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Transformers (film)

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This article is about the 2007 live action film. For the 1986 animated film, see The Transformers: The Movie.
Transformers
International poster
Directed byMichael Bay
Written byRoberto Orci
Alex Kurtzman
John Rogers
Produced bySteven Spielberg
Tom DeSanto
Don Murphy
StarringShia LaBeouf
Megan Fox
Josh Duhamel
Tyrese Gibson
Jon Voight
Voices:
Peter Cullen
Hugo Weaving
CinematographyMitch Amundsen
Music bySteve Jablonsky
Distributed byDreamWorks Pictures
Paramount Pictures
UIP
Release dates
Australia New Zealand PhilippinesJune 28, 2007
United States July 2, 2007
United Kingdom July 27, 2007
Japan August 4, 2007
Running time
144 min
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$147 million[1]

Transformers is a 2007 live action film based on the Transformers franchise, directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. It stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, who has the map to the Allspark, the center of the war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. The film also stars Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight and John Turturro, as well as Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime and Hugo Weaving as the voice of Megatron. Cullen voiced Optimus in the 1980s cartoon.

Producers Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto developed the film, and Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote the script, aiming for a realistic interpretation of the characters. Though not a fan, Bay was convinced by Spielberg to direct, and he created an intricate design aesthetic for the computer-generated Transformers. Bay had support from General Motors and the United States military during filming, keeping the budget under $150 million. Armed with an enormous marketing campaign including comics, toys and tie-in deals, Transformers opened in the United States on July 2 2007, and broke the box office record for the highest-grossing opening week for a non-sequel. Critics praised the special effects, but found the characterization lacking.

Plot

The film begins with the history of Cybertron's destruction at the hands of Megatron, and his quest to obtain the Allspark. Megatron discovers the Allspark on Earth, but crash-lands in the Arctic Circle, becoming frozen in the ice. Captain Archibald Witwicky and his crew of explorers stumble upon Megatron's body in 1897. Megatron's navigational system is unintentionally activated, and Archibald's eye glasses are imprinted with the coordinates to the Allspark's location. Sector 7, a secret organization of the United States government, discovers the Allspark and builds the Hoover Dam around it to mask the energy signal. The still-frozen Megatron is moved into this facility, and is reverse engineered to further advance human technology.

In the present day, the rest of the Decepticons — Blackout, Scorponok, Frenzy, Barricade, Starscream, Bonecrusher, and Devastator — have already landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles. Blackout and Scorponok attack a U.S. military base in Qatar in an effort to use the military database to discover the location of Megatron and the Allspark, but they do not succeed. A small group of survivors who survived the assault at the military base wander through the desert and are attacked by Scorponok. The Autonomous Robotic Life Form (shortened to "Autobot") known as Bumblebee is also on Earth, disguised as a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro, and looking for Sam Witwicky, the descendant of Captain Archibald Witwicky. As soon as he locates Sam, the two quickly begin to bond as Bumblebee helps Sam try and woo his crush, Mikaela Banes; Sam is unaware of the fact that Bumblebee is an alien, until he witnesses Bumblebee transform and send out a homing signal for the rest of the Autobots. After Blackout's failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One and discovers that Sam possesses the map, imprinted on Captain Witwicky's glasses, that will lead the Decepticons to the Allspark. Frenzy and Barricade begin tracking Sam's location.

Barricade confronts Sam, demanding Archibald's glasses. Bumblebee, who is following Sam, transforms and battles Barricade. Mikaela, who is also following Sam, is caught in the crossfire, and leaves with Sam and Bumblebee to rendezvous with the rest of the Autobots. The Autobots — Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet — land on Earth and take on the forms of several Earth vehicles. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home to retrieve the glasses. Although the Autobots managed to get the glasses, agents from Sector 7 arrive to take Sam and Mikaela into custody. Bumblebee is also apprehended, against the pleas of Sam who assures the agents - to no avail - that he means them no harm.

