To say that theTransformersmovie franchise has been a divisive one would be an understatement. While the original series of cartoons, comic books, and source material has a devoted following, fans have been divided on the ways that director Michael Bay has brought the franchise to the big screen. It seems like theTransformersseries is now moving in a new direction beyond Bay, but the mixed responses toBumblebeeandTransformers: Rise of the Beastssuggest that some of the lessons from the past have not been heeded.
What’s fascinating is that each installment in theTransformersfranchise seems to make different mistakes. Bay is a divisive filmmaker, but he has made good films before likeThe Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Pain & Gain, Ambulance,and13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. The firstTransformersfilm from 2007 isn’t necessarily a classic, but it stands as much more competent than any of the disastrous sequels that followed it.
Amidst the pressures of a different writer’s strike, 2009’sTransformers: Revenge of the Fallencreated a convoluted mythology that made absolutely no sense, and attempted to start tying in the mythology of the Autobots and Deceptions into world history. While 2011’sTransformers: Dark of the Moonfeatured more cohesive action and less obnoxious humor, it suffered from many of the same plot inconsistencies.
While this “original trilogy” of films aren’t anything to be celebrated as “great cinema,” they do feel much more cohesive than the wild directions that the franchise has taken in the years that have followed. A large part of this is due toShia Labeouf, whose performance as Sam Witwicky stands as the most integral “human” character in the entire franchise.
Shia LaBeouf’s Star Power
LaBeouf is an actor who tends to be in the headlines a lot due to his erratic behavior and controversial statements; while it’s unfortunate that scandals, gossip, and LaBeouf’s personal issues so often dominate the conversation surrounding his performances, they don’t have any merit on his films themselves. LaBeouf may have earned the reputation of being “hard to work with,” but he’s certainly earned the interest of major, influential directors like Steven Spielberg, Lars von Trier, Oliver Stone, Robert Redford, Andrea Arnold, Francis Lawrence, David Ayer, and most recently Abel Ferrera, who cast him inhis latest filmPadre Pio.
LaBeouf is an actor who can elevate the source material he is working with, and Sam’s character arc throughout the threeTransformersfilms is actually much more understandable than any of the mythological nonsense that Bay tries to add in about the role of the Autobots and Decepticons in reaction to human history. The first film sees him as a likable young man who is searching for a way to find himself, which makes Optimus Prime an interesting mentor to him. While most of the actors never feel like they’re interacting with anything other than the green screen, LaBeouf actually tries to make it seem like Sam has a real relationship with the Autobots.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallenis not a film that needs any sort of defense; Bay himself cited the film as a stain on his career, perThe Guardian, as the screenplay was not completed when the film began shooting amidst the early writer’s strike that began in 2007. Most of the film’s issues are with its humor, which often relies on racial and ethnic stereotypes and becomes very disrespectful; the only humor that actually works in the film is LaBeouf’s erratic choices and bizarre performance. The more serious tone ofTransformers: Dark of the Moonis reflected through LaBeouf, whose maturity as an actor was evident when Sam attempted to find work in modern New York.
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The Lack of Likable Characters
LaBeouf’sTransformersco-stars can’t be faulted for the lackluster material they were given to work with, as no actor can make some of the terrible dialogue sound any better. Even though John Turturro, Frances McDormand, Jon Voight, and John Malkovich are among thebest actors of their generation, they can’t turn Bay’s characters into anything other than filler roles that just waste time between the plot points. That being said, LaBeouf shows that Sam is at least a character that the audience can sympathize with. It’s striking how much the franchise spirals out of control once Sam exited the series.
2014’sTransformers: Age of Extinctionattempted to “soft reboot” the series with Mark Wahlberg’s new character Cade Yaegar as the protagonist. While having a character that is a father as the new face of the franchise may have seemed like a good idea to distinguishAge of Extinctionfrom its predecessors, Wahlberg proved to be an obnoxious addition to the series, only distracted from a storyline that got even more confusing with each passing revelation. It didn’t help that the film’s regressive sexual politics, frequently inappropriate humor, and plot holes made it even harder to take Cade seriously. Audiences may not have realized how good they had it when LaBeouf was the face of the series!
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The Coming of Age Elements
The reason that 2007’sTransformersremains the best live-action film in the series is that it’s the most straightforward. The search for the “All Spark” is a compelling enough way to introduce the Transformers on Earth, and Sam serves as the audience’s “avatar” as he learns about the history of the planet. At the same time, he’s also an awkward teenager who is trying to pay for college, work on his first relationship, and deal with his annoying parents.
Of all the films in the series, 2007’sTransformersfeels the most closely tied to executive producer Steven Spielberg, who knows a thing or twoabout “coming-of-age” stories. WhileTransformersis much cruder than any of the Amblin classics that Spielberg produced, there’s an integrity to seeing Sam try to define what type of person he wants to be that is more emotionally authentic than anything else in the franchise.
