Movie character design logic, or lack thereof

[Dominic]

The little guys, like the Insecticon or the bead-bitty-bots, make more sense than the hulking brutes that most of the TFs are depicted as. If nothing else, the lower resource costs would be an advantage.

The Pretender girl's transform is not that much different than other characters'. It is just a question of outer parts being covered in a secondary/softer coating.

Of course, much of the question's answer can be chalked up to bad-Bay-formery. The characters have the abilities they need to have when they need to have them.

Dom
-still processing how bad this movie is.

[Dominic]

Forgot to post this earlier:

The fact that the TFs often stand around jabbering at each other before/during fights is one of those bad cliches I am glad to see ignored. It is not as quite common as O6 implied, but it definitely happens (often as a function of the need to have a "roll call") more than it should.

It is possible to get characterization without having Claremontian dialogues between characters during the fight scenes. Do we really need Bumblebee saying "Not so fast Barricade!" before they fight? Does it really add that much to the story?

Sometimes, the jabbering is called for. Sometimes, the characters breaking before (or even during a fight) is called for. (SW I is an example of the latter. QGJ and Kenobi are not exactly eager to fight Maul. And, Maul is sensibly wary of them. So, they prance around a bit first. And, during a lull in the fight, nobody is really trying to hard to resume it.


Dom

[Onslaught Six]

As cliche as it is, I think it 'does' add something. It's a pause, it's a moment for the viewer to stop and go, "Oh no, shit's about to get real up in this bitch."

Picture TFTM. Would the fight between Prime and Megs be 'nearly' as effective if Prime just ran right in and started fighting Megs?

[onslaught86]

Picture TFTM. Would the fight between Prime and Megs be 'nearly' as effective if Prime just ran right in and started fighting Megs?

That's a question you should ask yourself, O6!

[/stating the obvious]

[Onslaught Six]

I'll crush you with my bare hands!

[Dominic]

The exchange between Optimus and Megatron is excusable by virtue of showing the level of animosity between them.

But, having a bunch of guys with no particular animosity (beyond what one would expect between factions), show up and banting before they start fighting is just bad writing. The only characterization is shows is that the guys on screen are jabbering idiots.

Dom

[Onslaught Six]

The other reason I would like onscreen bantering is that at least then we get some *dialogue* for these guys. We don't even know a thing about Grindor. We don't even know his name. Or if that's even him.

[Dominic]

We have toy packages to confirm names.


Joking aside, we could get names just by having Megatron address troops. ("Grindor, bring them in through the roof. Set them down....roughly...because it makes perfect sense to risk the safety of the guy who we need intact. Dropping him from a great height is not needlessly stupid or anything.")

Dom
-see, it works.

[138 Scourge]

I think Dom's line there belongs in the "What would improve the next one" thread, myself.

[Onslaught Six]

"Dropping him from a great height is not needlessly stupid or anything."

"Hey, it worked when they did it with Prime."