Frenzy secretly accompanies the group to the Hoover Dam, and releases Megatron from suspended animation. Locating the Allspark, he sends out an alert to the rest of the Decepticons. Megatron escapes, and Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can get the Allspark to Optimus Prime. The Decepticons chase the Autobots, who now possess the Allspark, into a neighboring city. An ensuing battle results in casualties for both sides, ending with Sam killing Megatron and the Allspark when he holds the cube to Megatron's chest. Optimus Prime mourns the loss of his comrade Jazz, who has been killed by Megatron. The remains of the Decepticons are cast into the Laurentian Abyss by the U.S. Armed Forces. With no other home to go to - Cybertron having been destroyed by Megatron - the Autobots decide to stay on Earth, and Optimus sends out a signal across space in an effort to locate any other surviving Autobots, while Sam and Mikaela begin a relationship. Starscream, one of the Decepticons that survived the battle, leaves Earth.

Cast

Humans

LaBeouf, Fox, Duhamel, Gibson and Anderson were fans of the Transformers.[2] Michael Bay hired LaBeouf as he could improvise many jokes,[3] with a charisma that reminded Bay of the young Tom Hanks.[4] LaBeouf worked out five days a week for three months and gained 25 pounds of muscle to prepare for the role, but realized during shooting that his role required agility rather than strength. Fox gained 10 pounds of muscle during shooting due to the physicality of the role.[5] Duhamel and Gibson spent three days in boot camp, and Gibson also spent time with combat controller Ray Bollinger to make his dialogue sound natural.[2]

Autobots

  • Peter Cullen as the voice of Optimus Prime (Peterbilt truck): The wise and powerful Autobot leader who comes to protect humanity from the evil Decepticons. He wields a cannon and a blade.
  • Mark Ryan as the voice of Bumblebee (Second/Fifth generation Chevrolet Camaro): Bumblebee is an honest and friendly soldier who develops a friendship with Sam and Mikaela during his efforts to find the Allspark. He has difficulty speaking after his vocal processors were damaged in battle, and uses soundbites from radio broadcasts to communicate on Earth.
  • Darius McCrary as the voice of Jazz (Modified Pontiac Solstice): Optimus' second-in-command, he is a small but acrobatic fighter, with magnetic hands. He develops a fondness for human culture.Later ripped in two by Megatron
  • Jess Harnell as the voice of Ironhide (GMC Topkick 6500 pick-up truck): The tough, trigger-happy weapons specialist of the group, wielding enormous cannons on his arms. He is an old friend of Optimus, and constantly threatens to use deadly force on terrestrial life forms, much to Optimus's dismay.
  • Robert Foxworth as the voice of Ratchet (Search & Rescue Hummer H2): The team's medic and scientist. He has enhanced senses, and has an axe and a saw.

Don Murphy decided after discussions with fans on his website that they wanted the surviving voices from the 1980s cartoon,[6] but Michael Bay had them audition first, as he feared their aged voices would be noticeable.[7] Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime, was announced to be reprising his role at the July 2006 San Diego Comic-Con.[8] He described reprising the role as easy as "slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven't worn for a while", and was grateful to the fans for wanting him back.[9] His vocal performance consisted of much improvisation with Bay and bringing a sense of humor to Prime, as well as portraying his traditional heroism.[10] Paramount held a contest for fans to submit a line of dialogue for Optimus in the film, and the winning entry was "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings",[11] but this line, being the character's catchphrase, was in the script from its first draft.[12]

Cullen also read for Ironhide, another character he originally voiced, during his first audition, portraying a conversation between Optimus and Ironhide.[13] Mark Ryan acted as a stand in for the Transformers during filming, giving actors someone to react to, both physically where appropriate and providing dialogue, and ad-libbed lines for many characters during post-production before being cast as Bumblebee.[14] Bumblebee mostly communicates with his radio due to his damaged vocal processor, and the writers considered using dialogue from various Paramount films, including the line "I feel the need for speed!" from Top Gun.[15]

