Transformers is an unusual brand in modern IP-driven Hollywood. It occupies a perfect level of popularity that will guarantee its survival through thick and thin, but it’s not so iconic that it can compete with Marvel or Star Wars. Its closest stablemate is probably the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Like that classic franchise, animated series keep the fans happy while hit-or-miss movies flummox the wider public. Like Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears’ recent Mutant Mayhem, Transformers One might be the ideal new frontier for the long-suffering franchise.
Paramount Pictures owns the film rights to Transformers, just as they do for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Their relationship with the brand has been questionable. Paramount saw success with several Transformers films, eventually prompting them to assemble a writers’ room to propagate new projects. Someone finally suggested Transformers One, a film fans have been requesting for years.
Live-Action Transformers Movies Struggle
|
Film |
Transformers |
Revenge of the Fallen |
Dark of the Moon |
Age of Extinction |
The Last Knight |
Bumblebee |
Rise of the Beasts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Budget |
$150-200 Million |
$200-210 Million |
$195 Million |
$210 Million |
$217-260 Million |
$102-135 Million |
$195-200 Million |
|
Box Office |
$709.7 Million |
$836.5 Million |
$1.124 Billion |
$1.104 Billion |
$605.4 Million |
$468 Million |
$439 Million |
|
RT Score |
57% |
20% |
35% |
17% |
16% |
91% |
52% |
The Transformers movies occupied an important position in Hollywood for almost a decade. Over ten years and five films, no viewer, critic, or cultural commentator could easily pull the shorthand example of the current “Worst Film Ever.” Was the never-ending condemnation somewhat hyperbolic? Barely. A glance at any screenshot from the first five entries reveals failure on every level. The films are truly insufferable. The lowest bar for success would be mindless action fun, but every visual element of this franchise looks like a cataclysmic mess of overdesigned garbage. It’s like watching sped-up footage of cars being crushed in a junkyard. Above the awful action, Transformers delivers the worst writing, character arcs, storytelling, and comedy in the business. There’s nothing they do well, aside from raking in cash from half-interested 11-year-olds and their parents. It’s a suitable punching bag that has only recently attained moderate levels of success.
Bumblebee was the first live-action Transformers movie without Michael Bay in the director’s chair. It was rewarded for its new talent with a shower of money and mild critical approval. It’s a fun 80s-inspired action movie without any of the overwhelming baggage that dragged down the first five entries. Unfortunately, its follow-up, Rise of the Beasts, reinstituted many of its predecessor’s problems. Paramount has produced seven live-action Transformers films over the last 16 years. In total, the films cost around $1.4 billion to make and raked in $5.286 billion at the box office. That rousing success guarantees future outings, but the studio has seen diminishing returns. Rise of the Beasts was the lowest-grossing entry in the franchise, falling short of its break-even point. This fortuitous failure will push Paramount to try new things. Transformers One could be its savior.
Transformers One Is a Return to Form
Transformers One will be the first animated feature from the franchise since 1986. The media empire built its foundation through cartoons in the 1980s and stayed alive through non-stop animated series that run on several channels to the modern day. Though the live-action adaptations may be the most iconic versions of these characters, almost every fan will name an animated example as their favorite. It’s always been celebrated for its cartoons, without which the films wouldn’t exist. The first film adaptation was The Transformers: The Movie, released in 1986. Though viewed as a classic today, The Transformers: The Movie struggled at the box office and earned puzzled reviews from critics. Modern animation enjoys a very different cultural position. Transformers One will enjoy the benefit of its 1986 predecessor’s reevaluation and the modern audience’s desire for animated action projects.
Transformers One Will Depict Long-Requested Parts of the Franchise
When trailers for Bumblebee dropped, fans delighted in the brief depictions of war on Cybertron. The battle for the Transformers’ home planet remains a critical piece of backstory without ever appearing in the live-action films. Fans love the epic conflict for several reasons. Much of the best media in the franchise depicts that era, including the War for Cybertron video game and several recent novels. It also eschews the human characters that are often the target of widespread hatred. Far from the pop-culture references, terrible jokes, subpar acting, and dull, gray action set pieces, Transformers One allows the franchise’s science fiction elements to stand out.
Transformers One seems like a godsend for the long-suffering Transformers fan. Every entry layers its script with a few oblique references for cheap fanservice, but simply slapping a familiar name on an unrelated MacGuffin or bringing back more obscure machines can’t work forever. Rise of the Beasts demonstrates the losing strategy by dredging up the big names from Beast Wars for an uncaring crowd. Instead of packing a terrible film with callbacks or cameos, Transformers One can appeal to fans by putting the franchise’s best moments on the big screen in a glorious new form. There’s no guarantee of quality, even without Michael Bay’s direct involvement, but Transformers One suggests a newfound understanding of what fans love about the Robots in Disguise.
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