Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

I liked the most recent one, but thought it was too long. I don't see any reason for them to keep hiring Michael Bay to make them. Do you think this franchise is close to death?

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

No. Unfortunately... No. Bay is a big deal as to why it works for the masses. It's a piece of shit for me but it makes money.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

It's not my favorite franchise running currently but no it hasn't run it's course yet. The films still make a ton of money so they'll keep going for a while at least. I do think that if the newest film was trimmed down into about two hours rather than being close to three it would have been a more solid film all around though.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Giant transforming robots will never run their course. I can't wait for a Transformers musical. A Transformers swashbuckler. A Transformers western. And a Transformers mumblecore film....

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Absolutely not. This is not an artistic franchise where they've run out of ideas, hell they barely had an idea in the first place. It's about money & lots of it. Plus it's virtually critic proof. It's getting horrible reviews but it's still putting asses in seats.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

I myself have not seen any of them nor will I ever, even if it were for free. As long as people go see it, the studios will continue making it.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Considering yet again, Optimus Prime turned into a printing press for the studio and cash is flying off it, its going strong.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

It made $100 million this weekend. I'd say no.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

It has with me. I'll watch this new one on HBO when it comes out on there. But I'm not paying to see these in theaters or on blu anymore.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

I havent seen the new one yet, but probably not. I do hope Michael Bay moves on, Pain and Gain was a welcome break from these movies.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Plus it made $200 million overseas. A nice $300 million weekend.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Question: Michael Bay has been derided his entire career for excess and bombast. He's frequently pointed out as being the definition of Hollywood over the top action. Despite many people being critical of his style, many of his films are very popular. Most people enjoy The Rock and many people love the Bad Boys films. I personally enjoyed The Island.

He has now been wrapped up in Transformers for 7 years during which time he made 4 films that every sane person consider to be complete pieces of shit.

1. Is it a good thing that Michael Bay got sidelined making shitty Transformers movies so that he couldn't use his shitty abilities elsewhere?

-or-

2. Would it have been better if he never made a Transformers film and instead we got to see what else Bay had up his sleeve? Maybe Bad Boys 3 or something original that's as good as The Rock.

I think I would have rather seen him try and fail over the last 7 years while I crossed my fingers that he made something good, rather then watch him waste 7 years of his life on 4 films that were hopeless pieces of shit.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

From the studio perspective, it hasn't run its course until it stops making ridiculous money.

As a viewer, to me it seems like they just keep making the same film over and over. How much variance exists in any of the stories? Virtually none.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Please please let them reboot the franchise...make them a more clean looking more refined (like the Cartoon or that video game trailer with the Dinobots) and make it a faithful adaptation to the cartoon with less humans.

-pray-

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

I wouldn't mind if they continued the series with someone like Justin Lin at the helm. I actually saw Pain and Gain the night before I saw this new one and was disappointed at how quickly Bay went back to the old bombastic approach. However, I also thought Pain and Gain was a bit overlong for the story it was telling.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

No, not even close.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

They will continue to make them as long as Bay sticks around. I foresee this eventually becoming something like the Godzilla franchise but as a true global brand.

Transformers are the apex predators of the Hollywood money system.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

And that is probably the neatest Transforming trick of all... At least by Hollywood standards.

I'll go with #1. The only non-Transformer movie by Bay that I liked was PEARL HARBOR. I watched a few scenes from the BAD BOYS movies on cable and was thoroughly repelled. I really disliked THE ROCK and couldn't sit through ARMAGEDDON. I don't recall anything else of his I've seen.

Artistically yes, it ran its course before the first movie was over. Financially, I don't think it's going anywhere, the franchise is a box office juggernaut which continues to pack the audiences in.

"It's the ultimate movie for globalization, because you need no brain to understand it."
John Landis

It's certainly the epitome of the Hollywood blockbuster in contemporary terms: braindead, incoherently plotted, shot with a loud, glossy, shiny, sexy (or less kindly, misogynist) aesthetic which aims to be as bombastic and excessive as possible, determined to truly prove the "more is better" axiom.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Fuck that.