Decepticons

  • Hugo Weaving as the voice of Megatron (Cybertronian "jet"): The brutal Decepticon leader who desires power over the Allspark. According to Peter Cullen, Optimus and Megatron are brothers, akin to the story of Cain and Abel.[16] He crash-landed in the Arctic eons ago, and his frozen body is kept in storage by Sector 7. He wields a flail and his arms form a cannon.
  • Charlie Adler as the voice of Starscream (F-22 Raptor): Megatron's second-in-command, who is berated for failing him repeatedly.
  • Jess Harnell as the voice of Barricade (Saleen-modified Ford Mustang police car): The Decepticon who locates Sam early on.
  • Reno Wilson as the voice of Frenzy (GPX 2-speaker CD player, mobile phone): The smallest Decepticon, Frenzy attaches to Barricade. His main purpose is spying on humans, but he is still a ferocious fighter, shooting blades disguised as CDs from his chest.
  • Jimmie Wood as the voice of Bonecrusher (Buffalo H Mine-Protected vehicle): He attacks Optimus Prime during the highway chase.But Optimus cuts his head off
  • Blackout (MH-53 Pave Low III): He can fire electromagnetic pulses and wield his rotor blades as a weapon. He carries Scorponok.
  • Scorponok (mechanical scorpion): A minion of Blackout sent to hunt survivors of the attack on the U.S. military base in Qatar. Resembling a scorpion, he is armed with a razor tipped tail and plasma cannon claws, and burrows in and out of the sand.
  • Devastator (Modified M1A1 Abrams): He attacks the Autobots alongside Megatron and Starscream in the climactic battle. He is referred to as Brawl for the toyline.He gets shot several times by Bumblebee and dies

Hugo Weaving, whose voice was used for facial animation tests,[17] signed on to voice Megatron in March 2007.[18] TV series voice actor Frank Welker auditioned, but was rejected as his voice was too light for the beastly depiction of Megatron. Bay also felt it would be wrong to ask Welker to change his classic voice.[19] Welker voiced Megatron in the video game adaptation.

Production

Development

"I think it's going to be something the audience has never seen before. In all the years of movie-making, I don't think the image of a truck transforming into a 20-foot tall robot has ever been captured on screen. I also want to make a film that's a homage to 1980s movies and gets back to the sense of wonder that Hollywood has lost over the years. It will have those Spielberg-ian moments where you have the push-in on the wide-eyed kid and you feel like you're 10 years old even if you're 35."
— Tom DeSanto on why he produced the film[20]

In 2002, Hasbro began developing its properties into films.[21] Producer Don Murphy was looking to adapt G.I. Joe, but when the Iraq War broke out, Hasbro suggested Transformers instead.[22] Tom DeSanto joined the project as he was a big fan of the characters,[2] and the two producers decided to explore why Transformers exist.[22] They met with comic book writer Simon Furman and researched the Generation 1 cartoon and comics,[22] deciding to focus on the Creation Matrix.[6] DeSanto chose a human point-of-view in his treatment to engage the audience,[23] in various storylines resembling a disaster film, as Murphy wanted it to feel realistic.[6] The treatment featured the characters Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, Skywarp and Shockwave.[24]

After they were rejected by many studio executives who did not grow up with Transformers, DeSanto met with Mike DeLuca in 2004, who arranged a meeting with Steven Spielberg.[4] A fan of the comics and toys,[2] Spielberg signed on as executive producer, and John Rogers was hired as screenwriter in November.[25] His script featured four Transformers on each side,[26] and had the Ark spaceship.[27] Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, big fans of the cartoon,[28] were hired in February to start over.[29] Spielberg pitched it to them as about "a boy and his car",[30] which appealed to them as adulthood and responsibility is "the things that a car represents in [the United States]."[31] Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were included in all their scripts,[28] but Sam and Mikaela were the focus of the first draft,[32] and the Transformers had no dialogue. This was changed in the next draft, as the writers felt that even if it could look ridiculous, having them not speak would betray the fanbase.[28] Inspired by Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Bumblebee was kept mute to stress his friendship with Sam as going beyond words.[33]

