Jecca Mehlota (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jecca_mehlota) wrote2009-06-30 11:26 pm
jecca_mehlota) wrote2009-06-30 11:26 pm
Entry tags:
THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE SPOILERS
DISCLAIMER: I’m not even trying to claim this was a quality film. It’s not artistic and it doesn’t have some deeper meaning. But I enjoy it, anyway! I know it has problems, but I think it’s a fun film! You are fully welcome to disagree with me! You can even inform me of that, and you are, of course, free to ask me to explain anything in this post (or not in this post) that you want. But kindly don’t tell me I’m an idiot for enjoying it.
And. I’m sick or something (headache verging on migraine yesterday, my throat is ruined today…), so I’m really not sure if this is half as coherent as it seems to me. Sorry!
THIS IS SO LONG OH WOW
First, mostly, there is a lot of PRETTY in this movie. Pretty explosions, pretty vehicles (military and otherwise), pretty giant robots…
SO ANYWAY. Big thing: Autobots (the good guys…) being badass!
…(Lots of people upset about that, Autobots being badass. On one hand, I understand. It’s a completely different take on them. On the other, it’s kind of nice to see, yes, this is a war and yes, there’s a reason the Autobots have managed to survive as long as they have! They do, in fact, know how to fight reasonably well! Also, guys, really, where would they put any Decepticon prisoners? It’s impractical, and then they’d just have an even bigger mess on their hands if - when - they escaped.)
PRIME! (THE TRUCK WITH THE FLAMES COME ON YOU KNOW THAT ONE) The forest battle! The determination and almost desperation in his voice when he shouts that he’ll take them all on! I LOVED IT. Megatron’s (the formerly dead guy) freshly resurrected, and repaired using someone else’s parts, and Prime’s been up and active for the last two years. The Decepticons are low on energon and Jetfire (thelunatic ancient one who was the Blackbird in the Smithsonian and who promptly changed sides to the Autobots on hearing the Decepticons were winning the war and he never liked the Fallen, anyway) tells us what happens when that happens – they literally start to fall apart. Plus, this time Prime isn’t trying to protect Sam, the Allspark, and most of a major city. Sure, Sam’s still there and running for his life, but that’s it. I see no reason why the leader of one side of an army that’s been at war since, you know, practically before humans existed wouldn’t be able to sufficiently hold his own in combat. This all nicely explains why Optimus was able to fight off not just Megatron but Starscream (the jet who spends a lot of time hanging around Megatron, and one of the only Decepticons to survive the first movie) and Grindor (the helicopter / repaint of Blackout, the helicopter in the first movie) as well! I thought it was awesome, and it made it a little more … surprising? When he was killed, if Prime dying can ever be surprising anymore. It had a little more weight to it than usual, anyway, I guess. Maybe. It was an impressive death, at any rate. SKEWER!
Heh, I managed to resist the urge the first time through, but the second time I watched it, I timed how long it was between his death and resurrection. (It’s about 70 minutes.)
Though, seriously, the way they treated his body was disrespectful. “Eh, close enough! DROP IT HERE.” And then to draw weapons on the other Autobots as they approach (though that was more Galloway, who… seriously needed a kick to the head or something. I understand you’re having trouble wrapping your head around the GIANT ALIEN ROBOTS AT WAR thing, but that’s really not much of an excuse for your behaviour).
(Some people are also annoyed andor confused by why only a Prime can defeat the Fallen, but it makes sense enough to me, if you bring in the whole Unicron and Primus and Chosen By The Matrix mythology. Unicron can only be defeated by the Matrix, which is a part of / connection to Primus. The Fallen is basically Unicron’s Herald, and one of Primus’ original creations. The one that, you know. FELL. Formerly guardian of entropy so I guess it’s not to surprising he threw in with Unicron. Only Primes can properly wield the Matrix, so of course only a Prime can actually and effectively send away Unicron’s minion. OR MAYBE I’M BEING STUPID AND JUSTIFYING IT TOO MUCH THAT IS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS AN OPTION.)
