I saw one promotional clip where Optimus couldn't transform and it was a very slapstick sequence. His head retracted and he was running around saying "Where's my head!" and I didn't understand at all what was going on.
Who would've thought after seven movies and a little over twenty years of doing Transformers, someone at Paramount finally said: "Here's an idea. How about we make a family-friendly movie about talking robots who turn into vehicles, based on the family-friendly TV show about talking robots who turn into vehicles, about selling family-friendly toys about robots who turn into vehicles? And get a Pixar guy to direct it!"
@@robertban871 you're missing out. The movie is actually amazing and has a decent amount of both serious and emotional moments besides the lighthearted cheesy ones. I saw some reviews from those who actively disliked the first trailer for being too goofy and comedic like, and they were pleasantly surprised by it. That first trailer didn't do it justice at all.
It's good for the times we're in too. For decades we've been told that if we work hard and do what we're told, we'll be rich one day. Guess what, that didn't happen and people are angry and some want to burn everything down so they can be in charge and some want to reform the system from within. Sound familiar? For all the crap IDW received, you can't deny they were an influence on this movie.
Most of the crap IDW received was people getting mad that they (eventually) made it welcoming to women and queer people. Especially in the latter half of its run, those were some damned GOOD comics and I'm glad to see that their interpretation of Megatron and pre-war Cybertronian society is gradually becoming, or at least heavily inspiring, the default version of the setting.
You forgot the third class of people, the ones who STILL think they are temporarily embarrassed billionaires so they worship the rich and vote in favor of policies that screw themelves over to help the billionaires that they will be some day.
@@mabusestestament People are right to be upset with the current paradigm. The likes of Durden are wrong to go with an equally dehumanizing revolution forged in outrage and not liberation.
I know he’s not a fan of his early work, but I can’t help but remember Bob’s review of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallan. Amid the ranting, he shouted one of his long-term principles, “You can make a good movie out of anything!” as a defense of using Transformers as source material. It’s like we’ve come full circle.
Even if he's personally ashamed of how far he went in that review abusing Michael Bay, this movie could be his platform to shout "See! I TOLD you so!" about his stance regarding source material in it.
My favorite piece of Transformers media has always been Beast Wars. It had a good mixture of cartoon silliness and deserved drama, while growing Transformer lore beyond G-1, by using continuity as seasoning instead of the main course.
Mine is the War for/Fall of Cybetron games. I remember playing them and suddenly realising through osmosis and hints that there was this entire marvel/dc-esque continuity of Transformers stuff that I'd love to see. I was hoping those games would kick off a larger continuity I could get into. Years later I found out they were literally supposed to, and the people working on the various projects that were meant to be in it shat the bed on purpose. If it hadn't been like a decade since, I'd have been so mad.
Ah yes, the cartoon that saved the franchise. I wish I was exaggerating, but no. Beast Wars was the Hail Mary that kept Transformers from going the way of other 80s properties.
@@Starcat5 I would argue that the first movie was what set Transformers permanently apart in the zeitgeist. Way too many kids saw that movie and had their little lives upended for the franchise to not stick around in folks heads. Edit: to be clear I mean the animated, 80s movie, not the Bay movies.
I think the funniest part of this is how IGN gave this a 5/10 because there’s no way you could see this film and hate on it. It’s a refreshing take on the franchise and if it leads towards a new continuity or ongoing series then I’m here for it.
I was thinking the same thing. Obviously it's not just the IDW comics backstory lifted wholesale, but things like Megatron as a miner is definitely a callback. And realistically, the IDW comics were more aimed at adult fans, so taking some elements but not the overall plot is probably the right move for a kid's movie.
The caste system on Cybertron seems to be a recurring theme in every continuity now. In the IDW comics it was based on what you transformed into at birth with construction vehicles being the lowest, in xbox games and Prime, it was similar, and now this movie.
This is actual exciting. The Bay movies made me _miss_ original Transformers, i was born in 77, and i spent most of my elementary years fighting to get Transformers and Voltron, so it's really nice to see Transformers return to what i remember...
It’s a lovely thought that this movie has the potential to be nominated for awards, it’s just a shame it probably won’t win; most awards, especially the Academy Awards, are basically predisposed to hand the award to whatever Disney or Pixar put out that year (with a few exceptions, thank you Into the Spider-verse).