Michael Bay, who had wanted to make a family film,[34] was asked to direct after finishing The Island,[35] but he thought of it as a "stupid toy movie".[4] Nonetheless, Spielberg's premise of "a boy and his car" made him curious, and visiting Hasbro made him gain a new respect for the mythology.[3] In addition, he was enticed by ideas like an 85 mile-per-hour fight scene,[34] and the comedy caused by Transformers interfering with everyday life.[3] The tone was decided as a cross between Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Seven Samurai.[4] Bay also wanted it to feel intense and realistic,[17] and the writers agreed to make everything feel logical, setting aside the previous contradictory continuities in the franchise.[31] Bay admitted not being a fan before allowed him to tell the story naturally, and make it appeal to other non-fans.[3] Orci cut the Ark as he wondered why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel",[36] and Arcee was cut as they had little time to explain robotic gender.[32] Bay expanded the military storylines,[37] considering the first draft "too kiddie",[35] with the soldiers based on G.I. Joe.[38] More Decepticons were added to increase the sense of threat,[39] and the Autobot Prowl was removed as Orci and Kurtzman loved the perverseness of an evil police car.[40]

Design

Ironhide on display by General Motors at the 2007 Detroit River Walk Festival

Designs began in June 2005, with Hasbro heavily collaborating on the live action interpretations of their characters.[1] In keeping with Michael Bay's desire to make Transformers realistic, the robots were designed more intricately to look more three-dimensional,[34] as well as reflect their alien origins.[41] Morphing in transformations was restricted, unlike the cartoon or comic books, so every character stays the same size, which explains their choice of Earth forms.[5] Optimus Prime's original cab over truck form was rejected as it would make him only 23 feet tall, so Bay decided to use the Peterbilt, the largest truck available.[42] Bay also added flame artwork to make Prime distinctive, and gave him a mouth to emote more.[3] Don Murphy wanted to retain Bumblebee's Volkswagen Beetle form,[43] but Bay rejected it to avoid comparisons with Herbie the Love Bug,[44] and chose the Chevrolet Camaro instead, which he described as having a friendly quality.[5] The other Autobots also became GM-owned vehicles in a product placement deal that saved $3 million,[3] though Bay hoped they would have supplied a bigger car than the Pontiac Solstice for Jazz.[37]

In contrast to Optimus' faithful design, Megatron's alternate mode was changed from a Walther P38 pistol to an alien jet to avoid morphing,[42] while his face was made more hideous and menacing.[18] The numerous animatic tests conducted also made Bay realize Starscream would require bird-like legs to perform his feats throughout the story.[45] Bay admitted most of the Decepticons had their appearances chosen before their characterization as Hasbro needed to get started on the toys.[37] Blackout was being considered as Soundwave,[46] but Hasbro wanted to have a music player for the character.[26] Don Murphy felt this role belittled Soundwave,[6] and the writers concurred the character in the script barely resembled the original.[39] They renamed him Soundbyte,[47] and finally Frenzy, one of Soundwave's minions.[39] The official names were confirmed in August 2006,[39] although Bay himself was not fully aware of these official names,[45] and this led to Brawl being referred to as Devastator, his on-set name.[48] During post-production, fans expressed concern over Megatron's head design, so a last-minute tweak was done to satisfy them.[4]

Filming

To save money, Michael Bay cut his fee by 30%, and planned an eighty-three day shooting schedule.[35] He kept up the pace by doing more camera set-ups per day than usual[3] and chose to shoot the film with a crew he was familiar with in the United States.[49] He had the support of the United States military, who supplied aircraft and vehicles for the alternate modes of the Decepticons, as well as F-117s, C-130 and C-17 cargo planes, and two CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, out of three in the United States Air Force inventory at that time.[48] Such co-operation led Transformers to be the first film shot at The Pentagon since the September 11, 2001 attacks.[5]

