Goonie
Sr Member
Wonder what Chris Nolan's take on this franchise would be like...
Transformers: Age of Extinction
- Thread starter Monster Dave
- Start date
Wonder what Chris Nolan's take on this franchise would be like...
Ugghhhh, Noooooooooooooo.
The Transformers would look worse than ever and you probably wouldn't be able to understand any of them because they will all talk with a grumbly/raspy voice.
The Decepticons would become un-interesting characters that you would hope die off quickly so the movie would just end.
Solo4114
Master Member
I think you could absolutely do a Transformers movie that is at once more serious and a bit smarter (which, really, wouldn't take much...) from what's been done. There's this notion out there that, merely because you're making an action flick, that means that it must be some "lowest common denominator" style film that's just an excuse for 'sploshuns, boobies, and slow-mo/fast-mo mix-up rotating shots.
None of this is the case. You can make an actioner that is still fun and exciting, but which doesn't require you to lobotomize yourself for +2 hours just to take it in. Escapist entertainment doesn't need to be stupid to entertain and there's no reason anyone needs to settle for that kind of treatment.
Go back and watch Lethal Weapon or Die Hard. Do they have their over-the-top machismo and big explosions and loud gunplay and crazy car chase sequences? Sure! But they've also got well constructed straight-forward stories, interesting villains, and characters that don't seem like excuses JUST to say catch phrases. They're fun without simultaneously being pandering.
None of this is the case. You can make an actioner that is still fun and exciting, but which doesn't require you to lobotomize yourself for +2 hours just to take it in. Escapist entertainment doesn't need to be stupid to entertain and there's no reason anyone needs to settle for that kind of treatment.
Go back and watch Lethal Weapon or Die Hard. Do they have their over-the-top machismo and big explosions and loud gunplay and crazy car chase sequences? Sure! But they've also got well constructed straight-forward stories, interesting villains, and characters that don't seem like excuses JUST to say catch phrases. They're fun without simultaneously being pandering.
Timmythekid
Sr Member
Is...Isn't that what we just went through in three films? Crap, the only way I got through the turd one (heh, see what I did there? "turd one"? Heh heh...) was with the help of Mike, Kevin, and Bill being digitally along for the ride (incidentelly, the line in TF2 "Michael Bay is a Toddler, isn't he?" makes me giggle just thinking about it). Except that by the end I was hoping I could die off quickly so it would just end.
And, yeah, Bay pretty much hates his audience.
Solo4114
Master Member
Hmm. How would you rate the RiffTrax experience of the TF films as compared to:
- Manos: the Hands of Fate
- The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies
- Pretty much all of Season 1
I seriously need to check out more of RiffTrax, seeing as I'm a huge fan of MST3K (both the Joel and Mike eras). I've listened to the sample bits they rotate through on their main page, and what I've heard is hilarious.
Solo4114
Master Member
First, TAKE THIS THREAD TO CUBA!!!
Second, if you haven't seen them, do yourself a favor and check out Cinematic Titanic when they come to town. Well worth the admission fee.
As for RiffTrax, I have a few of their DVDs, but haven't gotten round to watching them yet. I'm sure they're solid, though. Their "Film Crew" stuff was basically MST3K without the bots, so I wouldn't expect it to be that different.
Second, if you haven't seen them, do yourself a favor and check out Cinematic Titanic when they come to town. Well worth the admission fee.
As for RiffTrax, I have a few of their DVDs, but haven't gotten round to watching them yet. I'm sure they're solid, though. Their "Film Crew" stuff was basically MST3K without the bots, so I wouldn't expect it to be that different.
Timmythekid
Sr Member
Hah! I just watched Red Zone last night 
I've seen everything CT has put out, and found the regular episode a little weak, while the Live shows absolutely CRACKLED. Shame they'll never haul their butts up here to Vancouver, as I'd be there in a heartbeat.
Film crew was amazing, and the VOD Rifftrax stuff being all public domain goodness is in the same sphere as that. Devil Doll and Buffallo Rider in particular had me in tears by the end.
