Transformers (film series)
Encyclopedia
Transformers is an American
film franchise directed by Michael Bay
, and based on the toys
created by Hasbro
and Takara Tomy
. The first film, Transformers, was released in 2007, the second film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
, in 2009, and the third film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2011. Despite Michael Bay's confirmation on Dark of the Moon being his final installment in the franchise, Hasbro
's CEO Brian Goldner has expressed his hopes for further films to be made with or without Bay. To date, the series has been distributed by Paramount Pictures
, DreamWorks
, and United International Pictures
. It is currently the 7th highest-grossing film series and the 4th highest-grossing when averaged to gross per film, behind the The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter
, and Pirates of the Caribbean
film series.
) discovers that his new car, intended to impress upon Mikaela Banes
(Megan Fox
), is actually Bumblebee (Mark Ryan
), an alien robot from the planet Cybertron
. He finds out upon meeting the Transforming warriors of Cybertron, the Autobot
s, led by their leader Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen
), that, after the destruction of their planet Cyberton, its life-source, a legendary cube, called the AllSpark, crash-landed on Earth, several years ago. However, the Decepticons and their evil leader Megatron (Hugo Weaving
) plan to use the power of the AllSpark to transform human technology into a new army of Decepticons, and take over the universe. In an agreement, the Autobots decide to destroy the AllSpark, in order to save Earth and Humanity. After the Autobots possess the cube, a battle takes place in Los Angeles
between the Autobots and Decepticons. Megatron kills Jazz
(Darius McCrary
), however the Autobots manage to destroy the Decepticons Bonecrusher
, Brawl
, and Blackout
. Megatron is ultimately defeated by Sam as he releases the AllSpark's power into his chest, at the cost of the AllSpark itself. Knowing that, (with the destruction of its life- source) Cyberton can no longer be brought back to life, the Autobots accept Earth as their new home, and Sam and Mikaela begin a relationship. In the end credits, Starscream (Charlie Adler) is seen fleeing into space, suggesting the battle is not over. The film was released on July 3, 2007.
(Frank Welker
) command. Sam intends to go to college and have a normal life, but Megatron attempts to obtain some symbols, implanted by the AllSpark into Sam Witwicky's brain, in favor of his master, The Fallen (Tony Todd
). Sam eventually gets badly disturbed with the repeated visuals of the symbols in his head, however things get worse when a huge army of Decepticons arrive on Earth. Later, in a battle to protect Sam, Optimus Prime is killed by Megatron. After his death, Sam, Mikaela, Bumblebee and twins Skids
(Tom Kenny
) and Mudflap
(Reno Wilson
) join forces with Seymour Simmons (John Turturro
) and Leo Spits (Ramón Rodríguez) to find out what the Decepticon are planning. They meet the early Transformer Jetfire
(Mark Ryan), and learn that the symbols, consist of that information which was to lead the Decepticons to the Matrix of Leadership, and which, when inserted in an alien machine, hidden in an Egyptian Pyramid for centuries, will give the Decepticons, the power to destroy Earth's Sun
. With the help of Jetfire, Sam and the Autobots reach to the Matrix of Leadership, and Sam and Mikaela make their way through the battle to the N.E.S.T forces and Sam uses its power to resurrect Optimus. However, The Fallen manages to get his hands on it, and activates that machine. Jetfire sacrifices himself so that Optimus can use his parts. They are used as a jetpack and battle armour, which Optimus uses to kill The Fallen and gravely wound Megatron, who flees with Starscream. In the aftermath, Sam returns to college. The film was released on June 24, 2009.
(Leonard Nimoy
), attempts to launch the Ark
from their planet, containing the technology that could have saved his race. However it crash lands on Earth's Moon in 1961. President John F. Kennedy
makes his famous promise to the nation to put a man on the Moon. The 1969 Apollo 11
moon landing
was actually an investigation of the spacecraft. As Sam Witwicky goes into adulthood with a new girlfriend named Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington-Whitely), the Autobots learn of the Ark and of Sentinel Prime. Thus Sentinel Prime is brought back to Earth, and revived using the Matrix of Leadership. Optimus Prime convinces America's leadership that they must protect Sentinel Prime, and his "pillars", which can help transport matter through time and space, however, Sentinel betrays as he allies with the Decepticons, killing Ironhide
(Jess Harnell
) in the process, and reveals to have made a deal with the Decepticons to bring back Cybertron. America's leaders decide to send the Autobots to another planet, wanting to avoid war. But as the Autobots leave, the Decepticons shoot their ship down, believing that they had killed all of the Autobots onboard it. With the Autobots gone, Sentinel Prime activates the pillars, and Chicago
is seized by the Decepticons and their human ally, Dylan Gould
(Patrick Dempsey
). Thus begins, the reproduction of Cyberton, at the cost of Earth, its resources and humanity. But, it is later revealed that the Autobots had faked their deaths, and a battle ensues between the Autobots and Decepticons in Chicago, for one final stand. The film was released on June 29, 2011 in 3D
and IMAX 3D.
Producer Don Murphy, who has served as producer on all three Transformers films to date, assures fans that the franchise will not be rebooted, and that it is more likely to start up a second trilogy, stating: "What happens next? Certainly not a reboot! We haven't lost the Transformers. They didn't grow up or become expensive like Tobey Maguire
. I don't know what happens next but another trilogy. Im sure it will kick ass and Im pretty sure some of you will hate it because it wasn't all the bots." He also went on to say if they do not rush it, there is still a possibility of Michael Bay returning to direct the fourth installment. Shia LaBeouf
has mentioned he would not like to return in a sequel as he doesn't "think right now there’s anywhere to take Sam."
