The Transformers 2 Thread--A Michael Bay thread

[myk]

I thought I saw an F-16 at about 1:20 in the video though. I wonder what character that will be.

Why do all the fighter jets have to be decepticons?

Because the 'Deceps are traditionally badass weapons or predatory vehicles. Only the wimpy autobots are passive volkswagon beetles and ambulances.

Anyway, yeah some of the movie 'bot designs are way too busy, but how are they supposed to look like, the G1 toys that inspired all of this craziness?

Someone put up a rendering and lemme know how they're supposed to look...

[UN_MARINE]

Someone put up a rendering and lemme know how they're supposed to look...

like this.

but then again, that's just my opinion

[anime52k8]

like this.

but then again, that's just my opinion

I support this opinion.

[sidearmsalpha]

I think they could have struck a balance between the animated versions and the CG characters. I think the movie designs have been so far off that I couldn't even bring myself to buying most of the figures from the first movie except for Ironhide and that gray/white Decepticon APC vehicle that wasn't even in the movie. From what I've seen so far of the sequel, I don't think I'll be buying ANY of the figures this time. They went overboard with the "alien" robot concept. I can understand that they had to do away with the humanlike faces of the animated characters, but I think they could have retained the general look of their bodies without making them look so odd in robot mode. I mean the designs translate so poorly into toys. Most of these characters just don't look cool at all in robot mode.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I thought I saw an F-16 at about 1:20 in the video though. I wonder what character that will be.

Fireflight, one of the Aerialbots. He and Breakaway are the only fighter plane Autobots in the game.

[sharky]

I saw the new toys being taken out of the boxes and stocked today at Target during my lunch break. I passed on the first movie toys, and I will pass again.

[protostar8]

I think they could have struck a balance between the animated versions and the CG characters. I think the movie designs have been so far off that I couldn't even bring myself to buying most of the figures from the first movie except for Ironhide and that gray/white Decepticon APC vehicle that wasn't even in the movie. From what I've seen so far of the sequel, I don't think I'll be buying ANY of the figures this time. They went overboard with the "alien" robot concept. I can understand that they had to do away with the humanlike faces of the animated characters, but I think they could have retained the general look of their bodies without making them look so odd in robot mode. I mean the designs translate so poorly into toys. Most of these characters just don't look cool at all in robot mode.

Totally agree with you. I've said that the designs were bad since picture 1 came out of the starscream concept. To me, the TF's on the screen are WAY more fake than the G1 or really any other vehicle incarnations. I don't care if the movie people have all the parts connected, that doesn't mean that every part has a gear or motor to drive the movement, just that it's on a hinge that the design team can manually swing to transform it. The fact that most still look like scrap metal is a real bummer. I didn't buy any movie toys last time, won't this time either, so Hasbro is saving me some cash this summer since they pulled Animated and Universe for now.

[Gubaba]

Totally agree with you. I've said that the designs were bad since picture 1 came out of the starscream concept. To me, the TF's on the screen are WAY more fake than the G1 or really any other vehicle incarnations. I don't care if the movie people have all the parts connected, that doesn't mean that every part has a gear or motor to drive the movement, just that it's on a hinge that the design team can manually swing to transform it. The fact that most still look like scrap metal is a real bummer. I didn't buy any movie toys last time, won't this time either, so Hasbro is saving me some cash this summer since they pulled Animated and Universe for now.

I liked the robots' faces in the movie.

But yeah, if my favorite thing about a transforming robot is its face, that ain't good.

[Uxi]

I liked the robots' faces in the movie.

But yeah, if my favorite thing about a transforming robot is its face, that ain't good.

Unfortunately, it's nothing new.

I would still like for them to just use their fancy CGI and what not and simply make a live version of the animated 1980s movie. "You got the touch!"

[Gubaba]

Unfortunately, it's nothing new.

I would still like for them to just use their fancy CGI and what not and simply make a live version of the animated 1980s movie. "You got the touch!"

Wait wait wait...

Dude...that's a VERY bad idea...remember what happened to Star Wars when they tried that?

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

I didn't buy any movie toys last time, won't this time either, so Hasbro is saving me some cash this summer since they pulled Animated and Universe for now.

Actually, for Animated, all of the cancelled figures, like Wingblade Prime, Golfire Grimlock, Arcee, Electrostatic Soundwave, and others, are still set for release. Hasbro doesn't know when or where, but we will see them.

Wingblade Prime uses the mold from the Battle Begins 2 pack, has wings and hammer that form a big trailer. The wingblade configuration is from the series finale.

[UN_MARINE]

Wingblade Prime uses the mold from the Battle Begins 2 pack, has wings and hammer that form a big trailer.

i like the sound of that. are there any pics?

[buddhafabio]

ok we know sr 71 is in this, and at wally world i saw a old biplane toy so

i am thinking some of the transformers will come crashing down at a airplane museum, either at the airforce museum or smithsonian

Edited June 3, 2009 by buddhafabio

[Wanzerfan]

ok we know sr 71 is in this, and at wally world i saw a old biplane toy so

i am thinking some of the transformers will come crashing down at a airplane museum, either at the airforce museum or smithsonian

I hope they give Ben Stiller a hard time

[big F]

I hope they give Ben Stiller a hard time

LOL by the power of the cube all the exhibits come to life, only all the time not just at night.

