Transformers One Spoiler Discussion

[Agent X]

If sequels decided to borrow from the Live-Action movies, I can see them swiping the "Megatron causes B-127 to lose his voice" from ancillary media, spinning it into a key scene. Showing how evil Megatron has become to hurt a beloved character, more than physically, while going meta and echoing fans sentiments about MKM's portrayal being annoying and cringy. Especially if they let B mature and give MKM a chance to flex his acting, making it ironic that now that B is less annoying, Megatron takes his voice because he still sees him as that little annoying yellow bot.

 

[Sabrblade]

MKM

Meegan-Kichael Mey?

 

[Agent X]

Meegan-Kichael Mey?

Yes. I wasn't going to type that multiple times.

 

[Sabrblade]

Yes. I wasn't going to type that multiple times.

WHOOSH

 

[lastmaximal]

I mean, you could have just supplied the correction if that was the intent.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

I don't think the t-cogs imbue any special abilities, per se. It seems like, when a Cybertronian gets a new t-cog, it triggers a transformation of their body at that point; its possible Megatron realized he could control this somewhat to give himself an upgrade when he ripped Megatronus' Cog from Sentinel.

While I don't know about special abilities, they did seem to make them taller and stronger than before, even just beyond their ability to transform. I don't think the non-Prime cogs handed out at the end had the same effect.

Incidentally, I find it funny that the more powerful Megatronus cog that D-16 took on changed his fusion cannon from the one we all know and recognize to one that's less like the iconic version, which I'm under the impression he was left with in the end.

Still not a fan of Bumblebee and the Badassatron thing. I personally didn't like that part from the aspect of a parent bringing my kids to see the movie. But to be fair, they have heard worse from me. Not to mention the OG film dropping a few words.

Yeah, I've been wondering how that would do with parents/kids, and if "ass" is just a socially acceptable thing for kids to say now.

Like, dropping a curse word is one thing. I imagine you can explain to a kid why that might be inappropriate, or appropriate for the situation, and that they shouldn't say that word until they're older.

When the kid appeal character is dropping "Call me 'Badassatron'" repeatedly throughout a movie, though? I feel like that's just begging the kids to emulate it.

Anyway, thoughts on the movie as a whole...

Probably the best Transformers movie to date, in my opinion. Not necessarily my favorite -- '86 is still gonna jazz me up like nothing else -- but from a more objective standpoint, this feels like the best as a movie. Definitely the one you probably want to point someone new to the franchise to.

My only real complaint is that I felt the movie had few surprises for me. I mean, I think that's on me -- while I may not remember ever bit of minutiae like some, I've been an avid fan since pretty much Day One, and I feel like I've seen some form of most of what this movie brings in some way or another. Still, I think it's the execution of those ideas that really makes the whole thing shine.

One thing I did really like, though, is that Orion Pax was basically Hot Rod. Even used his smokestacks the same way Cyberverse Hot Rod did, as flamethrowers.

I guess when it comes to Chosen Ones, Primus has a type.

To that, I do wish Pax had his own "Oh no you don't, Megatron"-type moment to kind of bring that full-circle. Ah, well.

While I like the aesthetics as they are, I wonder if it would have been more expensive had they basically just kind of used the same sort of style as at the beginning of the Bumblebee movie. A full "live action" movie that's still nothing but CG.

I think by the end, I picked up on nine slogan/catchphrase drops. Sure, references in themselves were more numerous, but I mean stuff like "more than meets the eye" and the like. Yeah, I counted "you don't have the touch, or the power".

This isn't a complaint, but a passing thought: Given that Megatronus is historically the traitor among the 13, I wonder if it wouldn't have been better if he had just filled Sentinel's role. You think about it, and most of it would have played out the same.

Well, except then we wouldn't get our obligatory "Megatron kills Sentinel" moment.

That's about all I've got. For now.

Oh, one other thought/complaint(?): Was there any iteration of the Transformers theme in here? I don't mean like a reference like "Oh, that's his ringtone" like some other movies would do, but used as an actual track.

I don't think every iteration of TF needs it, and even kind of get annoyed when it's overused, but... it just seems like it would have felt right for this one.

Edit: Oh, one more thought came to mind: Did anyone catch how they were able to make Airachnid play back that specific recording? I thought Soundwave was going to do something instead, until they did that.