As of October 17, 2011, Hasbro has been in "active discussions" with Paramount, Spielberg, and Bay in regards to the future of the series, potentially shooting both a fourth and fifth film back-to-back
and replacing LaBeouf with a new character played by Jason Statham
. However both Statham and Bay have debunked these as rumours, though Rosie Huntington-Whitely is interested in a sequel.
was planning a G.I. Joe film adaptation, but when the United States launched the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro
suggested adapting the Transformers franchise
instead. Tom DeSanto
joined Murphy because he was a fan of the series. They met with comic book writer Simon Furman
, and cited the Generation 1 cartoon and comics as their main influence. They made the Creation Matrix their plot device
, though Murphy had it renamed because of the film series The Matrix. DeSanto chose to write the treatment
from a human point-of-view to engage the audience, while Murphy wanted it to have a realistic tone, reminiscent of a disaster film
. The treatment featured the Autobot
s Optimus Prime
, Ironhide
, Jazz
, Prowl
, Arcee
, Ratchet
, Wheeljack
, and Bumblebee
, and the Decepticon
s Megatron, Starscream
, Soundwave
, Ravage
, Laserbeak
, Rumble
, Skywarp
and Shockwave
.
Steven Spielberg
, a fan of the comics and toys, signed on as executive producer
in 2004. John Rogers
wrote the first draft, which pitted four Autobots against four Decepticons, and featured the Ark
spaceship. Roberto Orci
and Alex Kurtzman
, fans of the cartoon, were hired to rewrite the script in February 2005. Spielberg suggested that "a boy and his car" should be the focus. This appealed to Orci and Kurtzman because it conveyed themes of adulthood and responsibility, "the things that a car represents in the United States". The characters of Sam and Mikaela were the sole point-of-view given in Orci and Kurtzman's first draft. The Transformers had no dialogue, as the producers feared talking robots would look ridiculous. The writers felt that even if it would look silly, not having the robots speak would betray the fanbase. The first draft also had a battle scene in the Grand Canyon
. Spielberg read each of Orci and Kurtzman's drafts and gave notes for improvement. The writers remained involved throughout production, adding additional dialogue for the robots during the sound mixing (although none of this was kept in the final film, which ran fifteen minutes shorter than the initial edit). Furman's The Ultimate Guide, published by Dorling Kindersley
, remained as a resource to the writers throughout production. Prime Directive
was used as a fake working title. This was also the name of Dreamwave Productions
' first Transformers comic book.
Michael Bay
was asked to direct by Spielberg on July 30, 2005, but he dismissed the film as a "stupid toy movie". Nonetheless, he wanted to work with Spielberg, and gained a new respect for the mythology upon visiting Hasbro. Bay considered the first draft "too kiddie", so he increased the military's role in the story. The writers sought inspiration from G.I. Joe for the soldier characters, being careful not to mix the brands. Because Orci and Kurtzman were concerned the film could feel like a military recruitment
commercial, they chose to make the military believe nations like Iran were behind the Decepticon attack as well as making the Decepticons primarily military vehicles. Bay based Lennox' struggle to get to the Pentagon phoneline while struggling with an unhelpful operator from a real account he was given by a soldier when working on another film.
Orci and Kurtzman experimented with numerous robots from the franchise, ultimately selecting the characters most popular among the filmmakers to form the final cast. Bay acknowledged that most of the Decepticons were selected before their names or roles were developed, as Hasbro had to start designing the toys. Some of their names were changed because Bay was upset that they had been leaked. Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were the only characters present in each version of the script. Arcee
was a female Transformer introduced by Orci and Kurtzman, but she was cut because they found it difficult to explain robotic gender; Bay also disliked her motorcycle form, which he found too small. An early idea to have the Decepticons simultaneously strike multiple places around the world was also dropped.
For the Second film Revenge of the Fallen, In September 2007, Paramount announced a late June 2009 release date for the sequel to Transformers. A major hurdle that was overcome during the film's production was the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America
and the Screen Actors Guild
.
Bay began creating animatics of action sequences featuring characters rejected for the 2007 film. This would allow animators to complete sequences if the Directors Guild of America
went on strike in July 2008, which ultimately did not happen. The director considered making a small project in between Transformers and its sequel, but knew "you have your baby and you don't want someone else to take it". The film was given a $200 million budget, which was $50 million more than the 2007 film, and some of the action scenes rejected for the original were written into the sequel, such as the way Optimus is reintroduced in this film. Lorenzo di Bonaventura
said the studio proposed filming two sequels simultaneously, but he and Bay concurred that was not the right direction for the series.
Writers Roberto Orci
and Alex Kurtzman
originally passed on the sequel because of a busy schedule. The studio began courting other writers in May 2007, but as they were unimpressed with their pitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return. The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger
, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner
with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology, and because he was friends with Orci and Kurtzman. The writing trio were paid $8 million. Screenwriting was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
, but to avoid production delays the writers spent two weeks writing a treatment
, which they handed in the night before the strike began, and Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-page scriptment
, fleshing out the action, adding more jokes, as well as selecting the majority of new characters. The three writers spent four months finishing the screenplay while "locked" in two hotel rooms by Bay: Kruger wrote in his own room and the trio would check on each others' work twice a day.
Orci described the film's theme as "being away from home", with the Autobots contemplating living on Earth as they cannot restore Cybertron
, while Sam goes to college. He wanted the focus between the robots and humans "much more evenly balanced", "the stakes [to] be higher", and more focused on the science fiction elements. Lorenzo di Bonaventura
said that in total, there are around forty robots in the film, while ILM's Scott Farrar has said there are actually sixty. Orci added he wanted to "modulate" the humor more, and felt he managed the more "outrageous" jokes by balancing it with a more serious plot approach to the Transformers' mythology. Bay concurred that he wanted to please fans by making the tone darker, and that "moms will think its safe enough to bring the kids back out to the movies" despite his trademark sense of humor.
Before Transformers was released, producer Tom DeSanto
had "a very cool idea" to introduce the Dinobots
, while Bay was interested in an aircraft carrier
, which was dropped from the 2007 film. Orci claimed they did not incorporate these characters into Revenge of the Fallen because they could not think of a way to justify the Dinobots' choice of form, and were unable to fit in the aircraft carrier. Orci also admitted he was also dismissive of the Dinobots because he does not like dinosaurs. "I recognize I am weird in that department", he said, but he became fonder of them during filming because of their popularity with fans. He added "I couldn't see why a Transformer would feel the need to disguise himself in front of a bunch of lizards. Movie-wise, I mean. Once the general audience is fully on board with the whole thing, maybe Dinobots in the future." However, upon being asked on the subject, Michael Bay said he hated the Dinobots and they had never been in consideration for being featured in the movies.
