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Aug. 6th, 2007 12:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kingandySaw Transformers. It was good, though a bit cringeworthy at points. I felt for the poor lad who had to say "But that's Megatron, leader of the Decepticons!" at a point in the script where it was completely out of context.
It baffles me why people who know nothing of computers find the need to include them as integral plot devices in their movies. When the people on the screen yelp about how they need THE BEXT HACKER IN THE WORLDS and whether they can HOTWIRE THE COMPUTER TO PRODUCE MORSE CODE it produces in me a pain that I fancy must be akin to that felt by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
renniek when faced with vague ramblings about DNA and gene sequencing. We are hurt by their stupid.
See, I cannot accept, even in this day and age, that even the most intelligent computer virus would be capable of disrupting all communications for any sort of half-decent military organisation. In fact particularly in this day and age when one must at least consider the possibility of an EMP strike[1]. If you can't explain it properly, please don't bother explaining it at all. It's not even as if it particularly needed explaining - they could have just waved their hands and said "OMG they are disrupting communications" and it would have made more sense. Then there would have been more time for giant robots fighting.
At certain points I formed this mental image of Michael Bay.
At times it was a bit of a written-backwards movie. They had made the decision to include azany ethnic stereotype funny fat black man leet computer "hacker" and thus needed to give him some "hacking" to do (though they established his "hacking" credentials by having him run an apparently pre-existing signal deciphering package, and then used him to "hack" a computer by making it generate morse code, and it's like wtf, if you need to generate morse code just tap two wires together, like the guy in the very next scene seems to be doing).
Still, every scene with Optimus Prime in was a winner. Which I suppose is as it should be.
Finally I'm going to say that I agree with this comic which I'd be more upset with as a spoiler if the scene in question didn't carry exactly as much emotional weight as depicted in the comic, to wit, none whatsoever.
In summary: It could have been better, but it also could have been a whole lot worse.
Also, Bumblebee is a colossal pervert.
[1] One can only assume that such uninformed statements about military technology induce the abovementioned stupidity-pain in those such asbatelf and the_prince.
It baffles me why people who know nothing of computers find the need to include them as integral plot devices in their movies. When the people on the screen yelp about how they need THE BEXT HACKER IN THE WORLDS and whether they can HOTWIRE THE COMPUTER TO PRODUCE MORSE CODE it produces in me a pain that I fancy must be akin to that felt by
renniek when faced with vague ramblings about DNA and gene sequencing. We are hurt by their stupid.See, I cannot accept, even in this day and age, that even the most intelligent computer virus would be capable of disrupting all communications for any sort of half-decent military organisation. In fact particularly in this day and age when one must at least consider the possibility of an EMP strike[1]. If you can't explain it properly, please don't bother explaining it at all. It's not even as if it particularly needed explaining - they could have just waved their hands and said "OMG they are disrupting communications" and it would have made more sense. Then there would have been more time for giant robots fighting.
At certain points I formed this mental image of Michael Bay.
At times it was a bit of a written-backwards movie. They had made the decision to include a
Still, every scene with Optimus Prime in was a winner. Which I suppose is as it should be.
Finally I'm going to say that I agree with this comic which I'd be more upset with as a spoiler if the scene in question didn't carry exactly as much emotional weight as depicted in the comic, to wit, none whatsoever.
In summary: It could have been better, but it also could have been a whole lot worse.
Also, Bumblebee is a colossal pervert.
[1] One can only assume that such uninformed statements about military technology induce the abovementioned stupidity-pain in those such as
batelf and the_prince.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 11:50 am (UTC)Turning a computer into a morse code machine? My brain went 'Well I suppose the monitor could be turned into an AM radio, but I don't see how that helps' so I dunked my brain in more ice cream and kept watching.
Alien supervirus devours worlds military = Fine. Alien is the same as Magic in the movie world of top trumps.
Hell, Section 7, elite Men In Black corps they where turned up to act as comic relief.
Oddly, "Die Hard 4.001 (patch pending)" was more jarring to me because they tried to be vaguely informed. That and the fact that it had Andy Raff as a elite computer hacker (Stretches belivabilty to far for me.)
no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 06:05 pm (UTC)Ahh, but all the _really l33t_ hackers have you believing that they're not. Hollywood does have it mostly right, but they have _EVERYONE ELSE_ convinced it's all a sham.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 12:42 pm (UTC)The "let's go fetch the best hacker in the world - fortuitously he's my mate and lives just round the corner" scene in Transformers would have utterly mangled my SOD, if I hadn't carefully left it in the pub for the duration of the movie. I didn't expect Transformers to be anything other than daft rubbish, so the bad explanations etc didn't bother me anything like as much as they would in a more serious film.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 01:54 pm (UTC)The minute I hear 'Michael Bay is directing' it is the cue to know I'll probably go see the film, but in advance, won't aggravate myself about bad science, plot holes, etc etc. It's just not worth the grief. Having said which for a self-proclaimed enthusiast he should at least have checked his final script for, I don't know, fairly fucking big problems down the sequel line such as this one - 'Devastator' in the film is meant to have been 'Brawl'. This was down even to the toy line referring to the big tank as Brawl, and also robs them of frankly the best gestalt Transformer bar Predaking. Calling a skyscraper-sized bot Brawl just won't work. Trust me. (Vortex becoming Blackout was not even an issue)
Other problems I had with it - Ninja Autobots (cringe), but understand it was a vital kiddy scene, and Jazz being- well, crap. Psycho Ironhide. Nah.
There were a lot of things I liked though. I thought Barricade was excellent (the police motto on the side saying 'To Enslave and to Punish' rather than the usual 'To Serve and Protect' was genius. And he looked good. Megatron (though really needed a bigger part) fair rocked. The interpretation of Frenzy as a Gremlin. The nod to the old Bumblebee's VW Beetle at the car lot. Bernie Mac.
As for the hacker. Done much better in Die Hard 4.0.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-07 08:31 am (UTC)Cool...
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Date: 2007-08-06 06:14 pm (UTC)And yes, Bumblebee was funny as hell. I still haven't got over the 'BEE-OTCH' air freshener.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-06 08:50 pm (UTC)Meh, the moment the words Michael Bay are used near I film I switch off my brain to avoid the inevitable stupidity-pain.
That said I still have a problem with them celebrating the Decepticons defeat whilst Starscream is still shooting people out of the sky.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-07 01:54 pm (UTC)All I have to say is...
Date: 2007-08-09 08:38 pm (UTC)