Top 10 (or rather 8) Best Transformers Movies

Well spotted, wise guy. In 2026, the 'Transformers' franchise does not have 10 films at all. 7 live-action spectacles and one sublime 80s cult animation classic. And the long wait for June 24, 2022, the blessed day on which Paramount Pictures, deo volente, throws the next 'Transformers' film through the multiplex, even reduces the 165-minute running time of 'Age of Extinction' (2014) to a TikTok video. In the meantime, enjoy a look back at how it all started. Flashback to 1984! In the no less than fantastic film year of 1984, many major events wrote an unforgettable chapter in the sacred pop culture chronicles. Michael Jackson saw his frizzy curly head go up in smoke during a disastrous Pepsi-Cola commercial. A still green behind the ears Tom Hanks got it on with a blonde mermaid in 'Splash'. Daniel LaRusso dashed Johnny Lawrence's All-Valley Karate Championships dreams with an illegal crane kick. Arnold Schwarzenegger smashed his illustrious Styrian name forever through the cast-iron gates of film history as 'The Terminator'. 'Gremlins' and 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' inspired concerned MPA pen-pushers to the famous PG-13 rating on Steven Spielberg's advice. An unkempt Bob Geldof dragged Bono, Phil Collins, Sting, George Michael, David Bowie, Paul McCartney and a host of other lesser gods into London's Starm West Studios for Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', while Hulk Hogan pinned The Iron Sheik to the Madison Square Garden canvas with his merciless 'Atomic Leg Drop'. Yes, 1984 was a glorious year, I tell you. And then you would almost forget that on a beautiful late summer day on September 17, a new cartoon series appeared on the American television: 'The Transformers' (1984-1987). The Transformers animated series, supported by Sunbow and Marvel Productions and designed by Japan's Toei Animation Company, was an extension of the Hasbro toy line of the same name. In the mid-80s, the cool alien robots transforming into cars, planes and even cassette recorders were selling like hotcakes. Stephen Hassenfeld, the great Hasbro boss, even proudly posed with his extremely popular toys in the leading 'Time Magazine'. As was often the case in that decade plagued by cuts, cutbacks and crazy Cold War vicissitudes, Hasbro had of course not invented the transforming wheel itself. The inventive robot toys borrowed from the 'Microman' and 'Diaclone' dolls from the Japanese Takara. The plot of the supporting Marvel Comics comic book series and cartoon series was, like all good fiction, deceptively simple. The noble Autobots and evil Decepticons descend on our clod. In doing so, they also immediately import their million-year-old battle for their home planet Cybertron. 'The Transformers' ended in 1987 after 4 solid seasons and hundreds of hilarious continuity errors. In 1988 a deviously repackaged 5th volume followed, including the chopped up material from 'The Transformers: The Movie' (1986). Afterwards, fans were at the mercy of the land of the rising sun, where exclusive Japanese productions such as 'Transformers: The Headmasters' (1987-1988), 'Super-God Masterforce (1988-1989) and finally 'Victory' (1989) waved goodbye to the golden 'Generation 1' era. In 1993, the original American animated series was given a second life with some new effects here and there and the necessary cut-and-paste work. A nice trip down memory lane for fans of the old school animated Cybertronians - but of course you come for something else. Not? For example: an XXL overview of Michael Bay's visual live-action 'Transformers' film universe, drowning in exuberant pyrotechnics. Correct? Well, then!

It's never a good sign when your $200 million piece gets 7 nominations for the Golden Raspberry Awards, the unofficial Oscars for worst films. It becomes even more painful if he also cashes in 3 copies of it. And the bucket of humiliation is already overflowing when that pitiful loot concerns the Razzies for 'Worst Picture', 'Worst Director' and 'Worst Screenplay'. Certainly the Golden Raspberry for 'Worst Scenario' did not exactly fall from the Cybertron planet. 'Revenge of the Fallen' (2009) was a bitter sour grape that emerged from the vines of the famous '2007–2008 Writers Guild of America' writers' strike, when thousands of American film and TV screenwriters stopped working for months out of dissatisfaction with the omnipotence of their wealthy, miserly employers. Director Michael Bay later freely admitted that the plot was rattling like a rusted 1967 Volkswagen Beetle that had been battered by Blitzwing. Which miscreant's wandering pen was responsible for that whole near-death experience soup involving Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen, the Canadian voice actor who has been voicing the Autobots leader since the very beginning)? Not to mention those Autobots twins Skids & Mudflap, marred with questionable racist b-boy stereotypes? The Dutch language area has many word combinations to describe 'Revenge of the Fallen', but 'unforgettable cinema' is not yet one of them. Yet the noisy film has its bright spots. After a preview of the 'Operation Firestorm' scene, the normally civilized Steven Spielberg muttered 'That is fucking awesome!'. Moreover, this 2nd part reveals exactly what happens when you unleash a bunch of rambunctious Constructicons on the pyramids of Giza. Tip: pay close attention to Devastator's few subtly positioned wrecking balls. And not entirely unimportant: Bay solemnly promised that he would make up for these 150 minutes of wasted time with the fantastic 'Dark of the Moon' (2011). Financially, the damage was nil. The pitiful 2nd 'Transformers' live-action film was good for a cinema gross of 836.3 million dollars worldwide and later that year, with 11 million copies sold, it also became the American Blu-ray and DVD goldcrest of 2009.

