The Best And The Worst Moments From The Transformers Film Franchise

The "Transformers" franchise has endured for decades, from its cartoon-and-toy origins in the mid-'80s to the blockbuster movie series launched by Michael Bay's live-action film in 2007. Time has certainly flown by. Despite the diminished commercial success over the wave of sequels that followed, the box office performance of "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" indicates that there's still an audience appetite for these beloved robots in disguise.

Still, with so many entries — many of them critical failures — it's easy to find moments that don't quite work. Whether it's the incessant screaming of Shia LaBeouf's character, the persistent misogyny surrounding Megan Fox, or Optimus Prime's perplexing violence, there are sequences in the "Transformers" films that leave viewers scratching their head or reeling in disappointment. But the movies were hits for a reason, and there are certainly moments of awesomeness that deserve recognition as well.

I've sifted through the hours of footage to find the particular stand-out moments — best and worst — from the eight feature-length "Transformers" films (including the 1986 animated movie). Let's roll out!

Michael Bay's third "Transformers" outing, "Dark of the Moon," is marginally better than its predecessor, "Revenge of the Fallen," but it still falls short of expectations. Bay continues to make missteps by pitting generic-looking robots against each other without much coordination. The human drama surrounding the action lacks depth, and the character of Sam Witwicky is reduced to an entitled jerk who throws tantrums when his new girlfriend's boss outshines him in every way.

Bay attempts to recreate the excitement of the iconic L.A. battle from the first movie, and occasionally succeeds in delivering impressive moments. However, he still portrays Optimus Prime as a psychotic murderer rather than a noble warrior. In one particular scene, the villainous Sentinel Prime holds Optimus at gunpoint, and Optimus pleads for his life. Surprisingly, Megatron intervenes to save Optimus and proposes a truce. Despite this act of mercy, Optimus seizes the opportunity to ruthlessly destroy Megatron while his back is turned.

This action beat presents an odd way for Optimus to "save the day." While killing Megatron may have been the right move, allowing the main protagonist to execute him in such a dishonorable manner is questionable. Especially considering Megatron had just saved Optimus' life moments before. There were certainly better alternatives, Bay!

"Transformers: The Movie," released in 1986, was highly anticipated by fans of the "Transformers" franchise. However, despite the initial excitement, the animated flick took a puzzling turn. The movie starts off promisingly enough, with the Autobots embarking on a mission to reclaim their home planet Cybertron from the Decepticons. But then, the kids who came to see their favorite toys battle on the big screen were hit with a dark and unexpected twist.

In a rather questionable decision, the filmmakers chose to kill off several beloved main characters, including Ironhide, Prowl, Ratchet, and Brawn, within the opening act. Even more shocking, both Optimus Prime and Megatron meet their demise, with Optimus passing on the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus. This bold move left fans (including myself as a young viewer) utterly disappointed.

Obviously, the purpose of this drastic story beat was to introduce a new generation of robots, effectively turning the animated film into a large-scale toy advertisement that lacked depth and soul. Despite an impressive voice cast featuring talents like Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, and Orson Welles, "Transformers: The Movie" ultimately made all the wrong moves, leaving fans frustrated.

"Revenge of the Fallen" presents a multitude of disjointed ideas throughout its excessively long runtime, all of which fail to form a cohesive whole. The result is a chaotic spectacle that both mesmerizes and frustrates in equal measure.

One of the film's peculiar choices revolves around the titular villain, the Fallen, a vindictive character biding his time in space until the opportune moment to strike. After Optimus Prime's demise, the Fallen initiates his assault on Earth, culminating in a colossal battle near the Egyptian pyramids. Fortunately, Sam acquires the Matrix of Leadership and resurrects Optimus, who effortlessly overpowers and ruthlessly obliterates the Fallen.

In this climactic showdown, Optimus rips the Fallen's face off. Rather than uttering something honorable, noble, or inspiring, opts for the perplexing one-liner, "Give me your face." What? Out of all the lines to choose from, this is the one they went with? Admittedly, moments later, Optimus redeems himself with the more effective line, "I rise, you fall." However, it's likely viewers missed the good bit because they were too bust trying to understand the previous line.