I wish all of the new Autobots (heck, and a couple of the old ones) had been allowed more screentime. Jolt (the blue Chevy Volt who magnetises Jetfire’s parts to Prime near the end of the movie) was a last minute addition, so I can kind of understand why he doesn’t do much and doesn’t even have any lines, but what about Sideswipe (silver Corvette, who was very pretty) and Arcee (motorcycle trio, who supposedly is one mind with three bodies, but they don’t really make that clear other than by referring to her in the singular)? What about Ironhide (black truck) and Ratchet (greenish hummer-thing)?
Jetfire was great, though. Hilarious! The space bridge part was cool (and funny – but at least they’re still on the right planet), and his joy at seeing Optimus back up was actually kind of touching. And then he rips his own spark out. DUDE. That takes nerve. (That’s mostly the equivalent of ripping out your own heart. A spark is more than just a heart equivalent, but it’s the best comparison here.)
I’ve seen several people say they saw a white car with blue stripes (HI JAZZ) during the scene when they’re moving Prime’s body for transport, but I’ve gone specifically looking and the only one I spot there is Sideswipe, so I wonder if perhaps some of these people are just looking too hard. (I do wish they could have brought Jazz back, too, of course, so I understand the desire completely, but….)
Aaand the twins. Skids and Mudflap. A lot of people are apparently really offended by them, and the other half doesn’t really get it. I can see where some people might be getting offended, but I’m afraid I’m placing myself in the ‘doesn’t really get it’ camp. They’re not supposed to be black stereotypes. Have you ever met anyone who acts like that? Most of the kids I see doing that are white pre/early teens. They’re acting like a lot of kids around age thirteen do. Where did they learn that? THE INTERNET, as they so nicely informed us last movie when the humans asked how Jazz learned to talk as he did (“What’s crackin’ lil' bitches? This looks like a cool place to kick it!”). They’re like kids trying to act cool based on what they’ve decided is cool. Trying to impress others. Poser-gangsters (slash ninjas, when the mood strikes, which to me just hammers in the point that they’re imitating whatever they think is cool). And, I mean, they’re robots. If anything, some of the treatment of some of the human characters should be drawing more hate. (The voice actors, one of whom is in fact black, have said that they were played / improv’d as being posers, which is good enough for me, but I do admit people can still see it as offending! I… I don’t. I’m sorry if that makes me stupid. ;;)
I didn’t see the problem with them fighting each other because that’s what siblings do.
The crack about reading wasn’t expanded on much, but the language Sam asks them to read is one that no one can read. Of course they can’t read it. They say they don’t do much reading, which could be interpreted to mean they can’t really read, though plenty of kids just don’t like to read. Either way, I can easily see both sides to that one. However, that doesn’t really strike me as a black stereotype. Or possibly I’m just not real up on what classifies as “stereotypically black” stuff.
You’re certainly allowed to find them offensive. I don’t see it as quite as big of a problem as it’s being made into by some people, but I know no one can tell someone else whether or not they find something offensive. (If you want to argue this point with me, please feel free to.)
I am so glad Wheelie (the little blue guy with the foul mouth who switches sides to the Autobots after Jetfire) doesn’t talk solely in rhymes in this incarnation. SO GLAD. You have no idea. Still kind of annoyed me, but in a more tolerable way.
And you know what? Bumblebee! I have never really been a big fan of Bumblebee, but I am beginning to seriously love his movie incarnation! HE IS ADORABLE. And… peculiar and a bit territorial… but mostly adorable!
SOUNDWAVE (that satellite-guy up in space). SO AWESOME. ALSO. I think I could watch of Ravage (the feline-esque creature) running around all day. He was animated so well. Wow!
Actually, everyone was animated well. It’s amazing to me how much of a presence these completely CG beings can have, how expressive they are. When Bumblebee is running towards where Sam’s fallen over and not-really-died, you can feel his distress. He can’t talk, and he doesn’t even have a typical human face (no mouth, for one), but you can still see it.
