Transformers Movies, why are they popular?

[Mr Light]

Human actors are much cheaper to film than CGI robots with 10,000 moving pieces

[The Mirrorball Man]

Romulan_spy wrote:

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And in some ways, it is replicated. There are ton of action movies every summer that do quite well.

True, but most of them are not as aggressively dumb as the Transformers movies.

[A beaker full of death]

The Overlord wrote:

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Why do you think the Transformers movies are popular? In my opinion, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen was one of the worst movies I ever saw, it was racist, sexist and profoundly stupid. Also it was 2 and half hours long and not coherent at all.

Jeez. You're talking about a movie series based on a cartoon series based on a bunch of silly Japanese toys meant to make money. Why anyone takes these things seriously is beyond me.
Same goes for He-Man, Power Rangers, Shogun Warriors, pokeyman...

[Pingfah]

billcosby wrote:

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While your observations are not incorrect, for me it was a hoot to see all my favorite childhood toys come to life.

I did feel bad for whoever else in the theater wasn't a rabid fan of Transformers as a kid. I went with my little cousin, uncle and wife. Afterwards my uncle turned to me and said, "I have no idea what the hell was happening for the past 2.5 hours."

Did you not find it disappointing as a rabid childhood fan? I was too, but the movie was so far removed from the tone and look of the original, it didn't feel like Transformers to me.

[Shazam!]

A beaker full of death wrote:

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Jeez. You're talking about a movie series based on a cartoon series based on a bunch of silly Japanese toys meant to make money. Why anyone takes these things seriously is beyond me.

What should we be taking seriously?

[Mutenroshi]

DC Comics, of course! They're not sellouts!

[Blamo]

The movies worked for three reasons:-
1. Known brand name.
2. Nostalgia
3. A lot of people are just entertained by lots of motion and explosions on a screen.

[starburst]

Its like why either of the Expendables movies or the Transporter films after the Transporter are popular...simple story and lots of things going boom.

Personally I think they arent bad movies, not great but at least for me enjoyable to watch again.

The problems with them were centering each one around Sam and his love problems, after the first one it just got old!

Hopefully their will be none of that in the 4th and instead more Autobots vs Decepticons, the only humans involved should be NEST to provide distraction / collateral damage while the robots in disguise are fighting it out.

[Starbreaker]

It's sad, because there are some incredibly cool scenes in 2 & 3. Jetfire and the moon landing scenes were intense, but I rarely remember any other parts of the movies.

[The Stig]

Because Peter Cullen is the voice of my childhood. Hearing him do Optimus again, twenty years later, was a powerful burst of nostalgia that did impressive work in covering for the otherwise inept moments of the three films.

[ROBE]

Kids love to watch big robots beat the cr@p out of each other!

[billcosby]

Pingfah wrote:

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Did you not find it disappointing as a rabid childhood fan? I was too, but the movie was so far removed from the tone and look of the original, it didn't feel like Transformers to me.

I've come to conclude that while the Decepticons are usually over-designed and look nothing like their animated counterparts, overall the Autobots ain't too bad. Optimus is optimal, Bumblebee works for me. Ratchet and Ironhide are the wrong colors but the characters seem correct. Megatron and Starscream never looked right but the interaction between the two was nice. Devastator was a disaster... that was one 'bot I needed to have some semblance of the original. Seriously, how fucking cool is Devastator? I guess if you had one as a kid, you'd understand.

Shockwave was kind of awesome, though. Although he didn't have much dialouge I thought he looked badass.
Soundwave wasn't my favorite moviebot either but the idea of him perched in space listening to everything... that is classic G1 Soundwave.

Sure, it's not perfect but I'd always wanted to see a live-action Transformers series and until the next one comes along I'm satisfied with what we have.

Trekker4747 wrote:

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The problem with the Transformers movies is that the Transformers were secondary characters and mostly comic relief in their own damn movie. The movie was more focused on Shia LeBouff's stammering antics, Megan Fox's ass and pursed, breathy, lips; comic relief characters and nearly offensive racial stereotypes.

There is certainly some truth to that... but the core problem is evident in many spectacle movies. For example, when I rewatched The Mask (Jim Carrey) I was amazed at how little screen time he actually gets in "The Mask" vs. his mild mannered alter ego. Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon is another case in point... when I rewatch it I usually skip past the Shia job interview + parents' scenes.

[Mister Fandango]

A beaker full of death wrote:

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Jeez. You're talking about a movie series based on a cartoon series based on a bunch of silly Japanese toys meant to make money. Why anyone takes these things seriously is beyond me.
Same goes for He-Man, Power Rangers, Shogun Warriors, pokeyman...

...but superheroes and anything else on a fansite for sci-fi and fantasy fiction is 4srsbsns!!!

[Rarewolf]

Mr Light wrote:

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Because the visuals are amazing! Say what you will about the stories and the characters, but it LOOKS incredible.

Sounds pretty good too. Music can influence what I think of a film I think. Dark had me from the prelude....

[_C_]

Sexy cars and sexy women.

Too bad I watched it because of Optimus and really nobody else. Dat voice *_*