Transformers 3 Producer Reveals Nature of Dark of the Moon's Villain, Shockwave
Gone are the days when Shockwave seemed like one of the lamer Decepticons in the Transformers universe, and fans may have Michael Bay to thank for it. According to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Shockwave's been given a facelift for Transformers: Dark of the Moon -- and if you've seen the trailers, you've already seen his handy new upgrade.
[Click to see where Shockwave ranks among Movieline's Villains of Summer]
"He's always been a mean, mean guy, but he's even more menacing and more dangerous," di Bonaventura told USA Today. "He's bigger, badder, with a greater arsenal." And what exactly is in that arsenal?
SPOILER ALERT: The ability to transform into a giant snakelike bot, capable of constricting entire skyscrapers to death, as seen in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon trailers. USA Today describes it as an "exoskeleton," and just how that works will remain to be seen, but one thing's for sure: This ain't your grandpa's Shockwave.
Di Bonaventura to USA Today:
"Shockwave is just a ball of destruction, pulling whole skyscrapers down. He's a messy guy to have in our world. It's a huge escalation in the amount of damage that one Decepticon can wreak. He's capable of wholesale destruction...that's really bad for humans."
The O.G. Shockwave, as seen in previous Transformers universe iterations, was a fairly stodgy villain -- cold, calculating, with the ability to manipulate electromagnetic energy and the default alternate mode of a giant ray gun. I'll venture to say that this Shockwave is an improvement, as far as impressively daunting Big Bads go. Thoughts, TransFans?
· 'Transformer's' villain Shockwave revealed [USA Today]
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"Gone are the days when Shockwave seemed like one of the lamer Decepticons in the Transformers universe, and fans may have Michael Bay to thank for it."
What lame about Shockwave? He controls badassHQ and transforms into a powerful laser gun. What's deadlier than a giant laser gun?
“He’s bigger, badder, with a greater arsenal”: "The ability to transform into a giant snake"
I guess it had to be expected. After all, Megatron did suffer the same fate.
Alas Shockwave, you will have to be added to bay's list of fail, i guess.
Yeah, to my memory back to the 1980's cartoon days and toys, Shockwave was the coolest Transformers there was. (I never owned the toy version but still want it 25 years later.)
All the Bay revisions have all looked horrible, unattractive and indistinct.
You guys obviously don't remember the cartoon. Shockwave was the poorman's Starscream. Where Starscream was a badass who wanted power, Shockwave was a suck up with no real personality and was all "yessir, nosir". He was Soundwave minus the cool toys, but with an annoying voice. Bay may not be the best director, but he's definitely one of the top choices for the content (especially since Spielberg passed) .
I guess my fanboism was greater than yours (lol), Starscream was a backstabber always looking for a way to take over Megatron's position while he was down and/or out. He was a coward who often resorted to treachery.
Shockwave was the opposite of Starscream; he was loyal, strong and very intelligent. Following orders of superiors in any form of militarized group does not make one a "suck up", in my opinion.
How, in all honesty's sake, is Michael Bay "definitely one of the top choices for the [Transformers] content" SuperJesus? I can only assume you're kidding and taking the piss, because I could come up with a better plot for a Transformers movie in about three seconds and I doubt Bichael May has ever seen an episode from G1. Start counting. First of all, the humans need to be minor CHARACTERS to the plot (especially in the scope of a potential killer trilogy) and should be used more as a plot device than over-focusing on them, sort of the opposite of what Bay did (using the robots as special effects and having one-dimensional humans as "characters". Earth could feature as a source of potential energy source for the Autobots, who had recently vacated their home planet of Cybertron due to Decepticon-related wars; and the Autobots could be torn between raiding the planet for their own good and longevity and defending it from the Decepticons when they come for the exact same reasons. If humans are to be characters, why not actually use the Witwicky's from the original series? The mining-type setting is literally perfect to branch out into any number of thought-provoking themes, such as some of the Autobots having a hard time justifying putting their lives on the line for the humans who continually destroy our planet and rule it with an iron fist (queue up some character development for the Autobots as well as possibly heavy themes involving the way we humans treat our planet and resources). Another major plot point which could and SHOULD be taken straight from the G1 series is the character relationships of Megatron and Starscream. Megatron's second in command always trying to undermine him was so enjoyable, it's hard to fathom how any studio making a Transformers film could overlook this. I'm so sick of remakes and reboots, but I hope in about ten years Transformers gets another chance on the big screen, this time with a competent director and screenwriter, and made by filmmakers who adore the content and don't just want to make box office hits which are equally as critically floored. The thing is, these film ideas I speak of would probably absolutely rake it in at the box office. Think about it. Amazing special effects: check. Character development: check. Storyline: check. Relevance to themes of today whilst still being true to the source-material: check! And these films wouldn't have to be all doom and gloom. So many classic comedy gems come literally be lifted from the original cartoon series. Those who remember them will appreciate the tip of the hat to G1 and be able to embrace the corniness which encapsulated the series, whilst new fans will find the humour relatable without having to pander down to the lowest common denominator; ie involving giant metal balls on a robot. One such classic moment which would work perfectly: one of the Autobots notices a car that resembles one of his mates in vehicle mode being towed away, rushes to stop the towing and lifts up the car who he thinks is his Autobud. Dialogue along the lines of "What are you doing to [insert whichever relevant character name]?" and the realisation that it's just a regular car followed by the apology, "Sorry I thought you were towing away my friend." A lot of the fun could be in the Transformers trying to blend in with humanity and act like humans (anyone for an Autobot becoming a stunt car in Hollywood films [it could actually get kinda meta which could be very clever if well though out]?!), instead of Lame Bay's approach of keeping them some sort of secret government weapon. In closing, I hope this franchise will be given new life one day, another hit of Energon if you will. Rant over (glad to get some of that off my chest and I know more people would agree with my views than Bay's)!
Oh and while we're at it, DO NOT change the original designs on the characters OR their car-modes OR character traits. NO need to add in new lame characters, as there are so many in that universe to potentialise upon. And for the delight of corniness sake, let the Decepticons seem so deluded with their power and might that they fail to overlook the uselessness of transforming into a giant Nazi pistol, or a boombox/cassettes/ or three robots merging to become a single set of binoculars. And the Autobots could be so out of touch that their vehicle modes and literally straight from the 80's. This would delight old fans, gain new ones, and most of all add a charm that is so dearly lacking from any (and I mean any) of Michael bay's films. Okay, NOW the rant's over!
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