MEGATROOOON. So glad he got some real lines this time around. Not much to say beyond that. Kinda weird, him being a loyal underling to someone else, but I can deal with it. It’s THE FALLEN. What are you gonna do? Tell him NO? (Backstory in the comics, but I’m writing this, or trying to write this, pretending I don’t know much at all of the information in the tie-ins… I know I am not doing a very good job.)
Starscream has been turned into such a beaten housewife. That’s all I can think in the scene where Megatron arrives to their base/ship out in space somewhere and he comes sniveling up. “Starscream, I’m home.” AND I’VE BEEN IN THEALCOHOL HIGH-GRADE. AND/OR HAD A BAD DAY*BEATS* I know. I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t joke about such things, but that’s… really where my brain went. And, you know, that is, essentially, what happens... argh. I also giggled helplessly when Megatron hit him with his own severed arm. (Also, a bit oddly, his voice reminds me a little of Tarantulas from Beast Wars.)
Glad we saw Scorponok (even if was only so he could finally be killed), but still kinda curious as to what’s happened with Barricade. He disappeared during the highway scene in the first movie ad has never been seen again. A great mystery! (We can probably safely assume he was killed, but… WE DON’T KNOW.)
Grindor was just kind of there…
THE CONTRUCTICONS. OMG. Their formation of Devastator was one of the two scenes we got to see special at BotCon, but it lost nothing for not being the first time I’d seen it. SERIOUSLY. BAD NEWS. And so awesome. The way they’re all just PULLED IN, it looks so violent and creepy and oh, man I love it!
The other scene we saw was the one where Rampage uses Sam’s parents to spring a trap and then attacks, and is then attacked by Bumblebee, and then Ravage joins in, gets his robo-spine ripped out (poor kitty!), Rampage is taken care of, Sam and his parents and Mikaela run off, and then Ron and Judy are sent away in Bumblebee while Sam and Mikaela keep on heading for Prime and the soldiers.
Also, okay, the Fallen was… kind of pathetic, but I love the Original Thirteen mythology so much, so I don’t entirely care. At all. I don’t know why I love that bunch as much as I do, but oh man. ORIGINAL 13 ♥ For the sake of space, I’m not going to go into all that. Just know that I love them!
Part of me wonders at calling the Matrix of Leadership… exactly that. It was a key? So why the ‘of Leadership’ bit? Though the six Primes also say the true Matrix of Leadership is earned, not found, so there’s probably some other kinda weird thing going on with that. I can justify it with Primus and energy source and such things in my head, so that’s enough for me. I mean, I get it, but when I think about it too much, it starts to seem a bit strange.
I am disappointed that the score to this film wasn’t as impressive as it was for the first, but I am not disappointed in it. It’s still beautiful. There’s a lot of reuse of stuff from the first, as well, which explains why the score CD only has fourteen tracks on it (versus the twenty from the original). WATCH THIS JOURNAL FOR MORE ON THE SCORE LATER.
Also, I wish there’d been a bit less toilet/sex-type jokes but I can deal with that. Easy enough to ignore if it bothers you (though I’m sure that’s not entirely true for the parents bringing their younger kids…). Hrm.
ALSO the story, especially the pacing, needed a bit of help. I know there was that whole writer’s strike thing (and the supposed story behind it all kind of clears up a lot in terms of the plot of this movie), but still. It makes sense enough to me, but I think there’s a lot of subconscious supplementing going on in my brain, so I don’t think I can talk about it too much. There were some good ideas but the implementation left a lot to be desired.
(I nearly snorted all of, what, two minutes in when we saw the sun destroyer, and then again when we found out what it was for. THAT WAS SO AMAZINGLY G1 THAT I THINK IT PHYSICALLY WOUNDED ME.)
ALSO. HATCHLINGS. … Maybe ugh? I fully appreciate what they’re trying to do here, and it’s not like protoforms (and other similar types) are new to the franchise or anything, but I’m kind of afraid of what some sections of the fanbase are going to do with it. (Especially when they transplant it into other continuities.)
ALSO ONE MORE ALSO I want to know what happened to Miles! But no! Not even a throwaway line. Alas!