[Veritas]

The movie had its premier in Tokyo.

There's a thread over at the Don Murphy boards detailing some of the plot points if anyone's interested. A word of warning though, there's a good number of spoilers in the thread as well:

http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=30967

Edited June 8, 2009 by Veritas

[big F]

The movie had its premier in Tokyo.

There's a thread over at the Don Murphy boards detailing some of the plot points if anyone's interested. A word of warning though, there's a good number of spoilers in the thread as well:

http://www.donmurphy.net/board/showthread.php?t=30967

Looks like you need to be a member to see it too.

[Veritas]

Looks like you need to be a member to see it too.

Interestingly enough Don Murphy deleted the thread because of the spoilers. TFW still has a discussion about it if you were interested in seeing some of the spoilers though.

[kaiotheforsaken]

It wasn't as spoilery as I thought it'd be, though there were some.

Looking forward to this movie though, IMAX is supposed to have a longer cut with something like 4 added sequences that including more robot ass kicking.

[areaseven]

[Chewie]

You sir owe me 45 seconds of my life back. =\

[azrael]

The official movie comic adaption is out and done as of this week. A number of things are missing from the comic compared to the TV spots, preview clips and whatnot. Looks like they're making plenty of room for another one, of course.

[Warmaker]

The only thing I want out of this flick are exploitive screencaps of Megan Fox.

That is all, carry on.

[kaiotheforsaken]

The official movie comic adaption is out and done as of this week. A number of things are missing from the comic compared to the TV spots, preview clips and whatnot. Looks like they're making plenty of room for another one, of course.

Well they've spoken of this as a trilogy for some time now, so that isn't really surprising.

[azrael]

The Fallen ain't gonna show up until the end, when they're in Egypt. It looks like Soundwave is going to be spending the entire movie in space

. But since this is a adaption, I can't be sure.

[kaiotheforsaken]

Soundwave does stay in space, though he does have some lines, that was one of the spoilers from the premier movie thread that was taken down. They didn't make much mention of the Fallen in that thread though.

http://movies.ign.com/articles/994/994427p2.html

IGN has a review of the flick up, be warned it has some borderline spoilers in it. For those that wish to skip the article I'll some up: basically it's amazing to start but gets too long. That seems to be there biggest gripe is that it's about 2 1/2 hours. They also said that there are more bots, more screen time for said bots, more fights and that they shot in a more coherent fashion for the fights.

Frankly their bitch and subsequent rating of the movie seems completely contradictory. They essentially say it is too long and too epic with robot destruction. Last time I checked, that's kinda the whole point.

Personally, I think the length (which apparently is extended a bit in IMAX) will be a good thing. I can't wait for this movie, only 10 days to go.

Edited June 14, 2009 by kaiotheforsaken

[areaseven]

It was announced that Tony Todd (Candyman) will do the voice of The Fallen. So what happens when you mention The Fallen's name five times in front of the mirror?

[areaseven]

Anyone here collecting the Slurpee cups & straws? So far, I have Prime and Bumblebee.

A word of warning: Bumblebee Blast flavor is nasty (especially if you hate coconut). Go for Megatron Mayhem flavor instead.

[Renato]

Can I just chime in and say one thing? Here in Japan, as far as I can tell, no-one gives a son-of-a-mother's bumfluff about the new Transformer movie. Or the old one. It comes out this weekend, but they only just started showing TV spots last weekend. Seriously.

You guys are talking about Transformers Slurpys and whatnot. You can't even FIND one person who has heard of Transformers around here.

Yeah, you will hear stuff like "it did well in Japan" and all this stuff, but seriously, people who actually go to the movies over here are very few and far between. There are no M&M, MacDonalds, or whatever tie-ups, there are no "Transform your summer" soft-drink campaigns, no nothing. I think I saw one ad for motor oil or something, which featured Bumblebee.

When the first movie came out I had the chance to be in the UK for a couple of weeks and experience total Transformer mayhem with the overkill hype machine. Every shop sold Transformer socks, Transformer pyjamas, Transformer backpacks, etc. Growing up in the UK, though, no-one gave a crap about TF. I used to buy the comic, but I think I was the only one. Then it got cancelled.

So... is it me?? Is whatever country I am in, suddenly affected by a general hatred of whatever I am interested in at the time?

The most bizarre thing is that the film is being released here on the 19th, earlier than anywhere else other than the UK and Ireland. Yet they really don't seem to be playing that up at all.

EDIT -- OK, you may say, what's my point? Nothing, I just wanted people to be aware that they shouldn't believe everything they hear about the film being a huge success in Japan or something if and when that gets reported. You cannot find Transformers toys and magazines and greeting cards in any supermarket like you can in the UK, for example. It is NOT a household name. This is not supposed to be an attack on anybody, I just want to let it be known that there is another side to this "worldwide success story".