It sounds like the writers took a whole bunch of ideas that had been floating around in the various transformers settings and slapped them together. The premise of a caste system where one group is forced to act as miners was present in the Transformers: Animated series, though the Caste system being based on transformation was also prevalent in the IDW comic (however, the Caste System in the comic was centered around what you could transform into and thus dictated what you were allowed to BE in Cybertronian society). 3:50 Again, I'm reminded of the comic, though in the comic it was the other way around, Orion was working as a law enforcement officer while Megatron, though initially a miner, would later become a gladiator and sparked (hey, another pun) an underground resistance movement dedicated to overthrowing the corrupt regime of Zeta Prime, the Decepticons.
Heard about this project a long time ago from a TF channel, who described it as an "all CGI prequel set entirely on Cybertron with NO humans"...and I was *pumped*! And then I saw the trailer...Did NOT foresee that this would be a jokey comedy chock-full of OTT humor...I've had time to get used to the idea, and it's growing on me, but my hope is that they crammed all the jokes into the trailer to get the general audience butts in seats, and that there's still at least as much actual Heart and Drama to the story...
What impressed me most was how well the writers wove most if not all of the different origins from the TV series to the comics for Cybertron and the Transformers into 1 cohesive, coherent whole - e.g. Quintessons were once portrayed to be their creators, enslaving them, vs. Primus as their god who became their planet. Using the concepts of their transformation cogs and their sparks to be metaphors for talents (which you acquire) and their souls / character (who you are) respectively also strike a chord for our own human struggles. But what irked me the most was the low brow, quippy humour, which I guess is more for the kids than anything else. Something for every type of TF fan I suppose.
Saw an early screening. As a lifelong Transformers fan, this was pretty much exactly the TF movie I always wanted. And I thought the classism and systemic corruption angles were surprisingly well executed for what it was, especially as it related to Megatron’s development. It was like the IDW comics backstory but more refined.
sounds like they've taken a lot of ideas from the IDW comic books, particularly cybertrons 'golden age' actually being a dystopic caste based hellscape if you weren't one of the elite.
I'm really glad for Bob: he gets to watch a genuinely great movie based on a property very near and dear to his heart after decades of letdowns, and he also gets to be fully vindicated on the stance he took in his infamously vitriolic review of Revenge of the Fallen more than 15 years ago: You can make a good movie out of ANYTHING, and the Transformers franchise basically being a glorified toy commercial is no excuse to churn out a piece of crap when you can do better. This is doing better.
As another 80s kid who saw the original in theaters, the only way this could be better is if Stan Bush did another epic guitar song better than The Touch.
So Bob says he pretty much checks out of everything besides G1 Transformers and Bumblebee, and he "appreciates" Beast Wars... Does that mean he hasn't seen Transformers Prime? Maybe he just doesn't think that much of it, but I personally thought it was excellent!
One piece has been around for about a quarter of a century. So that’s a big target. I started reading it at 17 (and still read it) but was checked out of transformers when prime came about. Did you just find out about one piece?
@@Getwright- You talking to me? I found out about it around 2006-2007, I forget exactly when but it was around the time of the Water 7/Enies Lobby arcs.
Well I didn’t see this recommendation coming. I was willing to let this one pass and chalk it up to this generation of kids getting their own version of the story. Guess it’ll be worth a look for us old dinobots too.
I haven't seen the movie yet, but the character designs and the descriptions you gave of the society sounds strongly like IDW comics Megatron Origin and Cybertron-era comic series. As a transformers fan, I thought those books might just be the best version of the franchise I've ever known.
Saw this last weekend, had a pretty good time with it! Definitely agree with folks who came away loving this version of Megatron and Brian Tyree Henry’s performance.
I've been a fan since they began, and I have a collection of over 300 Transformers that goes back to the early 1980s, including a 1982 Optimus Prime I got autographed by Peter Cullen. I don't count any of the reboot movies as being actual Transformers movies, up until the Bumblebee movie, which was quite good.. However, Transformers One really hit the nail on the head, and it checked all the boxes. For the first time in a very long time, I am very happy with a movie from this franchise.
You had me at “Beetlejuice 2 & Transformers prequel with a G1 vibe” both being good is all the motivation I needed to see both! No spoilers; I’ll watch your review proper after I check out Transformers One lol
Always nice to see Bob pleasantly surprised by things. Also nice to hear a Transformers movie was "really good, actually." Doesn't seem like either happens very often.
hey as long as they don't do what they did in the original animated movie in this one, I'm good. but happy to hear this one's good! definitely going to see it one way or the other.