Hm. Oh! One of the kitchen-bots had the form of a Sharkticon. That was pretty much the best thing ever.
HUMANS!
I like the human characters. I usually do!
I like Sam. I really do. I don’t think there’s anything stupid or emo about wanting to not be part of the crazy war between the giant robots. I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to be able to live a normal life! I also think Shia LaBeouf does a great job with the role, though, so I pretty clearly know nothing. OH WELL.
Okay. Mikaela training a Decepticon using a blowtorch. People like to call her useless and weak, but that’s pretty awesome, you have to admit. Of course, I happen to actually like Mikaela, so.... I don’t think she’s useless! Sure, she didn’t have a big scene where she drives a legless Bumblebee around while he shoots at things this time around, but so what? She captures (and works to train) Wheelie, who ends up actually being helpful, she saves Sam (and Leo) from Alice/the Pretender, she helps to be emotional support… Say what you will, but I’m of the opinion that emotional support is actually, you know, a big deal. And she’s not the long distance, removed support. She’s right there in the middle of it and she’s not freaking out (most of the time). She keeps her head about her, rather than just be the damsel in distress.
And okay Leo I found a little bit annoying, but he still had his moments, and, man who wouldn’t freak out if they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a war between two factions of GIANT ALIEN ROBOTS HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I USED THAT PHRASE THIS ENTRY? Possibly not that many here, but definitely a lot in the last week.
I was glad to see the return of the soldiers from the last movie! I knew they’d be in it, but I was still glad to see them. LENNOX AND EPPS! Yee! Lennox getting Galloway off the plane was evil, but hilarious. I pretty much adored all of NEST.
ALSO. SIMMONS. Hahaha, YES! So glad to see that obsessed madman back in things. He is amazing. ONE MAN. ALONE. BETRAYED BY THE COUNTRY HE LOVES.
(Though I think my favourite line/collection of lines is Jetfire’s rant about his father. “HE WAS A WHEEL! THE FIRST WHEEL! AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE TRANSFORMED INTO? NOTHING! BUT HE DID SO WITH HONOUR!” I died.)
Also, I don’t feel Sam’s parents were too ridiculous (though the “green” brownies ting was a little crazy).
I don’t know why Mission City (the location of the big battle in the first movie) was written to be LA in this movie. Possibly because it was filmed in LA and someone got confused? I don’t know. (Continuity? WHAT IS THAT.)
ALSO it amuses me a bit how poorly this movie is doing, review-wise, versus how well it’s doing in the box office. Even a lot of the fans seem to hate it. EVEN WHEN I’M IN SOMETHING VAGUELY POPULAR, I’M ON THE WRONG SIDE. WHOO!
Which isn’t true, there are a lot of them who love it just as much as I do. (If by love we mean, are fully are it sucks but shiny pretty robots omg)
And this is where I’m stopping, because this is way too long as is and it’s late and I’m tired and not feeling well (and a little bit loopy on decongestants). SO THERE.
And. I’m sick or something (headache verging on migraine yesterday, my throat is ruined today…), so I’m really not sure if this is half as coherent as it seems to me. Sorry!
THIS IS SO LONG OH WOW
First, mostly, there is a lot of PRETTY in this movie. Pretty explosions, pretty vehicles (military and otherwise), pretty giant robots…
SO ANYWAY. Big thing: Autobots (the good guys…) being badass!
…(Lots of people upset about that, Autobots being badass. On one hand, I understand. It’s a completely different take on them. On the other, it’s kind of nice to see, yes, this is a war and yes, there’s a reason the Autobots have managed to survive as long as they have! They do, in fact, know how to fight reasonably well! Also, guys, really, where would they put any Decepticon prisoners? It’s impractical, and then they’d just have an even bigger mess on their hands if - when - they escaped.)
