I’ve always been a fan of the Transformers franchise since I was a kid, but if I’m being honest, the only live action movie I’ve truly loved was Bumblebee. As for the rest of the movies, I don’t care for them that much. If Michael Bay is not focusing on the female leads, he’s busy making things explode in the streets or ignoring the story as a whole. However, after a time of thinking, I’ve come to appreciate certain aspects of these films, such as Optimus’ speeches or the animated transformations of the characters. However, while this does not change my overall opinion of the movies, it does encourage me to voice the good as well as the bad. 

Pro #1: The Transforming Transformers

Sure, we all know the transformers can . . . well . . . transform into vehicles and back into robots (it’s in their name, after all), but I feel like it often goes underrated how insane that ability is. How does it all work? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Thankfully, the live action movies show us the answers to most of these questions and then some. 

In some scenes, we see both sides of the transformers scan vehicles and reshape their bodies or vehicle modes accordingly, but that’s not the most interesting part. Rather, it’s seeing the vehicles break apart and reform itself, every single part and gear whirring and readjusting to create the fighting machines we know and love. Of course, the same goes for when it all comes back together to form these shiny, battle-ready vehicles for the chase scenes. I personally find it all so satisfying hearing all the sounds and watching all the parts do their jobs, while also trying to keep up with the speed of each transformation to see how it all works. 

Now, I don’t know anything about computers or animation, but I have to wonder how even the experts of this field were able to add so much detail into them. The Autobots and Decepticons not only look realistic, but even their normal behaviors seem like a challenge to animate with all of those individual parts. Therefore, it truly astounds me when I think about all of those fight scenes and wonder how much more of a challenge that must’ve been for the animators. After all, I heard that the final design of Devastator severely damaged their computers, and yet they were still able to pull off a fan-favorite Decepticon. 

Con #1: The Abysmal Story/Timeline

Unfortunately, these inspiring transformations don’t make up for the chaotic mess of the overall timeline. Certain events in the story are either retconned or mixed up, making the whole franchise unnecessarily difficult to comprehend and enjoy. For example, in the first movie, Optimus tells the audience that the beginning of their existence began with the AllSpark. However, in Age of Extinction, it’s revealed that the Creators of their race used cyber/terraforming seeds to do the job. The worst part is we never get a satisfying explanation for this retcon, like did the Creators switch from the seeds to the AllSpark? Did they even create the AllSpark? Why have we never heard of them until now? What happened to the rest of them? These questions, and many more, remain unanswered.

Somehow, it gets even worse when you consider the plots of each film. More specifically, how the Decepticons always just happen to have a brand new doomsday-level weapon or plan that would destroy Earth but save Cybertron. First it was the AllSpark, then the Star Harvester, the Space Bridge, the Seeds, and finally Quintessa’s staff. While it’s normal for franchises to elaborate and expand on their established lore, the way these movies do it seem more abrupt with little to no connection to the previous movie (with the exception of the AllSpark leading to the Harvester). The Decepticons may just be discovering or rediscovering these threats, but it’s almost as if they’re improvising as they go, rather than actually making a complete and long-term plan. 

Pro #2: The Fight Scenes

But, if you’re more into giant robots duking it out rather than established lore, you’ve picked the perfect movies for it! Like I said, it’s honestly incredible how the animators managed to not only make these titanous beings but also making them fight in astonishing ways. The fight choreography is very impressive, as the transformers flip over each other or skate through roads to pummel their opponents to scrap metal. For instance, in Dark of the Moon, fans will smile at the memory of Sideswipe weaving his way through traffic and Decepticon fire by use of his wheeled feet, right before making clean cuts through their torsos or necks. “Darn I’m good,” indeed!

What’s especially amazing, though, is whenever they focus more on the 1v1 brawls between two characters. Nine times out of ten, it’s usually Optimus Prime fighting Megatron or Sentinel or whoever else threatens the Earth. Optimus’ many years of war and leadership are reflected in the way he dodges hits, rolls with the ones that land, and how he mercilessly finishes them off. Even when our favorite Autobot faces impossible odds, such as the time where Sentinel hacked off his arm, Optimus would not back down and proceed to rip Megatron’s head off before shooting Sentinel in the head. 

Con #2: Also The Fight Scenes

However, just as there are upsides to these fight scenes, there are just as many downsides. First, let’s get the most obvious one out of the way: explosions, explosions, and even more explosions. Of course, if you’re gonna have a fight between two or more armed giant robots, something is bound to blow up. But, does something have to blow up every five minutes? Throughout every single fight in these movies, it’s almost like eighty to ninety percent of them consist of fiery explosions to the point where it’s overdone and unnecessary. Not only is it unnecessary, but having that many explosions occur so consistently will get old real quick.

In addition, while the fast pace of these fights are incredible, it can still be a problem. With the camera constantly shaking, panning over the environment, or changing points of view, it becomes much harder to keep up with the action. It also doesn’t help that the overall designs of the Transformers either blend into the background, or their facial features are barely visible, making it harder to figure out who’s who and get a sense of the emotions in the battle. 