Director Michael Bay filming at Holloman Air Force Base

A pre-shoot took place on April 19 2006, before principal photography began on April 22 at Holloman Air Force Base.[5] The Holloman shoot also included White Sands Missile Range.[50] On June 9, filming was onsite at the Hoover Dam,[51] making them the first film crew to shoot there since 9/11. The crew then based themselves at Hughes Aircraft in Playa Vista, including six weekends of filming the climactic battle in Los Angeles.[5] Production wrapped on September 24, although second unit shooting continued in the Arctic and Detroit,[52] where it finally finished on October 4.[35]

Effects

Work on the animatics began in April 2005,[26] with Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg conceived many ideas for action sequences.[7] Bay shot his fourteen action sequences live to keep the budget below $150 million.[34] Three versions of each car were created by General Motors in anticipation that some of them would crash,[5] and stunt drivers wore black balaclavas to blend in with the darkened interiors, so as to make the vehicles appear sentient.[53] Bay used his animatics to help the actors envision the Transformers, as well as a 17-foot-tall Bumblebee model by FXPerts, a Frenzy puppet by KNB,[5] Scorponok's damaged tail,[54] Optimus' head with motion capture points,[55] and Megatron's frozen legs.[56] The props amount to 12[54] out of 630 effects shots.[35]

Industrial Light & Magic created computer-generated transformations over six months in 2005, looking at every inch of the models and making sure none of the car pieces conflicted during the simulations.[57] Initially they were designed to follow the laws of physics, but it did not look exciting enough and was changed to be more fluid.[58] One decision made was that the wheels should stay on the ground for as long as possible, allowing the robots to cruise around as they changed.[59] Due to the intricate designs of the Transformers, even the simplest notion of turning a wrist requires seventeen visible pieces,[5] while each of Ironhide's guns is made of ten thousand parts.[34] Such detail required thirty-eight hours to render each frame of animation,[5] which meant ILM had to increase their processing facilities.[60] Each rendered piece had to look like real metal, shiny or dull.[58] Photographs were taken of each set and had a lighting environment produced within a computer so the robots would look like they were convincingly moving there.[60] ILM created the 430 shots of the thirteen primary robots, while Digital Domain and others created minor shots, including a vending machine mutated by the Allspark.[35]

Ultimately, the complex mechanics make the characters feel dynamic and quick rather than a lumbering beast,[3] with the mechanics resembling human muscle movement, as Bay rejected a liquid metal surface for the facial animation. Bumblebee uses a piece below his faceplate as an eyebrow, and pieces in his cheek can swivel to resemble a smile. All the characters' eyes are designed to dilate and brighten.[59] Numerous simulations were programmed into the robots, so the animators could just focus on animating the particular areas needed for a convincing performance.[60] Bay instructed the animators at ILM to look at martial arts films to make the fights look graceful,[3] and they also looked to actor Liam Neeson's performances to inspire Optimus Prime's mannerisms. Bumblebee's behaviour was based on Michael J. Fox's performance in Back to the Future.[5] Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman observed unexpected quirks in ILM's animation, and added new dialogue and re-edited scenes to adjust it to the robots' performances.[61] Visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar was most proud of the scene where the Autobots hide from Sam's parents, as "there is a lot of humor and very dramatic night time lighting."[58]

Music

See also: Transformers: The Album

Composer Steve Jablonsky, who collaborated with Bay on The Island, scored music for the teaser trailer long before actual work on the film.[62] Scoring took place in April 2007 at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City. The score comprised six major themes over 90 minutes of score, including the teaser music.[63] Tom DeSanto wanted to work in an orchestral version of the TV series song,[64] but he and Bay never spoke with each other much.[49] Mute Math performed a cover version instead. The band were childhood fans of Transformers, and were approached as their style suited the sound of the robots in the film. It only appears on the album.[65]

