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
Patrick Mulderrig	...	Ranger Team

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:

supervillain | evil alien robot | uh 60 blackhawk helicopter | first part | 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:

Transformers: The Movie 2

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

Gross USA:

$319,246,193

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 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, during the designing of the Transformers, as a test, Optimus Prime was first designed in CGI in his classic boxy look from The Transformers (1984), but he looked fake and boring. So the robots were designed in a more intricate, three-dimensional image, to be more realistic and to reflect their alien origins. The major influences in these designs were real-world physics (each robot matches the size of its chosen disguise), the Rubik's Cube (numerous pieces moving to convert one thing to another) and samurai armor (going back to the toyline's Japanese origins).

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Goofs

When the base in Qatar is attacked; one shot shows a crew member and a cameraman toward the left side of the screen.

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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

The DreamWorks and Paramount logos are accompanied by a series of robotic sounds.

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Alternate Versions

The full screen version shown on TV adds two additional cuts to the scene where Scorponok knocks over a water tower in the desert. After the tower is knocked down, Donnelly ('Zack Ward') asks what happened, it cuts to Fig (Amaury Nolasco) who responds in Spanish, then cuts back again to Donnelly. This was most likely done because both actors are visible in the shot in wide screen, but in full screen Fig is not visible.

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Connections

Referenced in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)

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Soundtracks

Doomsday Clock
Written by Billy Corgan
Performed by Smashing Pumpkins
Courtesy of Reprise Records
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Solid Popcorn entertainment

No, it is not a smart movie, or a well written one, but this movie certainly has it's goods, and one can hardly deny it is fairly entertaining.

The goods were pretty obvious. Stunning visuals, brilliant editing, mind-blowing set pieces, say about mister Bay what you will, he has always had an eye for the visual. And this is an absolute plus to all his work, basically. But we can also state that Bay's previous work, with a few exception, was nonetheless fairly disappointing. Transformers went further than just the visual shebang.

The movie had a good sense of humor too. It was clear that everyone knew that one can hardly take a few car robots seriously, and so no one didn't. Which is a good thing. It made the movie one hell of a lot funnier. The actor's were cool too. Shia LaBouf is a great lead role, John Turturro, John Voight, Anthony Anders and others had really cool side roles, and they made the movie worthwhile.

The only downs were the ridiculousness that often crawled onto the screen, of course fault to the slightly preposterous script. Usually I cringe with issues like these, but aforementioned points somehow made the movie awfully amusing. A great watch, especially in the cinemas, but maybe somewhat less entertaining to watch on a TV. be warned