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(Chicago Sun-Times) Followup Roger Ebert responds to WHARRGARBL after giving Transformers 2 a negative review. "It's not a critic's job to reflect box office taste. The job is to describe my reaction to a film, to account for it, and evoke it for others."   (blogs.suntimes.com) divider line 645
More: Followup  

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notmtwain [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 01:28:21 PM  
Transformers had a bigger week to week decline in business than any other movie in the top 10.

Those of us who were saved from wasting our money and time have a lot to thank Roger for.

/// And to those of you who loved it-- good for you. I liked the first part of the first movie but could not imagine having to live through the last 10 minutes of film one for two hours.

 
NikolaiFarkoff [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 01:28:47 PM  
I've noticed the comments on RottenTomatoes (in response to critics) are only slightly more intelligent than your average YouTube thread. Light years ahead of b-tards or Honda tuner forums.

 
NikolaiFarkoff [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 01:30:39 PM  
notmtwain: Those of us who were saved from wasting our money and time have a lot to thank Roger for.

That, plus the availability of several other really good films lately. Drag Me to Hell was awesome, so was Up!, and Away We Go was pretty good. Apart from Up, I got blank stares from most people when I mentioned the other two.

 
yogaFLAME [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 01:31:03 PM  
Didn't read Ebert's review, but I guarantee he was far too nice to the film. This is better.

 
DamnYankees [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 01:33:34 PM  
I need to know - did Armond White like Transformers 2?

 
Katie98_KT 2009-07-06 01:46:51 PM  
yogaFLAME: Didn't read Ebert's review, but I guarantee he was far too nice to the film. This is better.

oh my god that's awesome.

 
Bored Horde 2009-07-06 01:52:36 PM  
Transformers was awesome fun. An absolutely awful film, but still great fun.

 
robsul82 [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 01:55:44 PM  
NikolaiFarkoff: notmtwain: Those of us who were saved from wasting our money and time have a lot to thank Roger for.

That, plus the availability of several other really good films lately. Drag Me to Hell was awesome, so was Up!, and Away We Go was pretty good. Apart from Up, I got blank stares from most people when I mentioned the other two.


Maybe because Jumpscare: The Movie wasn't actually very good.

 
slayer199 [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 01:56:04 PM  
yogaFLAME: Didn't read Ebert's review, but I guarantee he was far too nice to the film. This is better.

Ebert's review was justifiably harsh...but I ROFLed at the review you linked.

 
Ku_No_Ichi [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 01:58:59 PM  
Katie98_KT: oh my god that's awesome.

Yes, yes it was.
+1 for thread-linked article!

 
CruiserTwelve [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:07:44 PM  
I saw Transformers 2 and left thinking I was getting senile because nothing made sense to me. It just seemed to be a bunch of random, unrelated stuff happening for no apparent reason. I feel better now.

 
coinspinner [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:08:21 PM  
The best review I've found of Transformers 2. It's an art piece, and you probably didn't get it.

 
Bek [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:12:33 PM  
So let's focus on those who seriously believe "Transformers" is one of the year's best films. Are these people wrong? Yes. They are wrong. I am fond of the story I tell about Gene Siskel. When a so-called film critic defended a questionable review by saying, "after all, it's opinion," Gene told him: "There is a point when a personal opinion shades off into an error of fact. When you say 'The Valachi Papers' is a better film than 'The Godfather,' you are wrong." Quite true. We should respect differing opinions up to certain point, and then it's time for the wise to blow the whistle.

This is why Ebert is awesome.

 
Sybarite [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:21:50 PM  
Ku_No_Ichi: Katie98_KT: oh my god that's awesome.

Yes, yes it was.
+1 for thread-linked article!



Repressing a guffaw this hard can't be good for you. Nice find.

 
Kryptonic Silencer 2009-07-06 02:23:40 PM  
If it's like the first one, I won't be wasting my money on it.

 
Eddie_Dean_NY [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:23:49 PM  
If nothing else, judging by the two links in thread and Mr. Ebert's article, Transformers has inspired a new level of genius in movies critics everywhere.

Epically bad doesn't even begin to describe this movie, but these reviews are both profound and hilarious.

 
Dr.Knockboots [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:24:45 PM  
I went in to Transformers 2 wanting to see cool robots, funny moments, a hot girl or 2, big explosions and awesome action with killer special effects..
I got every bit of that, made me happy.

 
sgilman 2009-07-06 02:24:52 PM  
Meh. I didn't to the movie for a good story; I went to see new robots, explosions and hot chicks. I wasn't disappointed.

 
DoWhatNowToWhat 2009-07-06 02:25:07 PM  
yogaFLAME: Didn't read Ebert's review, but I guarantee he was far too nice to the film. This is better.

So much this!!

The only time you should see this movie is if you get to go for free.

