For higher or worse, the Michael Bay Transformers movies outline a complete period of the franchise. Bay’s motion pictures helped usher within the new wave of blockbuster style movies alongside the Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Darkish Knight Trilogy; helped cement IMAX because the dominant premium theatrical expertise, and launched a complete new era to the lore and characters of Transformers. That mentioned, Bay’s run on Transformers was a really blended bag of excellent, unhealthy, and ugly outcomes – and that’s very evident within the vary of success (or not) Bay had with adapting iconic Transformers characters for the large display.
Movies by ComicBook.com
Beneath we break down among the largest character FAILS in Bay’s Transformers movies – whereas additionally giving him flowers for the characters he acquired proper.
Jazz – WRONG
One of many earliest and largest pink flags about Bay’s Transformers motion pictures was the character of Jazz. Within the G1 cartoon, Jazz was the loyal lieutenant of Optimus Prime and a standout character within the sequence, together with his Jazz-inspired improv type of fight, and the best way he walked, talked, and even showcased breakdance strikes with the swag of Nineteen Eighties city America.
It was surprising (on the time) to see Michael Bay take that iconic character and cut back him to an offensive hip-hop stereotype who was indiscernible in his character design, and clearly coded to be the “black” member of the Autobots squad. Issues solely acquired way more offensive when Jazz was the primary main member of the Autobots to be killed off within the first Transformers film, solely compounding the variety of offensive cliches at work.
The latest movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts tried to appropriate issues by making Pete Davidson’s Mirage a stand-in for Jazz, however the Bay model of the character solely appears worse with time.
Soundwave – WRONG
One other probably the most iconic characters from the unique Transformers G1 cartoon, Soundwave was really a number of Transformers in a single – to not point out one of many biggest toys the franchise ever produced.
True to his title, Soundwave eschewed a standard Transformers “automobile mode”; as an alternative, the Decepticon Communications Officer took the shape of a big tape deck, and his “mini-cassette” tapes have been every capable of remodel into their very own robotic infiltrators or fighters, together with the dog-like Ravage, bird-like Laserbeak, and piston-armed robotic, Rumble. The toy was among the best Transformers ever produced, with precise metallic bits and an precise tape deck within the robotic determine, with tapes that would remodel into the robotic spies Soundwave commanded.
Michael Bay’s Soundwave understandably needed to be up to date for the digital age of the 2000s, however having the enduring villain function an orbital satellite tv for pc spying on Earth was lame – and later making him right into a Mercedes automobile didn’t reserve it. Like so a lot of Bay’s Transformers characters, it was exhausting to tell apart his sharp-edged design from so many different Decepticon foes, which was against the law, contemplating how iconic Soundwave’s look was. Whereas Bay acquired some features of the character proper (like Ravage and Laserbeak), he even tousled simple bits, like mimicking Soundwave’s iconic voice.
The Dinobots – WRONG
The Dinobots are most likely the most important breakout successes of the second wave of G1 Transformers characters, combining two of younger boys’ favourite issues: robots and dinosaurs. Nonetheless, the unique Transformers cartoon sequence made Grimlock and his workforce of Dinobots (Slag, Sludge, Snarl, and Swoop) into rowdy anti-hero varieties, whose signature primitive dialect and intelligence have been as iconic as their robotic dinosaur varieties.
By the point the fourth film Transformers: Age of Extinction arrived, Michael Bay was clearly on artistic burnout. The movie used the Dinobots as the middle of its promotional marketing campaign, however followers acquired nothing however large disappointment when it got here time to ship. Bay’s model of the Dinobots have been senseless, colorless, brutes that by no means uttered a phrase of dialogue. Their complete function within the movie was a climactic rampage towards enemy forces, earlier than disappearing without end.
Worst of all: Bay didn’t even hassle to create precise dinosaur varieties for the Dinobots, as an alternative mixing Japanese mythology with organic historical past, ensuing within the Dinobots trying like legendary creatures as an alternative of dinosaurs. Yikes.
The Twins (Skid & Mudflap) – WRONG
Skids and Mudflap are two of essentially the most obscure Autobot characters on the market – which is perhaps why Michael Bay figured nobody would discover or care when he re-imagined them as “The Twins” Skids and Mudflap in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. However oh, we seen – and boy did we care!