At any rate, it's unlikely that "give me your face" will go down in history as a memorable quote, at least in a good way. Perhaps something like "Yippe kay-yay, Mr. Fallen" would have been more fitting.

"Revenge of the Fallen" is a clunky blockbuster that disappoints on many levels. The occasional positive moments scattered throughout the film are overshadowed by the abundance of negative ones, making for a messy viewing experience. Furthermore, the convoluted plot only adds to the confusion.

Early on in the story, Sam enters college and encounters new characters, including the enigmatic Alice (Isabel Lucas), who appears to have a romantic interest in our hero. However, things take a bizarre turn when, reminiscent of a scene from James Cameron's "Terminator," Alice reveals herself as a robot and proceeds to destroy Sam's dorm room.

Yes, you read that correctly: Alice is a robot disguised as a human, which raises numerous questions. If the Decepticons have the ability to transform into humans, why do they predominantly choose vehicle forms such as cars, jets, and tanks? Why did Alice attempt to seduce Sam when she could have easily overpowered him to extract information? Why didn't Bumblebee detect her deception? It's a confusing aspect of the film that leaves one questioning the logic and coherence of the story.

Shia LaBeouf's frantic reaction to Alice's transformation may provide some comic relief, allowing you to laugh at the absurdity, but it ultimately highlights the lack of consideration given to the rules and consistency within the "Transformers" universe by its creators.

"Dark of the Moon" is mostly enjoyable, though it suffers from the same issues as other "Transformers" films directed by Michael Bay. The story feels underdeveloped, the writing is sloppy, the characters are uninspiring, and the overall tone is exaggerated to a headache-inducing degree, all packed within an unnecessarily long runtime. Bay and his team clearly prioritize set pieces and action sequences over crafting a coherent narrative. 

This approach becomes apparent in the latter part of the film, when the storyline veers off into illogical territory. Confronted with an impossible choice between leaving the planet or allowing Earth to be destroyed, the Autobots agree to board a rocket ship as instructed by the bad guys. Predictably, the Decepticons betray their agreement and destroy the ship, launching an all-out assault on Earth. 

Suddenly, plot twist: Optimus Prime and his team were not on the ship; they had already disembarked before it was destroyed. This means they were on the planet when Sentinel Prime attacked and ... stood by and watched? Optimus justifies his decision by stating that people needed to witness the consequences of the Autobots leaving the planet, but he's sacrificed thousands of lives to make this point.

Optimus' plan certainly achieves its desired outcome, but it's hard to deny that there were likely better approaches he could have taken to assist Earth without incurring such a devastating cost. Hilariously, he's shocked when humans turn against him in "Age of Extinction."

The ship sequence in "Age of Extinction" has always been a sore spot for many viewers, myself included. It's a sequence that starts with promise but quickly becomes an overlong and increasingly nonsensical affair. As Cade and his companions board Lockdown's massive ship in a bid to rescue both Optimus Prime and Cade Yeager's daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), the events that unfold become more and more ridiculous.

They find themselves pursued by strange transforming dogs, robot slugs with exaggerated cartoonish eyes, and an assortment of villainous mechanical henchmen. Astonishingly, they manage to navigate this chaotic scenario with relative ease, with Cade effortlessly mastering an alien gun within seconds. Despite the ship's colossal size, the group miraculously reunites without much trouble, and our heroes exit in quick order.

The sequence lacks any sense of pacing or cohesion, serving mainly as a setup for a grand chase sequence over Chicago. Mark Wahlberg yells a lot, Nicola Peltz runs frantically, and Michael Bay's camera movements become so excessive that they induce motion sickness. Moreover, the visual design of the ship is bland and uninspired, representing a missed opportunity to showcase some originality amongst the robot characters.

In the end, the ship sequence in "Age of Extinction" epitomizes the shortcomings of the film's production, with a lack of ingenuity and a disregard for coherent storytelling. It stands as a prime example of the flaws that have plagued the "Transformers" franchise throughout its history, which future installments can hopefully leave in the past.