 

[lastmaximal]

Some things that are occurring to me upon reflection:

• We essentially skipped the entire gladiatorial combat bit, at least as far as it relates to Megatron's origin. That's interesting because this movie's setting is more of a fake peacetime, rather than the more transparent occupation of the Quintessons of old. Everyone's subjugation is different and arguably more relatable (he said, having just gotten home from a day in the mines). The bread-and-circuses being a sport is a nice change of pace that makes sense with the new overarching status quo.
• My favorite thing about this new storyverse is there's so much potential for worldbuilding. Other splinter groups on the surface. The era of the Primes being so (apparently) comparatively near to the present. So many characters being contemporaries of sorts versus coming online later in the war and so on. So many possibilities left open (colonies, other Sentinel allies, the Quintessons returning). Hell, depending on how complex they can make it, might even show some disaffected Cybertronians who heard the truth but didn't mind Sentinel's rule. But that may be too messy.
• Where DID the flood of new transformation cogs come from? It feels a bit bleh that they just... showed up when the Energon started flowing again. This is one of the problems of the Matrix being an all-purpose plot device, and I hope they lock that down now that they have a sorta fresh start. It would have been nice (but taken too much story time I guess) for the Autobots to have to set up a drive to build and distribute t-cogs for everyone. Or, if it had to be Macgufffiny, just have the planet enveloped in a flash and when it fades everyone has a glowing t-cog in their chest. Meh that still sounds meh.
• I miss Bumblebee as a courier type, having liked that aspect of his solo movie characterization. Maybe now that he's out of the smelting level he can shift to that. I just hope that in whatever series or media follows, they take the opportunity to reboot the character a little bit; while I like Keegan Michael Key a fair amount, this take on the character has used up its goodwill with me. There's so much to Bumblebee as an actual character and now's a good time to get to it.
• I keep thinking about reconfiguring the final battle/s. Megatron shoots at Sentinel, Orion takes the blast. Megatron reaches for his fallen friend, but hesitates, and turns toward Sentinel instead. Megs kills him, takes Megatronus' t-cog, and completes his final form, only then turning back to a graying Orion. They have a last talk and Megatron tells Orion that the age of Primes is over, and that the road to the future is build on the wreckage of everyone who opposes Megatron (sort of an "everything is fodder" thing) -- then Megs hurls him into the pit. We cut to a few scenes of the High Guard herding miners into a tight circle, and we can intercut between Megatron's speech about taking over and might makes right and the rule of one and so on -- and the Primes telling Orion about sacrifice and compassion and all being one. Orion is restored to the surface as Optimus Prime, flipping forward in his 86 jump pose (better here than the weird suddenly-jumping-into-it in Sentinel's chambers) and with The Touch (or an orchestral reprise) blaring in the background. They fight, and bite, and fight and bite and fight, fight fight fight, bite bite bite. Then with Optimus gaining the upper hand, he offers Megatron a place in a new Cybertron (Bee shrieks "he just tried to kill you!") if he and the High Guard stand down, and this is where Megatron rejects the offer and marshals his forces to leave.

 

[MrBlud]

I feel like you could get some mileage out swapping Blaster for Megatron and doing his face-off with Straxus (who is punishing Cybertronians the Quintessons capture in this Universe)

That would give the Decepticons Darkmount as a counterpart to Iacon as well.

 

[Darth_Prime]

The cogs came from the Matrix which is powered by Primus. I was ok with the Matrix being used to provide them to the cog less bots.

 

[Donocropolis]

Just saw it last night. Like I said in the other TF: One thread, I really liked the balance between sticking to old lore/designs and introducing new elements or doing unexpected things with old elements. Some examples I liked:

Megatronus not being the "evil" prime (in fact, there ARE no evil primes) but just the physically strongest of them, leading Megatron to idolize him.

The core of the Decepticon army being the Cybertronian High Guard from the old pre-invasion days. They didn't start out as evil, just as warriors, but loosing the war to the Quintessons, being betrayed by Sentinel Prime, and following Starscream's questionable leadership have led them astray.

Seeing what would become the Autobots and what would become the Decepticons fighting together against their common enemy.

Cyberton being still under Quintesson control during the start of the A/D war.

The design of Cybertron as a constantly shifting/transforming body. I liked how the Cybertronians interacted with it, like the scene where they run in and quickly do their mining as tunnels open and close randomly in the interior. Loved the cyber-fauna, and would like to see some more of that. Interesting that there were also some organic elements to Cybertron. Not sure if that was supposed to be native to the planet, or something foreign that was either brought by the Quintessons or just deposited by impacts with other celestial bodies or something.

 

[Rhinox]

I wonder if we can call the cogless "protoforms". Maybe?
I do like that Megatronus is not the Fallen. That there is no Fallen here. Like others, I'm getting tired of the Jesus metaphors and the whole Judas thing is tired.

I really like this as an origin and a square one. There's tons of stories that can be told, the world building is good. We have an outside antagonist so that we can have more than just the Autobots v Decepticons. There's room for more growth and stories in this.