Marketing

File:Tfbuilding.jpg
A building in Hollywood, CA, draped in canvas promoting the film
Further information: Transformers: The Movie Prequel, Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday, and Transformers: The Game

The first teaser trailer was released on the Internet on June 29 2006, depicting a Transformer attacking the Beagle 2 mission.[66] A second trailer was released on December 20,[67] breaking Spider-Man 3's record for the number of internet hits.[68] A third trailer was released online on Yahoo's movie website on May 17 2007. Another trailer was attached with Shrek the Third.[69] Bay originally intended that "[The audience] never really get a good look at the robots until the release",[34] but by the third trailer he had abandoned this idea. The Sector 7 viral marketing web site featured several videos recording supposed evidence of Transformers on Earth. These featured cameos by Generation 1 Transformers, including Grimlock destroying a construction site, and a security video showing a robot resembling Generation 1 Bumblebee transforming in a parking garage.[70]

Hasbro made deals with 200 companies across 70 countries to promote the film.[71] Their toy line for the film was created over two months over late 2005/early 2006, collaborating heavily with the filmmakers.[41] A pair of preview toys, Protoform Optimus Prime and Starscream, were released in the U.S.A. on May 1 2007,[72] before the first wave of figures were released on June 2.[41] Characters that do not appear in the film are also featured in the film's style, including Air Raid, Arcee, Clocker, Elita One, Hardtop, Longarm, Signal Flare, Skyblast, Strongarm, Swindle and Wreckage.[73] The toys feature "Automorph Technology" in which moving parts of the toy allow other parts to shift automatically.[74] Michael Bay directed tie-in commercials for General Motors, Burger King and PepsiCo,[75] while props including the 1977 Chevrolet Camaro used for Bumblebee and the Allspark, were put up for charity on eBay.[76]

Release

Promotional display for the movie at BotCon 2006

Initially, fans were divided over the film due to the radical redesigns of many characters.[77] Michael Bay even received death threats.[3] Nonetheless, the film began to draw in many new fans to the franchise.[78] Before its release, Transformers was voted "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards.[79] The 2007 BotCon saw its attendance rise from 2,200 to nearly 8,000.[78]

Transformers had its worldwide premiere at Sydney on June 12, 2007.[80] It premiered at Sitges during the annual Film Festival on June 20, 2007 and in Taormina the following day.[81] It premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 27 via digital satellite feed,[82] and at Rhode Island on June 28. The Rhode Island premiere was a freely available event offering fans to buy tickets for $75 to benefit four charities: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Autism Project of Rhode Island, the Adoption Rhode Island, and the Hasbro Children's Hospital.[83]

Box office performance

The film was released in ten overseas markets on June 28 2007, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines. Transformers made $29.5 million in its first weekend, topping the box office in ten countries including a $1.7 million four-day weekend gross in Singapore, the biggest yet.[84] The film was released in the United States and Canada on July 3, with 8pm preview screenings on July 2. The previews earned $8.8 million,[85] and in its first day of general release it grossed $27.4 million, a record for Tuesday box office attendance. It broke Spider-Man 2's record for the biggest July 4 gross, making $29 million.[86]

In its first weekend, Transformers grossed $70.5 million, amounting to a $155.4 million opening week, giving it the record for the biggest opening week for a non-sequel.[87] The opening domestic gross was 50% more than what Paramount Pictures expected, with one executive attributing it to word of mouth telling "the parents that it's OK to take the kids." A Cinemascope poll indicated the film was most popular with children and parents, including older women, and attracted many African American and Latino viewers.[88] Transformers opened in China on July 11, setting a record for the biggest foreign language film opening with $3 million.[89] The film has grossed $320 million worldwide.[90] The film will be released in the United Kingdom on July 27.

