The Transformers are again in theaters this week with Transformers One, the primary animated film within the franchise in almost 4 a long time. It’s additionally an enormous step up from most of the live-action Transformers films, which had been field workplace successes even once they weren’t superb movies.
Now that Transformers One has arrived, we’ve determined to look again at all the earlier movies to find out one of the best Transformers films ever. And it shouldn’t be too shocking to see which film landed on high and which one crashed to the underside of the checklist.
9. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
It’s laborious to know the place to start with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, contemplating that Michael Bay and the screenwriters have all form of apologized for it through the years. There are some actually terrible Transformers films on this checklist, however none worse than this one. Loads of the accountability has to come back all the way down to Bay and the screenwriters Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman. They’re those who couldn’t even write the human characters convincingly, a lot much less the enormous robots. Somebody on this group additionally thought it might be hilarious for Devastator to seemingly have robotic genitals.
However the large purpose why Revenge of the Fallen has landed with a thud on the backside of this checklist is due to the twins, Mudflap and Skids. Image each Black stereotype ramped as much as 11 and it nonetheless wouldn’t come near conveying how these two characters got here off as racist caricatures within the movie. Bay has mentioned that wasn’t his intention. Regardless, it’s virtually not possible to not see these characters as some very ugly racial jokes. There’s a purpose why the movies by no means confirmed them once more.
Watch Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Paramount+.
8. Transformers: The Final Knight (2017)
One of many issues that comes up in Bay’s Transformers movies is that he and his collaborators maintain attempting to rewrite the mythology behind the franchise. However as a substitute of streamlining issues, they turned it into an incomprehensible mess. Transformers: The Final Knight tries to shoehorn Arthurian delusion into the backstory, and it’s unconvincing at finest.
It’s really form of cool to see Optimus Prime briefly go unhealthy on this one as Nemesis Prime, although the movie’s precise villain, Quintessa (Gemma Chan), is fairly lifeless. This was Bay’s last Transformers film and he tried to exit with a bang. However as a substitute the movie closes on a weird reveal that doesn’t make any sense. That’s one of many many the explanation why the following Transformers films have mainly ignored Bay’s continuity.
Watch Transformers: The Final Knight on Paramount+.
7. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
For his fourth film within the franchise, Michael Bay form of did a comfortable reset with Transformers: Age of Extinction. After Darkish of the Moon, all Transformers on Earth are hunted by armed forces, and the Autobots’ human allies are gone. Of their place, Bay introduces inventor Cade Yeager, as unconvincingly performed by the alleged human Mark Wahlberg.
The story is everywhere, as one other Transformer, Lockdown, involves Earth to seize the survivors whereas the franchise’s most constant villain, Megatron, turns into Galvatron in maybe essentially the most boring approach ever. The factor that acquired followers excited in regards to the movie was the introduction of the Dinobots. However in true Bay style, he spoiled the reveal of Optimus driving a Dinobot within the trailer and poster, after which didn’t depict the Dinobots with any character in any respect.
Watch Transformers: Age of Extinction on Paramount+.
6. Transformers: Darkish of the Moon (2011)
The thought behind Transformers: Darkish of the Moon is that the whole lot we knew in regards to the moon touchdown was a lie, and at least the true Buzz Aldrin (severely, it truly is him) confirms that one thing highly effective from the Transformers’ house world, Cybertron, was on the moon. Leonard Nimoy additionally makes his return to the franchise because the voice of Sentinel Prime, and he promptly betrays the Autobots in favor of a full-scale Decepticon invasion of Earth.
Sadly, you gained’t actually care in regards to the human characters, and that is the final time that Shia LaBeouf appeared because the Autobots’ buddy and ally, Sam Witwicky. The next movies don’t even actually trouble to straight point out what occurred to him.
Watch Transformers: Darkish of the Moon on Paramount+.
5. Transformers (2007)
Michael Bay’s first Transformers film was his finest one, nevertheless it’s removed from the head of the franchise. There are elements of this film that work rather well, particularly the extra critical tone it has at occasions earlier than the Transformers reveal themselves. After which it out of the blue will get whacky as Jazz can’t assist however breakdance whereas introducing himself.