PRIME! (THE TRUCK WITH THE FLAMES COME ON YOU KNOW THAT ONE) The forest battle! The determination and almost desperation in his voice when he shouts that he’ll take them all on! I LOVED IT. Megatron’s (the formerly dead guy) freshly resurrected, and repaired using someone else’s parts, and Prime’s been up and active for the last two years. The Decepticons are low on energon and Jetfire (the
Heh, I managed to resist the urge the first time through, but the second time I watched it, I timed how long it was between his death and resurrection. (It’s about 70 minutes.)
Though, seriously, the way they treated his body was disrespectful. “Eh, close enough! DROP IT HERE.” And then to draw weapons on the other Autobots as they approach (though that was more Galloway, who… seriously needed a kick to the head or something. I understand you’re having trouble wrapping your head around the GIANT ALIEN ROBOTS AT WAR thing, but that’s really not much of an excuse for your behaviour).
(Some people are also annoyed andor confused by why only a Prime can defeat the Fallen, but it makes sense enough to me, if you bring in the whole Unicron and Primus and Chosen By The Matrix mythology. Unicron can only be defeated by the Matrix, which is a part of / connection to Primus. The Fallen is basically Unicron’s Herald, and one of Primus’ original creations. The one that, you know. FELL. Formerly guardian of entropy so I guess it’s not to surprising he threw in with Unicron. Only Primes can properly wield the Matrix, so of course only a Prime can actually and effectively send away Unicron’s minion. OR MAYBE I’M BEING STUPID AND JUSTIFYING IT TOO MUCH THAT IS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS AN OPTION.)
I wish all of the new Autobots (heck, and a couple of the old ones) had been allowed more screentime. Jolt (the blue Chevy Volt who magnetises Jetfire’s parts to Prime near the end of the movie) was a last minute addition, so I can kind of understand why he doesn’t do much and doesn’t even have any lines, but what about Sideswipe (silver Corvette, who was very pretty) and Arcee (motorcycle trio, who supposedly is one mind with three bodies, but they don’t really make that clear other than by referring to her in the singular)? What about Ironhide (black truck) and Ratchet (greenish hummer-thing)?
Jetfire was great, though. Hilarious! The space bridge part was cool (and funny – but at least they’re still on the right planet), and his joy at seeing Optimus back up was actually kind of touching. And then he rips his own spark out. DUDE. That takes nerve. (That’s mostly the equivalent of ripping out your own heart. A spark is more than just a heart equivalent, but it’s the best comparison here.)
I’ve seen several people say they saw a white car with blue stripes (HI JAZZ) during the scene when they’re moving Prime’s body for transport, but I’ve gone specifically looking and the only one I spot there is Sideswipe, so I wonder if perhaps some of these people are just looking too hard. (I do wish they could have brought Jazz back, too, of course, so I understand the desire completely, but….)
Aaand the twins. Skids and Mudflap. A lot of people are apparently really offended by them, and the other half doesn’t really get it. I can see where some people might be getting offended, but I’m afraid I’m placing myself in the ‘doesn’t really get it’ camp. They’re not supposed to be black stereotypes. Have you ever met anyone who acts like that? Most of the kids I see doing that are white pre/early teens. They’re acting like a lot of kids around age thirteen do. Where did they learn that? THE INTERNET, as they so nicely informed us last movie when the humans asked how Jazz learned to talk as he did (“What’s crackin’ lil' bitches? This looks like a cool place to kick it!”). They’re like kids trying to act cool based on what they’ve decided is cool. Trying to impress others. Poser-gangsters (slash ninjas, when the mood strikes, which to me just hammers in the point that they’re imitating whatever they think is cool). And, I mean, they’re robots. If anything, some of the treatment of some of the human characters should be drawing more hate. (The voice actors, one of whom is in fact black, have said that they were played / improv’d as being posers, which is good enough for me, but I do admit people can still see it as offending! I… I don’t. I’m sorry if that makes me stupid. ;;)
I didn’t see the problem with them fighting each other because that’s what siblings do.
The crack about reading wasn’t expanded on much, but the language Sam asks them to read is one that no one can read. Of course they can’t read it. They say they don’t do much reading, which could be interpreted to mean they can’t really read, though plenty of kids just don’t like to read. Either way, I can easily see both sides to that one. However, that doesn’t really strike me as a black stereotype. Or possibly I’m just not real up on what classifies as “stereotypically black” stuff.
