8) Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)

In the fifth mainline live-action Transformers movie, Mark Wahlberg reprises the role of inventor Cade Yeager from Age of Extinction. A dying Transformer knight gives Yeager a talisman, and Yeager meets the eccentric British astronomer and historian Sir Edmund Burton (Anthony Hopkins), the last surviving member of a secret society that guards the Transformers’ hidden existence on Earth. Alongside Oxford professor Viviane Wembly (Laura Haddock), Cade is drawn into the fight to save the world from Unicron, a destructive planet-sized Transformer.

The Last Knight ended the mainline series of Transformers movies and marked Michael Bay’s final entry in the franchise as director. Until this point, the Transformers movies were seen as critic-proof, making big bucks at the box office despite negative reviews. Yet The Last Knight wound up losing Paramount Pictures an estimated US$100 million, with marketing and distribution costs factored in.

The plot gets so outrageous that it even involves the wizard Merlin (Stanley Tucci) — yes, that Merlin of folklore and legend — finding Transformers knights hiding on Earth who aid King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. That plot proved to be too convoluted for audiences to care, resulting in a flop.

7) Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)

This sequel to Dark of the Moon (see next entry) does a bit of a reset, jettisoning the main human characters from the preceding three movies. Age of Extinction features Texan inventor Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg), his daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), and Tessa’s boyfriend Shane (Jack Reynor), who get drawn into the Autobots vs Decepticons conflict when they unwittingly find a beat-up old truck that just happens to be Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) himself. Meanwhile, tech mogul Joshua Joyce (Stanley Tucci) attempts to manufacture Transformers of his own for the defence industry. Age of Extinction also introduces the fan-favourite Dinobots into the live-action movies.

Age of Extinction suffers from unlikeable characters, a convoluted plot (what’s new?), and extensive product placement, especially of Chinese brands. The movie was part of a wave of Hollywood movies that attempted to appeal to the Chinese market, but many felt it had gone too far — surely it doesn’t make sense for someone to be drinking Chinese energy drinks in Texas?

Worse still, Age of Extinction pads out its staggeringly long 165-minute running time with cacophonous, difficult-to-follow action sequences and can feel punishing rather than enjoyable to watch.

6) Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

In the third mainline live-action Transformers movie, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) leads the Autobots in their continuing struggle against the Decepticons, which are led by Megatron (Hugo Weaving). Sentinel Prime (Leonard Nimoy), Optimus’ predecessor as the leader of the Autobots, has been lying dormant on the moon, along with Pillars that can be used to create wormholes. These pillars could be the key to rebuilding the Transformers’ home world.

While Dark of the Moon is as bombastic as the other Bay-directed Transformers movies, it features what is arguably the franchise’s most intriguing premise: a revisionist concept that the entire space race between the US and the USSR was centred on a crashed Transformer spaceship on the moon.

The movie’s climactic action sequence, a gigantic battle in Chicago, is impressive but also visually incoherent, as Bay’s action sequences are inclined to be. Dark of the Moon also introduces a new love interest for Sam: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s Carly Spencer, an insubstantial character who only appears in this one movie. Elsewhere in the cast are John Malkovich and Frances McDormand, wasted in thankless roles.

5) Transformers (2007)

The live-action Transformers movies kick off here. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) is a teenager who has a family history connected to the Transformers. After Sam buys a used car that happens to be the Autobot Bumblebee, he and his girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox) find themselves ensnared in the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), want to find the AllSpark, an artefact that created the Transformers and is hidden somewhere on Earth. The Decepticons, led by Megatron (Hugo Weaving), want to use the AllSpark to build an army, commandeering all machines on Earth.

When it was released, Transformers wowed audiences with its cutting-edge visual effects and enormous spectacle. The storyline had yet to become an irretrievably tangled mess, and the lore had a coherence to it. For people of a certain generation, there was a thrill in seeing the Transformers come to life in a big-budget movie.

The story of a teen boy who dates Megan Fox and gets to be a crucial part of an adventure involving the military and alien robots is pure adolescent male wish fulfilment. The problems that would eventually plague the series, including crude, juvenile humour, and annoying characters, were already hinted at in this movie but had yet to completely overwhelm the franchise.

4) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)

The follow-up to Bumblebee does not directly continue its story but serves as part-sequel, part-reboot, taking the story from the ’80s to the ’90s. Set in 1994, the movie follows former military electronics expert Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) and aspiring archaeologist Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback). They uncover the secret of the Transwarp Key, a Cybertron artefact that can open portals in time and space, and they help the Autobots led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the Maximals led by Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman) retrieve the Key. The villainous Terrorcons, led by Scourge (Peter Dinklage), are also in search of the Key.