My biggest concern, though, is how brutal and over-the-top the Decepticons’ deaths are. I understand it’s a war and death on either side is inevitable, but do their faces need to get ripped in half or blown off for that? For example, in Revenge of the Fallen, Optimus was ambushed by Megatron, Starscream, and Grindor in a forest. Optimus was able to get on top of Grindor, dig his hooks into the doomed bot’s face, and rip it apart in two different directions. As another example, in a final confrontation with Soundwave in Dark of the Moon, Bumblebee thrust his fist into the Decepticon’s chest and shot straight through his head, blowing it off completely.

Seriously, a shot or stab to the chest would’ve been enough. I understand these are horrible, shameless bad guys, but even they don’t deserve deaths that graphic. 

Pro #3: Optimus Prime

Leader of the Autobots, last of the Primes, and the only reason I would be willing to rewatch all the Bay films and ignore all the cons in this article. Not only is his design awesome, not only are his fight scenes peak cinema, but the character is a major inspiration! Thanks to the combination of the wisdom from the Matrix of Leadership and also his many years of war, Optimus is like a walking book of proverbs with countless inspirational speeches or quotes. For example, in the show Transformers: Prime, he said: “Every sentient being deserves an opportunity for redemption. Without that hope, we may never achieve lasting peace.” Even when facing enemies we believe don’t deserve forgiveness, Optimus is always seeking a chance to redeem his adversaries, even Megatron on multiple occasions. The truck doesn’t stop there, though, because when he and the other Autobots were about to be exiled from Earth in Dark of the Moon, he doesn’t show a hint of resentment. Instead, he says a parting message to his old friend, Sam: “You may lose your faith in us, but never in yourselves!” Optimus didn’t even care about what anyone thought of him or his team, he only wanted to make sure the people he protected wouldn’t give up on themselves before leaving. 

However, these quotes, as well as the character itself, gains a much more significant meaning when you stop to consider the voice behind it: Peter Cullen. Not only is his voice acting iconic and (arguably) irreplaceable as Optimus, but the story behind finding that voice will make anyone tear up. In an interview, he once talked about telling his brother about auditioning for the part. The minute he says he’s playing a leader, his brother grows serious and tells him “if you’re gonna be a leader, be strong enough to be gentle.” That advice inspired Cullen to truly think about the character he auditioned for, all his years of struggle, and who Prime is as a whole, which led to the soothing but sorrowful voice we know and love today. 

Con #3: Countless Plot Holes, Inconsistencies, and Wasted Potential

Sometimes, I honestly wonder if the people behind these movies even paid attention to the lore or stories as they made these, because there are so many plot holes that just make me slap my forehead. For example, in Rise of the Beasts, we see a race of cybernetic transforming animals—known as the Maximals—use a device called the Transwarp Key to escape their destroyed homeworld. To keep it safe from Unicron, they split it in two and hide the pieces, but why do they even need to? Their planet is destroyed and they have nowhere else to go, so they literally have no reason to keep it. Had they destroyed it, the threat of Unicron would have either been significantly decreased or eliminated entirely. Instead, they make a decision that’s ultimately pointless and unnecessary. 

However, plot holes like these surprisingly aren’t as frustrating as knowing what the filmmakers robbed of us. Back in 2017, Paramount released a trailer where Optimus was found by his creator and brainwashed into basically turning evil. With the potential of a possibly central plot point, and the hype behind it, many fans were excited to finally see a new side of Optimus and how the other protagonists would handle it. However, to everyone’s collective disappointment, Nemesis Prime never even showed up until towards the end of the movie, where he turned good quickly after a short skirmish with Bumblebee. Nemesis Prime could’ve done so much more damage, possibly even lead the Decepticons in ways Megatron never could, but instead we get a disappointingly short cameo. 

Last, but definitely not least, we get to what I believe to be the most frustrating, inconsistent part of these movies: the resurrections. In most movies, especially if it’s sci-fi or fantasy, it’s normal to have at least one resurrection or fake-out death. Any more than that and you risk overdoing it, but apparently, no one told Michael Bay. Most of his characters either don’t stay dead or the rules of how they die get very convoluted, as they are killed but brought back multiple times without care. None is a better example of this than Megatron, who has been killed twice (three if it’s confirmed in The Last Knight) and brought back each time through some convenient means. Optimus Prime was also killed in Revenge of the Fallen and was not only brought back, but was also given additional parts from a former Decepticon to give him a Deus Ex Machina moment to save the day. While this could go on unnoticed if you think of them as giant robots, the fact remains that they’re not true robots, they’re robotic aliens but not fully robots. Yet, they are consistently treated as simple machines, ready to be destroyed and rebuilt over and over to the point where it’s just lazy writing. 

Conclusion

In summary, these movies still aren’t my favorite, and it still boils my blood when I think about the things I don’t like about them. However, reflecting on their more positive qualities helps me to expand my horizons, and I believe writing this article helped me remember that. If you agree or disagree with my opinions, that’s okay, as long as we can all still unite “’til all are one.”