What needs to be done to improve TF3?

[andersonh1]

You know there will be another sequel. With ROTF as successful as it has been, we'll see a third installment in the next few years. What needs to be done to keep the successful elements of the first two, while ditching the bad parts?

- New talent? I'm leaning in this direction. New scriptwriters, and possibly someone other than Bay directing. This isn't necessarily meant to trash the current writers and director. They've had strengths as well as weaknesses. But fresh blood might be a good thing and bring some new ideas to the mix.

- Given my movie review, it should be no surprise that I'd call for cleaning up the language and humor. It may not bother most of you, but the crudeness isn't appropriate for a movie based on a toyline. The way they were applied makes me think that Bay and the writers were slightly embarassed to be working on a toy-based movie, and tossed in sex and swearing in order to make it more 'adult'.

[BWprowl]

Make Simmons the main character of the next movie. He and Wheelie team up to go on a road trip to find the escaped Megatron and Starscream, but find fun and adventure instead! Cameos from William Shatner and Brendan Frasier (playing themselves of course) only add to the hilarity, and the whole thing comes to a head when the pair discover that Megatron and Starscream have hidden themselves by reformatting into remote-control planes and hiding at a local hobby shop. It's a battle that can only be won by Wheelie hastily retrofitting himself with wings and Simmons conquering his shame of losing a boyhood remote-control airplane race to the class bully! Will it be enough to stop the Decepticon invasion once and for all? Find out this Summer, in Transformers 3!

[andersonh1]

Make Simmons the main character of the next movie. He and Wheelie team up to go on a road trip to find the escaped Megatron and Starscream, but find fun and adventure instead! Cameos from William Shatner and Brendan Frasier (playing themselves of course) only add to the hilarity, and the whole thing comes to a head when the pair discover that Megatron and Starscream have hidden themselves by reformatting into remote-control planes and hiding at a local hobby shop. It's a battle that can only be won by Wheelie hastily retrofitting himself with wings and Simmons conquering his shame of losing a boyhood remote-control airplane race to the class bully! Will it be enough to stop the Decepticon invasion once and for all? Find out this Summer, in Transformers 3!

Don't forget to add more shots of Tuturro's thong-clad butt. He could accidentally sit on Wheelie for an awesome sight gag!

[Dominic]

Joking aside:

Fewer set-piece comedy moments.

Kill or other-wise write-out the damned parents, and the room-mate. Do not replace them with more obnoxious characters. (As annoying as fat slob computer hacker guy was in the first movie, he was not pointlessly and intrusively annoying to the degree that Leo and the parents were. I could deal with the fat slob's real life analogue. I would want to push Leo in front of a train. And, Leo did less than fat slob.)

Do not devolve characters to be whinier than they were in the first movie. (Why was Sam more mature as a 16 year old than as an 18 year old? And, why was 18 year old Sam written like a 14 year old?)



Less contrivance in the plot.

Less, "this is how a kid would play with the toys" moments.

The writers/producers proving they have at least one idea beyond robots and explosions. It need not even be a huge idea.


Dom
-almost misses Bernie Mack as Bobby Bolivia.

[Onslaught Six]

More names and characterisation. They got it down with Megs and Screamer here--they were at least *characters.* I have no idea what Sideswipe is supposed to be like, and if it weren't for the toys we'd have no clue that most of the Decepticons even *have* names.

Also: More Long Haul. I loves me some Long Haul.

[Sparky Prime]

I'd also have to say they need to cut down on the crude humor. We don't need stuff like humping dogs/robots in the film. Or a close up of Agent Simmon's thong while he explains why he's wearing it. Personally, I just don't think that kind of stuff is necessary or funny.

Robot characters need more attention/characterization. Most of the Decepticon characters didn't even get named in ROTF, and some of the Autobots just barely got that much. We need more than that to make these characters more real.

It'd be nice if we see the Autobots actually doing something to save their species, rather than just foiling the Decepticons plans to create an army and hiding out on Earth.

[onslaught86]

Shoot Michael Bay many times until they're sure he's dead. Remove the writing team's thumbs, eyes, and tongues, to ensure they can't churn out any more abortions posing as scripts. Kill the Twins. Give poor Megan Fox a shower so she doesn't look like she's been basted. Hire people who can actually write and/or direct with talent, as opposed to making lots of poor jokes and distracting explosions. BANG BOOM haha farts KAPOW. I'm sorry, did you want a story that made sense?

I'd go with Prowl's idea, it wouldn't be any worse. The really sad part about this is that I've spent years being proud to collect TFs, despite the associated social ridicule. And NOW I feel almost ashamed of my hobby. Stupid movies.

[Onslaught Six]

The funny thing is, though...Nobody I know is actually saying the movie sucks, except some TF fans and people who are usually enough cocknobbers that I don't feel like associating with them anyway.

Granted, my group of friends didn't think it was high cinema or anything, but we didn't expect that, either. I dunno--I'm not now any more embarassed to be collecting TFs than I was any other time. And I'd arguably say that the image Energon or Cybertron put out was *far* more damaging than the movie.

[BWprowl]

That's an interesting point; I read an article on this a couple weeks back. See, despite the bad reviews that we and the various critics and movie reviewers are giving this movie, it's still selling tickets like crazy, with the moviegoing public saying that they really like it.

...Maybe *that's* what '86 finds embarrassing about it.

[Onslaught Six]

I'm also not in any way saying that ROTF is a great awesome movie. I was as entertained as I expected to be. And, much like the first movie, now that I've seen it (Twice, I add) I feel like...it's over, done with, now bring on what's next. Which is....more movie toys. For ages. Which was fine, because then I downloaded the game and saw all the guys we were gonna get eventually, so hey.