TF Movie to Pass Pirates of the Carribean: At World End

[Yaya]

Tis true: http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic.htm

Who would have thought. This weekend, domestically here in the U.S., the Transformers movie with surpass Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End in domestic gross.

Has the TF reached its peak, or will it make enough to surpass it's next potential victims: Return of the Jedi, and then Star Wars:Attack of the Clones.

With Transformers being released on IMAX in September, the unthinkable might happen: Dare I even ask, will TF surpass.....The Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ring?

[Kaylee]

More money for the franchise is always a good thing More toys and more incentive for Hasbro to keep the franchise alive in terms of comics and other media too

Can't help but draw parallels to the Da Vinci code myself though- a popular phenomenon which, whilst it's alright, I can't really understand as it draws close to surpassing other articles in terms of popularity I would rate much higher (RotJ > Transformers imo).

That said, I observed from the start that whilst personally I didn't like (and still don't like) the direction the flick was going in that those involved knew what they were doing in terms of targeting their audience.

[Predabot]

Giant. Fighting. Robots. That's the key right there, the winning concept.
Excellent news of course, and I just can't but help think that the sequel will be quite something to behold.

[Mirrormere]

Has the TF reached its peak, or will it make enough to surpass it's next potential victims: Return of the Jedi, and then Star Wars:Attack of the Clones.

Easily. The Transformers in the movie had more personality than the human characters in Star Wars.

But...

With Transformers being released on IMAX in September, the unthinkable might happen: Dare I even ask, will TF surpass.....The Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ring?

Gasp! For shame! Not unless they grow ears and speak Elvish. You can lead an Oliphant to water but if you can make him float on his back, you have something.

[spiderfrommars]

If that happens Elvish will have left the building.

And Transformers is better than Revenge of the Sith but not Return of the Jedi.

[Kaylee]

Being poked in the eye with a stick is better than RotS!

[Mirrormere]

You are both right.

But what was that lightsaber that Count Dookie...I mean Dooku was using?

http://www.atomic-toys.co.uk/starWars.html

It looks like the shower head from my last apartment.




"He is right and he is right? They can't both be right."
"You know you are also right."

[Impactor returns 2.0]

I saw the TF movie again recently, and I dont think its much better then care bares the movie to be honest, the bit with bumblebee and the romance was good, the rest is ******* dire. I really dont have much to say about it, it just doesnt work.

anyhows, theres no way TF:M can be compared to ANY star wars film or LOTR movie, jar-jar binks could be in every single SW scene and they would still be better than the new TF:M !!!

Its good to hear people are still going to see the movie, its goof for the franchise but I really do think the new movie is average at best, its TF characters are an embarresment, and when compared to say R2 OR Golum, how shallow they all are.

On a special effect action front, SW has some incredibly complex action scenes, that I can actually understand, Bay, take note.

LOTR, well, thats a better film full stop.

Anyhows, more money to the TF industry is only a good thing but I dont like the movie.

[Best First]

i don't see any convincing arguements there that the new TF film is any worse than the awful SW prequels.

For one thing Shia Labouef arguably acts any of the cast of I-III off the screen.

The humours far better as well.

I haven't seen anyone suggest that the film competes on qualatative terms with LOTR either, so arguing otherwise seems a bit futile.

[Kaylee]

The humours far better as well.

Oh I wouldn't say that, I was laughing most of the way through SW:III

On a related note, regardless of personal opinions, I certainly must commend the production/director for making a movie which obviously seems to have struck a chord if its raking in this much in terms of cinema seats.

Any thoughts on exactly what it is they've tapped into? Big-bang action movies come out quite regularly, why's this one done so well?

[spiderfrommars]

Its the central gimmick, no more, no less. Transforming robots fight.

But Shia does deserve lots of credit. The girls like him, the boys like him. The central human character could have been disastrous.

And Bay knows how to direct big budget action, whatever his other flaws.

[Best First]

Its the central gimmick, no more, no less. Transforming robots fight.

i think on top of that you have to remember that the vast majority of people's definition of what transformers is is far looser than that of what can only ever be a few thousand really dedicated and vocal (sometimes too vocal IMO) online fans.

