"Sparks Flying" ("Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen")
It's a crime I myself am guilty of: comparing properties based on things from my childhood with their present-day 'revisions'. Yes, I understand how things must be altered for a new generation to make them feel fresh and cutting edge. And what I've liked in the past may not age well so change is not only inevitable but necessary. The old clique "This is not your father's (fill in the blank)" may be overused, but it certainly doesn't make it any less false. So, for something to last, it must stay with the times.
But that doesn't stop me from shouting "Bull$h!t" every once in a while.
Case in point, the live-action Transformers movies. I can understand it must be extremely difficult to conjure up robots onto a theater screen which not only look convincing but blend well with the actors and the background. If you can take a semi-truck and trick an audience into believing it can shift into a robot who talks, then you're a CGI genius. I also agree certain liberties would need to be changed from the cartoon. After all, there's no logical way a 7-foot wide cybernetic bird can transform into a 3-and-a-half-inch cassette tape.
But they could at least put in an effort.
Among the many faults I have with this particular Michael Bay directed movie, perhaps the most frustrating is (except for Optimus Prime and Bumblebee) all the robots look alike. Granted the main robots who draw most of the focus seem to have unmistakable characteristics. But once you get into the supporting cast, it's as if the heads of the studio decided to finance only one prototype model for filming and the studio artists made slight tweaks so every robot is 'unique'.
As for the silhouettes of the theater goers, I spent a few hours drawing and coloring that entire row. However, it blended into the movie so much nothing could be made out. In the end, I wound up paint bucketing the row black in photoshop. Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest. - Jake