As a preemptive measure before the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
, Michael Lucchi and Paramount Pictures announced on March 16, 2009, that a third film would be released in IMAX 3D on July 1, 2011, which earned a surprised response from director Michael Bay
:
Screenwriters Roberto Orci
and Alex Kurtzman
, who had worked on the two previous Transformers films, declined to return for the third film, with Kurtzman declaring that "the franchise is so wonderful that it deserves to be fresh, all the time. We just felt like we’d given it a lot and didn’t have an insight for where to go with it next". Revenge of the Fallens co-writer Ehren Kruger
became the sole screenwriter for Dark of the Moon. Kruger had frequent meetings with Industrial Light & Magic's (ILM) visual effects
producers, who suggested plot points such as the scenes in Chernobyl.
On October 1, 2009, Bay revealed that Transformers: Dark of the Moon had already gone into pre-production, and its planned release was back to its originally intended date of July 1, 2011, rather than 2012. Due to the revived interest in 3-D
technology brought in by the success of Avatar, talks between Paramount, ILM, and Bay had considered the possibility of the next Transformers film being filmed in 3-D, and testing was performed to bring the technology into Bay's work. Bay originally was not much interested in the format as he felt it did not fit his "aggressive style" of filmmaking, but he was convinced after talks with Avatar director James Cameron
, who even offered the technical crew from that film. Cameron reportedly told Bay about 3-D, "You gotta look at it as a toy, it's another fun tool to help get emotion and character and create an experience." Bay was reluctant to film with 3-D cameras since in test he found them to be too cumbersome for his filming style, but he did not want to implement the technology in post production either since he was not pleased with the results. In addition to using the 3-D Fusion camera rigs developed by Cameron's team, Bay and the team spent nine months developing a more portable 3-D camera that could be brought into location.
In a hidden extra for the Blu-ray version of Revenge of the Fallen, Bay expressed his intention to make Transformers 3 not necessarily larger than Revenge of the Fallen, but instead deeper into the mythology, to give it more character development, and to make it darker and more emotional. Unicron
is briefly shown in a secret Transformers 3 preview feature in the Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray disc. Ultimately, the producers decided to forgo a plot involving the planet-eating transformer, and no further comments were ever made on the subject. Having been called Transformers 3 up to that point, the film's final title was revealed to be Dark of the Moon in October 2010. After Revenge of the Fallen was almost universally panned by critics, Bay acknowledged the general flaws of the script, having blamed the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
prior to the film for many problems. Bay promised to not have the "dorky comedy" from the last film. On March 19, 2010, the script was said to be finished.
reported that 57% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based on 206 reviews, with a 68% rating from selected notable critics. At the website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 61, based on 35 reviews. IGN's Todd Gilchrist called it Michael Bay's best film, and "one of the few instances where it's OK to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it's undeniably also a whole lot of fun". The Advertiser's Sean Fewster found the visual effects so seamless that "you may come to believe the studio somehow engineered artificial intelligence". The Denver Post's Lisa Kennedy praised the depiction of the robots as having "a believably rendered scale and intimacy", and ABC
presenter Margaret Pomeranz was surprised "that a complete newcomer to the Transformers phenomenon like myself became involved in the fate of these mega-machines". Ain't It Cool News
' Drew McWeeny felt most of the cast grounded the story, and that "it has a real sense of wonder, one of the things that’s missing from so much of the big CGI lightshows released these days". Author Peter David
found it ludicrous fun, and said that "[Bay] manages to hold on to his audience's suspension of disbelief long enough for us to segue into some truly spectacular battle scenes".
The sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, received mostly negative reviews; based on 235 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an average 20% overall approval rating. The film had a similar reaction among the 40 critics in Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critic", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, where it received a 18% approval rating. Despite mostly negative reviews from critics, most audiences responded better. However, CinemaScore polls reported that on a scale of A+ to F, the average grade users gave the film was "B+". According to the Washington Post, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is Bay's worst-reviewed film, faring even lower than Pearl Harbor
. Ray Bennett of the Hollywood Reporter commented in his review that "for the uninitiated, it's loud, tedious, and at 147 minutes, way too long." The film was also nominated for seven Razzie awards, winning the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay.
The third and final film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, received mixed reviews, with many critics calling it better than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and praising its visual effects and 3D action sequences, but criticising the below average acting and script. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 35% based on 232 reviews and a rating average of 4.9/10, saying "Its special effects -- and 3D shots -- are undeniably impressive, but they aren't enough to fillup its loud, bloated running time, or mask its thin, indifferent script". Roger Ebert
gave the film one out of four stars, calling it "a visually ugly film with an incoherent plot, wooden characters and inane dialog. It provided me with one of the more unpleasant experiences I've had at the movies." Richard Roeper
likewise panned the film, giving it a D and saying that "rarely has a movie had less of a soul and less interesting characters." However, the film had some good reviews. Ain't It Cool News
called it "the best entry in the Michael Bay-directed franchise." IGN
gave the film a 7 out of 10, also stating that it was the best of the franchise. E! Online graded it a B+ while noting "if this is truly the end of a trilogy, its main antagonists should have played more of a part."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film franchise directed by Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
, and based on the toys
Transformers
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another by magnetic coupling.Transformer may also refer to:* ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, an Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet computer manufacturer by Asus...
created by Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
and Takara Tomy
Takara Tomy
is a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
. The first film, Transformers, was released in 2007, the second film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...
, in 2009, and the third film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 2011. Despite Michael Bay's confirmation on Dark of the Moon being his final installment in the franchise, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
's CEO Brian Goldner has expressed his hopes for further films to be made with or without Bay. To date, the series has been distributed by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...
, and United International Pictures
United International Pictures
United International Pictures is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios , to distribute some of the two studios' films theatrically outside the United States , Canada, and the Anglophone...
