"Ben 10: Alien Swarm" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Kaelyx]

Wow! There's a lot to talk about. Let's see what I can cover.

The town looked a bit run down, what was up with that?

Thanks for the input.

When it comes to Ben's lines, and his overall personality in the film, they really wanted him to stay on task. It was almost like you'd think the poor guy never lightens up. While I'm one of the people that have enjoyed Ben's more serious moments in the series, and had fun playing them out in the movie, well... it kinda sucked.

Now don't let that color your opinion of the project as a whole. I do think that's a writing weak spot. The movie had a few of them, both in story and in dialogue. I did keep telling myself that it was a kids film, but that doesn't completely justify it. It's all very Clark Kent in the later seasons of Smallville. The "I have the weight of the world on my shoulders so I don't remember what fun is," kind of thing, and that's a let down.

Now back to the question that I actually quoted. Without trying to sound too... offensive, that's Atlanta for you.

Hold the phone, Kaelyx you are Ryan Kelley? like for real? (cool beans!) I sound horribly geeky, but IMO you did a wonderful job on B10:AF, and that's awesome that you come here and hang out. okay I'm done, I will pester you no further. (I promise)

Yes, yes I am. I appreciate that. Nice community you guys have going here. I enjoy hanging out. And you haven't pestered me yet.

I honestly didn't see the movie because I was ignoring it. The previews turned me off to it though. On another subject, am I the only one a little bit excited to see one of the cast on here? I mean, I don't like the concept or execution of live action on cartoon, but I always appreciate stars who interact with their audience. Another thing that slightly turned me off to the movie was that the entire cast was first seen in a destroy build destroy special which I was unfortunate enough to see. Kaelyx, you're a good actor, at least from what little i've seen of you. You don't need to be going on crap reality programming. Although i'm guessing it was a bit more fun for you since you actually got to destroy stuff. I hope this is the last we see of "the dudes" because "Dude, what would happen" sucks eggs.

Some things are out of my hands. Sometimes work is work is work. I did actually have fun, but mostly because it was shortly after Galadriel's birthday, and we just kinda treated it all as an extended celebration of that. And, no matter how bad the live action programming on Cartoon Network gets, it is fun to blow things up, and watch friends completely and utterly fail at throwing hammers.

Which brings me to...

And this couldn't have been an animated movie, why?

I'm not surprised that people watched Ben 10:Alien Swarm, seeing as how Cartoon Network has been promoting it to death for about 2 months now. Myself, I didn't watch it because I'm not a fan of Ben 10: Alien Force (What was previously a fairly interesting concept has since devolved into yet another "band of teens saving the world" melodrama. I especially dislike the dull-as-dishwater teen Ben and his annoying Mary Sue girlfriend), and also because I refuse to support Toon's live action movement by watching any of their live action projects.

The bad news about this movie getting a lot of viewers is that it's only going to convince the Powers That Be at Cartoon Network that live action movies are a good thing and that they should just keep making more of them.

Every time a live action movie on Toon gets good ratings, a little piece of the network dies.

I'm actually going to agree with you on some points. Shocking, I know. I'm not completely behind what Cartoon Network is trying to achieve either. But I'm not at all surprised that they are.

First point: Ben 10: Alien Force. Julie is, in short, a waste of time. There's more to this glass of water I'm drinking than there is to Julie. And at least the water leaves me with something when I'm done with it.

Second: Reality shows need to die. Especially CN's attempts at cashing in on the success of other reality shows. I know the whole "it's called CARTOON Network" thing has been discussed here ad nauseum so I have no plans of bringing it back up.

I'll be the first to say that I think live action could find a home on the channel, just not the way they're doing it. (And I personally enjoy the movies. If they stuck to just that...)

 

[Evil Jeremy]

Hmm, 1 thing I would like to comment on. I am not a big fan on how Ben's shirt/jacket translated into the film. It works in the show, but in the movie.... I don't know, it just didn't feel right to me.

 

[NewcomerDC]

Wow! There's a lot to talk about. Let's see what I can cover.



Thanks for the input.

When it comes to Ben's lines, and his overall personality in the film, they really wanted him to stay on task. It was almost like you'd think the poor guy never lightens up. While I'm one of the people that have enjoyed Ben's more serious moments in the series, and had fun playing them out in the movie, well... it kinda sucked.

Now don't let that color your opinion of the project as a whole. I do think that's a writing weak spot. The movie had a few of them, both in story and in dialogue. I did keep telling myself that it was a kids film, but that doesn't completely justify it. It's all very Clark Kent in the later seasons of Smallville. The "I have the weight of the world on my shoulders so I don't remember what fun is," kind of thing, and that's a let down.

Now back to the question that I actually quoted. Without trying to sound too... offensive, that's Atlanta for you.



Yes, yes I am. I appreciate that. Nice community you guys have going here. I enjoy hanging out. And you haven't pestered me yet.



