Since the late 1990s, we have been living in an era of films focused on intellectual property. From Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films to Batman Begins and Independence Day, there are a lot of genre films that are important. The original Transformers movie is probably one of the films that should get that status.
The film, which was directed by Michael Bay and starred Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox, became the fifth highest-grossing film of 2007, raking in over $700 million. This movie was a huge deal for its time, and its marketing reflected that. In 70 countries, the film was promoted by 200 companies, and Bay directed tie-in commercials for Burger King, GM, and the like. They wanted this film to be a hit so much that they created a massive franchise that spawned lots of toys, tie-in games, and so on. There were plans for a Transformers cinematic universe.
Even though it is more of a backhanded compliment, the film is still considered to be an icon. The first Transformers and its sequel have become an example of what can go wrong when adapting popular intellectual property. It's barely interested in the mythology of its source material or the characters that the camera's pointing at, and they're rife with enough product placement to make you wish you could install an ad blocker into your eyes. Bay uses the Autobots and Decepticons as a way to create solidly done action and chase scenes that more often than not involve the military, which he has never failed in his career to make look beautiful. The films were so hated because there wasn't any way to escape them. Bay's version of the Transformers was the only experience fans had with the property outside of the movies. The question of 'Why is this still going?!' was directed mostly at the Transformers, which made absurd amounts of money despite mediocre reviews.
Bay's first film was influential. If it weren't for the success of the original movie, we probably wouldn't have had other toy movies and shows. All of them were trying to get in on the pie that the Robots in Disguise started baking. Without the Transformers movies and their determination to focus on spectacle over substance, would there be so many action films? It's likely that it won't.
The original film is a solid one, with more restraint than its successors. There was a nice balance between character driven heart and flashy nostalgia spectacle in the movie. It is the only film that broke the Transformers trend and was directed by a man, not a man. Seeing these films in theaters with friends makes them more enjoyable, and they are good enough time to sit through at home. The third act of Dark of the Moon and Age of Extinction are some of the best in the series.
There is something fascinatingly crazy about the lore they have built on their own throughout the films. I still have questions about the friendship between the Transformers and Tubman. This is a thing that can happen. Even if a scene or moment in one of these films is cringeworthy, there is likely something in one or more of these films that you somehow have remembered. You probably remember those racist Autobots from the second movie.
Happy Birthday to Transformers. You aren't a good franchise if you don't include parts of the other movies. You are important, in your own way, not only because of the soundtracks you have, but also because of the range of rock artists that went above and beyond. Tell us in the comments how good those soundtracks are, and what you think of the films themselves, and if your opinion has changed over time.
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