Short thoughts on DOTM - SPOILER ALERT!

[minion]

SPOILER ALERT

I had the chance to see DOTM with the Transformers@TheMoon boys, Starscream's Ghost, Thegreatdestroyer and Spacebridge at the FDA press screening in London yesterday afternoon. Having slept on it here are some short thoughts on DOTM in some sort of chronological order - i'll probably add more later:

Cool NASA space landing stuff. Horray for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Lightyear!

Gratutious 3D butt shot.

My god this Whiteley girl can't act. She's only been on screen for 2 minutes and is a black hole of charisma. Looks nice though.

Prime's trailer turning into a weapons locker is cool.

Shockwave! He looks amazing! He has a very Tarantulas style mouth which if you're going to give Shockwave a mouth it may as well be that.

Why does Megatron think he's the Man With No Name? Looks awesome, just makes zero sense. Loving the shotgun slung over his back though.

Megatron's mechanibal dog thing is awesome. A toy is needed now!

Laserbeak lands on Megatron's forearm - MARK OUT MOMENT!

The little Scalpels in Megatron's head remind me of the maggot in the Corpse Bride.

Getting a bit sleepy by this point. Sam's job and girlfriend stuff is boring and not very funny.

Laserbeak is genuinely brilliant.

The Dreads were amazing. I want all three! My wife leant over and went 'why is Predator in this?' when you got the close up of Crankcase.

Ironhide saying 'Decepticon punk' is all kinds of win.

Sideswipe actually did something other than be a roller skating buffoon. Mexican stand off tastic!

Sentinel Prime is more of a dick than Animated Sentinel Prime. Congratulations.

Ironhide's death was rough. I was actually shocked.

McDreamy is a total sleazeball - love it.

Didn't see the Merc coming as being Soundwave in disguise. Suspected it may be a TF but nice little surprise there. Very neat.

Wreckers. Ugh. Not twins bad, but bad.

Megatron's Master Plan tastic! Very cool moment sending the Autobots away in the shuttle.

That invasion happened fast. I feel like I blacked out for ten minutes - not that this film needed any more time adding!

Epps! I was getting worried he wouldn't show up. He bought Calvin Scott from My Wife & Kids with him. They were team awesome.

My butt is really starting to ache at this point. I feel like i've been in this seat forever, at least it's the final battle - that'll only be another 15 minutes... won't it? ...

Very Terminator Salvation-esque in the city aftet the invasion.

Prime turns back up and does his best Rock impression with 'Kill em all and let God sort em out!'

More Shockwave being freakin' amazing. Can't understand a word he's saying though.

Prime fears overhead cables.

Return to form of the first movie in that Prime keeps disappearing and popping back up to do cool stuff. Does he have a nap between these scenes?

Starscream fears the Lebeouf. Way to go out like a tard.

Shockwave goes out but it takes the military, all the Autobots and an enraged Prime to do it. Bad ass. Take notes Starscream.

Cybertron coming into Earth's orbit = Ultimate Doom awesomeness. We need Dinobotys digging out trenchs on beachs though damnit! Plus Brawn being macho.

Whilst it's Prime vs Prime we also have Mutt vs McDreamy. A true battle for the ages...

Star Trek references and quotes ahoy. Love it.

One word from the girl who can't act and Megatron is all fired up DBZ style. Suppose some groundwork was laid for this but it still made me go hmmmm.

The massacre ends and you're left feeling awesomeified, drained and with a sleepy butt. Cracking stuff though. It might lack the magic of the first film, but this ithe sequel we wanted.
Should have had 20-30 mins trimmed out of the middle and final battle though. Also had a few story telling pacing problems, as well as moments where it didn't seem to flow. 3D is gorgeous. See it on the big screen.

Overall a solid 8/10 score.

[Dubcustomz]