I may have thought the first one was alright but Bay is more boring now than before. I may not like his films for the most part but it is very nice to see a variation. If he did a movie in between each one. That'd be cool too. But all he was Pain and Gain...after 3 TF movies. And he only was able to do that one cuz Paramount would do it if he agreed to do more TF films.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

I have enjoy they Trans movies, except for a few minutes in the 2nd movie.

Looking forward to seeing the movie with my son. The last 2 movies were panned by the critics, after watching them both in IMAX, my son and I turned to each other and said "What were the talking about".

I go to movies to be entertained, and that be many different forms: Action, comedy, Sci-Fi, Time Travel (My fav), romance (wife loves to go to these with me), animation...
-Transformers gives me Action, Sci-Fi, little comedy and a little romance (with Fox, not that other blond...she was the worse part of the 3rd movie).

Some, not all, get on the band wagon of hating a movie because it is popular and they let their views be known. All that is OK, but their seems to be a ton of people that still enjoy TF movies.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Shia LeBarf isn't in this movie. That's enough to make me want to buy the Blu-ray.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

No. But I hope Bay leaves. I really like his movies and want to see him move onto something else.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

$100 million in one weekend. Apparently not.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Transformers 4 will make a billion dollars easily. I also hope Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles breaks a billion so fanboy heads will explode all over the world Scanners style.

When western civilization comes crumbling around you, don't go blaming us ;).

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

So you liked the twin hip-hop talking Transformers from the second film? Yes they were truly a pleasure to behold.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Let's see... wanted to walk out of the first flick at the theater but hung in there. Gave it a second chance on DVD months later... still shit. Decided to rent Transformers 2 from Netflix just to see if I was too harsh on the first film. The disc was back in the mailbox after about 45 minutes. Never gave 3 a shot, I learned my lesson. These films aren't for me.

Easily #2. Loved the Rock, really liked Bad Boys, the Island and Armageddon. Pearl Harbor was decent. Bad Boys II was as terrible as the Transformers flicks. I'd rather him try new stuff than regurgitate shit. So Bay has made more shitty films than good ones at this point.

Checking RottenTomatoes, the Rock is the only Bay film with a fresh rating, but that's pretty understandable from critics. Something that might blow a few minds, the Rock has the highest audience percent at 86% which is tied with another flick also at 86%...Transformers. :suicide:

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

I'm surprised Bay didn't just hand the reigns to someone else. Seems like they can put this franchise on autopilot and Bay can do whatever other project.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

I really don't think we lost a massive directorial talent when Bay went all in on the Transformers. He made a couple of interesting films but I don't believe the world was clamoring for a Bad Boys 3.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

It ran its course after the horrid first flick.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

Never had a course with me. I grew up with Transformers being one of my favorite toy lines, but these movies have done nothing for me. I'm still waiting for one of them to transform ... All I have seen is vehicles "explode" into a ball of mechanical shit and a robot walks out. The "comic relief" (read: all human characters) was entertaining for the first 17 seconds.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

The movies are just visually so hard to follow. Like Abob just said, it's just a bunch of mechanical shit, they're not Transformers.

It's more like "Sam Whitwicky tries to get laid, guest starring a bunch of robots who vaguely resemble the Transformers."

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

The best thing to come out of Bad Boys 2 was that line in Hot Fuzz:

"You ain't seen Bad Boys 2?"

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

This was my feeling about the first movie; it was two hours of lame Woody Allen impersonation and 15 minutes of cool robot stuff.

I avoided the second one until there was a Rifftrax of it. I only watched the third because Captain America was sold out and my friend didn't feel like just going up.

The third one actually entertained me. It was still stupid as hell, but it didn't bore me like the first one.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

He also directed the film Pain & Gain between Transformers 3 & 4, so he's made 5 films in 7 years.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

It just made 300 million world wide in one weekend and has a A- Cinemascore.

I think that is the opposite of death.

Re: Transformers Franchise: Has it Run It's Course?
 

And I hope that Hollywood enacts a new rule where every film must be directed by Christopher Nolan.