Like Jazz, The Twins sparked main controversy for being coded to be offensive African-American caricatures. Highlights like proudly proclaiming illiteracy or sporting gold tooth made The Twins look like they simply walked off the set of a Cybertronian rap video. The backlash could have labored, as a result of Bay reduce the characters’ look from the subsequent movie, Darkish of the Moon.
Devastator – SO WRONG
This one hurts as a result of it’s a transparent case of Michael Bay snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. By and Co. did a high quality job adapting the person Development characters for the display in Revenge of the Fallen, and had followers hyped for a climax that promised to carry them collectively into the mixed type of “Devastator” in full IMAX glory. As one of many largest, baddest, and most iconic foes of Transformers, Devastator’s big-screen debut was a franchise milestone.
Sadly, Bay dropped the most important ball – actually. The ultimate design for the film model of Devastator is without doubt one of the worst in all of Transformers and the epitome of the insane quantity of over-thining the filmmaker did together with his model of Transformers. Certain, Bay’s Devastator displays the precise mechanical physics of all these development autos merging – however who the hell cares when the mixed type is such an eyesore? The digestive-cycle super-attack of sucking up all the things and pooping it out a flaming butt-mixer was absurd; turning a few wrecking balls into precise gigantic robotic testicles baffles the thoughts when you think about Industrial Gentle & Magic had computer systems really exploding making an attempt to render footage of these balls in full IMAX.
Bay’s Devastator is kind of presumably one the most important wastes of manufacturing effort, display time and display house ever put to movie.
Bumblebee – Proper
The unique G1 Bumblebee was a lovable (if not mouthy) sidekick character, however Bay’s Transformers movies remodeled him right into a bonafide display icon. By centering the story round “Bee’s” relationship with human Sam Witwicky (Shia Labeouf), Bay gave that first movie a sensible nostalgic mix of a boy owing his first automobile and his first pet. These core themes resonated with so many viewers and allowed them to bond with Bumblebee in an intimate method that’s in any other case not possible for a large GGI robotic character.
Bumblebee would solely get extra badass and hilarious because the franchise went on – which is why Paramount neatly gave him the smooth reboot/prequel shot of his solo movie. Now Bumblebee is without doubt one of the main faces of the Transformers franchise, and the non-verbal twist on the character Bay launched has each turn out to be synonymous with Bumblebee (even within the newer movies) and is without doubt one of the kinder-coded representations within the sequence. It additionally says one thing that Bay made such a breakthrough with a personality that avoids his normal decisions in dialogue.
Megatron – RIGHT
There’s a complete separate debate available in regards to the general design aesthetic of Bay’s Transformers movies, and the way a lot it deviates from the sequence’ G1 roots. Nonetheless, placing that debate apart: Megatron is greater than a glance, he’s a complete vibe, and Bay wanted to get the character proper. Because of an excellent vocal efficiency from Hugo Weaving (The Matrix Trilogy) film followers acquired the Megatron they deserved.
Megatron could characterize the one largest win Michael Bay achieved in presenting a brand new imaginative and prescient of Transformers. Regardless of retaining the identical confusingly spik and color-muted design aesthetic, Megatron was distinct sufficient to carry the display, and the change to make his automobile mode a speedy tank as an alternative of a pistol made sense within the context of the movie. Even with the modifications to the Decepticon chief, the true spirit of Megatron all the time confirmed by, making certain we had the right counter-balance to the most important presence on the Autobots’ facet…
Optimus Prime – SO RIGHT
They saved the character design G1-accurate (for essentially the most half). They saved him colourful. Most essential of all, they went out and tapped the one one who may correctly carry him to life onscreen: unique Transformers cartoon voice actor, Peter Cullen.
None of Michael Bay’s Transformers motion pictures would’ve labored if Optimus Prime had ever been achieved incorrect. The truth that Bay was profitable in as soon as once more making Optimus Prime a generational icon – on a worldwide blockbuster scale – arguably redeems the rest he did incorrect on this listing – or with the Transformers franchise as a complete.
Each Transformers film is streaming on Paramount+