Critical reception

Transformers was met with mixed reviews from film critics, receiving a "rotten" rating of only 56% favorable reviews out of 152 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes,[91] and a Metacritic score of 60/100 (mixed or average) from 34 reviews.[92] IGN's Todd Gilchrist found 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."[93] The Advertiser's Sean Fewster found the visual effects so seamless that "you may come to believe the studio somehow engineered artifical intelligence".[94] The Denver Post's Lisa Kennedy praised the depiction of the robots as having "a believably rendered scale and intimacy."[95] 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".[96] Ain't It Cool News's 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."[97] Author Peter David found it ludricrous fun, and 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."[98]

Despite the praise for the visual effects, there was much division over the human storylines. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt liked "how a teen plot line gets tied in to the end of the world",[99] while Empire's Ian Nathan praised Shia LaBeouf as "a smart, natural comedian, [who] levels the bluntness of this toy story with an ironic bluster."[100] Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles found the military storylines distracting from Sam, a conflict of Bay and Steven Spielberg's styles.[101] James Berardinelli hated the film as he did not connect with the characters in-between the action, which he found tedious.[102] Los Angeles Times's Kenneth Turan found the humans "oddly lifeless, doing little besides marking time until those big toys fill the screen",[103] while Comingsoon.net's Joshua Stames felt the Transformers were "completely believable, right up to the moment they open their mouths to talk, when they revert to bad cartoon characters."[104] Daily Herald's Matt Arado was annoyed that "the Transformers [are] little more than supporting players", and felt the middle act was sluggish.[105] CNN's Tom Charity questioned the idea of a film based on a toy, and felt it would "buzz its youthful demographic... but leave the rest of us wondering if Hollywood could possibly aim lower."[106]

Sequels

On May 30 2007, Dreamworks greenlit two sequels to Transformers,[107] and Shia LaBeouf,[108] Megan Fox[109] and Peter Cullen[44] signed on to return. Producer Tom DeSanto has envisioned a storyline introducing the Dinobots, Constructicons, and Soundwave.[19] Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman may not return, as "Star Trek... is taking up [most] of our time."[30] Michael Bay has not signed on, "trying to keep some leverage for the negotiations",[44] but already has ideas, including an aircraft carrier character.[110] The producers expect that with a bigger budget and the special effects worked out, the Transformers will have a larger role.[111]

