darkSpyro

Irish Times review of TF4.

I saw TF4 yesterday and saw it was a marked improvement over the previous three (which I have always found as "guilty pleasures"). But this is the first film in the series that I can say is a legitimately good film. The effects are better than ever. The human characters, while flawed and typical, are considerably more interesting than in previous installments. And Bay isn't throwing the robots into the background so he can jerk off the US military. This article is pathetically misleading, and I think anybody here who has seen the film can agree. Mild spoilers up ahead.

The article claims that the film's tone is set by a single shot between the legs of the lead lady, expressing the idea of rape culture. Problem is that this is more or less the only sexual shot of the entire film (there's perhaps one or two more but they are often very brief and aren't as hammered in as in previous installments). TF4's human characters aren't based entirely around a love story, but rather a father/daughter aspect with some guy that the father doesn't approve of. It's several times more interesting than Sam's attempts to get laid in the first three films.

The article mentions this "rape culture" in the title, in the second paragraph, and then at the very end of the review. It even fails to justify its own accusations with little more than just mentioning a single shot that lasts all but 2 seconds. Rather, they then decide to just go through quick criticisms without any real substance behind any of them, and then in the end restate that the film "defines rape culture". How? You didn't explain.

Here are some of the most common complaints I've seen of the film:

1. The film is commercialized and only exists to sell toys.
Marvel movies exist not simply to sell toys, but also to sell comic books, to promote the characters, and to pour as much money into the brand as possible through merchandise for adults and children alike. Please don't look at TF4's marketing as a negative thing, and then get hyped up for Avengers 2 or GotG. Yes, I'm aware that the Marvel studios have much more passion for their IPs, and I fully agree with it (I am not going to sit here and say that any of the TF films are better than what Marvel has made).

2. The story is too confusing and you have no idea what's going on.
The TF films have always gotten the short stick from critics for having bare bones plots that were too simple and played to the lowest common denominator. Now that they are trying to insert story and drama into it, it's too much for them. These are also likely the same critics to complain about how audiences don't understand the deep cryptic message in an indie movie that played in 29 theaters for 2 weeks. TF4 was not difficult to follow.

3. It's nonstop action.
No it isn't.

4. It's Chinese propaganda
Never mind the fact that this is a horrible exaggeration, but when the third act takes place in China (and Hong Kong), no **** the Chinese government will get involved. You have a competent government agent (who also happens to be a woman; several people have complained that women haven't been getting empowering roles in film this summer while missing an example like that), a few shots of the Chinese flag (no different from the several American flag shots earlier in the film), some shots of Bejing and Hong Kong, and a single statement when guards see a giant alien ship coming their way and telling each other that they should notify the government. OH MAN SO MUCH PROPAGANDA.
How is it any different (or any worse) than the nonstop American propaganda that shows up in films on a yearly basis with no complaints? Even earlier in the film are shots of the American flag and scenes/shots that make Texas look like a great place to live for an All-American famly. The Chinese propaganda isn't as ham-fisted compared to previous films in even Bay's catalog.

5. It's too long.
This is probably the most justified criticism of the film out there. The film is ridiculously long and could've gone without some scenes. And yet I've never seen these complaints with other films. Lord of the Rings films are longer than TF4 but are critically acclaimed. Boyhood is playing in theaters right now with the exact same run time as TF4 (165 minutes) and not only has gotten good reviews, but is the first film in history to get a perfect 100 score on Metacritic (I don't count The Godfather). TF4 is long but what is the difference here?

6. The human characters suck
Ok I can understand that one.

It really does feel as though people went into this film outright expecting and wanting to hate it due to some grudge against Michael Bay when he is far from the worst director in the industry. TF4 was a step in the right direction for a franchise that may as well have stopped at the third film.

Read this. Or don't. Just felt like typing.

NO SLUDGE NO LIKEY!!
Loljk.

I completely agree.

Hound is better then most of the humans/robots.

who cares,i do not

The product placement in that movie was ridiculous, almost like some scenes were full-out advertisements. Like the Oreos Transformer... Wtf? Soon going to the movies will be just like watching TV at home... They'll place advertisements in the middle of the movie... -__- They've already started showing ads at the beginning. How long before they do something else like that?
Eh oh well, enough of my ranting.
Transformers 4 wasn't THAT bad of a movie. It was a major improvement of the first three, if that's saying much. It's mainly just a KABOOM! ACTION!! type of movie, if you like to see explosion porn and other goodies like that. The dinosaurs were mainly just for the little kids, to get them psyched up for the movie. ROBOT DINOSAURS!!? YEAH!!! But they didn't even appear until like, 20 minutes till the ending of the movie.
The characters were much better than Shia and Megan Fox (sorry fanboys..) ever were, which was an improvement.

Quote: Blackholes_Wolf

who cares,i do not

Ever have one of those times where you're irked and you need to say or write something out?

It seems like I'm the only one that liked the movie.

Quote: Epic popthorn

It seems like I'm the only one that liked the movie.

I did!

I haven't seen it, but I still want to.

I want my Oreo transformer now!

Oh hey, a new Transformers movie!