 
T.rex 2009-07-06 02:25:11 PM  
i've been defending Transformers 2 for a while now, because i assumed the haters were just haters, though i actually didn't see the film until yesterday.

Let me say, the haters are actually correct. I'd agree with the assessment that this is the worst movie to have made the most money, in the history of film.

I loved the first one. But this new one is too crass, too long, and too much the same thing... Watching robots fight for 2.5 hours will get boring. I'm not saying beef up the plot,,, but they at least vary up what the robots are doing. the action sequences were devoid of creativty.

 
radioman_ 2009-07-06 02:25:13 PM  
B-b-b-but Megan Fox is in it.

 
belhade 2009-07-06 02:25:19 PM  
Bored Horde: Transformers was awesome fun. An absolutely awful film, but still great fun.

I thought the first Transformers was an excellent piece of CGI action, which I would assume the second is, just moreso.

And I really like Timothy Olyphant Josh Duhamel.

And Megan Fox.

For different reasons.

 
Balrog1 2009-07-06 02:25:29 PM  
It they went back and edited out the twins from Tranformers 2 it would be vastly improved. I still like watching Optimus Prime kick butt.

 
MBK [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:25:32 PM  
Transformers 2 was decent. Too much humans/racist robots.

The forest battle scene was traumatic for me. If you saw it, you know why.

I really, really, really hated the end fight. The previous battles were all wide shots, no close ups. It is hard to tell where one robot ends and where one begins on close up shots. Again, the Forest Scene was excellent because it wasn't a big blob of metal. You saw movement in all the robots in the scene.

 
Good Behavior Day 2009-07-06 02:25:54 PM  
I haven't watched Ebert since Siskel was alive, but Roger was the one that was willing to talk up a movie that was just dazzle and action. If Ebert wasn't willing to give even a mild compliment to a summer blockbuster, you knew it sucked.

 
thomps [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:26:13 PM  
i really appreciate that roger ebert embedded onto his website a youtube clip from robot chicken that ends with an implied in-theater blowjob.

 
AbbeySomeone 2009-07-06 02:26:21 PM  
yogaFLAME: Didn't read Ebert's review, but I guarantee he was far too nice to the film. This is better.

ha!

 
robsul82 [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:26:28 PM  
coinspinner: The best review I've found of Transformers 2. It's an art piece, and you probably didn't get it.

The Slashfilmcast highlighted that review for its podcast on TF2, it was hilarious.

 
StaleCoffee 2009-07-06 02:26:30 PM  
I just went back and watched all the original cartoons, including the movie where Unicron eats planets, and I can plainly see the cerebral disconnect between that and these movies. Obviously, the cartoon we loved as children was about fine film making and not about shiat that turn into other shiat then blew shiat up.

 
Huskadoodle 2009-07-06 02:26:32 PM  
So this is like Blair Witch? If you didn't like it, you just didn't get it?

 
sgilman 2009-07-06 02:27:26 PM  
Ku_No_Ichi: Katie98_KT: oh my god that's awesome.

Yes, yes it was.
+1 for thread-linked article!


FTA:

What is the status of the Transformers at the beginning of the film?
The Autobots have joined the military to hunt down the Decepticons. We're told the Decepticons are "doing things," but they appear to be hiding peacefully when the Autobots show up and brutally murder them.


I didn't realize this during the movie but it's true, the decepticons weren't doing anything until they started getting shot at.

 
lukelightning 2009-07-06 02:27:29 PM  
I wonder how Ebert will rate RoboGeisha.

Fried shrimp!

 
DSF6969 2009-07-06 02:27:45 PM  
Transformers: ROTF is so long, you'll need to wear adult diapers to it. But the movie's pure celebration of the primal urge, and unfiltered living, will make you rejoice in your adult diapers. You'll relieve yourself in your seat with a savage joy, your barbaric yawp blending in with the crowd's screams of excitement.



pure gold

 
ultraholland 2009-07-06 02:28:36 PM  
notmtwain: Those of us who were saved from wasting our money and time have a lot to thank Roger for.

I thank my common sense. After seeing that first Transformers and straight hating on it the entire time, I vowed never to see any sequels. My hate for Bay grows by the second.

 
gorgor 2009-07-06 02:28:47 PM  
Roger Ebert sounds like a Transformer.

 
Pxtl 2009-07-06 02:29:21 PM  
I am a huge Transformers fan, and I actually kind of enjoyed the first TF movie in spite of its many, many flaws.

Thanks to the reviews of Ebert and others, I'm not seeing the sequel.

The reviews are saying the same thing, and it's sad - lame comic relief, incoherent action, and an utterly inscrutable storyline.

Ebert is one of the few respectable critics who will give an action movie the time of day.

 
timefishblue 2009-07-06 02:29:26 PM  
Dr.Knockboots: I went in to Transformers 2 wanting to see cool robots, funny moments, a hot girl or 2, big explosions and awesome action with killer special effects..
I got every bit of that, made me happy.


