(Spoiler warning, I guess?)
No matter how I much I am trying to keep this blog diverse, I just keep coming back to Transformers. I guess Bumblebee really did reinvigorate my love for the franchise as a whole.
That said, I think most fans can agree that the film series that we have gotten prior to Bumblebee has been pretty... divisive, shall we say. In spite of each film after the first getting worse critical reception, even from audiences, there were still people who suckered up and kept giving the films millions, if not billions, at the box office with each release. That is, until The Last Knight came along and people just got sick of these films constantly popping up every 2-3 years to bash their brains in with a Bay-coated sledgehammer. And as I have brought up before in several of my posts on Transformers, even I, the guy who used to defend these movies with every fibre in his body; even I got sick of defending the films with how they would get disastrously worse with each rewatch. It was basically the antithesis of watching Hot Fuzz (or any of the Cornetto Trilogy, for that matter).
This is why I am happy that Bumblebee was a hit with audiences and actually turned a profit as well, which is also allowing for a new cinematic universe to start from scratch. All of the lingering plot threads from the Bayverse are now completely gone and the series can reset with a new take that is more faithful and honest with the fandom. I am legitimately pumped to see an entire film take place on Cybertron, or having a film dedicated to Optimus Prime that isn't showing him as a murderous psychopath. I want to see these characters that myself and many others have come to love over the years, and for the films to really give the fans what they deserve.
That said, I still have my own ideas as to what I want in the new series of films. This isn't so much a prediction of what MAY come, but rather just a general list of things that I would love to see done in love action. And I suppose the obvious place to start would be:
1.
Keep in mind, while Beast Wars and Beast Machines was airing while I was growing up, I was born in 1996, the same year that Beast Wars premiered. Thus, I was far too young to get into watching Transformers. But of course, as a modern Transformers fan, I eventually found the entire series on YouTube (before copyright took it down and I refuse to get the Region 1 coded boxsets on Amazon [because they are stupid expensive and Region Coding is a fucking joke]) and fell in love with the story, and the characters, and the voice acting, and the references to G1, and the anima-- actually, not so much the animation, but I still loved watching Beast Wars the whole way through. This is probably why I really want to see a new version of Beast Wars brought to the big screen. Not so much a reboot or just the same thing with prettier CG animation; rather, a re-imagining of the series that still uses the elements that made Beast Wars worked so well. Besides, it also works as an ample chance to expand on the cinematic universe they are now building and the business opportunity for brand new toys based on timeless characters.
Just bring back Scott McNeil for either Rattrap, Dinobot or Waspinator, and a Beast Wars film could work in this new series of films.
2. Incorporating elements from other series.
While people may have their favourite Transformers seasons and while others simply refuse to watch anything that ISN'T G1, I am still hoping that this new line of films will incorporate elements from other seasons while still remaining faithful to the heart of the overall franchise. When you get down to it, the original G1 cartoon had very little in terms of actual lore until season 3, and even then it was more about exposition details of how the Transformers were made, less so any historical lore or mythos behind it. Other versions like Prime or the Marvel Comics added more to the mythology and took things in a newer direction, while still being influenced from past works. Even the Bayverse tried this with Age of Extinction and, to a lesser extent, The Last Knight. They botched it, yes, but they still did it nonetheless. I want to see this new lines of films do the same. Maybe include stuff like combiners, or the mythology of Unicron, Primus and the Original 13.
Heck, with how storytelling has evolved for the franchise as a whole, one could easily do a newer interpretation of Megatron and how his cause started, maybe even draw on the version from the IDW comics as a mistreated lower class miner who had no choice but to resort to violence when his words were never enough. That would automatically make that Megatron FAR more interesting than what was seen in all 5 Bayverse films put together. The same could easily be done for the whole Orion Pax/Optimus Prime backstory to help give the character more nuance in film and make the conflict between Optimus and Megatron more personal. Maybe even do what other material from IDW has done and have both Autobots and Decepticons who walk a morally grey path, or even ones who never wanted war in the first place. That would be an interesting talking point for the films, maybe have one focused on a group of Neutrals who try to remain out of the conflict. That is something that is almost NEVER addressed in any Transformers media.
3. Shattered Glass.
Anyone familiar with the "Mirror, Mirror" concept from Star Trek knows the possibilities that arise from such a simple setting; a universe where the roles are reversed between the heroes and the villains. While not explored as often as one would think, the Transformers equivalent, Shattered Glass, still opens the potential for a fascinating story-telling engine to be brought to the franchise outside of the comics for the first time. And from what I have heard, we almost had that in 2010. Before Transformers: Animated was confirmed to be cancelled before Season 4 could be put into production, one of the episode ideas would've focused on Bulkhead and Sari being transported to an alternate universe where they have to hid from the dictatorship set up by the Autobots, while forming an uneasy alliance with the rebellious Decepticons. The possibilities from such as set-up basically writes itself.
Really think about it: a universe where Optimus demonises Megatron and his friends as terrorists and starting a civil war for the sake of becoming a Prime; where Starscream is a caring, compassionate, honour bound warrior who believes that Megatron deserves to lead Cybertron to a new Golden Age; where Drift could finally embrace that he is the Transformers equivalent to Deadpool; where Michael Bay makes Oscar-winning political dramas. Okay, that last one requires a miracle that only Primus could grant, but my point remains. They have the free reigns to do what they want with this setting, so they can go all out with it. It's gotta more interesting than most Fanfics that just retell the same story just with the roles reversed.
4. Creating a new mythos.
While I would love to see these classic stories brought to the big screen, part of why the franchise has lasted for almost 35 years is how the best seasons bring something new to the table. The Marvel Comics took the same story as the cartoon and put a different spin on it. Beast Wars/Machines brought in the idea of techno-organics and the descendants of both factions continuing the struggle. The Unicron Trilogy, even with as bad as Armada and Energon got, established the Mini-Cons as a new faction and expanded a bit on the mythology of Unicron and Primus. Animated was a celebration of the franchise and put new spins on classic legacy characters. War For/Fall of Cybertron was a darker retelling of G1 that focused more on how Cybertron fell apart by the seams, as well as the escalation of Megatron as a threat and a truly powerful presence as a villain. Even the IDW comics had the beginnings of the war based on political struggles and the Decepticons being more of a fanatic cult than a terrorist faction.
Each of the best series, even when they tell the same story over and over, was able to bring something fresh and creative, whether it was new addition to the mythos or a different spin on an old concept. These new films could do the same if they keep it up and use the Bumblebee movie as a starting point. Again, they could go all out with these ideas and bring something new to the movie-going audience that will, ergo, keep bringing them back film after film.
The main point I am making here is that I want the series to keep growing and evolving, whether it's in the cartoons, the comics, maybe some games, and, of course, the films. For the longest time before Bumblebee got to the big screen, people were getting tired of the movies just doing the same thing again and again, to the point where The Last Knight lost the studio $100 million at the box office and the critical reception was at an all time low for the films. So, seeing Bumblebee get the films out of the gutter and breathe life into the series was exactly what fans needed to feel in any way optimistic about the future of the franchise. I want to see them do something new and bring fresh ideas to the films to keep things going. Don't go back to the way things were when Bay was in the directors chair; let the fans feel like they're getting what they asked for and the respect that they deserve.
Still, this is what I hope could happen with the films. It might happen, it might not. If anyone reading this has their own ideas for what could done with the movies, please let me know. And if you like what you've read, please follow me on Twitter; I share these reviews on there all the time and I always appreciate a retweet.
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off.
No comments:
Post a Comment