I thought it was bloody awesome! It certainly is the best of the 3, and more then makes up for any bad tastes left over from ROTF, and does everything the first film did right and adds to it.
More robots and better characterization, Optimus Prime was amazing and all the other autobots were great. The wreckers were especially fun to watch, and the two comic releif autobots that replaced Skids and Mudflap were no where near as annoying and were actually quite cute and funny, i liked them alot.
The whole story is just so much stronger and more interesting this time round, mainly thanks to the fact that its based off of two G1 episodes.
If you havent been reading spoilers and are going into it not knowing anything then theres a couple of big twists in there thats for sure. I was surprised.
Lots of death and destruction here too, you actually see humans getting vaporized and slaughtered by Decepticons which was something you never saw in the last two movies and because of it you get a bigger sense of consequence to whats happening. Things get really REALLY bad for the humans and autobots alike, its very dark and because of that the story just keeps you hooked all the way through which is saying somethign considering the films' epic length.
The action was mind blowing, best of the series and everything was choreographed and shot beautifully and the 3-D was amazing. Sound was great as well, this is some of the best sound work ive heard in a movie for a long time. The CGI has to win an oscar this time around too, its just amazing.
Sams new love interest was much better than his old one, good riddance to her because this new girl is great i think. Shes a damn sight much better looking and can act better too which, considering this is the actresses first job at acting is saying something.
Its funny because they seem to have the formula down perfectly now, all the chemistry between the characters is in the right place but its the final movie so its a shame theres not more on the horizon. You never know though, if this earns billions at the box office maybe they will be tempted to make another. Despite how many characters died in this one theres still tons of characters to bring in from seasons 3 and 4 of g1. Id like a movie based around Unicron in some form or another.
Anyway, i cant praise the team enough for this spectacular movie, cant wait to see it again!
If youve ever had even a fleeting interest in the movie-verse Transformers at some point or another you owe it to yourself to see this. Its not only a great Transformers movie, but its a great movie period.

[Phill]

Saw it today.

Better than the 2nd one, and a definite end to this part of the story.

Considering it was my first 3D movie, it left me feeling a little under whelmed. Not a good sign when I felt that the 3D in the Real 3D advert at the start was more impressive than the whole film.

The humour was better in this film than the efforts in the 2nd one, but then it wouldn't take much to top that.

As I've been reading the comics I know what's meant to have happened to other characters, but out would have been nice to have them name-checked in the film.

The length of the film isn't really an issue, as it's fairly fast-paced at some points and it'll fly by. Just don't half-finish your super-sized drink during the trailers or you'll be rushing to the loo at some point, like many did in the screening I was at.

[Dubcustomz]

Phill Wrote:Saw it today.

Better than the 2nd one, and a definite end to this part of the story.

Considering it was my first 3D movie, it left me feeling a little under whelmed. Not a good sign when I felt that the 3D in the Real 3D advert at the start was more impressive than the whole film.

The humour was better in this film than the efforts in the 2nd one, but then it wouldn't take much to top that.

As I've been reading the comics I know what's meant to have happened to other characters, but out would have been nice to have them name-checked in the film.

The length of the film isn't really an issue, as it's fairly fast-paced at some points and it'll fly by. Just don't half-finish your super-sized drink during the trailers or you'll be rushing to the loo at some point, like many did in the screening I was at.

Heh i was like that, i needed a wee but once earth started getting invaded i didnt notice it, then the credits hit and i was like "OOOOHHH MAAN GOTTA WEE!!!" lol

[thelastallosaur]

Just got back from seeing it at the Glasgow Imax. Loved every moment.
SPOILERS:
So basicly the cybertronian worm is the kraken and Shockwave is Davy Jones? Thought this was a great way to make Shockwave feel like a proper threat, but to me he seemed to be a bit of a loose end most of the time. Was there any indication at all that he actually communicated with any of the other decepticons?
Sentinel; I did not see that coming, but thought it was done really well. Ironhide's death was the first time I've been properly sad about an autobot dying in the movies.
Didn't like blue scientist autobot guy much, feel like Optimus could have given them the gubbins from his trailer or something. But I was kind of glad they had an unlikeable character to get killed off in the execution scene.
Wreckers; was dissapointed not to see their standard vehicle modes, and I thought their accents were out of place.
Was dissapointed that Starscream was relegated to token 'killed by humans' character, and he didn't seem to do a lot in this film compared to ROTF.
OPTIMUS HAS HIS AXE!!! Was so excited to see this, and to see it work.
Barricade got a raw deal, wasn't quite blink and you'll miss it but it wasn't what you'd call a starring role. A shot of him in vehicle mode would have been nice.
A LOT of awesome generic decepticon designs, would love to see a toy of the garbage truck bot. Also want to see deluxe versions of the other two dreads.
Humans working with decepticons was a pleasant surprise, and made sense in the context of the numerous conspiracies.
Was glad to see less of the stupid humour, but what was there was still to much.
I kind of want the story to end here. Too many major characters are gone for me to feel that another installment is necessary. There are only so many excuses to bring Megatron back to life.

If I've sounded critical then that's because it was never going to be perfect, that said it is definitely my favorite of the series and is recommended to any fan.

[Gruff]

My turn!!!!!!!!!! And being the uber dedicated fan that I am, I've seen it twice already lol!!!

I loved it, absolutely loved it!! Did have some gripes but overall really enjoyed it!! Lets go through it......