 

[Sabrblade]

I do like that Megatronus is not the Fallen. That there is no Fallen here. Like others, I'm getting tired of the Jesus metaphors and the whole Judas thing is tired.

Well, when the Covenant of Primus book came out and rewrote The Fallen into being a tragic figure, he wasn't Judas, he was Othello.

 

[Undead Scottsman]

I wonder if we can call the cogless "protoforms". Maybe?

Before I saw the movie, I thought that was what they were going to go with.

'course that would make what Sentinel Prime was doing akin to enslaved child labor, so it might be for the better.

 

[Sabrblade]

I wonder if we can call the cogless "protoforms". Maybe?

Before I saw the movie, I thought that was what they were going to go with.

'course that would make what Sentinel Prime was doing akin to enslaved child labor, so it might be for the better.

In a sense, the cog-less forms being Protoforms would kinda match up with how Protoforms were depicted in the live-action movies as featureless base forms for Cybertronians who have yet to acquire an altmode of any kind. Likewise, the Exodus novel used "Protoform" to refer to a Transformer's robot mode in general, with "proto-forming" and "proto-formed" being verbs used to refer to one transforming from altmode to robot mode.

There does exist a novelization of the movie (though, it's apparently only a partial adaptation of the movie's story, likely done to avoid spoiling the full movie, but still a weird decision to cut the story off part of the way through), which may contain some additional info not found in the movie, like if the cog-less are called Protoforms or not.

 

[LordGigaIce]

There does exist a novelization of the movie (though, it's apparently only a partial adaptation of the movie's story, likely done to avoid spoiling the full movie, but still a weird decision to cut the story off part of the way through)

"And then Orion and D-16, having been complimented by Sentinel Prime for their race endeavours, celebrated happily. Fin"

 

[Zodberg]

It was Hella cool.

I logged to say this despite having quit this board years ago

 

[lastmaximal]

Good to see you, stick around.

 

[abates]

There does exist a novelization of the movie (though, it's apparently only a partial adaptation of the movie's story, likely done to avoid spoiling the full movie, but still a weird decision to cut the story off part of the way through), which may contain some additional info not found in the movie, like if the cog-less are called Protoforms or not.

This was done for the novelisation of the Bumblebee movie also. I suspect that Paramount is only allowing incomplete novelisations to, as you say, prevent spoilers.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

We essentially skipped the entire gladiatorial combat bit, at least as far as it relates to Megatron's origin.

I think Megatron vs. Starscream was meant to essentially be a truncated version of that.

Where DID the flood of new transformation cogs come from? It feels a bit bleh that they just... showed up when the Energon started flowing again. This is one of the problems of the Matrix being an all-purpose plot device, and I hope they lock that down now that they have a sorta fresh start. It would have been nice (but taken too much story time I guess) for the Autobots to have to set up a drive to build and distribute t-cogs for everyone. Or, if it had to be Macgufffiny, just have the planet enveloped in a flash and when it fades everyone has a glowing t-cog in their chest. Meh that still sounds meh.

Going by aligned, you can't just build T-cogs. They're on the more biological side of these super robotic lifeforms.

But if anything could grant more, I'd think it would be the power of Primus.

In a sense, the cog-less forms being Protoforms would kinda match up with how Protoforms were depicted in the live-action movies as featureless base forms for Cybertronians who have yet to acquire an altmode of any kind. Likewise, the Exodus novel used "Protoform" to refer to a Transformer's robot mode in general, with "proto-forming" and "proto-formed" being verbs used to refer to one transforming from altmode to robot mode.

I thought they had those comet-like forms they used to come to Earth with?

This was done for the novelisation of the Bumblebee movie also. I suspect that Paramount is only allowing incomplete novelisations to, as you say, prevent spoilers.

Boo. That's just rubbish. If I paid my money for an adaptation, then let me take it in the way I want to and "spoil" it if I choose.

I loved the novelizations of the Back to the Future movies, and enjoyed how they and the first TMNT movie novelizaton differed from what made it onto the screen, so this really kinda pisses me off.

It's about like spoiling this, anyway.

 

[lastmaximal]

I think Megatron vs. Starscream was meant to essentially be a truncated version of that.

Well, SO truncated as to be barely alike by the end -- a one-off encounter doesn't shape Megatron the way it would if it were a system he came up in. But you're right, the parallels are there and it serves the same purpose.

Going by aligned, you can't just build T-cogs. They're on the more biological side of these super robotic lifeforms. But if anything could grant more, I'd think it would be the power of Primus.

That makes sense. But there could have been ways to show the Matrix empowering whatever was built by hand. It's still ultimately supernatural in nature, and at least downplays the "this bauble solves all our problems" thing. But that would likely far less economical in terms of time, and the end of the movie was already racing to cover so much ground.