. It is currently the 7th highest-grossing film series and the 4th highest-grossing when averaged to gross per film, behind the The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter
Harry Potter (film series)
The Harry Potter film series is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by the British author J. K. Rowling...
, and Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a series of films, a theme park ride, and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications. The franchise originates with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which opened at Disneyland in...
film series.
Transformers (2007)
Transformers is the first film in the series. In Transformers, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeoufShia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
) discovers that his new car, intended to impress upon Mikaela Banes
Mikaela Banes
Mikaela Banes is a fictional character from the Transformers universe. She is differentiated from "typical" women in her age group, having inherited mechanical skills from her father, Cal, a grease monkey and paroled car thief...
(Megan Fox
Megan Fox
Megan Denise Fox is an American actress and model. She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a regular role on Hope & Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen...
), is actually Bumblebee (Mark Ryan
Mark Ryan
Mark Ryan is an English actor, stuntman and voice actor.-Biography:Born in Yorkshire, Mark Ryan has been combining his acting, singing, writing and Action Direction talents in an eclectic and successful international career ranging over 30 years.He did several major musicals in London's West End,...
), an alien robot from the planet Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
. He finds out upon meeting the Transforming warriors of Cybertron, the Autobot
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
s, led by their leader Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen
Peter Cullen
Peter Claver Cullen is a Canadian voice actor, known as the voice of Eeyore in the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise, Optimus Prime and Ironhide in the original Transformers series, and the narrator in both of the original American Voltron series...
), that, after the destruction of their planet Cyberton, its life-source, a legendary cube, called the AllSpark, crash-landed on Earth, several years ago. However, the Decepticons and their evil leader Megatron (Hugo Weaving
Hugo Weaving
Hugo Wallace Weaving is a Nigerian born, English-Australian film actor and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "V" in V for Vendetta, and performances in numerous Australian character dramas.-Early...
) plan to use the power of the AllSpark to transform human technology into a new army of Decepticons, and take over the universe. In an agreement, the Autobots decide to destroy the AllSpark, in order to save Earth and Humanity. After the Autobots possess the cube, a battle takes place in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
between the Autobots and Decepticons. Megatron kills Jazz
Jazz (Transformers)
Jazz is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a music loving robot and talks with a slang accent. He is also a good friend of Optimus Prime's...
(Darius McCrary
Darius McCrary
Darius Creston McCrary is an American film and television actor and singer. He is perhaps best known for his role as Eddie Winslow on the ABC/CBS television sitcom Family Matters...
), however the Autobots manage to destroy the Decepticons Bonecrusher
Bonecrusher (Transformers)
Bonecrusher is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Bonecrusher is a member of the Constructicons. He is a brawler by nature and specialises in demolitions work...
, Brawl
Brawl (Transformers)
Brawl is the name given to several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is sometimes called "Decepticon Brawl" in the toy line for trademark purposes.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, and Blackout
Blackout (Transformers)
Blackout is the name of several different fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Blackout was one of a team of two Micromaster Combiners. They came with a Gepard air defense vehicle that could transform to a base...
. Megatron is ultimately defeated by Sam as he releases the AllSpark's power into his chest, at the cost of the AllSpark itself. Knowing that, (with the destruction of its life- source) Cyberton can no longer be brought back to life, the Autobots accept Earth as their new home, and Sam and Mikaela begin a relationship. In the end credits, Starscream (Charlie Adler) is seen fleeing into space, suggesting the battle is not over. The film was released on July 3, 2007.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the second film in the series. Set two years after the events in Transformers, the now larger group of Autobots have allied with the U.S. and U.K. military to form a unit known a N.E.S.T which hunts down remaining Decepticons on the planet. Megatron is resurrected by the Constructicons under Soundwave'sSoundwave (Transformers)
Soundwave is the name of several characters in the various series Transformers series. His most famous disguise is that of a microcassette recorder and has an iconic voice done by a vocoder.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
(Frank Welker
Frank Welker
Franklin Wendell "Frank" Welker is an American actor who specializes in voice acting and has contributed character voices and other vocal effects to American television and motion pictures.-Acting career:...
) command. Sam intends to go to college and have a normal life, but Megatron attempts to obtain some symbols, implanted by the AllSpark into Sam Witwicky's brain, in favor of his master, The Fallen (Tony Todd
Tony Todd
Anthony T. "Tony" Todd is an American actor and movie producer, known for his height of 6'5", and deep voice. He is well known for playing the Candyman in the horror movie franchise of the same name, William Bludworth in Final Destination and for guest starring roles on numerous television...
). Sam eventually gets badly disturbed with the repeated visuals of the symbols in his head, however things get worse when a huge army of Decepticons arrive on Earth. Later, in a battle to protect Sam, Optimus Prime is killed by Megatron. After his death, Sam, Mikaela, Bumblebee and twins Skids
Skids (Transformers)
Skids is the name used for four characters in the Transformers Universes. Due to trademark reasons, the name was modified to "Skid-Z" for it to be used on new characters and an "Autobot" prefix was added when the original Skids toy was reissued and when he became an Alternator.-Transformers:...
(Tom Kenny
Tom Kenny
Thomas James "Tom" Kenny is an American actor, voice actor and comedian. He is especially known for his long-running-role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the television series of the same name, as well as the live-action character Patchy the Pirate, Gary the Snail and the French narrator based on...
) and Mudflap
Mudflap
A mudflap is used in combination with the vehicle fender to protect the vehicle, passengers, other vehicles, and pedestrians from mud and other flying debris thrown into the air by the rotating tire...
(Reno Wilson
Reno Wilson
Roy Reno Wilson is an American actor and voice artist who has appeared in a number of television programs and films. His first television role was on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, where he portrayed Theo Huxtable's college friend Howard during Seasons 5 and 6 of the series...