Rosie Huntington Whitely - her first appearance, ohh yes but initially started to think thats all we'd get from her but she was surprisingly good in the film. Was not a damsel in distress 24/7 and held her own on screen with Shia, Ms McDormand and more importantly Megatron. Only negative side was her running round Chicago in high heels.

Shockwave - looked damn good, there was a real sense of threat around him. Barricade and the others appearing to grovel for his forgiveness, Prime's concern about him and the concentrated effort to take him out at the end. Negatives though, lack of character build up to people who didnt know him and not enough time on screen.

Optimus Prime - THE TRAILER THE TRAILER!!!!! Got G1 goosebumps seeing him with his trailer!! Saw a more ruthless side to him as well, "We will kill them all!" just added to it.......

Sentinel Prime - Superbly voiced by Leonard Nimoy and loved the Spock joke and reference in the film. NEVER saw that twist coming though, when I saw it opening night with THAT scene there were a lot of fanboys (myself included) that shouted NOOOO at the screen. When I saw it the next day the entire audience was hushed into silence. Truly shows that people care about their characters.

Starscream - sigh moving on.......

The Wreckers - Ruthless, bad ass, tough as nails and rude as hell, LOVED THEM!!! They took on Shockwave and laid waste to Primus knows how many Decepticons. Only negative was a certain battle cry missing which I totally would of been out of the seat for.

The film in general :- running time was 2 1/2hrs long and it didnt feel that long. as soon as you see Chicago the movie belts along at a rollercoaster pace. Tone was really dark, the humans being slaughtered in the streets in a War Of The Worlds styling was eye opening but it was the execution scene that did it. That had, in both viewings I went to, wow that scene had people crying their eyes out. On the 2nd viewing there were small children present and some of them had to be taken out but it was mostly adults crying.

Shia brought a new scale of humour, less toilet (LOL!!!) humour and more facial, the parents were reeled in and the double act of Wheelie and Brains was a winner. John Malkovich was very wierd, Turturro was a scene stealer as usual, Frances McDormand was brilliantly icy and objective and with RHW helped ground the film. Patrick Dempsey was also a big big winner here playing against cast and being a baddy!!!

Overall Bay went out with a huge winner of a film here, the epic battle of Chicago at the end was awesome and the building up to it with its conspiracies and betrayals, new loves and lost friends kept the film balanced. There was plenty there to keep everyone of all ages happy and amused.
i loved all the G1 references, Megatrons Master Plan and The Ultimate Doom for a start, The Wreckers brought in, the cyberworm from the game War For Cybertron (not one reference to that yet!!).

The outlook for the franchise is very very very strong, realistically we wont be seeing big box office revenue as you have the last Harry Potter and Captain America all out shortly but it will still be a very strong return I feel.
I also believe the franchise can survive without Shia and Bay, we dont need to look for a new director as the best possible replacement was the executive producer!!!

9/10 not a 10 mainly due to lack of characterisation on newer characters. But overall one of the greatest cinematic experiences of my life!!!!

[thelastallosaur]

minion Wrote:Starscream fears the Lebeouf. Way to go out like a tard.

Gruff Wrote:Starscream - sigh moving on.......

I've given this a little more thought, and now I don't actually mind what happened to Starscream. Movie Starscream was a bully and a coward, who picked on the humans because he was too scared to attack any of the autobots. He's proven he can efficiently attack autobots, but here we see him toying with our main human character instead. He's been bullying Sam in all three films, so it seems reasonable that Sam is getting fed up of him, and angry enough to recklessly attack him the way he did. It wasn't a noble death for Starscream, but in the movies he isn't a noble character. While I will agree that I think the humans have taken out too many major Decepticons in the previous installments(*cough* Blackout *coughcough* Devastator), I felt that this time it was justified.

[dalisprime]

Just came back from imax and here are my thoughts:

The good: More focus on the bots, you can actually see what's happening, the G1 references, Laserbeak being a bad ass bird , stunning CGI (but, see below), one of the wreckers speaking in a scottish accent - for some strange reason I found it pretty awesome

The bad: The plot seemed like it skipped scenes sometimes: Bee turns up to save Sam and Lennox one scene and next time we see him, he and the other bots are already captured by Decepticons, Megatron just sitting in a side street after being bitch slapped by Sentinel; sometimes the background was blurred for no apparent reason (it wasn't always a matter of perspective either) - not sure whether that was the trade off of filming the movie in 3D but it annoyed me a tiny bit

The ugly: Shia's acting skill is, to be polite, lacking...the scene where he arrives at the NEST base for the first time and starts screaming like a retard after his Datsun gets caught by the barriers pretty much sums him up =/ Luckily I didn't see the movie for him...

On a side note - has anyone else noticed how Rosie's make up and her white top remained immaculate despite her being in the middle of a collapsing city?