Edited June 15, 2009 by Renato

[big F]

Hence while I was in Shinjuku I was able to get Binaltechs in the sale for £10. The shop keeper told me that only Engrish or Americans buy them. Now bear in mind in the U.K when they were still out you had to pay £20 for a Alternator, when the build quality of the Binaltechs are much better.

Uunless you bought them at Matalan where due to a pricing type I got em for £5, dang they noticed it realy quickly.

Yup TF's like Macross pale into insignificance in Japan when compared to the Mighty juganaught that is (all kneel before its might) Gundam.

[Bowen]

Just saw this over on /tv/:

>A notable moment occurs during the dementedly frenetic final act of Transformers 2. A robot-on-robot fracas is unfolding around Egypt’s Giza Necropolis, with Devastator, an especially massive mechanoid comprised of several construction vehicles, set on clawing its way to the peak of a pyramid.

>As it lumbers up the dusty colossus, a shot tilts up to its mid-section, revealing two wrecking balls dangling down. Yes, Michael Bay, the man who brought us cyber-micturition in this movie’s predecessor, has one-upped himself: Decepticon testicles.

I don't know wether to laugh or cry

Edited June 15, 2009 by Bowen

[RavenHawk]

For what it's worth, I picked up Sideswipe (Deluxe), Skids (Deluxe), Chromia (Deluxe), Breakaway (Deluxe), Rampage (Deluxe), Optimus Prime (Movie Legends), Jetfire (Movie Legends), Depth Charge (Scout), Rollbar (Scout), Ransack (Scout), and Knock Out (Scout) over the weekend (a couple were previously, the rest were taking advantage of Toys 'R Us having a 20% off sale).

For anyone who is interested, here are my thoughts:

Sideswipe: Absolutely love this one. Had a feeling I was going to like him when I saw the first pics of this one, but it is my absolute favorite, by a long shot. Yes, he's tough to pose, but he looks great it car mode, is actually fun to transform, and looks fantastic in robot mode. This is the one I keep going back to, as do my kids, while leaving the others on the shelf.

Skids: Not sure what to say. My son wanted to get this one, so we did. Transforming him is fun, though more complicated than it should be and I don't see a lot of kids really enjoying it, but the robot mode just looks awkward and too small.

Chromia: I really really wanted to love this one, since I am obsessed with motorcycle Transformers. Now, I really really love the bike mode, but the robot mode doesn't look right, doesn't pose, and is all disjointed, like they just rushed something, saying "Just have something fold out, and we'll call it an arm." I like this toy, but I don't love it like I should.

Breakaway: I really like this one. The jet mode is really pretty boring, but his robot mode just looks nice and different, and he's genuinely fun to transform. Problem is, his colors are terrible. If they had colored him the color that he is on the back of the packaging, he'd be fantastic.

Rampage: Looks good as a bulldozer, and his robot mode looks fantastic, really impsing. Problem is he's hard to pose, and he is a pain in the neck to transform. This is one of those ones you transform once, then just leave on display in robot mode.

Optimus Prime: He's ok. Nice to have a simple change prime, and I like that they went with a new way of transforming him, instead of just trying to shrink down the old one.

Jetfire: Eh. Doesn't look so hot in either mode, but I think his robot mode might look better than any of the other movie Jetfire toys currently available, including the robot replicas.

Depth Charge: I really like this one, and I don't know why. Something about the robot mode just looks very cool to me.

Rollbar: Fun little guy. More to the transformation than I would expect. Nothing really special here, though you have to love the Red Bull knockoff.

Ransack: Very very cool. Love the biplane, love the steampunk look of the figure. Wish I had the patience to paint it red.

Knock Out: Not bad at all. Fun and different transformation, not too simple and not too complex. Just right. I like this one a lot and am looking forward to the Reverb repaint.

Now, what I think is a big deal: COMBINING!

Movie Legends class (yes, the tiny ones) Optimus Prime and Jetfire combine! I didn't know this when I bought them, but was kind of hoping they would. Granted, a peg on Jetfire just slides into a notch on Prime, so there's nothing to it, but the result actually looks a good bit like the combined form is supposed to in the movie (and on the big toys and on the keychain).

HOWEVER, with the Deluxe class vehicles, it really ticks me off. We get Chromia now, but Arcee, whom she combines with, doesn't come out until the fall. We get Skids, but Mudflap, whom he combines with, doesn't come out until the fall. Same with Prime and Jetfire I believe.

I assume that this is so that when they combine in the movie it will be a surprise to the general public, but it is really disappointing waiting months to get the other half of the combined toy.

[Knight26]

For any of you lusting after that skank Megan Fox (and I have no idea why, she is frigging nasty), check out the pictures of the Trans-2 Berlin premier, her dress leaves little to the imagination.

[Shin Densetsu Kai 7.0]

We get Skids, but Mudflap, whom he combines with, doesn't come out until the fall. Same with Prime and Jetfire I believe.

Actually, Mudflap, along with the other figures in his wave such as Ravage, Canon Bumblebee and Interrogator Barricade are already out.

[big F]

Oh such a shame I have friday off and guess what premiers at my local multiplex on friday.