) join forces with Seymour Simmons (John Turturro
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
) and Leo Spits (Ramón Rodríguez) to find out what the Decepticon are planning. They meet the early Transformer Jetfire
Jetfire
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers universes. He is nearly always depicted as an Autobot with jet or space shuttle alternate mode.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
(Mark Ryan), and learn that the symbols, consist of that information which was to lead the Decepticons to the Matrix of Leadership, and which, when inserted in an alien machine, hidden in an Egyptian Pyramid for centuries, will give the Decepticons, the power to destroy Earth's Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. With the help of Jetfire, Sam and the Autobots reach to the Matrix of Leadership, and Sam and Mikaela make their way through the battle to the N.E.S.T forces and Sam uses its power to resurrect Optimus. However, The Fallen manages to get his hands on it, and activates that machine. Jetfire sacrifices himself so that Optimus can use his parts. They are used as a jetpack and battle armour, which Optimus uses to kill The Fallen and gravely wound Megatron, who flees with Starscream. In the aftermath, Sam returns to college. The film was released on June 24, 2009.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the third film in the series. When the war on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons appears lost to the Autobots, their leader, Sentinel PrimeSentinel Prime
Sentinel Prime is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. First mention of Sentinel Prime was in issue #65 of the US Marvel Comics Transformers series, where he was mentioned to hold the Autobot Matrix of Leadership before Optimus Prime. Sentinel Prime has since...
(Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
), attempts to launch the Ark
Ark (Transformers)
The Ark is an Autobot spacecraft in the Transformers Universe. It has appeared as a central fixture of the Transformers storyline ever since its creation, as the Autobots main method of transport to Earth and as a base once they arrive....
from their planet, containing the technology that could have saved his race. However it crash lands on Earth's Moon in 1961. President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
makes his famous promise to the nation to put a man on the Moon. The 1969 Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
moon landing
Moon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
was actually an investigation of the spacecraft. As Sam Witwicky goes into adulthood with a new girlfriend named Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington-Whitely), the Autobots learn of the Ark and of Sentinel Prime. Thus Sentinel Prime is brought back to Earth, and revived using the Matrix of Leadership. Optimus Prime convinces America's leadership that they must protect Sentinel Prime, and his "pillars", which can help transport matter through time and space, however, Sentinel betrays as he allies with the Decepticons, killing Ironhide
Ironhide
Ironhide is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ironhide was named after the television series Ironside.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
(Jess Harnell
Jess Harnell
Jess Q. Harnell is an American voice actor and singer, best known for voicing Wakko Warner on Animaniacs. Harnell has been the announcer for America's Funniest Home Videos since 1998.-Life and acting career:...
) in the process, and reveals to have made a deal with the Decepticons to bring back Cybertron. America's leaders decide to send the Autobots to another planet, wanting to avoid war. But as the Autobots leave, the Decepticons shoot their ship down, believing that they had killed all of the Autobots onboard it. With the Autobots gone, Sentinel Prime activates the pillars, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
is seized by the Decepticons and their human ally, Dylan Gould
Dylan Gould
Dylan Gould is a fictional character from the Transformers universe. He is the CEO of the Hotchkiss Gould Investments, and also collects wealthy cars to "keep his sanity". He was the employer of Carly Spencer, and is fond of her, happening to call her "my duchess"...
(Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Dempsey
Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...
). Thus begins, the reproduction of Cyberton, at the cost of Earth, its resources and humanity. But, it is later revealed that the Autobots had faked their deaths, and a battle ensues between the Autobots and Decepticons in Chicago, for one final stand. The film was released on June 29, 2011 in 3D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
and IMAX 3D.
Future
In a recent interview, Tyrese Gibson commented on the possible future of the Transformers franchise. On the much-discussed topic of the potential departure of Michael Bay, he says that:Producer Don Murphy, who has served as producer on all three Transformers films to date, assures fans that the franchise will not be rebooted, and that it is more likely to start up a second trilogy, stating: "What happens next? Certainly not a reboot! We haven't lost the Transformers. They didn't grow up or become expensive like Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
. I don't know what happens next but another trilogy. Im sure it will kick ass and Im pretty sure some of you will hate it because it wasn't all the bots." He also went on to say if they do not rush it, there is still a possibility of Michael Bay returning to direct the fourth installment. Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf
Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...
has mentioned he would not like to return in a sequel as he doesn't "think right now there’s anywhere to take Sam."
As of October 17, 2011, Hasbro has been in "active discussions" with Paramount, Spielberg, and Bay in regards to the future of the series, potentially shooting both a fourth and fifth film back-to-back
Back to back film production
Filming sequels "back to back" refers to the practice of filming two or more movies as one production, reducing costs and time.Trilogies are common in the film industry, particularly in the science fiction, fantasy and adventure genres...
and replacing LaBeouf with a new character played by Jason Statham
Jason Statham
Jason Statham born 12 September1967) is an English actor and former diver, known for his roles in the Guy Ritchie crime films Revolver, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels...
. However both Statham and Bay have debunked these as rumours, though Rosie Huntington-Whitely is interested in a sequel.
Expanded franchise
In addition to the films, the film series has a promotional expanded series that is set both before and after the events of the films. This includes comic books, video games, and novels.Development
For the First film, Producer Don MurphyDon Murphy
Don Murphy is an American film producer who produced Natural Born Killers and many other films, including Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.-Personal background:...
was planning a G.I. Joe film adaptation, but when the United States launched the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
suggested adapting the Transformers franchise
Transformers (toy line)
The is a line of toys produced by the American toy company Hasbro. The Transformers toyline was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company Takara in the toylines Diaclone and Microman. Other toy molds from other companies such as Bandai were used as well...
instead. Tom DeSanto
Tom DeSanto
Tom DeSanto is an American film producer and screenwriter. DeSanto is best known for his work with long time friend Bryan Singer, especially with his contributions to the first two X-Men movies.-Education:...
joined Murphy because he was a fan of the series. They met with comic book writer Simon Furman
Simon Furman
Simon Christopher Francis Furman is a comic book writer, particularly associated with of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel UK, Marvel US, Dreamwave, and most recently, IDW...
