There’s an interesting, if slightly paranoid column up this week at CinemaBlend.com that posits that Michael Bay and company have decided to go on the offensive against websites that have been talking trash about their crappy transformers designs. I’m not sure that I believe Paramount’s iron grip can really reach far enough to shut off the ill will that’s been pouring from fandom’s collective pipe towards the movie, but there’s probably some truth in the piece’s theory about them at least attempting to quell the dissent.

But over the past few weekends there’s been a shift. Paramount’s goons have taken control of the situation by pouring a wad of cash into it, and suddenly everything’s coming up roses. For instance, go to the once fan populated message board of Transformers producer Don Murphy… and you’ll find nothing but popcorn and bubblegum for the film where outrage, disappointment, and calls for boycott once stood.

There’s a reason for that. The dissenting voices have been banned and beaten down with threats.

Surf around the internet to those movie sites that were once critical of the film, and in place of their hard hitting reports about how Paramount might be screwing up, you’ll find set reports praising the film for being “faithful” and lauding the very things about the film they’d trashed only a few weeks before. It’s easy to be positive when you get an all expenses paid vacation to a movie set I guess. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have been lured in by it myself. But let’s not blame this all on set visits. For some of these offenders the ass-kissing began when they got their first call from Paramount weeks ago. It’s only culimated in this.

Spread the word!