’ve begging them for since 1986!
I was suprised to see a video of a movie that just come out. Thinking you would wait until when you got video on it. But to bad you did´t feel for the depth of this movie. I thought it was a really well made movie with insigt on politics, class war among other things. Megatro and Optimus viewpoints felt so real and that they both were right. In lots of parts in history Megatron would be seen or is seen as a war hero liberating the opressed people. It´s diffrent yet uses the lore behind Optimus and Megatron as how they were before the big Cybertron war. Yes it´s a lot of action I agree, easier to follow than some but yes there were a few parts it was hard but then again some of them were suppose to be hard to track, I could see every character moving.
I think the humor was on good level, not too much. I love Bumblebee so was afraid he would be like Donkey from Shrek but no he had his serious moments and parts where he was quiet. WOW I always am sad I have to praise when a movie can be quiet and calm. Now this is a very PG-13 animated movie I have to say based on the language. Did´t see it in English but I know they said "Badassatron" quite a few times and that counts as a swear. It´s also brutal with Megatron wishing to kill and murder, not the word destroy he said kill quite a few times. Now sure tropes I don´t like. "Record the bad guy saying they are evil". Even if it makes sense with them being robots but still and the obvious pretty boy had something up his slevees. But I love the lead up, it was tragic if they make Two and Three I am sure they will be much darker becuse things will not go well when the Transformers have to fight.
I felt the characters held this movie togheter.
I enjoyed the hell out of it all guys. The storyline and the relationship of the characters and the build up to the end…❤️🇦🇺✌️
I don't know. I loved that it didn't have shaky cam..
Aunt, it was complex and that the combat made sense for a alien and somewhat cybernetic environment..
And I guess if you've played high action video games then I guess the combat makes a lot more sense. But if you're not used to extremely high paced action, then I guess it can get confusing..
I feel like a lot of the issues with the movie come from the shorter runtime, especially in terms of the character development, but i think the worldbuilding and overarching ideas of the film were really well executed. Overall, I really liked the movie and even though the character arcs were all over the place the performances came through to represent the characters well.
I am once again requesting a Hundreds of Beavers review. It's still playing in independent theatres around the world!
For a no spoiler review, um big spoiler almost right off the bat!
Was there violence? Yes but to say it was their default without trying to reason it out, did we watch the same movie? Orion tried so hard to stop D-16 but when someone gets the point that D-16 was, there is no reasoning. I cried when I saw the exact moment D-16 became a Megatron as I felt Orion's heartbreak. Losing a best friend over something that you felt you should have been able to Save them from, I've been there.
These robots were lied to from birth by a physcotic, egomaniacal narcissist and you think it was shallow?
First time I have truly disagreed with you and maybe you should talk to someone who has lost their best friend over lies and couldn't forgive.
I feel them thinking the robots resorting to violence first was when they were fighting unnamed grunts and such. I've interacted with someone thinking it was hypocritical of Optimus telling Megatron not to resort to fighting when he himself fought prior and I was thinking "when was that a thing?", then I presumed they were thinking of all the numerous soldiers they beat up and shot at before that point.
Me sad...you didn't like it? I LOVED it! Though....there were some things in the film that could have been done better. BUT. I am a HUGE Transformers fan....well, maybe not HUGE but I have loved the series since I was a kid though the 1986 film....I haven't watched it since it came out in theaters aaaaaaall those years ago. Will NEVER watch it again. This film.....I can't even tell you how many times I've watched it now. I've sooooooo thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm curious on your 'therapeutic' reaction to it and a 'deeper' dive into the characters. I'm also hoping that Hasbro or Paramount releases more of the cut scenes as that might help flesh out some elements of the story that did feel like they were lacking.
Prime, Bee and Elita kills the drones, not citizens... Megs commited magnicide.
YAY!! They did the quotes! One of my favorite parts of cinema therapy honestly.
I hope you actually do a Cinema Therapy episode on this movie, after rewatching it, because I feel like you missed a lot of what it was actually about. I know this is a spoiler free review so maybe you just weren’t talking about some of the maybe spoiler-ish parts of it, but it still feels you you either missed them or didn’t get them.
I’m a 50 year old fan.
The movie is an hour and 45 minutes long. This first hour 35 minutes was childish good. The last 10 minutes was great.
1986 movie is still the best.
I think it's the kind of material that's better off a series if they want to flesh out the characters more.
Curious to see your thoughts on Wild Robot next week. Something tells me it'll turn into a favorite for Alan.
I didn’t know you guys have a review channel. Glad I do now.
Will you do an in-depth analysis in the future?
“this movie wasn't really for me” enough to walk away from the video and look for a review from someone with good taste.
I love how it says no spoilers but not even 2 minutes in that they spoil the fact that the orion gets a hole blown through him.