The regular riffs can be a little hit and miss given the pace at which they come out (as opposed to the weekly brilliance turned out during the MST3K years). The weakest seem to be the gigantic blockbusters that they feel a need to Riff for sales (See all 6 SW films - I'm not against riffing them per say, but they ended up playing like 2 hour Beavis and Butthead episodes "heh heh...this sucks, because it sucks...heh heh...<<vomittey sound>> I'm going to go kill myself rather than watch one more minute...heh heh...".
If I was cherry picking I'd certainly start after Bill and Kevin finally signed on the dotted line and became part of the regular crew again. Early episodes were Mike alone with Disembaudio, then Kevin came on to guest with him for one or two, the Bill did a guest or two, then all three got back together and they really took off (I think the first one back featured "SLEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!", and I knew all was right in the world).
I grab each and every one, but the absolute peak so far for me has been the Twilight movies, Birdemic, The Room, and "Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny". Those have all had me in the same unable-to-breath tears-streaming down my face state that stuff like Merlins' Mystical Shop of Wonders did.
And now back to your regularly scheduled Robot Knife Fight....
I've seen everything CT has put out, and found the regular episode a little weak, while the Live shows absolutely CRACKLED. Shame they'll never haul their butts up here to Vancouver, as I'd be there in a heartbeat.
Film crew was amazing, and the VOD Rifftrax stuff being all public domain goodness is in the same sphere as that. Devil Doll and Buffallo Rider in particular had me in tears by the end.
The regular riffs can be a little hit and miss given the pace at which they come out (as opposed to the weekly brilliance turned out during the MST3K years). The weakest seem to be the gigantic blockbusters that they feel a need to Riff for sales (See all 6 SW films - I'm not against riffing them per say, but they ended up playing like 2 hour Beavis and Butthead episodes "heh heh...this sucks, because it sucks...heh heh...<<vomittey sound>> I'm going to go kill myself rather than watch one more minute...heh heh...".
If I was cherry picking I'd certainly start after Bill and Kevin finally signed on the dotted line and became part of the regular crew again. Early episodes were Mike alone with Disembaudio, then Kevin came on to guest with him for one or two, the Bill did a guest or two, then all three got back together and they really took off (I think the first one back featured "SLEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!", and I knew all was right in the world).
I grab each and every one, but the absolute peak so far for me has been the Twilight movies, Birdemic, The Room, and "Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny". Those have all had me in the same unable-to-breath tears-streaming down my face state that stuff like Merlins' Mystical Shop of Wonders did.
And now back to your regularly scheduled Robot Knife Fight....
Solo4114
Master Member
Hah! I just watched Red Zone last night
:lol
Ok, now THAT's funny coincidence!
Good deal. I'll have to check out the ones you recommended. As for CT, I haven't seen their regular discs, but have been to two live shows (and am planning on another in April) and they're fantastic. Also, Josh does an AMAZING Elvis Costello impersonation. I think a big part of what makes those fun, though, is the energy of the crowd. Some scenes they don't even have to riff. The audience just bursts into laughter as one at the (usually unintentional) absurdity on screen.
Saaaaay....I think we might have our sub-title for Transformers 4, fellas!!
Now THAT I would pay to see.
Timmythekid
Sr Member
Ah, Mike already stole it...Robot Knife Fight is actually part of a long, long riff on Avatar which has made reappearances on a couple of subsequent tracks
Monster Dave
Sr Member
Interesting how Bay says "I just hired a great new actor for Transformers 4 to star against Mark Wahlberg."
I wonder if that means Wahlberg will be a bad guy??
In which case, they're pitting a 21 year old against a 41 year old....
I liked them as a kid, but I don't know how they would pull that off without it looking incredibly cheesy. The only way they could do it would be like if they were posing as a dinosaur exhibit or something. Then you'd have to say "How in the hell did the curator not notice they were robots?!?" :lol
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After the last 3 turds of movies I don't think cheesy would hurt any. Nobody noticed Jetfire was a senile SR71 for how long? This franchise of movies has made a mess of the fandom and makes GI joe: rise of cobra look like a masterpiece.
Point taken. I wasn't thinking of that when I wrote that. Oh the irony. :lol
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