One of many the explanation why this movie works higher than Bay’s sequels is that it was nonetheless loosely based mostly on the comics and animated sequence that got here earlier than it. The motion is usually incomprehensible when the Autobots and Decepticons are preventing one another, however they give the impression of being good when standing nonetheless. Out of all of Bay’s Transformers films, this is perhaps the one one with any coronary heart as Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) befriends Bumblebee and tries to courtroom Mikaela Banes, as performed by Megan Fox in her first main starring position.
Watch Transformers on Paramount+.
4. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
The latest Transformers live-action film, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, appears to have realized the lesson that was by no means absorbed by Bay’s movies. Particularly that we solely care in regards to the bond between the human characters and the Transformers once we’re given a purpose to care. The movie goes out of its approach to set up Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) as a man who’s simply attempting to do proper by his household earlier than he stumbles upon the Autobots. Mirage (Pete Davidson) makes some actually endearing makes an attempt to befriend Noah, whereas Optimus Prime is disdainful of humanity.
The movie doesn’t fairly get round to convincingly justifying Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback) because the second human sidekick of the Autobots. However the debut of the Maximals clicked in a approach that the Dinobots didn’t largely as a result of they acquired to maintain their personalities intact. This movie additionally did a significantly better job at teasing the final word villain, Unicron, than Bay did in The Final Knight.
Watch Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Paramount+.
3. Bumblebee (2018)
Bumblebee is the gold normal of live-action Transformers films, and all of it comes all the way down to the script and the forged. Setting this film within the ’80s was the proper name, and Hailee Steinfeld is terrific as Charlie Watson, a young person who offers along with her grief for her late father by placing collectively an outdated broken automotive that seems to be Bumblebee. Examine the bond that Charlie and Bumblebee type to the superficial connection that Bumblebee needed to Sam within the earlier movies. This one succeeds as a result of Steinfeld convincingly emotes when sharing the scene with a robotic who isn’t actually there.
The spotlight of the movie is the prologue on Cybertron, the place the Autobots and the Decepticons have by no means seemed higher. John Cena additionally stars on this movie as Jack Burns, a federal agent who distrusts each Bumblebee and the Decepticons who got here to Earth to search out and destroy him. That is an thrilling and heartfelt movie, which is strictly what it wanted to be as the primary reboot for the live-action films.
Watch Bumblebee on Paramount+.
2. Transformers One (2024)
The stroke of genius behind Transformers One is that it didn’t should be in dwell motion to inform the story of Optimus Prime and Megatron earlier than they had been mortal enemies. As a substitute, Orion Pax (Furiosa‘s Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Eternals star Brian Tyree Henry) are like brothers at first of this movie, even when they’re not at all times on the identical web page.
This can be a re-imagining of the earlier origin tales utilized in different Transformers mediums like comics, TV exhibits, and video video games. However what actually makes it shine is the way in which that it offers Orion and D-16 distinct factors of view all through the film. The script makes us perceive the place each of them are coming from earlier than their bond is irreparably damaged by the alternatives they should make.
Transformers One is now taking part in in theaters.
1. The Transformers: The Film (1986)
The Transformers: The Film stands out as the most luxurious toy business ever made. The inventive staff behind the unique Transformers animated sequence used the movie to usher out the primary set of characters whereas introducing all-new heroes and villains that had been coming to toy shops shortly thereafter. The filmmakers weren’t attempting to make a basic, however that is by far one of the best of the Transformers films as a result of it has reliable emotional stakes in addition to an apocalyptic menace within the type of Unicron.
The late Orson Welles might not have thought a lot about his last position, however even in his weakened state Welles’ voice conveyed Unicron’s sense of menace and grandeur. Leonard Nimoy additionally lent his voice to the upgraded type of Megatron, who was renamed and remade as Galvatron in one of many movie’s most visually arresting scenes. However maybe essentially the most spectacular facet of the movie’s animation are the small particulars, particularly when Unicron eats his first world throughout the opening minutes. It’s simply as astonishing as any anime from the period, and The Transformers: The Film holds up exceedingly effectively after almost 4 a long time. It could be the nostalgia decide, however that is nonetheless the Transformers movie to beat.
The Transformers: The Film shouldn’t be accessible to stream.
