Saying that Transformers (2007) is the best of the franchise would be a completely accurate statement. Of course, the film takes its liberties with bits and pieces of Transformers lore to create a film that works in live action for fans of all ages, but it also taps into something special: the marrying of the real with the fantastical. Yes, in a film regarding giant space robots that can disguise themselves as cars, “the real world” is the last thing most people want to see. And yes, this film does a get a bad rap for failing to show the main Autobot cast until about an hour into the film; but that is almost what makes this film work as well as it does, despite it simultaneously being the worst part of every sequel connected in some way, shape, or form to this franchise.
Transformers (2007) smartly starts off with a quick introduction to the world of the Autobots and the Decepticons. Immediately, you can tell that the filmmakers wanted to dumb down a lot of the lore, especially as the narrator reveals that the McGuffin here is simply called “the cube.” But this simplicity is what makes the first hour or so work as well as it does. The film quickly introduces three groups of characters which form a basis for the different aspects of the film: the teenagers, the soldiers, and the analysts. The first hour or so features scenes that skip around through each of these character’s activities, which on paper sounds like it would be very confusing and cumbersome; however, it actually helps round out the narrative.
The plot, simply put, features the Decepticons trying to locate the All Spark (the cube), learning that Sam’s great great grandfather, Archibald had accidentally stumbled upon it many years prior, leaving an imprinted map on his glasses which are now in Sam’s possession. This turns into a game of cat and mouse which makes the three narratives work all the better. Instead of the movie just being one long chase, the film showcases the different groups learning about the Decepticons through various means. For the soldiers, it is via a direct attack, which leaves them stranded and fighting in a small Middle Eastern town before backup arrives. But for the analysts, they take a scientific approach while investigating the signal that the Decepticon’s broadcasted while trying to hack into the U.S military network. This all creates a sense of tension that otherwise would have been nonexistent.
Now, a huge point to mention here is that this film is very far from perfect. The reasons this film works well almost completely cancel out with the reasons that the film doesn’t work. The main detractor here is the weird infusion of humor. An excellent example of this is early on in the film when Sam and his father go car shipping. For some reason, the filmmakers decided to make the car dealership owner a caricature of a salesman. He bumbles across the screen, making very unfunny jokes, leading up to the climax of the scene where Sam buys the car. Yes, that car ends up being Bumblebee, which is where it goes off the rails even more. Initially, Bumblebee does some small tricks, such as slamming his door open to make the salesman freak out and sell the car. This is all in the realm of fun until Bumblebee decides to make all of the windows in the lot explode, forcing the salesman to sell him to Sam. This took a running gag with a caricature into a realm of “what in the world am I watching?” In an effort to have one final punchline on this unnecessary joke, the filmmakers initiate an action on the screen that is so out of the realm of possibility, while simultaneously making none of the characters question it. Scenes like this exist throughout the whole movie and truly take away from the slow build and eventual nonstop action and just make it murky.
But back to the good stuff. After the three groups kind of start figuring out the same information, the film enters its second act: the arrival of the Autobots. In all their glory, Optimus Prime and company descend from stars, turning this film into what feels like a formal Transformers picture. Taking a step back for a moment, was all of this buildup really worth it? From a narrative and story perspective, yes and yes. These characters all freak out and are bewildered by the appearance of one or two Transformers, so several more showing up really would make for some shock and awe. In this vein, for the perspective of the viewer as well, this scene feels like it was worth waiting for and comes across as one of the most memorable parts of any film in the entire franchise.
With the arrival of all these characters, another aspect of the film that has to be discussed are the VFX. For a film that came out in 2007, the VFX still stand up today as some of the best looking in films. This is done in many parts to the filmmakers’ decision to put a very contrast heavy grain over the film. Nowadays, this kind of strategy is looked down upon, but here it really works, especially with the limited technology available in 2007. Additionally, while the Transformers are portrayed all in VFX, the settings are all practical, for the most part. All of this really makes for a great looking film that stands the test of time.
The majority of the second act in this film is unfortunately exposition. When the Autobots first land, they proceed to explain the whole plot to Sam, this time recontextualizing the opening scene with more canon specific terms. This carries over to the other plot lines where the characters seem to just make discoveries and share them with other people mixed with that humor that was mentioned before. This definitely is the weakest segment in the film but it does make waves in terms of setting up the final plot and final action of the film.
As the three plot lines coalesce, the film starts to reveal more about Autobots as characters, especially how they interact with one another. This kind of interplay seems to be kind of a waste of time at first, but you have to remember that up until now, the Autobots have not been in the film. The fact that the film is able to introduce these characters an hour after the film starts and still somehow makes them well rounded characters is a testament to the way that this film flows and functions.
As the film gets into its third act, quite a lot seems to coalesce. One of the biggest detriments to the time focused on the setup of the human protagonists and then the Autobots is the smaller amount of focus given to the Decepticons. This means that a very multifaceted villain like Megatron really only gets enough time on screen to paint himself as one note. That being said, for an introductory film to this franchise, and one that was groundbreaking in so many ways, the fact that the film is able to introduce all these elements is fairly astounding. Additionally, the simplicity of the plot revolving around one McGuffin and then another is made all the more realized by how much the filmmakers are able to do.
Before getting into the final act, one huge part of this film needs to be mentioned, the score. Steve Jablonsky’s score for this film may actually be the best part of the movie, standing up right against some of the greats like The Lord of the Rings and Gladiator. Jablonsky brings a true sense of scale to the events of the movie, with the dramatic themes and powerful sound making even the exposition heavy scenes feel more epic than possible. If you take anything away from this film let it be the soundtrack on replay, it’s worth it.
The final battle of the film is as action heavy as you would expect, with all of the VFX making a powerful showing as the Autobots fight the Decepticons and battle it out in Mission City. This is the kind of action that the film sets up wonderfully, coalescing in what some viewers have described as “an indiscernible mass of VFX:” however it truly does present itself as a marvel in comparison to anything else coming out in 2007. Nonetheless, the film concludes in a very satisfactory manner, with the hopeful note that is to come as Optimus Prime invites all remaining Autobots to Earth in what unfortunately turns into one of the worst expanded franchises of all time.