So for them i suspect this can play on nostalgia far more effectively than those of us who are a bit more invested and probably have a more pesonal definition of what they expect from TFs.

the most exposed TF medium remains the cartoons, even though there is a rough consensus here that the comics are by and large a far better expoliter of the central concept, which in turn points to how much also its still ultimately a franchise that is largely based on a toyline and some kids cartoons.

I'm not saying it couldn't have been a better film (by any streach of the imagination) , but in terms of audiences its a film that manages to bring something new to the action movie crowd, is a good kids movie and will appeal to the majority of people who remember TFs from the 80's but aren't as impassioned about them as we are.

On top of that they got a decent lead and Megan Fox is leathal.

So all in all they have checked an awful lot of boxes, even if most of them tend toward the lower end of the common denominator scale.

Ultimately they have played it pretty safe and reaped the rewards.

Having written all that i actually find myself a little suprised at concessions to the fandom such as, notably, the casting of Cullen and some of the throwaway references in the movie.

all IMO, natch.

[spiderfrommars]

Another point re: nostalgia and gimmicks.

Apparently this is going to start a new craze of cartoon movies. But I highly doubt the likes of He-Man or Thundercats will replicate this success despite the nostalgia. At the end of the day they're just Star Wars rewrites, while TFs have a unique catchy idea at its core.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

They can make Ulysees 31 anyday, just make sure Bay isnt involved, J.Cameron is fine.

[Yaya]

anyhows, theres no way TF:M can be compared to ANY star wars film or LOTR movie, jar-jar binks could be in every single SW scene and they would still be better than the new TF:M !!!

I have to respectfully disagree. I'm a Star Wars fan, and I would agree that the TF movie can't compare to the original trilogy flicks, particular A New Hope and Empire. But it is better than The Phantom Menace, and up there with AOTC and ROTS for sure.

And as Best First says, Shia single-handedly out acts the entire prequel cast. Hell, a stone could have out-acted Haddensen and Portman.

Speaking of Shia, I pondered the flick some more, and have come to the conclusion that Transformers wasn't the big success it was because of the giant Transforming robots. I think it was because of what BF said-everybody was drawn to Shia, both men and women. IMO, his acting was Academy Award nomination caliber and I think that the success of the film largely was because of his presence, not the CGI or Bay.

LOTR, well, thats a better film full stop.

Transformers isn't even in the same league with the LOTR films. I mean, I enjoyed TF more because of my love for TF, but if we're looking at the films objectively, the LOTR films are works of cinematic genius and the penultimate fantasy/sci-fi films, the creme-de-le-creme of imaginative cinema.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

I agree that the human element of the TF:M is better than the new trilogy of SW film, and the humor is alot better. On the other hand, the 'sci-fi battles' of the new films is superior to the TF robot interaction.

I guess that makes them pretty even in film terms?

In the new TF fil i was just dissapointed that i went to see a giant robot film and found them somewhat lacking, apart from the first set piece, I really found the rest of the action over complex (visualy), and the direction a bit lacking. Its a film of two halfs for me, the humans are great, the TF, just seemed dull, and I had hopes they would steal the show, or at least be on par with the humans. whilst I cared for Shia, and found him very easy to warm to, I didnt really care for the transformers themselves, I found they lacked character, or character definition.

Maybe a sequal would give define the TF better, perhaps it was a wise move for the humans to be the stars of the show, I expect, like BF pointed out, that alot of ppl have heard good things about how funny the film is, and how good the humans are in thier roles, that this has attracted a far wider ranging auidence to the movie.

[spiderfrommars]

jar-jar binks could be in every single SW scene and they would still be better than the new TF:M !!!

I guess that makes them pretty even in film terms?

Oops.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

Ok, as anoying as binks is, I still think, as a CGI character, he has more personality than his TF counterparts. Hes so anoying that you will never forget him, so they got somthing right.

[Yaya]

Ok, as anoying as binks is, I still think, as a CGI character, he has more personality than his TF counterparts. Hes so anoying that you will never forget him, so they got somthing right.

Meesa going to kick some ass if you mention Jar Jar one more time.

[Legion]

More money for the franchise is always a good thing

Can Bay's ego get anymore inflated?

[Best First]

Ok, as anoying as binks is, I still think, as a CGI character, he has more personality than his TF counterparts. Hes so anoying that you will never forget him, so they got somthing right.

er...

how is that getting something right?

I sincerely think you loose all credibility with this arguement.

