Supermallet

I think we can all agree that whether or not he makes good movies, Bay has a strong eye for visuals. And crap 3D is crap 3D, so a guy who prides himself on having a visual eye would say something like that.

That being said, the inclusion of Ken Jeong has me running away from this movie as fast as my feet can carry me.

fumanstan

I didn't even notice the Ken Jeong thing. Bleh. I dig him in comedies, but this just seems to allude to more slapstick silly stuff.

dan30oly

In the first two films we had:

Michael Bay pissing on Transformers fans.

A dog pissing on an Autobot.

An Autobot pissing on a decepticon.

Now with Ken Jeongs' signing we're sure to have a human pissing on an Autobot.

Dr. DVD

I have an idea for a new transformer, possibly the Ferrari.

He can transform and have a slick, 70s Porn Star hairstyle of wires, talk with a bad accent, and launch missiles out of his crotch area, accidentally doing it everytime Megan Fox walks by him. That would be funny!!!

Solid Snake

for a second there I thought you were Ash.

Dr. DVD

Nope, I'm not. But don't tell me you would be surprised in the least if Bay and co. put something like that in the movie.

Solid Snake

I actually would be. I like to hope that most films don't get worse in a franchise...so I hope something like that doesn't happen.

RocShemp

I like that he refuses to shoot the film in 3D since he's not accustomed to it (which is far better than having him half-ass a 3D shoot) and refuses to let Paramount convert the movie in post.

Any word as to wether he'll put the IMAX cameras to better use this time?

Giles

I thought the same thing what is this blu-ray.com??

Giles

HAH! coming from someone who acts like he has ADD - I doubt it.

RocShemp

Simmons (John Turturro) was a Decepticon?

Travis McClain

It's funny, but in some ways Michael Bay is the most important evidence in the case against the auteur theory, and in other ways he seems to fit the bill perfectly. I say he's not an auteur because his greatest strength is taking a script and executing it by nearly all accounts quickly and professionally (with some high anxiety along for the ride). I honestly think you could hand Bay a camera crew, some actors and a 100 page script he'd never seen before and wrap shooting within a month. He strikes me as the kind of guy who would have been perfect back in the old studio system.

On the other hand, his films have a very distinct--if not unique--aesthetic. He may object to a lot of technological tinkering with moviemaking, but he's been willing to edit the ever-loving hell out of his movies to make sure that the final product includes the money shots he wants. He knows his audience, and isn't embarrassed to give them what they want.

For most of the criticism I have about the Transformers movies, I blame the writers Orci & Kurtzman. Their approach seems to have been that, since the G1 fans grew into today's [adult swim] viewers, they should include a lot of frat humor. I get the logic, but I think they could have made much more interesting movies by not imposing it. The only thing I get on Bay for is his time-consuming obsession with the military. I know I spent more time watching faceless, unnamed pilots scrambling off an aircraft carrier than I saw of 80% of all the actual Transformers in Revenge of the Fallen.

thelonelyisland

I have NEVER seen Transformers 1 or 2.
Haha.

Solid Snake

You and many others...point being...?

Maxflier

The first one is worth watching.

Giles

as much as 2 was for the most part a festering pile of horse shit. I must admit the first ten minutes where Decepticon rolled down the highway was pretty impressive - which in of itself was a complete lost opportunity to film THAT scene in IMAX - Bay proved he was totallyl inept.

Travis McClain

"Totally inept" is unfair. Bay was on record as being against shooting in IMAX in the first place. Even if he had wanted to shoot that opening in IMAX, the bonus materials make it quite clear that ILM was entirely unprepared for handling what little IMAX footage was required of them; they were still working on Devastator atop the pyramid up to the last day.

Personally, I hated nearly everything to do with the human characters in Revenge of the Fallen, but I really did enjoy the stuff that actually bothered to feature Transformers. That forest battle was flat-out awesome, and very rewarding to see Optimus in full-on battle mode.

Ash Ketchum

I'd pay to see that in 3-D.

Giles

okay, maybe 'totally inept' is a bit extreme and uncalled for, but for the first IMAX scene to be nearly 45 minutes into the movie seems lazy. It sounds like IMAX was a last minute decision and as a result the movie suffered - true the Forest figt scene was very impressive, but it all felt like a tease, after seeing how Nolan used IMAX shot scene to much better effect - and true whenever the human element was in the film, it drained and effected the pace of the movie.

Dr. DVD

I have to agree with the assessment that Transformers 2 sucked for the most part, but the action scenes (i.e. stuff with the Transformers) kicked ass, enough to warrant the purchase of a Blu-Ray IMO. I still play the opening sequence on my system occasionally to get an adrenaline rush.

Travis McClain

Well, like I said, from a practical perspective, ILM could scarcely handle the demands of the CGI that were needed for this movie with what little IMAX footage there was. The only thing to do differently would have been to use it earlier, at the expense of using it later, which gets into an artistic argument.

Personally, I thought it was the right move to wait until that forest battle to really open up the movie. Would the opening have been impressive in IMAX? Yes, but I think IMAX adds a lot more to the tension of the story coming in unexpectedly when it does, for such an important scene.

RocShemp

That's the only reason I have it on BD. Too bad they royally dropped the ball during the Megatron/Fallen vs. Optimus Prime fight at the end.

Solid Snake

uh..wow. I just skydive....dunno about getting an adrenaline rush from watching a movie.

Dr. DVD

Well, I liked seeing Optimus kick all sorts of ass. I only wish they had played "The Touch" by Stan Bush while it happened.

DVD Josh

Michael Bay...Unlikely Voice of Reason.