I went into Ass wanting to see an ass.
I got every bit of that, made me happy.

 
schattenteufel [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:29:49 PM  
This movie has finally taken me to the point where I can honestly say that I will never ever again pay money to see a Michael Bay film.
I've given him so many chances to redeem himself and every single time he just disappoints me even more.

Clearly he won't be hurting without my handful of cash, but at least I can sleep better in knowning that I won't ever again encourage him to commit further atrocities on the cinema.

 
Carth 2009-07-06 02:30:00 PM  
I still haven't forgiven Ebert for giving a negative review to the new Star Trek and a positive review to the piece of crap Knowing.

 
amanogowa 2009-07-06 02:30:04 PM  
NikolaiFarkoff: That, plus the availability of several other really good films lately. Drag Me to Hell was awesome

You really had me going for a bit.

That movie was decent. I would not call it good, let alone 'really good'. Mediocre at best.

/I like not seeing the ending from 5 minutes in.
//The only thing that surprised me about the end was that she got drug off, not the boyfriend

 
Arklop 2009-07-06 02:30:07 PM  
Huskadoodle: So this is like Blair Witch? If you didn't like it, you just didn't get it? huff enough duct sealant before watching it.

FTFY

 
N. S. Radieaux 2009-07-06 02:30:23 PM  
As a film critic, I can confirm this is true.

 
DamnYankees [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:30:31 PM  
robsul82: coinspinner: The best review I've found of Transformers 2. It's an art piece, and you probably didn't get it.

The Slashfilmcast highlighted that review for its podcast on TF2, it was hilarious.


Did you notice how *NONE* of the revierws, including the 1 hour long review by the /Filmcast, mentions any of the acting? No one even talks about LeBouf and Fox. It's ridiculous. I haven't seen the movie, but can the ostebsible main characters really be that unimportant?

Other blockbusters which did well and were considered good usually get great accolades for the acting. Think of Heath Ledger, Chris Pine, Zacahry Quinto, and Robert Downy Jr.

 
JohnCarter 2009-07-06 02:30:53 PM  
Saw Transformed II with my son (12) and his friend. They enjoyed Ms Fox, the sexy she Robot, and of course stuff getting blowed up. It was enjoyabel summer fare.

Great movie? Of course not.

Plot? Not aware there was in fact a plot

Continuity? Having working in Philadelphia I did not realize you could drive 1 minute and be in the mountains, then later in an abandonded town

It was a train wreck, was to much CGI.

 
Carth 2009-07-06 02:31:05 PM  
timefishblue: Dr.Knockboots: I went in to Transformers 2 wanting to see cool robots, funny moments, a hot girl or 2, big explosions and awesome action with killer special effects..
I got every bit of that, made me happy.

I went into Ass wanting to see an ass.
I got every bit of that, made me happy.


I agree. All these movie snobs demanding to know whose ass it was just don't get it.

 
DamnYankees [TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:31:34 PM  
Carth: I still haven't forgiven Ebert for giving a negative review to the new Star Trek and a positive review to the piece of crap Knowing.

While that was criminal by him, he did give ST 2.5 stars out of 4. So technically it was somewhat positive. He just decided to only write about the bad things.

 
poot_rootbeer 2009-07-06 02:31:55 PM  
I really liked the special effects they used to make Megan Fox's thumb transform into a toe, though I'm not really sure why they bothered. Was it a subtle commentary on the effect of Darwinian evolution on corporal form? Was the film asking us if we, ourselves, are really the ones that are More Than Meets The Eye?

 
1derful 2009-07-06 02:31:57 PM  
To describe someone as a "Harvard student" is to dismiss them as beneath consideration.

This is true, but in direct opposition to the way it was used in the article.

 
Excen 2009-07-06 02:32:06 PM  
yogaFLAME: Didn't read Ebert's review, but I guarantee he was far too nice to the film. This is better.

COMEDIC FARKING GOLD!!!

/didn't see it
/mostly because it would mean tracking down a baggie of mushrooms and finding an IMAX theater

 
Egalitarian [recently expired TotalFark] 2009-07-06 02:32:07 PM  
I like what Ebert said in response to one of the comments to the column:

Ebert: My guess is, when someone says, "I loved those toys," what they mean is they loved the zone of imagination the toys helped them enter, and the qualities they invested in the toys. They didn't pour lighter fluid on their toys and melt them, or use one to pound on another. The movies don't love the robots.

Last emphasis mine.

Did anyone destroy their Transformers? They were kind of fragile to begin with and expensive, not disposable like little green army guys.

\girl who was a little too old to play with Transformers when they were popular
\\sure enjoyed the Micronauts though

 
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