Good job guys
This is the first negative review I’ve seen of this movie
Any chance that we could get that Cinema Therapy episode on limiting beliefs, or is there an equivalent that I haven't gotten to yet?
Bumblebee is a Beetle :) Just saw a trailer for “My Old Ass” - is it on your radar? Would be curious on your take ❤
Tbh I thought this was the best transformer movie it felt like it had weight as appose to the recent ones
1:45 "we could do as much carnage..."
me: haha CAR-nage. because Transformers. Vehicles. 🤣
I'm glad Jono and I are on the same page about the best Transformers movies being just Bay Transformers 1 and Bumblebee, makes me feel intellectual tbh. Lol
Ok. I cant talk as a father, I am just an uncle but..this film AINT that violent.
I mean, yes,, it has that scene you mention and some others but..thats pretty average?
Is no different from stuff we saw while growing up.
How old are your kids? Out of curiosity.
Yeah, this movie wasn't that violent. Although there were two scenes were I did feel like the movie went from PG to PG-13. (Spoilers) When Megatron shoots Optimus, tearing him apart, and when Megatron rips Sentinel in half. Other than that, it was pretty tame.
4 words: doomed robot Gay divorce
Honestly jonathan decker, i would love to hear you elaborate more on what you mean exactly by sinplistic. Just saying sinplistic equals bad doesnt really say much
2:10 oh yeah, cause they totally could have reasoned with the troops who had orders to kill them...
Between Beetlejuice, the Mario movie and this, i have realized we don't need movie reviewers. Just watch what you want and if you like it, that's what counts.
Seriously? It took the Mario movie to figure out that you should find value in your own opinion?
@@directorforplastic7929 No.
Nah, I need reviewers so I don’t waste my money/time. I don’t always agree with the reviewers, but after enough reviews I can get a sense of where our tastes agree and differ. Some things I’m gonna go see regardless (Fast & Furious franchise), but reviewers help me decide when I’m not sure.
It was alright. A little childish which i can understand, but the 80s movie is still as Soundwave would say, superior.
My biggest confusion why they made bumblebee closer to Optimus' age. Other gripes are that i hoped they made animation more like the opening of Bumblebee movie or the War for Cybertron games which i hope that it will transition to later to darker more mature storyline for older audiences such as later tweens teens as the director said the characters will slowly get closer to their traits in the previous movies.
Honestly thought this was easily the best transformers movie I've hated all the Michael Bay movies and Rise of the Beasts, Bumblebee was OK but not great. I was glad to have no humans they are the weakest part of all the films.
Alan telling me that *Optimus Prime* is just defaulting to violence to solve his problems in this movie, tells me that the people in charge of this movie entirely missed the point of his character.
I think that's all I needed to know that I wouldn't want to see this movie, unfortunately...
Yeah thats false
@@bfgkaikai I might be misreading his comment at the beginning that the characters tend to jump to violence as the default solution then, but still, Optimus Prime in particular works when he’s a paragon.
The thing is, if he's saying Optimus in this movie just defaults to violence to solve his problems, then he's simply incorrect. Some of characters do seek violence and head straight for it. Optimus is not one of them.
@OptimusNiaa Optimus explicitly says in the actual script that, "I have a plan, but we will need to fight to do it."
Granted, he has a good reason for it.
I definitely think it is worth checking out for Transformers fans as this assessment is misleading
I was born in 83 and grew up watching the original G1 Transformers cartoons and toys. I enjoyed the early live action Transformers movies and Bumblebee solo movie. The last couple movies sucked. I took my son to see Transformers One last weekend. In my opinion, the plot was fine for a new take on the origin story. The animation was excellent. The whole transformers that can't transform and are forced into slave labor was a very odd choice. The fight sequences were a bit jarring at times. Overall the movie was ok for me. My son is 13 and he loved this movie and has seen the live action movies as well as the original 86 movie. As Jonno said the story is simplistic. I feel like they were trying to rush a new origin movie out in time for the 40th anniversary of Transformers and didn't spend enough time building the plot and characters.
I think us true transformers fans want no humans because we're tired of companies making humans. The focus when the entire point is to watch a movie about giant robots smashing each other.. with also emotional themes thrown in there for good measure.
I'm a big Transformers Fan and basically agree on all your points. Kind of disappointing for me. Bumblebee is still the closest we've gotten to a good Transformers movie for me. And I'm not sure what's worse. A Bumblebee that can't speak, or a Bumblebee that can't shut up.
Bumble Bee in this movie reminded me of Donkey from Shrek. 😂
Honestly, I'm mega bored of voiceless Bumblebee. I don't hate what they've done thus far with him having no voice, but I honestly rather have him talk. They only time I didn't like it when he talked was in The Last Knight out of nowhere, but that movie is a whole mess in many ways so it doesn't have a lot of bearing on it.
