Scene Analysis #15: Negotiation with Megatron-Transformers: The Last Knight · 9:51pm Apr 15th, 2023
Scene Rating Scale:
9/9: Flawless! Outstanding scene!
8/9: Great scene! Totally Rewatchable!
7/9: Pretty good. Not as perfect as I expected though.
6/9: Decent. Doesn’t ruin the movie/episode.
5/9: Mid.
4/9: Pretty bad. One of the weakest scenes of the movie/episode.
3/9: You hear that? It’s the wind of lameness.
2/9: One of the worst scenes of the film/episode.
1/9: Horrible, unwatchable, and unacceptable.
Hello, hello, hello, my wonderful friends! Mr. J is in the house with another scene analysis for you all today! This afternoon, I will be reviewing the negotiation scene from the worst Transformers movie in the history of the franchise. Now, given my passionate hate boner for this movie, I don’t want to state my grievances with it for the sake of avoiding needless repetition. I just want to talk about this scene alone…and how little sense it makes in hindsight.
Here, Megatron (who for some reason isn’t Galvatron anymore) makes a negotiation with Lennox and his TRF associates to release a few Decepticon prisoners in exchange of showing them the dangerous weapon of mass destruction that threatened the existence of humanity.
So here is why this scene is just laughably dumb. You have Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons—someone who has been attacking Earth for Primus knows how long and who is possibly sick and tired of humanity for all the bullshit he went through….now making negotiations with humans to release some of his brethren. I know that Megs is no stranger to making deals and negotiations, but these are humans he’s literally dealing with—the ones whom he views as worthless insects.
Why would he even bother in making deals with them? In fact, what made the TRF think that Megatron would uphold his end of the bargain considering how power-hungry he is? But this isn’t the main issue here.
This scene introduces new Decepticon characters who had so much potential to be just as efficient, powerful, and well-written as the original Decepticon team from the first movie. These characters are following:
•Mohawk: this little thug has that chaotic, gangster personality who just loves to be himself regardless of whoever stands in his way. He is the weakest of the bunch yet Megatron starts out small until he can get to the bigger deal.
•Dreadbot: first off, that’s one of the lamest names I’ve ever heard. Why not just call him Hooligan? That’s far more creative in light of his psychotic tendencies, in my opinion. Seeing how he killed nine people and ransacked a bank without taking the money, he comes off as someone who is evil just for kicks. Seems like he took notes from The Joker!
•Nitro Zeus: this guy is the best of the bunch because of how fun and charismatic he is. He too walks and talks not just as a gangster but also as a celebrity. Oh, and notice how he knows the guards by name and says he knows where one of them lives…and his wife for some reason. Haha, it seems like he could be a good blackmailer when given the chance.
•Berserker: ……there is not much to say about this homicidal maniac except that he was obviously too dangerous to be released. Even Megatron didn’t argue with them when it came to him. But we have to remember that Megs asked for him for a reason; it seems like he asked for something impossible in order to make another option seem easier by comparison. This is where Onslaught comes in; he didn’t ask for the latter until after they denied Berserker’s release. It’s like Megs knew they weren’t gonna release him so that he could get Onslaught out.
Maybe I’m overanalyzing this, but if this was Megatron’s thought process, then that’s honestly a smart move on his part.
•Onslaught: the leader of the Combaticons has finally made his big screen appearance…and he does nothing in the movie. There is nothing remotely unique or interesting about him. At least with the previous four Decepticons, you can get a sense of who they are and what they’re like. This guy has only one line, and he has no personality whatsoever. So, HE NEEDS A BIGGER ROLE!
It’s funny they all got the Suicide Squad introductions before they all get wasted later on. With the exception of Berserker, all the new ‘Cons were disrespected and killed off halfway through the movie. All that buildup was for the nothing, and they were considerably weaker than all the other Decepticons from the first three movies. What was the point of introducing these characters if they were gonna be useless anyway?
Granted, Nitro did survive until the end of the film, but even then, he does nothing significant for the plot until Bumblebee blew his head off. Such wasted potential!
Frank Welker did a great job voicing Megatron, making his voice similar to his TFP voice which is how he should sound like every time he speaks. Nonetheless, he didn’t shine as a returning antagonist in this movie. Most of the time, he’s just there blasting at Autobots until he disappears again. Then boom! He’s at the end of the film! Poor ass writing.
But I will say that Lennox was very brave before Megatron. Even when the latter slammed his axe sword on the ground, he didn’t even flinch! That guy has balls of steel, considering how often he fought the Decepticons with the Autobots’ help for years. Gosh, I wish he was the main protagonist of these movies.
Overall, this scene would have been so much better if these guys were used at their utmost potential. Plus, it would have made more sense if Megatron stormed into their headquarters, killed everyone, and got his troops out himself. This felt a little out of character for Megs…although I suppose the years he spent on Earth and the victories the humans gained over him made him realize that they are not to be underestimated. So I guess I have to begrudgingly understand why this scene happened.
Still, this scene was mediocre at best. This deserves a 5/9.
Peace!
At this point, I’m thinking of skipping “The Last Knight”. Regardless of how inevitable it feels, the fact that the film apparently did not align with the continuity of its four predecessors very much makes me think it wouldn’t be worth it.
I like to think that in between Age of Extinction and The Last Knight, Galvatron came into contact with Quintessa and was gifted with a new body more in-tuned to his original Cybertronian form.
For Megatron’s crew, I agree that they should’ve lived until the end. Hell, maybe have Megatron break Berserker out anyways and serve as their secret weapon against the Autobots.
Edit: Megs’s crew could’ve also been used as Team Autobots’s counterparts.
Optimus vs. Megatron
Bumblebee vs. Barricade
Crosshairs vs. Nitro Zeus
Drift vs. Berserker
Hound vs. Onslaught
Sqweeks vs. Mohawk
Hot Rod vs. Dreadbot
Would you be interested in doing an analysis of the fight between Kai and Oogway at the beginning of “Kung Fu Panda 3”?
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Sure. I’ll save that for June.
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Can you also review the scene in “Spider-Man 3” where Peter and Aunt May learn about Flint Marko being Uncle Ben’s killer? And the scene where Flint explains what happened?
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Don’t even try, dude. That’s enough.
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Okay.
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Sorry.