You’re certainly allowed to find them offensive. I don’t see it as quite as big of a problem as it’s being made into by some people, but I know no one can tell someone else whether or not they find something offensive. (If you want to argue this point with me, please feel free to.)
I am so glad Wheelie (the little blue guy with the foul mouth who switches sides to the Autobots after Jetfire) doesn’t talk solely in rhymes in this incarnation. SO GLAD. You have no idea. Still kind of annoyed me, but in a more tolerable way.
And you know what? Bumblebee! I have never really been a big fan of Bumblebee, but I am beginning to seriously love his movie incarnation! HE IS ADORABLE. And… peculiar and a bit territorial… but mostly adorable!
SOUNDWAVE (that satellite-guy up in space). SO AWESOME. ALSO. I think I could watch of Ravage (the feline-esque creature) running around all day. He was animated so well. Wow!
Actually, everyone was animated well. It’s amazing to me how much of a presence these completely CG beings can have, how expressive they are. When Bumblebee is running towards where Sam’s fallen over and not-really-died, you can feel his distress. He can’t talk, and he doesn’t even have a typical human face (no mouth, for one), but you can still see it.
MEGATROOOON. So glad he got some real lines this time around. Not much to say beyond that. Kinda weird, him being a loyal underling to someone else, but I can deal with it. It’s THE FALLEN. What are you gonna do? Tell him NO? (Backstory in the comics, but I’m writing this, or trying to write this, pretending I don’t know much at all of the information in the tie-ins… I know I am not doing a very good job.)
Starscream has been turned into such a beaten housewife. That’s all I can think in the scene where Megatron arrives to their base/ship out in space somewhere and he comes sniveling up. “Starscream, I’m home.” AND I’VE BEEN IN THE
Glad we saw Scorponok (even if was only so he could finally be killed), but still kinda curious as to what’s happened with Barricade. He disappeared during the highway scene in the first movie ad has never been seen again. A great mystery! (We can probably safely assume he was killed, but… WE DON’T KNOW.)
Grindor was just kind of there…
THE CONTRUCTICONS. OMG. Their formation of Devastator was one of the two scenes we got to see special at BotCon, but it lost nothing for not being the first time I’d seen it. SERIOUSLY. BAD NEWS. And so awesome. The way they’re all just PULLED IN, it looks so violent and creepy and oh, man I love it!
The other scene we saw was the one where Rampage uses Sam’s parents to spring a trap and then attacks, and is then attacked by Bumblebee, and then Ravage joins in, gets his robo-spine ripped out (poor kitty!), Rampage is taken care of, Sam and his parents and Mikaela run off, and then Ron and Judy are sent away in Bumblebee while Sam and Mikaela keep on heading for Prime and the soldiers.
Also, okay, the Fallen was… kind of pathetic, but I love the Original Thirteen mythology so much, so I don’t entirely care. At all. I don’t know why I love that bunch as much as I do, but oh man. ORIGINAL 13 ♥ For the sake of space, I’m not going to go into all that. Just know that I love them!
Part of me wonders at calling the Matrix of Leadership… exactly that. It was a key? So why the ‘of Leadership’ bit? Though the six Primes also say the true Matrix of Leadership is earned, not found, so there’s probably some other kinda weird thing going on with that. I can justify it with Primus and energy source and such things in my head, so that’s enough for me. I mean, I get it, but when I think about it too much, it starts to seem a bit strange.
I am disappointed that the score to this film wasn’t as impressive as it was for the first, but I am not disappointed in it. It’s still beautiful. There’s a lot of reuse of stuff from the first, as well, which explains why the score CD only has fourteen tracks on it (versus the twenty from the original). WATCH THIS JOURNAL FOR MORE ON THE SCORE LATER.
Also, I wish there’d been a bit less toilet/sex-type jokes but I can deal with that. Easy enough to ignore if it bothers you (though I’m sure that’s not entirely true for the parents bringing their younger kids…). Hrm.