, and cited the Generation 1 cartoon and comics as their main influence. They made the Creation Matrix their plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
, though Murphy had it renamed because of the film series The Matrix. DeSanto chose to write the treatment
Film treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
from a human point-of-view to engage the audience, while Murphy wanted it to have a realistic tone, reminiscent of a disaster film
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
. The treatment featured the Autobot
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
s Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
, Ironhide
Ironhide
Ironhide is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ironhide was named after the television series Ironside.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Jazz
Jazz (Transformers)
Jazz is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a music loving robot and talks with a slang accent. He is also a good friend of Optimus Prime's...
, Prowl
Prowl (Transformers)
Prowl is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers series. "Prowl" is one of the most re-used American names in the assorted Transformers series, and its use has become almost synonymous with Autobots who possess a police car alternate mode...
, Arcee
Arcee
Arcee is the name of a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. She is a female Autobot, usually pink in color. Being the most famous of the Female Transformers, she has two primary forms...
, Ratchet
Ratchet (Transformers)
Ratchet is the name of several characters in the Transformers universes. According to the original creator of the Transformers names, Bob Budiansky, Ratchet was named after the character of Nurse Ratched from the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The name Ratchet is almost always portrayed as...
, Wheeljack
Wheeljack
Wheeljack is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Wheeljack is the mechanical engineer and scientist of the Autobots in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara and Hasbro. His...
, and Bumblebee
Bumblebee (Transformers)
Bumblebee is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. In most incarnations, Bumblebee is a small, yellow Autobot with the altmode of a compact car.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
, and the Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
s Megatron, Starscream
Starscream (Transformers)
Starscream is a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most prolific characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all incarnations of the story. Starscream is usually portrayed with the same characterization...
, Soundwave
Soundwave (Transformers)
Soundwave is the name of several characters in the various series Transformers series. His most famous disguise is that of a microcassette recorder and has an iconic voice done by a vocoder.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Ravage
Ravage (Transformers)
Ravage is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Due to the inability to trademark the common word "ravage", he is sometimes called Battle Ravage, Command Ravage or Tripredacus Agent...
, Laserbeak
Laserbeak
Laserbeak is the name given to several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is almost always a mechanical bird, and is partnered with Soundwave.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Rumble
Rumble (Transformers)
Rumble is a fictional character in the Transformers universes. In order to trademark the name, Hasbro referred to the Alternators character as Decepticon Rumble.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Skywarp
Skywarp
Skywarp is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers toy line. He is usually depicted as a black or purple Decepticon jet with teleportation powers.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and Shockwave
Shockwave (Transformers)
Shockwave is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. Throughout his incarnations, he is usually distinguished by a laser cannon in lieu of one of his hands and his distinctive face, which is featureless save a single robotic eye...
.
Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
, a fan of the comics and toys, signed on as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
in 2004. John Rogers
John Rogers (writer)
John Rogers is a screenwriter, comedian, film producer, and comic book writer. Although born in Worcester, Massachusetts, he attended McGill University in Montreal and is better known publicly as a Canadian writer...
wrote the first draft, which pitted four Autobots against four Decepticons, and featured the Ark
Ark (Transformers)
The Ark is an Autobot spacecraft in the Transformers Universe. It has appeared as a central fixture of the Transformers storyline ever since its creation, as the Autobots main method of transport to Earth and as a base once they arrive....
spaceship. Roberto Orci
Roberto Orci
Roberto Gaston Orci is a Mexican-American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Orci was born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother. His mother had left Cuba for Mexico after Fidel Castro came to power. He is the older brother of screenwriter-producer J....
and Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman is an American film and television screenwriter and producer.Kurtzman was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he met his high school friend and long time collaborator Roberto Orci...
, fans of the cartoon, were hired to rewrite the script in February 2005. Spielberg suggested that "a boy and his car" should be the focus. This appealed to Orci and Kurtzman because it conveyed themes of adulthood and responsibility, "the things that a car represents in the United States". The characters of Sam and Mikaela were the sole point-of-view given in Orci and Kurtzman's first draft. The Transformers had no dialogue, as the producers feared talking robots would look ridiculous. The writers felt that even if it would look silly, not having the robots speak would betray the fanbase. The first draft also had a battle scene in the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
. Spielberg read each of Orci and Kurtzman's drafts and gave notes for improvement. The writers remained involved throughout production, adding additional dialogue for the robots during the sound mixing (although none of this was kept in the final film, which ran fifteen minutes shorter than the initial edit). Furman's The Ultimate Guide, published by Dorling Kindersley
Dorling Kindersley
Dorling Kindersley is an international publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 51 languages. It is currently part of the Penguin Group....
, remained as a resource to the writers throughout production. Prime Directive
Prime Directive
In the universe of Star Trek, the Prime Directive, Starfleet's General Order #1, is the most prominent guiding principle of the United Federation of Planets...
was used as a fake working title. This was also the name of Dreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions was a Canadian art design studio and comic book publisher founded in 1996 and is best known for their multiple Transformers comic book series...
' first Transformers comic book.
Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
was asked to direct by Spielberg on July 30, 2005, but he dismissed the film as a "stupid toy movie". Nonetheless, he wanted to work with Spielberg, and gained a new respect for the mythology upon visiting Hasbro. Bay considered the first draft "too kiddie", so he increased the military's role in the story. The writers sought inspiration from G.I. Joe for the soldier characters, being careful not to mix the brands. Because Orci and Kurtzman were concerned the film could feel like a military recruitment
Military recruitment
Military recruitment is the act of requesting people, usually male adults, to join a military voluntarily. Involuntary military recruitment is known as conscription. Many countries that have abolished conscription use military recruiters to persuade people to join, often at an early age. To...
commercial, they chose to make the military believe nations like Iran were behind the Decepticon attack as well as making the Decepticons primarily military vehicles. Bay based Lennox' struggle to get to the Pentagon phoneline while struggling with an unhelpful operator from a real account he was given by a soldier when working on another film.