I went to the early access event. The visuals were great but I was disappointed. They oversimplified some characters motivations and I was upset at what seemed like to me at the times certain characters being automatically be able to do certain things or possess certain "weapons". Then I did something I didn't think I would do. I saw it again. This movie happened to have a 4DX showing and I started doing 4DX reviews this year. I ended up liking the story more. Not because of the 4DX but because it made more sense. Since I was familiar with the plot I was able to see details I missed. Some were just easter eggs I missed but one in particular was important. The main problem with this movie is its fast pace. The movie is about an hour and 45 minutes long but the stuff so much in it visually and quickly. There was one scene in particular that was brief but alluded to what would be "bestowed" on certain robots from "other" robots that were all displayed in one scene holding their weapons. If you blinked you might miss it. The one thing I would say about this video that is not true is that you will not miss anything if you leave at certain points and come back. After catching that one detail I enjoyed the movie more and started theorizing about the possibilities of seeing this concept in future movies and possibly video games. Remember Hasbro is in charge of this and I would not be surprised if they will incorporate this with their toys if they haven't already. I still had some issues with the movie like certain plot points and the use of certain terminology associated with Earth, like "born". Different people will have various reactions to this movie.
I'll tackle some of your points. (Spoilers ahead)
"They oversimplified some characters motivations and I was upset at what seemed like to me at the times certain characters being automatically be able to do certain things or possess certain 'weapons.'" I disagree. I think they got the characters fairly right. I've been a longtime Transformers fan and the characters felt in line with how they usually do. Optimus felt like Optimus, Bee felt like Bee. Sentinel definitely felt like Sentinel. Starscream. was the typical Starscream. I did feel like Megatron's turn was too sudden, but I think that might be the point. He felt so betrayed that it pushed him over the edge that intensely. Made him sympathetic, but still clearly evil, which is exactly who Megatron is.
Using Earth terminology is unavoidable, I think. Remember this movie is still for kids. Use a lot of made up terms and a lot of people, adults included, will struggle at understanding certain concepts. You already have sparks, transformation cogs, Matrix of Leadership, Primus, the Primes, energon, the Quintessons, etc. I had no problem getting all that because I'm a Transformers fan, but this is all new stuff for the casual audience. I feel like they don't need more alien terminology sprinkled in. Why use another term for "born" when they pretty much ARE born.
Transformers is first and foremost a toy brand, so you can bet they already made toys of it. Hell, they made them months ago. They announced a Transformers game like two years ago and they haven't showed anything else since then. They already made toys of that game.
I watched it a few hours ago... The cinematography and animation for this movie were amazing... but I weirdly had the exact same opinion as Alan.
I thought the characters were very surface level and had no way that I could connect with them... mostly because the writing for this movie is surface level.
It's amazing how many random, "cut to black... open the screen on a new setting" transitions there were. The story was so complex, but the plot was so simple and convenient. There are also key lines of the story that are written with 5 word phrases... they are supposed to encompass the entire complex story and make an impact. I thought those lines didn't work and just sounded cheesy and unimpactful.
I also hated the violence. 😒
I don't like violet movies, so I get excited when I see PG movies in theaters, since that means they won't have violence... *internal screaming and disappointment*😑😑😑😑😑
Transformers One was more violent than A Quiet Place and I Am Legend. There are so many dismembered robots in the movie, and even gore in the form of oil spatters that set me off. I legit wanted to walk out of the theater because of the violence.
But I stuck through it... only to see the stupidest character development ever in the last 15 minutes of the film. Terrible character writing. Terrible.
4/10, liked the animation and not much else. Disliked the story, plot, and characters.
Mate, don't watch anything Transformers ever again. You'll hate it. Even back in the original cartoon, it was pretty violent. Hell, when the animated movie came out in 86, one of the first things they did was massacre an entire ship of Transformers, one getting shot point-blank right in the face, with a cannon. There's not a lot of Transformers media that doesn't include violence, which is to be expected since the main conflict of the franchise is a planet-wide civil war.
When it comes to character development, it felt a bit rushed, but it still felt right. You're clearly not a Transformers fan, so I'll just say that it was always going to end the way that it did.
@@roguescorner9042 the character development felt random. It was literally, "Oh no! I love you! I need to save you! I care about you!" Then he blinked and totally changed his mind in an instant. It was so stupid.
@@Sobbleboy27 It was not, but go off I guess.
For me, the initial first act made me assume the movie would deal with issues like the exploitation of a working class, or prejudice against the less privileged, and how it would lead to resentment and eventually some of those oppressed people will violently rise up, such as Megatron, which will clash with Optimus and his more peaceful ideals.
But no, Megatron just wants revenge against 1 dude. And all the so-called societal problems by the end just get solved by the mcguffin’s magic. I fully agree the movie has a simplistic story to it, which I supposed is fine for kids.
This is such a bad review 😂😂😂