ALSO the story, especially the pacing, needed a bit of help. I know there was that whole writer’s strike thing (and the supposed story behind it all kind of clears up a lot in terms of the plot of this movie), but still. It makes sense enough to me, but I think there’s a lot of subconscious supplementing going on in my brain, so I don’t think I can talk about it too much. There were some good ideas but the implementation left a lot to be desired.
(I nearly snorted all of, what, two minutes in when we saw the sun destroyer, and then again when we found out what it was for. THAT WAS SO AMAZINGLY G1 THAT I THINK IT PHYSICALLY WOUNDED ME.)
ALSO. HATCHLINGS. … Maybe ugh? I fully appreciate what they’re trying to do here, and it’s not like protoforms (and other similar types) are new to the franchise or anything, but I’m kind of afraid of what some sections of the fanbase are going to do with it. (Especially when they transplant it into other continuities.)
ALSO ONE MORE ALSO I want to know what happened to Miles! But no! Not even a throwaway line. Alas!
Hm. Oh! One of the kitchen-bots had the form of a Sharkticon. That was pretty much the best thing ever.
HUMANS!
I like the human characters. I usually do!
I like Sam. I really do. I don’t think there’s anything stupid or emo about wanting to not be part of the crazy war between the giant robots. I don’t see anything wrong with wanting to be able to live a normal life! I also think Shia LaBeouf does a great job with the role, though, so I pretty clearly know nothing. OH WELL.
Okay. Mikaela training a Decepticon using a blowtorch. People like to call her useless and weak, but that’s pretty awesome, you have to admit. Of course, I happen to actually like Mikaela, so.... I don’t think she’s useless! Sure, she didn’t have a big scene where she drives a legless Bumblebee around while he shoots at things this time around, but so what? She captures (and works to train) Wheelie, who ends up actually being helpful, she saves Sam (and Leo) from Alice/the Pretender, she helps to be emotional support… Say what you will, but I’m of the opinion that emotional support is actually, you know, a big deal. And she’s not the long distance, removed support. She’s right there in the middle of it and she’s not freaking out (most of the time). She keeps her head about her, rather than just be the damsel in distress.
And okay Leo I found a little bit annoying, but he still had his moments, and, man who wouldn’t freak out if they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a war between two factions of GIANT ALIEN ROBOTS HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I USED THAT PHRASE THIS ENTRY? Possibly not that many here, but definitely a lot in the last week.
I was glad to see the return of the soldiers from the last movie! I knew they’d be in it, but I was still glad to see them. LENNOX AND EPPS! Yee! Lennox getting Galloway off the plane was evil, but hilarious. I pretty much adored all of NEST.
ALSO. SIMMONS. Hahaha, YES! So glad to see that obsessed madman back in things. He is amazing. ONE MAN. ALONE. BETRAYED BY THE COUNTRY HE LOVES.
(Though I think my favourite line/collection of lines is Jetfire’s rant about his father. “HE WAS A WHEEL! THE FIRST WHEEL! AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE TRANSFORMED INTO? NOTHING! BUT HE DID SO WITH HONOUR!” I died.)
Also, I don’t feel Sam’s parents were too ridiculous (though the “green” brownies ting was a little crazy).
I don’t know why Mission City (the location of the big battle in the first movie) was written to be LA in this movie. Possibly because it was filmed in LA and someone got confused? I don’t know. (Continuity? WHAT IS THAT.)
ALSO it amuses me a bit how poorly this movie is doing, review-wise, versus how well it’s doing in the box office. Even a lot of the fans seem to hate it. EVEN WHEN I’M IN SOMETHING VAGUELY POPULAR, I’M ON THE WRONG SIDE. WHOO!
Which isn’t true, there are a lot of them who love it just as much as I do. (If by love we mean, are fully are it sucks but shiny pretty robots omg)
And this is where I’m stopping, because this is way too long as is and it’s late and I’m tired and not feeling well (and a little bit loopy on decongestants). SO THERE.