References

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  8. ^ Chris Carle (2006-08-27). "Transformers Set Report". IGN. Retrieved 2006-09-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  10. ^ Mike Szymanski (2007-06-13). "Transformers' Prime Is Deeper". Sci-Fi Wire. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Movie's Make Prime Speak Contest Winners Announced".
  12. ^ John Rogers. "Hey, Libertas!". Retrieved 2007-07-10.
  13. ^ "Interview with Peter Cullen at Anime Matsuri 2007". TFormers. 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2007-05-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Derek McGraw (2007-07-04). "Bumblebee Speaks!". Fanboy Planet. Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  16. ^ Anthony Breznican (2007-06-30). "'Transformers': From toy story to serious art?". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  21. ^ Michelle Smith (2007-06-19). "Hasbro Banking on 'Transformers' Change". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2007-06-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  24. ^ Scott Marble (June 2007). "The Mind of Tom Desanto". Transformers Collectors Club Magazine. pp. 3, 10. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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  29. ^ Stax (2005-02-18). "EXCLUSIVE: New Transformers Writers". IGN. Retrieved 2006-09-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  31. ^ a b Dave Itzkoff (2007-06-24). "Character-Driven Films (but Keep the Kaboom)". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-06-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  33. ^ Josh Horowitz (2007-03-13). "'Transformers' Writers Talk Fanboy Pressure, 'E.T.' Inspiration, Sequel Ideas". MTV. Retrieved 2007-03-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ a b c d e f "Michael Bay Divulges 'Transformers' Details — And Word Of 'Bad Boys III'". MTV. 2007-02-15. Retrieved 2007-02-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "author Josh Horowitz" ignored (help)
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  36. ^ "Ark Not Making An Appearance In the Movie?". TFormers. 2007-09-14. Retrieved 2007-02-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ a b c Adam B. Vary. "Optimus Prime Time". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
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  47. ^ "Transformers Movie Soundbyte (Frenzy) CGI Design Images First Look". TFW2005. 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2007-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  50. ^ Arlan Ponder (2006-06-05). "Movie project transforms Holloman". Air Force Link. Retrieved 2006-10-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  51. ^ "Transformers to film at Hoover Dam". TFormers. 2006-06-08. Retrieved 2006-10-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  52. ^ Don Murphy (2006-09-24). "Last Day of Shooting for the Transformers Movie". TFW2005. Retrieved 2007-02-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  53. ^ Ann Job (2007-05-21). "Chevrolet Camaro: A Transformers Movie Star". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-05-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  55. ^ "Transformers movie updates Optimus Prime head prop". TFW2005. 2006-10-10. Retrieved 2006-11-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  56. ^ "New Pictures of Frozen Transformers Movie Megatron from the Movie Set". TFW2005. 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2007-02-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  57. ^ Matt Sullivan (2007-07-03). "Transformers: The Best Special Effects Ever?". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2007-07-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  61. ^ Edward Douglas (2007-06-29). "Exclusive: Transformers Writers Orci and Kurtzman". Superherohype.com. Retrieved 2007-07-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  64. ^ Chris Hewitt (February 2007). "The Blockbuster Preview 2007". Empire (Issue 212). p. 68.
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  69. ^ Ryan Parsons (2007-05-05). "Transformers Trailer BEFORE Pirates!". CanMag. Retrieved 2007-05-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  74. ^ "Automorph Technology: The Secret of the Movie Transformations?". Seibertron. 2007-01-26. Retrieved 2007-01-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  75. ^ Gail Schiller (2007-06-27). "Firing on all cylinders". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-06-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  79. ^ MTV (2007-06-04). "The MTV Movie Awards Winners!". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 2007-06-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  83. ^ "Transformers Movie Premiere to Help Change Kids' Lives" (subscription required). Business Wire. 2007-05-01. Retrieved 2007-05-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  86. ^ Dreamworks, Paramount Pictures (2007-07-11). "Transformers' Week One Records". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 2007-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  94. ^ Sean Fewster (2007-06-25). "The rule of robots begins". The Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-07-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  95. ^ Lisa Kennedy (2007-07-01). ""Transformers" toys with human emotions". Denver Post. Retrieved 2007-07-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  96. ^ Margaret Pomeranz. "Transformers". ABC. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
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  98. ^ Peter David (2007-07-07). "Car Toon". Self-published. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  99. ^ Kirk Honeycutt (2007-06-29). "Transformers: Sci-fi action that is both smart and funny". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-07-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  100. ^ Ian Nathan. "Transformers". Empire. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
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  102. ^ James Berardinelli. "Transformers". Reelviews. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
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  104. ^ Joshua Stames. "Transformers". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
  105. ^ Matt Arado (2007-07-02). "'Transformers' lacks substance". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2007-07-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  106. ^ Tom Charity (2007-07-04). "Dim 'Transformers' thuds with action". CNN. Retrieved 2007-07-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  107. ^ Dave West (2007-05-30). "Two 'Transformers' sequels in pipeline". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2007-06-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  108. ^ Rebecca Murray. "Shia LeBeouf interview - Transformers the Movie and Michael Bay". About. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  109. ^ Brian Jacks (2007-05-18). "Megan Fox Confirmed For 'Transformers' Sequel". MTV. Retrieved 2007-05-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  110. ^ Patrick Kolan (2007-06-13). "Transformers Roundtable with Michael Bay". IGN. Retrieved 2007-06-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  111. ^ Anthony Breznican (2007-07-12). "Fan buzz: Flesh out those 'bots". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-07-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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