Orci and Kurtzman experimented with numerous robots from the franchise, ultimately selecting the characters most popular among the filmmakers to form the final cast. Bay acknowledged that most of the Decepticons were selected before their names or roles were developed, as Hasbro had to start designing the toys. Some of their names were changed because Bay was upset that they had been leaked. Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were the only characters present in each version of the script. Arcee
Arcee
Arcee is the name of a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. She is a female Autobot, usually pink in color. Being the most famous of the Female Transformers, she has two primary forms...
was a female Transformer introduced by Orci and Kurtzman, but she was cut because they found it difficult to explain robotic gender; Bay also disliked her motorcycle form, which he found too small. An early idea to have the Decepticons simultaneously strike multiple places around the world was also dropped.
For the Second film Revenge of the Fallen, In September 2007, Paramount announced a late June 2009 release date for the sequel to Transformers. A major hurdle that was overcome during the film's production was the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
and the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
.
Bay began creating animatics of action sequences featuring characters rejected for the 2007 film. This would allow animators to complete sequences if the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
went on strike in July 2008, which ultimately did not happen. The director considered making a small project in between Transformers and its sequel, but knew "you have your baby and you don't want someone else to take it". The film was given a $200 million budget, which was $50 million more than the 2007 film, and some of the action scenes rejected for the original were written into the sequel, such as the way Optimus is reintroduced in this film. Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
-Life and career:He spent the 1990s as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, eventually rising to President of Worldwide Production. His production company di Bonaventura Pictures is based at Paramount Pictures. His tenure at Warner Bros. included discovering and shepherding The Matrix into...
said the studio proposed filming two sequels simultaneously, but he and Bay concurred that was not the right direction for the series.
Writers Roberto Orci
Roberto Orci
Roberto Gaston Orci is a Mexican-American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Orci was born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother. His mother had left Cuba for Mexico after Fidel Castro came to power. He is the older brother of screenwriter-producer J....
and Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman is an American film and television screenwriter and producer.Kurtzman was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he met his high school friend and long time collaborator Roberto Orci...
originally passed on the sequel because of a busy schedule. The studio began courting other writers in May 2007, but as they were unimpressed with their pitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return. The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger
Ehren Kruger
-Life and career:Kruger was raised in Alexandria, Virginia, and attended college at New York University. He attended the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, graduating in 1990....
, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner
Brian Goldner
Brian Goldner is the chief executive officer of the American toy company Hasbro.-Early life:Goldner's father Norman came from Utica, New York, while his mother Marjorie grew up in Mississippi. They married in 1961 after she came north to work for UNICEF, and settled in Huntington...
with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology, and because he was friends with Orci and Kurtzman. The writing trio were paid $8 million. Screenwriting was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
, but to avoid production delays the writers spent two weeks writing a treatment
Film treatment
A film treatment is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed than an outline , and it may include details of directorial style that an outline omits...
, which they handed in the night before the strike began, and Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-page scriptment
Scriptment
A scriptment is a written work by a movie or television screenwriter that combines elements of a script and treatment, especially the dialogue elements, which are formatted the same as in a screenplay. It is a more elaborate document than a standard draft treatment...
, fleshing out the action, adding more jokes, as well as selecting the majority of new characters. The three writers spent four months finishing the screenplay while "locked" in two hotel rooms by Bay: Kruger wrote in his own room and the trio would check on each others' work twice a day.
Orci described the film's theme as "being away from home", with the Autobots contemplating living on Earth as they cannot restore Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
, while Sam goes to college. He wanted the focus between the robots and humans "much more evenly balanced", "the stakes [to] be higher", and more focused on the science fiction elements. Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
-Life and career:He spent the 1990s as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, eventually rising to President of Worldwide Production. His production company di Bonaventura Pictures is based at Paramount Pictures. His tenure at Warner Bros. included discovering and shepherding The Matrix into...
said that in total, there are around forty robots in the film, while ILM's Scott Farrar has said there are actually sixty. Orci added he wanted to "modulate" the humor more, and felt he managed the more "outrageous" jokes by balancing it with a more serious plot approach to the Transformers' mythology. Bay concurred that he wanted to please fans by making the tone darker, and that "moms will think its safe enough to bring the kids back out to the movies" despite his trademark sense of humor.
Before Transformers was released, producer Tom DeSanto
Tom DeSanto
Tom DeSanto is an American film producer and screenwriter. DeSanto is best known for his work with long time friend Bryan Singer, especially with his contributions to the first two X-Men movies.-Education:...
had "a very cool idea" to introduce the Dinobots
Dinobots
Dinobots is the name of several teams of characters in the fictional Transformers Universe. The groups are made up of several robots, each of whose transformed mode is that of a dinosaur or similar prehistoric animal. They are called Dinotrons in the Japanese version; and ' in the Japanese dub of...
, while Bay was interested in an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, which was dropped from the 2007 film. Orci claimed they did not incorporate these characters into Revenge of the Fallen because they could not think of a way to justify the Dinobots' choice of form, and were unable to fit in the aircraft carrier. Orci also admitted he was also dismissive of the Dinobots because he does not like dinosaurs. "I recognize I am weird in that department", he said, but he became fonder of them during filming because of their popularity with fans. He added "I couldn't see why a Transformer would feel the need to disguise himself in front of a bunch of lizards. Movie-wise, I mean. Once the general audience is fully on board with the whole thing, maybe Dinobots in the future." However, upon being asked on the subject, Michael Bay said he hated the Dinobots and they had never been in consideration for being featured in the movies.
As a preemptive measure before the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second installment in the live-action Transformers series...
, Michael Lucchi and Paramount Pictures announced on March 16, 2009, that a third film would be released in IMAX 3D on July 1, 2011, which earned a surprised response from director Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
:
Screenwriters Roberto Orci
Roberto Orci
Roberto Gaston Orci is a Mexican-American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Orci was born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother. His mother had left Cuba for Mexico after Fidel Castro came to power. He is the older brother of screenwriter-producer J....
and Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman is an American film and television screenwriter and producer.Kurtzman was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he met his high school friend and long time collaborator Roberto Orci...