Oh hey, AND it's directed by Michael Bay!

Welp, there went all it's credibility as a decent film, look as the credibility flies straight out the open window. Hope you like Shia LeBidoof, Megan "Tits McGee" Fox, and explosions, otherwise you ain't getting any entertainment from any of his movies. Besides, the past 3 were pretty much all the same movie anyway.

(Why are there even more than 2 Transformers movies directed by Michael Bay, who seriously goes out to see his movies expecting something good? Seriously, Michael Bay can't direct to save his life.)

http://www.cringechannel.com/2...-bays-meltdown/

Quote: Crownless King

Oh hey, a new Transformers movie!

Oh hey, AND it's directed by Michael Bay!

Welp, there went all it's credibility as a decent film, look as the credibility flies straight out the open window. Hope you like Shia LeBidoof, Megan "Tits McGee" Fox, and explosions, otherwise you ain't getting any entertainment from any of his movies. Besides, the past 3 were pretty much all the same movie anyway.

(Why are there even more than 2 Transformers movies directed by Michael Bay, who seriously goes out to see his movies expecting something good? Seriously, Michael Bay can't direct to save his life.)

This didn't have Shia Lebuef of Megan Fox and you obviously don't like it only because it is directed by Michael Bay.

BTW the next 2 Transformers Movies probably won't be directed by Michael Bay.

Quote: Epic popthorn

Quote: Crownless King

Oh hey, a new Transformers movie!

Oh hey, AND it's directed by Michael Bay!

Welp, there went all it's credibility as a decent film, look as the credibility flies straight out the open window. Hope you like Shia LeBidoof, Megan "Tits McGee" Fox, and explosions, otherwise you ain't getting any entertainment from any of his movies. Besides, the past 3 were pretty much all the same movie anyway.

(Why are there even more than 2 Transformers movies directed by Michael Bay, who seriously goes out to see his movies expecting something good? Seriously, Michael Bay can't direct to save his life.)

This didn't have Shia Lebuef of Megan Fox and you obviously don't like it only because it is directed by Michael Bay.

BTW the next 2 Transformers Movies probably won't be directed by Michael Bay.

Yeah, he's a **** director and all of his movies are ****, sorry, you can't really defend just a few points and call the movie good. That's not how it works bud.

Quote: Crownless King

Quote: Epic popthorn

Quote: Crownless King

Oh hey, a new Transformers movie!

Oh hey, AND it's directed by Michael Bay!

Welp, there went all it's credibility as a decent film, look as the credibility flies straight out the open window. Hope you like Shia LeBidoof, Megan "Tits McGee" Fox, and explosions, otherwise you ain't getting any entertainment from any of his movies. Besides, the past 3 were pretty much all the same movie anyway.

(Why are there even more than 2 Transformers movies directed by Michael Bay, who seriously goes out to see his movies expecting something good? Seriously, Michael Bay can't direct to save his life.)

This didn't have Shia Lebuef of Megan Fox and you obviously don't like it only because it is directed by Michael Bay.

BTW the next 2 Transformers Movies probably won't be directed by Michael Bay.

Yeah, he's a **** director and all of his movies are ****, sorry, you can't really defend just a few points and call the movie good. That's not how it works bud.

Opinions are opinions and you obviously don't understand that. I think that it is a great movie and movie series.

Quote: Epic popthorn

Quote: Crownless King

Oh hey, a new Transformers movie!

Oh hey, AND it's directed by Michael Bay!

Welp, there went all it's credibility as a decent film, look as the credibility flies straight out the open window. Hope you like Shia LeBidoof, Megan "Tits McGee" Fox, and explosions, otherwise you ain't getting any entertainment from any of his movies. Besides, the past 3 were pretty much all the same movie anyway.

(Why are there even more than 2 Transformers movies directed by Michael Bay, who seriously goes out to see his movies expecting something good? Seriously, Michael Bay can't direct to save his life.)

This didn't have Shia Lebuef of Megan Fox and you obviously don't like it only because it is directed by Michael Bay.

BTW the next 2 Transformers Movies probably won't be directed by Michael Bay.

he also said that about DotM being the last film. And possibly not directing the fourth film. AND he said that about the third and second films as well. he's going to direct the next two films. They're too big of cash cows for Michael Bay to just drop being involved in any of the films.

personally I can't decide if AoE or the first film are better, but either way I find them to be very flawed movies even with some positives. ESPECIALLY RotF. But I just take them as mindless action at this point because that's all they are. There's not much redeeming about the films past the special effects and action.

The toys are pretty kewl though.

Quote: somePerson

The toys are pretty kewl though.

the toys are always kewl.

Quote: pankakesparx456

Quote: somePerson

The toys are pretty kewl though.

the toys are always kewl.

Armada toys kinda sucked.

Quote: Epic popthorn

It seems like I'm the only one that liked the movie.

If I didn't like it I wouldn't have spent time writing this topic out.

Quote: Crownless King

Yeah, he's a **** director and all of his movies are ****, sorry, you can't really defend just a few points and call the movie good. That's not how it works bud.