I thought this movie left more questions than answers. It oversimplified Megatron's motives. He is not ambitious or cunning, he's just mad (this movie did do a good job of showing his erratic side like in the early comics). Although it was great seeing all of the "cameos", I think it was too soon to see certain characters, even knowing this is a reboot/retelling of the franchise.
I was already planning on seeing this. It seems fun and funny. The idea of robots transforming and disguising as cars has always been silly, and it looks like they get this more than others.
I read the Wikipedia synopses of the main movies a week or so ago, and that was good enough for me, having seen the first two when they were new. But after Bob's review I'll probably check this one out. Prequels can be fun that way, not relying on audiences having seen all the related material.
I respect Bob’s opinion, and up until this review, I was going to pass on Transformers One as the other reviews gave it a mediocre at best. That said, I would love for someone to wipe the continuity slate clean and start a new series based on the Beast Wars era, with a more faithful adaptation of the source material. Unlike ROTB, the Maximals and Predacons were smaller that the Autobots and Decepticons for energy efficiency reasons, and it would be an interesting retelling to have the Maximals and Predacons fight on modern rather than prehistoric Earth.
ngl, but THIS and the comic.... it's a good time to be a G1 fan Also I would note, there's artists from Pixar on this. And I'm talking original 10 years of Pixar creative teams. So yeah, kinda a bigger deal here.
4:31 What is the name of that musical sting? I heard it a lot in Bob's older videos. OT: good to know this movie's great. Better than the trailers and ads showing it as, with an emphasis on Keegan-Michael Key as Bumblebee. But it still looks fun, loud, has big action with characters with big personalities, so count me in!
"I'm a fan of transformers stuff." also "I completely checked out after G1." Okay. I mean the transformers continuity really isn't that hard to figure out. (Almost) Every show/comic series is its own standalone thing. People don't go 'man there's just so many different Spider-Man or Batman or TMNT cartoon series, I can't keep track of what's going on anymore' because everyone knows they're each their own thing, Transformers is the same way. Anywho, glad to hear the movie is good at least.
To be fair to Bob, I saw Takara did try to continuity snarl EVERYTHING into one continuity. It's a non-canon mess, but it was attempted. But seriously, there are a few, loosely, connected elements. G1, Beast Wars & Beast Machines (stupid they changed writers & let them change characterizations). the Unicron Trilogy. &, chiefly, the Aligned Continuity (which is more similar universes, than a shared one, because they failed on the same continuity stuff), which comprised of a couple novels (which don't line up completely), the War & Fall off Cybertron games, Prime, Rescue Bots stuff (somehow), the 2nd show titled Robots in Disguise & I think some other stuff (probably comics). Really, Aligned is the only one that's really a problem, but Prime was done in a way you can ignore everything else & be satisfied with the series, give or take the ending. I'm sure comics tie-in to some, but I've never felt I was missing much (aside from Primus), without reading them. Oh, & the Netflix shows are all connected. No need to point out Bay's stuff.
Ive not watched the review as it has spoilers, but hopefully this movie hits near 1b as then Paramount and Hasbro will go "holy shit this no humans thing works". The big test however will be the toys, if the movie line (not studio series) does will with kids then we will get more. Adults enjoy, but if you can get a kid into it as well then they will want the toys, and this will make Hasbro very happy.
My issue was never with the cast. The dialogue presented in the trailers just always made me cringe. Glad the movie as a whole seems better than the trailer gives off.
this review feels less like Bob explaining for the normies how Transformers works, and more how out of touch he is with where Transformers are currently. Ain't no way anyone's putting a "quality asterisk" on the Cybertron games, TFAnimated, TFPrime, IDW and Earthspark (and that's just the critically good I remember off the top of my head. Bigger TF nerds can name more) IMO, we're at a point where, if you're surprised Transformers can be good, That says more about what you don't know, then it does about how good Transformers is.
Love you to death Bob but Beetlejuice Two was a lazy rehash peppered with a few good ideas. Not good. Ended with BJ trying to marry Lydia and had at least two characters that do not affect the plot, including Corpse Bride gal. No Es Bueno.