Some things are out of my hands. Sometimes work is work is work. I did actually have fun, but mostly because it was shortly after Galadriel's birthday, and we just kinda treated it all as an extended celebration of that. And, no matter how bad the live action programming on Cartoon Network gets, it is fun to blow things up, and watch friends completely and utterly fail at throwing hammers.

Which brings me to...



I'm actually going to agree with you on some points. Shocking, I know. I'm not completely behind what Cartoon Network is trying to achieve either. But I'm not at all surprised that they are.

First point: Ben 10: Alien Force. Julie is, in short, a waste of time. There's more to this glass of water I'm drinking than there is to Julie. And at least the water leaves me with something when I'm done with it.

Second: Reality shows need to die. Especially CN's attempts at cashing in on the success of other reality shows. I know the whole "it's called CARTOON Network" thing has been discussed here ad nauseum so I have no plans of bringing it back up.

I'll be the first to say that I think live action could find a home on the channel, just not the way they're doing it. (And I personally enjoy the movies. If they stuck to just that...)

After reading everything from this post, you're pretty much on the ball when it comes to talking about the strong and weak points of movies and TV shows.

Plus you might be one of many who don't care for Julie. I'm guessing that once Alien Force ends, she'll be out of the picture automatically due to the fans' outcry for her being bland besides having Ship by her side and having it not live up to its full potential unless its protecting her ala Togepi and Misty from Pokemon.

 

[Mad Mod 49]

There's more to this glass of water I'm drinking than there is to Julie. And at least the water leaves me with something when I'm done with it.

Dude, that's hilarious.

I'm guessing that once Alien Force ends, she'll be out of the picture automatically due to the fans' outcry for her being bland besides having Ship by her side and having it not live up to its full potential unless its protecting her ala Togepi and Misty from Pokemon.

Hey, Ship may not be living up to it's full potential, but it's no Togepi level of uselessness.

And I don't hate Julie, but yeah, she does nothing for me. Really, after this movie, I think Elena would be a better fit for Ben than Julie.

Similarly, I find Gwen and Cooper better than Gwen and Kevin. Go figure.

 

[NewcomerDC]

Similarly, I find Gwen and Cooper better than Gwen and Kevin. Go figure.

Sad part is Cooper's the stereotypical heavy-set nerd who loves his WoW and, out of the blue, has a crush on Gwen that was never introduced to us in the original series.

 

[Freedom Fighter]

Ben 10: Alien Force >> Ben 10
Ben 10: Alien Swarm > Ben 10: Race Against Time

Alien Swarm was a better movie than Race Against Time, but again, feel as if the movie did enough to satisfy me and that's pretty much it.

While AS was better than RAT, the one exception would be the two movies' climactic final battles... where I would actually give the advantage to RAT. Race Against Time might have had more bland acting and a ho-hum storyliine, but made up for it with a visually stunning and audibly exciting final battle. Alien Swarm had more consistent acting and an intriguing storyline, but the final payoff was light on excitement and pretty predictable. In short, I'm saying Alien Swarm is the better movie because the sum of its parts outweighed the sum of Race Against Time's.

Other small notes:
- I, too, wondered about the relatively little screen time for Ben's aliens.
- Odd how in the cartoon, Gwen's first fallback always seems to be putting up a defensive magic shield... but in the live-action movie, she actually didn't even attempt it once.
- Kevin's car avoids getting wrecked on 'Destroy Build Destroy' yet is used as a clubbing weapon in the movie? There goes the car's value...

 

[Mad Mod 49]

Sad part is Cooper's the stereotypical heavy-set nerd who loves his WoW and, out of the blue, has a crush on Gwen that was never introduced to us in the original series.

Sadder part is that Cooper suddendly getting a crush on Gwen makes more sense than Gwen suddendly getting a crush on Kevin.

And back on Julie, what really sucks is that she's gotten midly better with each passing season and she still isn't anything more than "Ben's girlfriend." If she does manage to stay in the series by Evolution, we'd best hope she recieves better writing.

 

[gjv_43]

First point: Ben 10: Alien Force. Julie is, in short, a waste of time. There's more to this glass of water I'm drinking than there is to Julie. And at least the water leaves me with something when I'm done with it.

Speaking of Kaelyx, do you know anything about Julie? because Ben was a little bit more than friendly to Elena. would she (Julie) not get jealous? What happened to Julie, that was one of my flaws i found in the movie.

 

[King_of_doom]

Speaking of Kaelyx, do you know anything about Julie? because Ben was a little bit more than friendly to Elena. would she (Julie) not get jealous? What happened to Julie, that was one of my flaws i found in the movie.

I think on season 3 we will see the relation of Ben and Julie since Ben's still has that big ego, i heard that because of that ego their relation will get affected. Honestly i like Elena more than Julie, probably because Elena has more personality and knows alot more about the Plumbers, Julie however looks more like your typical boring 15 year old girl who like to get what she wants, we see how she was with ship.