It's all a matter of perspective. By all means the film isn't good if you already disliked previous installments, but it's also a considerable improvement over the last three, and is a step in the right direction. It went from having no story to having something resembling as such (even though critics seem to believe it's too much story now), the effects are Oscar-worthy at this point, many of the pointless robots from the past have been booted and pretty much everyone has a role to play now aside from selling toys, and Marky Mark is a better lead than Shia ever was.

If you hate the previous films, this one probably won't change your mind. But as someone who already did, I really liked it.

Quote: pankakesparx456

he also said that about DotM being the last film. And possibly not directing the fourth film. AND he said that about the third and second films as well. he's going to direct the next two films. They're too big of cash cows for Michael Bay to just drop being involved in any of the films.

It's also worth noting that when he directs big box office draws like this, he gains more power in the industry to make whatever projects he wants without much protest since he was the guy that made over $3 billion in a single series. Pain & Gain wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the profit gained from the TF series at Bay's helm. So if making these films and bringing in money will allow him to have more creative control in studios to make his dream projects, he will do it.

Michel Bay isn't that bad of a director.

I think a big reason everybody hates Bay is because he is the poster child for a lot of what Hollywood does today. And the TF series directed by him has probably played a bigger role in the direction of the big budget industry than we currently realize. So he becomes a huge target for criticism of the industry from people that want a single person to point at.

Thing is, there are several other people in the industry that are worse than Bay, in that they have worse writing, worse direction, and not even the decent explosions to mask all of that like Bay can.

Bay is not a good director (the TF series is the only decent thing he's ever done). But he's not the worst either.

But people always blame Bay the director and nobody else working on the project.

He's the most public figure on the production team and so he's the easiest to point the blame finger at.

Quote: somePerson

The toys are pretty kewl though.

The Fall Of Cybertron deluxe Combaticons disagree with you.
But yeah, most of this year's movie figs are pretty good. Although some have too much chrome.

You know what would've been cool? If Starscream became the king of Decepticons when Megatron died and went to rebuild the fraction with Soundwave and Shockwave as his underlings, he would hire Lockdown to exterminate the Autobots as the main villian and die ending 4. Then in the credits you see Starscream, Shockwave, and Soundwave making a new Transformer that looks like Megatron. Then in the 5th movie we have a gigantic war with the Cons(Insect, Preda, etc) when all of a sudden Starscream backstabs Galvatron to make Unicron and kills Optimus Prime in the climax and then the Decepticons win this battle at a cliffhanger. In the 4th + 5th movie Ultra Magnus is being developed as he is Prime's chosen one. Then in the 6th movie the Cons force humans and Autobots to become their slaves or force them to be in camps. But secretly Ultra Magnus has been making a reliance with many Autobots and raises up to overthrow the cons. Starscream is also shown to become softer and softer in many scenes in his space throne. Magnus and most of the bots survive when Bumble Bee gets shot by Soundwave leading into an awsome battle between Magnus and Soundwave with Shockwave destroying the other Autobots. Hound, Crosshairs, Prowl, Drift, Rachet, and some Dino bots are the important deaths. Then Grimlock gets really pissed when Sludge gets killed and gets revenge by killing Shockwave. Then Magnus and Soundwave are still fighting when Bumble Bee shots Soundwave leaving Magnus to kill him. Then in space Starscream and Magnus confront each other and then start to fight. But Unicron w=has betrayed the Cons and decides to destroy Earth and every robot. Magnus knocks off Starscream but it is too late because Unicron starts to prepare his giant laser with Magnus crying and saying sorry to the people he couldn't save. Then all of a sudden Starscream sacerfices himslef and the remaining Autobots manage to kill Unicron.

This fan-fic sucks.

I want Magnus to be like this.

and this bad-ass truck mode

I'd rather like him to have trailer armor, though. That'd be cool.

Galvatron was pretty pathetic in the movie... Hound was epic.

transformers 4 sucked. 3 sucked. 2 was horrible. 1 was eh.

- - -

Sentinel Prime was right about humans betraying the Autobots! :O So he isn't a traitor but a hero that failed!

Quote: somePerson

Sentinel Prime was right about humans betraying the Autobots! So he isn't a traitor but a hero that failed!

He murdered Ironhide...

Quote: LegoLander

Quote: somePerson

Sentinel Prime was right about humans betraying the Autobots! :O So he isn't a traitor but a hero that failed!

He murdered Ironhide...

If he didn't Ironhide would of been killed by humans so it's a lose lose situation for him. Prime also made an apologetic face when he shot Bumblebee He also killed Mudflap and Skids which is a plus. Unless they're the book twins where they sacrificed their lives.

I haven't and will never see T4, but I want to spread this:

Quote: Armond White

Toy Story 3 is so besotted with brand names and product-placement that it stops being about the innocent pleasures of imagination—the usefulness of toys—and strictly celebrates consumerism. … But none of these digital-cartoon characters reflect human experience; it’s essentially a bored game that only the brainwashed will buy into. Besides, Transformers 2 already explored the same plot to greater thrill and opulence.

http://www.slashfilm.com/armon...ie-of-all-time/