, who had worked on the two previous Transformers films, declined to return for the third film, with Kurtzman declaring that "the franchise is so wonderful that it deserves to be fresh, all the time. We just felt like we’d given it a lot and didn’t have an insight for where to go with it next". Revenge of the Fallens co-writer Ehren Kruger
Ehren Kruger
-Life and career:Kruger was raised in Alexandria, Virginia, and attended college at New York University. He attended the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, graduating in 1990....
became the sole screenwriter for Dark of the Moon. Kruger had frequent meetings with Industrial Light & Magic's (ILM) visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
producers, who suggested plot points such as the scenes in Chernobyl.
On October 1, 2009, Bay revealed that Transformers: Dark of the Moon had already gone into pre-production, and its planned release was back to its originally intended date of July 1, 2011, rather than 2012. Due to the revived interest in 3-D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
technology brought in by the success of Avatar, talks between Paramount, ILM, and Bay had considered the possibility of the next Transformers film being filmed in 3-D, and testing was performed to bring the technology into Bay's work. Bay originally was not much interested in the format as he felt it did not fit his "aggressive style" of filmmaking, but he was convinced after talks with Avatar director James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, who even offered the technical crew from that film. Cameron reportedly told Bay about 3-D, "You gotta look at it as a toy, it's another fun tool to help get emotion and character and create an experience." Bay was reluctant to film with 3-D cameras since in test he found them to be too cumbersome for his filming style, but he did not want to implement the technology in post production either since he was not pleased with the results. In addition to using the 3-D Fusion camera rigs developed by Cameron's team, Bay and the team spent nine months developing a more portable 3-D camera that could be brought into location.
In a hidden extra for the Blu-ray version of Revenge of the Fallen, Bay expressed his intention to make Transformers 3 not necessarily larger than Revenge of the Fallen, but instead deeper into the mythology, to give it more character development, and to make it darker and more emotional. Unicron
Unicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
is briefly shown in a secret Transformers 3 preview feature in the Revenge of the Fallen Blu-ray disc. Ultimately, the producers decided to forgo a plot involving the planet-eating transformer, and no further comments were ever made on the subject. Having been called Transformers 3 up to that point, the film's final title was revealed to be Dark of the Moon in October 2010. After Revenge of the Fallen was almost universally panned by critics, Bay acknowledged the general flaws of the script, having blamed the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
prior to the film for many problems. Bay promised to not have the "dorky comedy" from the last film. On March 19, 2010, the script was said to be finished.
Reception
Reviews of the first film, Transformers, were favorable. Review aggregate website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 57% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based on 206 reviews, with a 68% rating from selected notable critics. At the website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 61, based on 35 reviews. IGN's Todd Gilchrist called it Michael Bay's best film, and "one of the few instances where it's OK to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it's undeniably also a whole lot of fun". The Advertiser's Sean Fewster found the visual effects so seamless that "you may come to believe the studio somehow engineered artificial intelligence". The Denver Post's Lisa Kennedy praised the depiction of the robots as having "a believably rendered scale and intimacy", and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
presenter Margaret Pomeranz was surprised "that a complete newcomer to the Transformers phenomenon like myself became involved in the fate of these mega-machines". Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
' Drew McWeeny felt most of the cast grounded the story, and that "it has a real sense of wonder, one of the things that’s missing from so much of the big CGI lightshows released these days". Author Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
found it ludicrous fun, and said that "[Bay] manages to hold on to his audience's suspension of disbelief long enough for us to segue into some truly spectacular battle scenes".
The sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, received mostly negative reviews; based on 235 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an average 20% overall approval rating. The film had a similar reaction among the 40 critics in Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critic", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, where it received a 18% approval rating. Despite mostly negative reviews from critics, most audiences responded better. However, CinemaScore polls reported that on a scale of A+ to F, the average grade users gave the film was "B+". According to the Washington Post, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is Bay's worst-reviewed film, faring even lower than Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor (film)
Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
. Ray Bennett of the Hollywood Reporter commented in his review that "for the uninitiated, it's loud, tedious, and at 147 minutes, way too long." The film was also nominated for seven Razzie awards, winning the awards for Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay.
The third and final film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, received mixed reviews, with many critics calling it better than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and praising its visual effects and 3D action sequences, but criticising the below average acting and script. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 35% based on 232 reviews and a rating average of 4.9/10, saying "Its special effects -- and 3D shots -- are undeniably impressive, but they aren't enough to fillup its loud, bloated running time, or mask its thin, indifferent script". Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film one out of four stars, calling it "a visually ugly film with an incoherent plot, wooden characters and inane dialog. It provided me with one of the more unpleasant experiences I've had at the movies." Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
likewise panned the film, giving it a D and saying that "rarely has a movie had less of a soul and less interesting characters." However, the film had some good reviews. Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News
Ain't It Cool News is a website founded and run by Harry Knowles, dedicated to news, rumors and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films and television projects, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic-book and action genres...
called it "the best entry in the Michael Bay-directed franchise." IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the film a 7 out of 10, also stating that it was the best of the franchise. E! Online graded it a B+ while noting "if this is truly the end of a trilogy, its main antagonists should have played more of a part."
Box office performance
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Budget | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Foreign | Worldwide | All time domestic | All time worldwide | ||||
| Transformers | July 2, 2007 | $319,246,193 | $390,463,587 | $709,709,780 | #25 | #45 | $150,000,000 | |
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | June 24, 2009 | $402,111,870 | $434,191,823 | $836,303,693 | #11 | #28 | $200,000,000 | |
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon | June 29, 2011 | $352,390,543 | $770,805,646 | $1,123,196,189 | #18 | #4 | $195,000,000 | |
| Total | $1,073,748,606 | $1,595,461,056 | $2,669,209,662 | $545,000,000 | ||||
List indicator(s)
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Critical reaction
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance... |
Metacritic Metacritic Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,... |
Yahoo Movies | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Cream of the Crop | |||
| Transformers | 57% (216 reviews) | 68% (41 reviews) | 61 (35 reviews) | B- (13 reviews) |
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen | 20% (235 reviews) | 15% (40 reviews) | 35 (32 reviews) | C- (14 reviews) |
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon | 35% (232 reviews) | 25% (40 reviews) | 46 (36 reviews) | C+ (14 reviews) |
| Average rating | 37% | 36% | 47 | N/A |
External links
- Transformers Movie Official site