 

[Duke]

I especially dislike the dull-as-dishwater teen Ben and his annoying Mary Sue girlfriend

You might want to catch a few episodes of Season 3. Not only does it include some of the old aliens (though apparently only Diamondhead, Cannonbolt, and Upchuck, though Ben does try to call on Way Big at times and fails), but the Omnitrix is back to being tempermental and, most importantly, Ben is back to being the cocky smartass he was in the first series.

Just don't watch any episodes with Vilgax in it. He wasn't the greatest villian ever or anything, but what they did to him is a crying shame.

And I have no idea how tall Nanomech is. All I know is that he's small. XD

When he first appeared, he looked about 4 or 5 inches tall, though since he can shrink even further down a la a reverse Humungasaur, I guess it doesn't matter much.

 

[jeremyday78]

Speaking of Julie, I actually thought that girl that asked Ben if he was going to the football game at the beginning was Julie. I found it really strange that they had that girl in the scene (Ben called her Molly). It had no pay off except at the end when Ben commented that he'd have been at a football game if he hadn't been saving the world.

After watching it again and hearing everything you had to say about it, Ryan, I actually did like it better. Going into it with the knowledge it takes place later on in the series and that Ben has matured and sobered helped me see the parts where it was the script that was hurting. I thought you did do a really good job through out. I also thought Galadriel was good too, but i think she looked a little different from what I would picture Gwen as in real life. She was a more practical and realistic choice. It felt like Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Dark Knight. It was just different, but she did well with the character.

The one scene when Ben and Elena go to her father's secret lab and encountered the zombie people, those lines you had sounded kind of dull. It was only when you were talking with them. Any of the scenes with the extras as zombies really didn't feel that great though.

I'm glad to hear that it was a fun set to work on. How long was the production?

 

[Mad Mod 49]

Speaking of Kaelyx, do you know anything about Julie? because Ben was a little bit more than friendly to Elena. would she (Julie) not get jealous? What happened to Julie, that was one of my flaws i found in the movie.

Whatdya mean "does he know anything about Julie?" He just stated he thought she was a waste of time. I think he knows what and who he's talking about here.

Julie however looks more like your typical boring 15 year old girl who like to get what she wants,

Being a typical 15 year old girl is boring? That's a little too harsh, don't ya think?

Just don't watch any episodes with Vilgax in it. He wasn't the greatest villian ever or anything, but what they did to him is a crying shame.

QFT. For shame, Alien Force people. For shame.

 

[Kaelyx]

Being a typical 15 year old girl is boring? That's a little too harsh, don't ya think?

I agree with that, and I don't think that's the issue I have with Julie. Actually, it's more of a series issue and she seems to embody it. No one is fazed by this stuff anymore. High-tech watches and alien invasions and Kevin without his ID mask.

Julie keeps Ship and treats it like a pet dog. Even plays with it in her back yard like it's nothing.

If a major plot point of Evolutions is going to be the world knowing who Ben is, shouldn't Alien Force treat knowing these things as a pretty big deal?

 

[Dusty]

Yeah, that's another problem I have noticed with B10:AF. Even if people have seen Aliens before, you would think some would still be somewhat suprised.

 

[Mala Loba]

Yeah, that's another problem I have noticed with B10:AF. Even if people have seen Aliens before, you would think some would still be somewhat suprised.

Indeed- alien invasions and the like don't happen everyday, unless you live in Cardiff or London.

 

[Rho]

I watched the last half of this out of pure boredom, and I have to say, even as one who knows close to nothing about Ben 10, and has never watched it.. it was pretty good. Is the main series as good as this was?

 

[Dusty]

From the few that I have seen, I find it pretty enjoyable. Though I still enjoy the original series more, you should def. give it a shot before taking my word for it,


D.

 

[AJ1]

I enjoyed Alien Swarm, it had some pretty good action and the story was basic but fun, I did think the aliens looked pretty good when Ben transformed and Kevin's transformations looked good too. All in all I would give this 4 stars for what it was, it wasn't perfect but it was a fun made for TV movie that entertained me for the duration of it's airing. My ONLY complaint was that they could have found a hotter girl to play Gwen, lol.....

 

[BigMac]

Don't have really much to say. I thought the movie was OK. The special effects were kinda cool. I really enjoyed the getaway from giant metal balls chasing Gwen and Kevin.

EDIT: I'd give it a 4 out of 5. Or a 72%.

 

[Duke]

If a major plot point of Evolutions is going to be the world knowing who Ben is, shouldn't Alien Force treat knowing these things as a pretty big deal?

Considering that Ben, Gwen, Kevin, Max, Julie, Ben's parents, and Gwen's parents are apparently the only residents in the entire town, I don't see it as that big a deal.