"Bumblebee" Transformers spin-off starring John Cena

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Angerz

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Just got back from a screening of this and I have to say I liked it a lot. Not a high bar, but easily the best Transformers movie.

The opening sequence is the battle for Cybertron and it is easily the best action sequence in any of the movies.

Getting Travis Knight greatly helped this film. As a stop motion animator, he really got the movement and action FAR more clear than any of the other movies.

Soundtrack is really good, since Bumblebee is restricted to music of the 80s and before. The Human story is fine, nothing special, pretty typical teen coming of age style story, but it fits with what is going on and is also better acted than any of the other ones, so even though it's predictable and been done before, it's hard to hate.

But the biggest standout is definitely the action. There was a featurette on the making of at the end where the director said (in a more polite/politic way than this "We made them look like cars and gave them color palettes". Each transformer is very distinct, so you can track what is going on in every fight. They also showed how they took the Bayformer design aesthetic with all the gears and wires and shit and scrubbed it all out to make them simpler looking (and match pretty closely to the G1 toys).

As for where we go from here, I thought we were done with the Bayverse, but this felt much like a soft reset/reboot. Bee arrives in 1987 and Opitmus told him to find earth and protect it til we arrive, so it seems like the retconned away all the dumbass shit the later movies added.

At the end, he and Optimus are on Earth and we see the other autobots arriving.

However, it is very clearly the Bumblebee from the Bayverse movies as at the end he turns into the Camero and he has the same speech problem and we see him learning to use the radio to talk. Also Bay and Spielberg are still producers, but the main production credit was Allspark Pictures, Hasbro's animation production company, who has taken over the live action work of their properties as well from Paramount. So I guess we will see, but this felt like a good jumping off point for more movies that are competently produced.

Anyway, TL;DR, if the trailer made you think "This looks like a non-shitty transformers movie", I think you can safely see this.
 
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Regime

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<Aristocrat╭ರ_•́>
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Not a high bar, but easily the best Transformers movie.

.


Of the movies made after 1986.



Optimus-Prime-Must-Stop-Megatron.gif
 
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Sterling

El Presidente
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I've probably mentioned in at least one other thread but the 80s cartoon has not aged well at all compared to the animated movie.
 

Tarisk

Pathetic Reaction Bot
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I've probably mentioned in at least one other thread but the 80s cartoon has not aged well at all compared to the animated movie.

Yeah. I've tried rewatching the G1 series and it didn't really age well at all. Lot of cringe, but the movie is still fantastic to this day. If anything, the animation/quality of animation helps it stand up to age better than anything live action. Plus 80's rock.
 

Regime

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<Aristocrat╭ರ_•́>
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@ 2:00 when my boy Old man Cupp comes in at the peak of Dare to fuck some serious shit up is orgasmic.
 
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Ossoi

Tranny Chaser
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@ 2:00 when my boy Old man Cupp comes in at the peak of Dare to fuck some serious shit up is orgasmic.

you can't even spell his name right but I'll let you off:

a) I love that Stan Bush song

b) I maintain the first 20mins of The Movie is as good as the start of Empire Strikes Back
 
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moonarchia

The Scientific Shitlord
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Yeah. I've tried rewatching the G1 series and it didn't really age well at all. Lot of cringe, but the movie is still fantastic to this day. If anything, the animation/quality of animation helps it stand up to age better than anything live action. Plus 80's rock.

And Orson Welles.
 

Xarpolis

Life's a Dream
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Huh, the OP of this thread must have been one of Keg's last. Before becoming a real shit bag that tried to get a_skeleton_03 in trouble.
 

PatrickStar

Trakanon Raider
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I'm in. The G1 look had me at hello. Though I am not buying Juan Cena in this. That's all on me, however. I am buying more G1 battles in sequels for this quasi reboot but again as it was mention Bay is still involved. The taint is strong.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
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Watched it tonight. While it wasn’t really a bad movie I was pretty disappointed. The transformers were awesome and the beginning with all the G1 bots was transformer porn but it was just so little of it. The movie focused on the girl, and was aimed at preteens I think. It had corny jokes/scenes but it wasn’t cringey or anything, just for younger audience. It reminded me of 80s teen movies. It had a good soundtrack, bunch of 80s stuff.

Kids will probably like it, older transformer fans will just be left wanting more of the transformers.
 
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Big Phoenix

Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
<Gold Donor>
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This was an okay movie. Vastly superior to the last 3. I didnt like John Cena's character though. Not sure if it was his acting or just way he was written but it just didnt work.

Also is this supposed to be the start of a new series or was the ending just a major retcon? Its like they made this as a prequel to the Shia movies but then last second decided to throw that out.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
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Hopefully it’s start of a new series and they ditch the teenage stuff. Honestly I’d just like a full CGI movie of just the transformers. The humans always make it suck.

Also, John Cena character was bad. I wasn’t sure if they were trying to make him funny or if he was just a bad actor but either way it didn’t really work.
 
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Koushirou

Log Wizard
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This was a pretty enjoyable flick. The teenage stuff wasn't too cringey and I thought the main chick did pretty well. Cena's character was definitely cheesy 80s schlock villain. Would have loved to have seen more action in the film because those parts were boss. The intro on Cybertron was also sweet.
 
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Haus

<Silver Donator>
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Saw this last night and I'm good with it. I'd give it an 8/10 , gave me everything my "I was a teenager into transformers in the 80's too" self wanted and then some. As Mrs. Haus Mrs. Haus noted the hair on the girls wasn't NEAR big enough to have really been 80's high school girl hair, but I will let that slide with "Well, it was in California, and that's it's own world".

Cena did what he needed and didn't fall into the completely 2d villain schtick, so I give him credit for that, he also had what I think was the best line in the movie. The new style of effects for the transformers I very much loved, the robot forms still bore enough resemblence to the transformed forms to not just be "car that turns into a robot that in no way resembles the car" which was one of the things I hated most about the previous movies.

Only one minor plot point nitpick...
If they had access to the whole US satellite network to scan for bumblebee, then why did they need to go to that one particular tower to broadcast through the same satellites? Other than "then there wouldn't have been the big final battle"

Awesome. With Super Cena on our sides mankind will wreck that shit - who I am kidding. Another train wreck.

Now one potential saving grace is the timeline. If they can Un-Bayify this shitfest and make it Gen 1 like with an actual VW Beetle, Soundwave as a boombox , etc it might have a chance.

Fear not sir, Soundwave is done right, and Bumblebee's a VW Beetle. And shit is very "Un-Bayed" . It's a good retcon/reboot.
 

Homsar

Bronze Baronet of the Realm
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Saw it with ex tonight, so many tributes to the original cartoon movie/cartoon. Only complaint was the tie in to the michael bay films.

If you loved the cartoon the first 15 miutes are worth it
 
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