Binks was a ****. BB knocks spots off him with ease.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

Everyone remembers Binks tho - hes crap, so bad in fact, no one will ever forget him, I doubt many ppl outside transfan-dom will recall BB a few years from now.

SW excelled in single handedly creating the most anoying character ever, which is saying somthing.

[Best First]

Yes, but nothing that supports your notion that the prequels are better movies.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

No, you wont find any notion of the sort because I didnt say that.

I claimed that the new SW films were better than the new TF:M film.

To which I have now decided they are about equall, due to the new TF:M being funnier, and shia having more carisma, but the new SW films having far superior action and special effect direction.

I wonder which films ill watch more often in years to come.

[Yaya]

No, you wont find any notion of the sort because I didn't say that.

I claimed that the new SW films were better than the new TF:M film.

To which I have now decided they are about equall, due to the new TF:M being funnier, and shia having more carisma, but the new SW films having far superior action and special effect direction.

I wonder which films ill watch more often in years to come.

See, Lucus blew it. It was the acting that killed these prequel movies, not the story, CGI, or even Binks( I laugh when you guys use his last name in discussions, because it somehow makes him seem more dignified, which is hilarious). Had it not been for Liam Neeson, Christopher Lee, and Iam McDermand, it would have been overall the worst acting movie experience I have ever witnessed.

The dialogue was atrocious, and the humor makes you hurl. I used to think that maybe it was my young age of four that I wasn't bothered by the dialogue in the first three movies, but after having watched them, the dialogue of the original is a billion times better.

It's the Star Wars mythos that saves the prequel series in the end, not the quality of the flicks. It was the lightsaber duels, familiar planets, dark characters like Maul and Grievous, and the "coming full circle" connection to the original thats saves the prequel series for me.

I will say that if I'm flipping through the channels of HBO, Cinemax, or Showtime, I will stop at the Star Wars movie they are showing everytime. Granted, everytime I watch it, Haydenssen and Portman's acting make me want to throw my shoe at the television, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

I agree, looking back, the acting in the first 3 is brillant, harrison ford is simply amazing, and luke, whilst young and a bit grating, has far more charissma then any of the new film characters.

We know ppl like Ewan, Liam, Lee and McDermand can act, even portmans pretty special at times, and I think Hayden was trying his best but the script is rubbish, It doesnt give the actors anything to play with, when u think about it, the entire script is just a giant link between action sequences, theres no charactirisation init, in the first films thers lots of silly conversation about wamp rats, kessle runs and scruffy ner-herders etc... these allow the actors to get thier teeth into somthing outside of plot links, its what gives the actors character.
The new films have nothing, each line is somthing like "lets go to planet X" - "put the red key in the red door!" . its akin to bad video game story telling, it was so basic.
They got the script utterly wrong, essentially they had the actors, they had the special effects to die for, the soundtrack to boot, they didnt have the script.
thats one thing I give the new TF:M, and it wasnt somthing I expected at all, the script is ace, its funnier, its quick, its directional ,it even allows the actors some space to, you know, act and stuff, well done to bay for allowing that to happen, to many action films end up like the new SW film with one 1D character scripts resulting in flat action heroes (ie, Anakin) we care nothing about.

Still, i cant help watching revenge of the sith, I love them lightsabers fights - actually, the bit where Ewan says "you were the chosen one..." to anakin, I felt was pretty convincing, the best bit of acting in those 3 orginal films. Well done Ewan for making somthing out of nothing.

[Best First]

i thought McDermand was bloody awful to be honest. He seemed to think he was in a pantomime.

[Yaya]

i thought McDermand was bloody awful to be honest. He seemed to think he was in a pantomime.

I felt that before he was revealed as Darth Sidious, his acting was superb while he was Palpatine. In particular, that part at the opera house where he tells the story of Darth Plagueus the Wise. I thought he was phenomenal.

After the Windu duel, his acting was over the top, I agree.

Overall, I would say Alec Guiness and Harrision Ford were the best actors in the series, with Christopher Lee and McDermand in a class just below them.

[Impactor returns 2.0]

I think lea's pretty solid, I always remember the line where shes tells han he can have all the money in the world, her lips sort of smack together, shes comes across as having strength and being a royal, prety cool.

she does gett off with her brother tho... eww

thanks go to maddox for this:

[Kaylee]

God bless you, Maddox!