4. Transformers 1-3
Big robots blow stuff up. Big robots fight each other. Naff humans get in the way. That's pretty much the plot of these movies. As a huge fan of the 80's cartoon I wanted to like these movies. The trouble is, they became an utter mess of cinema making. (I'll admit, I haven't seen the third, though I haven't heard great things about it). The biggest issue for me was that the larger than life characters from the cartoon didn't translate to the movies. Okay, Optimus Prime wasn't bad, but then they shared the same voice. Making Bumble Bee a robot that couldn't speak annoyed the hell out of me and the remaining transformers weren't great either. They frankly looked ugly - there so much of an attempt to make believable robots on the big screen that characters like Megatron bore no resemblance their animated predecessors. And the cast were weak and the stories unbelievable. Megan Fox's Mikaela and Shia LaBeouf's Sam? Not a believable couple. So all these films rally have going for them are the effects. In one sense, they look impressive. However, with the final battle in the first
Transformers...frankly there is so much going on I couldn't see what was happening. It's a visual overload. But then of course, it's Michael Bay so subtle isn't his forte. From what I've seen of the third film's trailers, it's a giant excuse to blow up most of Chicago. The effects in the trailers certainly look stunning. But really you need fun, relatable characters in the explosiony-action mix. Think John McClane. Add him to the Transformers franchise and suddenly it will be upped a whole other level...