Admittedly, even the beloved ’80s TV series was worthy of those complaints, but it also held a magical charm. And, of course, the Autobots and Decepticons can’t all be fully interchangeable if there have been a few who have become icons. So are the only good Transformers movies the one that stuck to the vibe of that TV series? Let’s find out.
9) Transformers: The Last Knight
image courtesy of paramount pictures
The previous movie may have shown that Michael Bay was past his prime with these movies and didn’t even seem to be having any fun with them anymore, but Transformers: The Last Knightmanages to be even worse. It’s hard to imagine a movie with hundreds of millions of dollars of gloss on them that have been this mind-numbingly boring to sit through.
There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done before. The only remotely novel thing it does to move the franchise forward is have Optimus Prime switch sides for a bit. And, as was also seen in The Fate of the Furious, having a protagonist become a pseudo villain for a single installment isn’t enough to make for a worthwhile installment. The Last Knight even manages to make Anthony Hopkins look bad. On the upside, at least it helped put Isabela Merced on the map.
Stream Transformers: The Last Knight on Paramount+.
8) Transformers: Age of Extinction
image courtesy of paramount pictures
To say Transformers: Age of Extinctionis better than The Last Knight is only to say it’s a hair better. It, too, is a total slog, but at least it has the Dinobots in the third act.
Then again, Age of Extinction‘s idea of being a reboot is basically just darkening the overall color tone, swapping a Shia LaBeouf character for a similarly irritating Mark Wahlberg character, and adding a truly baffling subplot where Tessa, the daughter of Wahlberg’s Cade Yeager, is a minor dating an older man. There was no reason to include that, just like how Age of Extinction as a whole makes the case that there was no reason to make a fourth Transformers movie.
Stream Transformers: Age of Extinction on Netflix.
But the rushed production can’t be held fully to blame, as it still is as representative of Bay’s worst tendencies as Bad Boys II. Most notably, horrible racist stereotypes. There’s a reason Skids and Mudflap never came back. Revenge of the Fallen was a major hit in the summer of 2009, but it also did some damage to the franchise’s future financial viability.
Stream Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Netflix.
6) Transformers
image courtesy of paramount pictures
Many look at Bay’s first Transformers movie as the best Bay Transformers movie, and it did do a lot when it came to bringing the IP to an audience outside the core fanbase, but it was also the one that started the franchise’s preference for inscrutable battle scenes over remotely well drawn characters. And, as far as action sequence incoherence, the original Transformers may very well be the guiltiest of the Bay bunch.
Even still, it’s fun to watch Sam Witwicky learn of the Autobots and bond with Bumblebee. Plus, it couldn’t have been wiser to bring back Peter Cullen as Optimus, and when he delivers his first line you do feel like you’re watching something special. All due credit to Transformers for turning a then-niche product into an A-list franchise, but Bay would end up outdoing himself, though not by much.
Stream Transformers on Netflix.
5) Transformers: Dark of the Moon
image courtesy of paramount pictures
Transformers: Dark of the Moon‘s placement this high is bound to be controversial. And so be it, as this is still the best of the Bay Transformers movies, even if it still shares some of the flaws seen in his other Autobot adventures. At the very least it’s a marked improvement over Revenge of the Fallen, with racist stereotypes dialed way back if not entirely eliminated and action that manages to actually be relatively coherent.
And, speaking of the action, this is really where Dark of the Moon stands above its peers. The entire third act is as intense and enthralling as the final battle of The Avengers, enhanced by some underrated cinematography and the phenomenal squirrel jumpers scene. Plus, Leonard Nimoy plays the main villain, Sentinel Prime, making Dark of the Moon one of his final film performances. Toss in Buzz Aldrin playing himself and game supporting performances from Alan Tudyk, Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, and, especially, John Malkovich, and it’s better than any third Bay Transformers movie has any right to be, even if it’s still quite short of being high art.
Stream Transformers: Dark of the Moon on Netflix.
4) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
image courtesy of paramount pictures
Like Bumblebee, Transformers: Rise of the Beastsunderstood what made the unique spirit of the TV series click with fans, and the result is a Transformers movie the Autobots deserved. It even has some charming human characters. Though, again, it doesn’t reach the highs of Bumblebee in that regard, either, even if Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback make for more compelling leads than either LaBeouf or Wahlberg.
As with most of the other movies, the plot is mostly forgettable, but at least the big robots finally feel like they have individual personalities in live action. Plus, it brought in the Maximals, which helps differentiate this reboot from the five Bay movies even further.
Stream Transformers: Rise of the Beasts on Netflix.
The best example of the character-focused direction remains in Bumblebee, but kudos to Transformers One for bothering to flesh out the complex dynamic between Optimus Prime and Megatron. We now see them as more than Good Robot and Bad Robot. If Transformers One had a single goal, that would be it, and it pulls it off thanks to an above-average script and solid vocal performances from Chris Hemsworth and, especially, Brian Tyree Henry.
Stream Transformers One on Prime Video.
2) The Transformers: The Movie
image courtesy of de laurentiis entertainment group
On one hand, The Transformers: The Movieis the very representation of a cynical cash grab. It’s not so much a movie as much as its a mandated project meant to kill off the line of currently popular toys so a new line of hopefully popular toys can be marketed to the fans of the TV series (the movie takes place between the second and third seasons of said series).
But a funny thing happened because of that kill ’em off mandate: a movie that felt like it had real stakes was born. And, while the animation is very ’80s, which can prove alienating to modern viewers, it also gives the movie a specific retro appeal, especially to those who grew up with both it and the show. And, as for how many people saw it in theaters back in ’86, the answer is actually not many. As soon as word of mouth started to spread that Optimus Prime dies in his pals’ arms 25 minutes in, horrifying the children in the audience, the movie died a swift death at the box office.
1) Bumblebee
image courtesy of paramount pictures
It took nine tries, but there was finally a Transformers movie with a heart and, unsurprisingly, a big part of that was getting rid of most of the Transformers. Instead, we focus on one of the fan favorites and his interactions with a human. Respectively, Bumblebee and Hailee Steinfeld’s Charlie.
On top of well-drawn human characters (including a very believable family dynamic), Bumblebeealso benefits from redesigned Autobots and Decepticons, which harken back to the beloved animated series, and a sense of humor that isn’t reliant on sexism or racism. It’s surprising the franchise is looking to bring back Bay, because it was Travis Knight who knew how to how to make this franchise really work on the big screen in a way that holds up on repeat viewings.
