www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Transformers II: AVOID at all costs...

My brothers and sisters,

I saw the most insipid and sexually charged "kid movie" last night and WALKED OUT: Transformers II. It is nothing but a confusing stream of CGI and character foulness - nothing like the first movie which was mostly tame (except for one scene) and pretty entertaining.

My recommendation? Avoid it at all costs. Certainly DO NOT bring your kids to this. It is truly a morally offensive movie targeted to teens and families. I cannot repeat the things I heard in this movie. Simply unbelievable.

Hope this helps, if you were thinking about seeing it.

Deacon Daniel

It would be interesting to hear a review from a writer or artist from the TV series.

Terry,

I would be ashamed of Hasbro (a Toy Company!) and the whole Transformer enterprise.

Complete bait and switch tactic here...you think that this is going to be a somewhat responsible pre-teen, teen movie with a lot of mindless, fun militaristic robot action. What you get is nothing short of irresponsible.

Thanks for the warning to the readers of this forum who are parents of children and teens.

Never did like those transformers when my son was a toddler, anyway--I thought there were much more innocent and educational toys to waste our money on...

Out of curiousity, what was the movie rated?

--Alice

Alice,

It was a surprising PG-13...I saw and heard things in the movie that were definitely R rated.

I am gratified that the critics are, well, being very critical of this movie! That is a good sign that it will die a very rapid death in the theaters.

And yes, I intended my note to be primarily for those parents who are being pestered to take their teens and pre-teens to see this monument to idiocy.

CNN captures it perfectly...

CNN review of "Deformers; Commercials in Disguise" (sorry - my title) [cnn.com]

As for a what is child-appropriate, that may be changing in the public eye. Just look at the "humor" that's allowed in PG movies. There are people who will watch that movie and not 'notice' anything that's inappropriate for children.

About being appropriate for children, I was taken aback when a song I thought was full of references to the use and effects of booze (if not drugs too) and partying was sung by fifth graders:

I would not recommend leaving negative comments on there, the kids would see it.

I am glad that you gave me warning. I missed the first one. I was not impressed by the trailers.

I had no intention of seeing the movie anyway!

I dislike PG-13 as a rating. Most PG-13 movies should be Rs.

While things have drifted some, the PG-13 rating carved out sections of both the previous PG and R ratings.

It also had a result of taming things down--movies that would have been R were toned down to fit the PG-13 rating.

hawk

My kids (oldest 7) have been blissfully unaware that Transformers are anything other than toys until their friend from next door came home talking about the movie. He is also 7. What are parents thinking?

I read two reviews of the movie yesterday that convinced me my boys wouldn't be seeing it, and not just for the sexual overtones. I am now the Mean Old Mom -- a title I wear proudly. But I'm disappointed myself; I was looking forward to taking the kids to a fun movie we could all enjoy.

Is there a good movie out in the theaters right now?

Star Trek (minus one brief scene)...

Yes, I know. And my 18 year old was humiliated when I got up in front of all his friends and said, "That's enough. Let's leave." He handled it well, though.

Good for him to handle it well. At his age I would have sulked.

I don't even remember what that might have been. It was a good movie.

One thing I like about all of the Star Trek movies and/or shows is that there are no sexual scenes and generally, no bad language...

They like to show man as having evolved to becoming totally civilized...(hahaha--as if that will ever happen--we are becoming less civilized with each year)

Alice