General Discussion: what one change would you make to TF:TM?

[Slamdance]

The other day, I was re-reading @repowers explanation of why the original Transformers movie wasn't a good movie (well worth the time if you're a fellow film junkie), and it got me thinking:

If I could change just one thing about TF:TM, what would it be?

After thinking about it for way longer than I should have, here's what I've got: instead of Unicron devouring Lithone in the opening scene, make it a human colony world with Sparkplug, Spike, and Daniel on it.

Why do this? Immediate emotional connection.

People need someone to immediately connect to for a story to work. That doesn't happen with Unicron eating Lithone, a planet no one knows or cares about and only exists to show that Unicron can eat planets.

It could have worked if we had followed Kranix's escape to Earth to warn the Autobots and Decepticons about Unicron's impending arrival and learned about the world he'd just lost. It would have given real weight to Lithone being destroyed.

Instead, Kranix (whose name we barely hear in the opening scene when the captions are on) is forgotten for the next hour, and we're lucky to remember that he's one of the lanky robots we saw for a minute or two at the beginning of the movie.

(Random thought that just popped into my head: what if Kranix and Lithone had deliberately summoned Unicron, thinking they could control him? That would have made for a way different movie. I could see that version being about Optimus Prime and Megatron being forced to confront their roles in the war and the destruction it had wrought on Cybertron...but that's probably more than we could expect from Transformers at that time.)

By making the world Unicron chomps down a human world, we solve the emotional disconnect from the original movie by 1) focusing on humans (you know, the kind of people actually watching the movie) and 2) grounding it in a real-world grandfather-father-son/grandson relationship. Whatever else happens in the movie, Sparkplug and Spike and Daniel would give people something to invest in.

And yes, I know it's common to complain about humans taking up too much screentime in Transformers movies. But you know what? The live action movies have made anywhere between 77 times and 187 times what Transformers: The Movie brought in. Maybe having prominent humans isn't such a bad thing.

So that's it. That's my one thing.

What's yours?

(And if this belongs better in main discussion forum than Iacon Art Institute, happy to repost over there.)

 

[CoffeeHorse]

It's hard to narrow it down to one change, so I'll cheat and say "Donate to the budget."

The script is better than what we got. Everyone talks about the big deleted scenes, but there's also little things that didn't make the cut. "Unnecessary" bits of dialog here and there. They had to be efficient with the budget they had, but sometimes efficiency backfires. It's a choppy movie. I'd rather slow it down with the "unnecessary" bits and give the characters more room to breathe.

 

[Covert Agent Rodimal]

I don't think I'd change anything drastically. Just have all the deleted scenes animated. Maybe add a scene showing Carly and Chip. Oh and fix the damned animation errors.

 

[Agent X]

I would probably re-sequence the moonbase attacks, Galvatron's torture, and the escape scenes.:

Original sequence:
Unicron attacks Moonbase 1---> Autobot City gets a call MB1, gets cut off-----> Jazz and Cliffjumper try to escape----> Spike and Bumblebee call Autobot City, gets cut off----> MB2 is armed and explodes, "Oh jive!"---->"Cybertron an all it's moons yadda-yadda-yadda TO EARTH!----> Magnus orders to board the shuttles.

Re-Sequence:
Unicron attacks Moonbase 1---> Autobot City gets a call MB1, gets cut off-----> Jazz and Cliffjumper try to escape---->"Cybertron and all it's moons yadda-yadda-yadda TO EARTH!---->Spike and Bumblebee call Autobot City, gets cut off----> MB2 is armed and explodes, "Oh jive!"----> Magnus orders to board the shuttles.

What it 'fixes' is shortening the amount of time the Autobots stand in front of a dead monitor and leghtens the amount of time it takes for the Decepticons to get to Earth.

 

[Geminii]

Me Snarl need more screen time!

Also, assorted animation errors (characters being in two places at the same time etc), script errors ("New improved Junkion planet is sleek, sexy import with turbo handling") and weird unexplained bits like Unicron reacting to the Matrix opening by tearing his leg off for some reason. Just... cleaning the whole thing up a bit.

 

[Superomegaprime]

What I would change:
First off, making sure Snarl is with the rest of the Dinobots through out the whole film, even if its a non speaking role
Secondly, the Junkions using their stationary weapons upon Autobots and Decepticons alike

If I was to do a post Autobot city battle, short story, before Unicron business starts, I would have the Autobots who don't appear in the film, like Protectobots & Aeiralbots seek out the location of the Shuttle that the Decepticons used to try and get the drop on the Autobots, from what I saw in the film, the moment the Decepticons cover was blown, they quickly abandoned the shuttle to launch their attack without a clear target as everything was pretty much all over the place, while the shuttle carried on and likely crashed somewhere as there was no one to guide it! Then for while those still in Autobot city flee to space, I would have those who locate the Shuttle remains, be shown in a short scene with a bunch of containers being launched into space containing the remains of the fallen Autobots inside of them and the living ones staluting them as a mark of respect, before sending up any fallen Decepticons whose bodies were left behind by their retreating allies, because they would need to be disposed of as well but no saluting for them as the idelogical differences are so great between the two sides that they don't respect one another unless its a rivaly such as Optimus's & Megatron's!!