Transformers (2007)

An ancient struggle between two Cybertronian races, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, comes to Earth, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a teenager.

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers:

Roberto Orci (screenplay), Alex Kurtzman (screenplay)

Stars:

Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 20 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shia LaBeouf	...	Sam Witwicky
Megan Fox	...	Mikaela Banes
Josh Duhamel	...	Captain Lennox
Tyrese Gibson	...	USAF Tech Sergeant Epps
Rachael Taylor	...	Maggie Madsen
Anthony Anderson	...	Glen Whitmann
Jon Voight	...	Defense Secretary John Keller
John Turturro	...	Agent Simmons
Michael O'Neill	...	Tom Banacheck
Kevin Dunn	...	Ron Witwicky
Julie White	...	Judy Witwicky
Amaury Nolasco	...	ACWO Jorge "Fig" Figueroa
Zack Ward	...	First Sergeant Donnelly
Luis Echagarruga	...	Ranger Team
Travis Van Winkle	...	Trent DeMarco

Storyline

A long time ago, far away on the planet of Cybertron, a war is being waged between the noble Autobots (led by the wise Optimus Prime) and the devious Decepticons (commanded by the dreaded Megatron) for control over the Allspark, a mystical talisman that would grant unlimited power to whoever possesses it. The Autobots managed to smuggle the Allspark off the planet, but Megatron blasts off in search of it. He eventually tracks it to the planet of Earth (circa 1850), but his reckless desire for power sends him right into the Arctic Ocean, and the sheer cold forces him into a paralyzed state. His body is later found by Captain Archibald Witwicky, but before going into a comatose state Megatron uses the last of his energy to engrave into the Captain's glasses a map showing the location of the Allspark, and to send a transmission to Cybertron. Megatron is then carried away aboard the Captain's ship. A century later, Captain Witwicky's grandson Sam Witwicky (nicknamed Spike by his friends) ...

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Plot Keywords:

english subtitles | first part | panasonic | burger king | hdtv | 

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Taglines:

This July, our world will be transformed.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor, and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Paramount [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

3 July 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prime Directive

Filming Locations:

Cesar E Chavez Avenue Viaduct, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$70,502,384, 8 July 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$319,071,806

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$709,709,780

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks,Paramount Pictures,Hasbro

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During filming, Mark Ryan acted as a stand-in for the Transformers on-set, to give the actors a physical presence, to which to react, and against whom to act. He also ad-libbed characters during the film's post-production. He was eventually taken on-board to voice Bumblebee.

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Goofs

When Sam is running from Barricade and hits Mikaela who is riding a moped they fall on the ground and the moped is clearly visible laying next to them on the ground. In the next shot they zoom out and the moped is nowhere to be seen.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Optimus Prime: Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war. A war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space. We scattered across the galaxy, hoping to find it and rebuild our home. ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

SPOILER: There are three scenes in the closing credits:

• the first two scenes are of Ron and Judy Witwicky, who were told about the Transformers, trying to bluff their way through an interview about the recent alien events.
• The third and final scene is of Starscream flying into space.

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Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: Today You Are a Man (2012)

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Soundtracks

Ain't No Game
Written by Ali Dee (as Ali Theodore) & Zach Danziger
Performed by Basko
Courtesy of Deetown Entertainment

User Reviews

Great visual and sound effects, lots of humour and a lot of flaws.

Transformers is a very mixed bag. There are great things about it and there are some not-so-great things about it...

The good:

• The visual effects. Perhaps the best special effects I've ever seen in a movie. The transformations are amazing not to mention super-awesome. The CGI fits in seamlessly with the live action and it's easy to forget how logistically difficult a lot of it would have been to film.

• The sound design. The sound effects complement the action perfectly making everything twice as exciting. Probably less acknowledged is the alien atmosphere created by some of the score which heightens the tension very effectively and probably without the majority of the audience noticing.

• Shia LeBeouf. Without him the movie wouldn't be nearly as engaging. He has natural comic timing and is probably second to none in expressing disbelief of the "holy crap, there's a giant alien robot transforming in front of me" variety.

• The humour. Transformers is funnier than most good comedies which I was not expecting in the least. The transformers themselves are often funnier than they are impressive.

• The Decepticons. Man are they cool. The opening scene is particularly kick-arse.

The bad:

• Megan Fox. If hot means "can't act and doesn't weigh much" then yes, she's very hot. It's not a good sign if you want one of the main characters to die or at least get out of the way and stop trying to act. Her performance just seemed very shallow and probably wasn't helped by her dialogue.

• The script. Although the overall storyline is good, some of the dialogue is terrible. Too much of the film is spent on mumbo jumbo technical explanations the audience just doesn't care about. The less serious parts of the script work very well though.

• Michael Bay. Although some of the action scenes are very well put together and the humorous parts are timed very well, Bay can't help but ruin some of the scenes with unnecessarily flashy editing and over the top drama accompanied by none-too-subtle dramatic music. It's not that Michael Bay's style is too loud, it's that it's too clichéd.

• The music. Nothing new here (other than the alien sounding parts). Practically rips of Batman Begins and is otherwise forgettable. The music should enhance the film by bringing out interesting themes or emotions, not force feeding us the drama we can plainly see on the screen in super slow motion.

The ugly:

• Megatron. He's ugly. And super cool.

So, my verdict? The good outweighs the bad pretty comfortably. If you took out the bad you might even have a classic on your hands. Instead you get revolutionary action scenes and some great comedy with Michael Bay's unique brand of mediocre directing sprinkled throughout.