Rise of the Beasts takes inspiration from the Beast Wars sub-franchise, which introduced Transformers that turn into animal-like forms instead of vehicles. Rise of the Beasts is a serviceable blockbuster with plenty of action, but like the other movies in the franchise, it is often too reliant on CGI-heavy set pieces that might make audiences tune out. While Rise of the Beasts has a few touches of the sense of humour present in the Bay-directed movies, mostly courtesy of Mirage (Pete Davidson), it never feels overly crass and juvenile. The ancient conspiracy element of the plot is less convoluted than in the earlier movies. Ramos, best known for his roles in the musicals Hamilton and In the Heights, also acquits himself as an unlikely action hero.

3) The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

The first theatrically released Transformers movie is a spinoff of the original animated series The Transformers. Set in 2005, 20 years after the events of the show’s second season, the movie depicts a war between the Decepticons and the Autobots (yes, that seems to keep happening, but remember this was during the franchise’s early days).

The Decepticons, led by Megatron (Frank Welker), have overtaken the Autobots’ home planet of Cybertron. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen, who has apparently been voicing the character forever), seek refuge in Autobot City on Earth. The Decepticons hijack the Autobots’ spaceship with devastating results. While the Autobots are at their lowest point, they must also contend with the massive planet-eating Unicron (Orson Welles).

While The Transformers: The Movie earned mostly negative reviews when it was released, it has since become a beloved animated classic. It is widely remembered for a surprisingly dark and impactful character death, which scarred many ’80s kids (think Mufasa’s death in The Lion King).

The Transformers: The Movie also features the final performance from legendary actor and director Orson Welles, who’s best known for his monumental film, Citizen Kane. Some consider it ignominious, while others think it is fitting that a figure of such stature would voice a planet-sized entity. The movie’s rollicking soundtrack, prominently featuring Stan Bush’s stadium rock anthem “The Touch”, also has a lasting impact. (Fun fact: Mark Wahlberg would famously sing an off-key cover of the song in Boogie Nights, then later go on to star in two live-action Transformers movies.)

2) Transformers One (2024)

This animated prequel is the first Transformers movie to feature no human characters. Set entirely on the planet Cybertron, it tells the story of young mining robot Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth) and his best friend D-16 (Brian Tyree-Henry). They do not have cogs in their chests and thus cannot transform. Together with Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson) and B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key), they embark on an adventure and discover a shocking conspiracy. These events put Orion Pax on the path to becoming Optimus Prime and D-16 on the path to becoming his nemesis, Megatron.

The initial fan reaction to the Transformers One trailer was sceptical — it looked like the movie would rely too much on goofy humour, and it didn’t seem to push the franchise forward plot-wise. And, of course, any actor voicing Optimus Prime is bound to draw comparisons to Peter Cullen, who is considered the definitive voice actor for the character.

Upon its release, however, critics and fans alike took warmly to it. The consensus is that the movie is surprisingly layered, featuring a dramatic and even moving portrayal of how two best friends became sworn enemies.

Directed by Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4), the movie is also a visual feast, featuring eye-catching settings infused with an Art Deco sensibility. Its dynamic and fluid action sequences are much easier to follow than those in the Bay-directed live-action movies. As an origin story, Transformers One is both accessible for newcomers and packed with enough references to the existing lore to be rewarding for longtime fans.

1) Bumblebee (2018)

The Last Knight was followed with a prequel/reboot the next year that takes the franchise in a different direction than the increasingly convoluted Bay-directed movies. Set in 1987, the movie follows Bumblebee (Dylan O’Brien), the famous yellow Autobot that can’t speak but communicates through the radio.

He escapes from the planet Cybertron during a war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Finding himself in a junkyard in a small northern Californian town, he takes the form of a Volkswagen Beetle. Teenager Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) discovers and attempts to restore the car, soon realising that this is no ordinary automobile. She accidentally activates Bumblebee’s homing beacon, attracting the attention of the vicious Decepticons Shatter (Angela Bassett) and Dropkick (Justin Theroux).

Bumblebee is a major course correction for the live-action Transformers movies, bringing it back to the ‘a kid and their alien robot car friend’ basics that formed the backbone of the 2007 Transformers movie. Inspired by ’80s family adventure movies like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the movie is carried by a winning lead performance from Steinfeld. While it scales back the bombast of the Bay-directed movies, it is still impressive on the action front, opening with a jaw-dropping Cybertronian war sequence, which features some of the best CGI animation in the whole franchise.