From 2007 to 2017, Michael Bay, armed with an inexhaustible arsenal of detonators and a disturbingly high supply of adolescent underwear fun, sat in the director's chair of the "Transformers" live-action franchise. A great filmmaker has never been lost to this hyperkinetic American. Yet film studios are more than happy to give him millions of dollars. Because who knows, maybe he will one day produce a blockbuster masterpiece like 'Bad Boys' (1995) or 'The Rock' (1996)? And even though the international film news showers the explosion king with tar and feathers, his visual self-masturbations still keep Paramount Pictures' money flowing. That ringing triumphal procession ended abruptly with 'Transformers: The Last Knight' (2017). Because get mechanical tits: Bay's final calvary through the Cybertron mythology not only received a lousy 15% score from the 'Rotten Tomatoes' critics. For the first time in 10 years, the public was also left out. The timing couldn't be worse. At 217 (according to insiders even 260) million dollars, this 5th part had the most expensive price tag of the film series. The film only grossed a paltry 605 million worldwide. Shame? Even so, if you take into account the expensive marketing costs and billions in revenue from predecessors 'Age of Extinction' (2014) and 'Dark of the Moon' (2011). Result? Studio Paramount Pictures and toy manufacturer Hasbro saw around 100 million dollars go up in smoke. But was Bay's swan song really as bad as the accountants say? No! Because whose knighted British name is flying in the credits? Sir Anthony Hopkins! Yes! The Welsh Oscar winner, who was also not shy about an outing as eye-patched Odin in the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe', participates in this box-office flop, which features an epic medieval opening battle including three-headed Autobot dragon Dragonstorm! Who else could so convincingly portray a distinguished British éminence grise who gives Mark Wahlberg's Cade Yeager a history lesson about the age-old battle between the Autobots and Decepticons? Bonus points for Stanley Tucci as drunken Merlin whose magical wand is what it's all about here.

After the widely criticized 'Revenge of the Fallen' (2009), Michael Bay added a worthy final chord to his first 'Transformers' trilogy with 'Dark of the Moon' (2011). But you know how that goes. The Paramount Pictures stewards calculated that only Swiss bank accounts could be fed with a 4th film. The authoritative IMDb teases that Comeback Kid Bay changed tack after seeing über-cool concept art of Dinobots riding Autobots. Judging from the meager screen time that Bay granted the Dinobots in this 'Age of Extinction' (2014), you are more inclined to believe that his unexpected return could be explained by the tempting fat check from client Paramount Pictures. Who would not return was Shia LaBeouf as trusted 'Transformers' soulmate Sam Witwicky. Maybe not bad either. The former Disney Channel star now collected the first of many controversies with a prison stay that would only make him Hollywood persona non grata a few years later. Fortunately, there are more than enough A-Listers who would like to play mats with a bunch of towering alien robots. Unfortunately, The Rock had his hands full with the recording of 'Hercules' (2014). So his 'Pain & Gain' (2013) buddy Mark Wahlberg took over the human lead role as Cade Yeager, a fallen inventor who reminds the less alert viewer in approximately every scene that he is an inventor. It's okay, Marky Mark. A suspiciously fit inventor, by the way. Mark Wahlberg, Tom Cruise-wise, did almost all his stunt work himself. No piece of cake, the film has 70 minutes of pure action scenes. Although viewers also had to endure 90 minutes of poorly scripted family drama, in which a worried Cade worries about the adult sweetheart (Jack Reynor) of his teenage daughter (Nicola Peltz). Fans have obviously been looking forward to the Dinobots' on-screen debut for months. What do you want when the devious marketing team gets you excited with a poster of Optimus Prime riding Grimlock? They should have known better. The Dinobots make a late appearance in this, with a running time of 165 minutes, the longest ride in the series. Bay later claimed that he never intended to include even half a Dinobot in the story. Apparently it was all the fault of toy manufacturer Hasbro and the producers. And that über-cool concept art, IMDb?! As usual, the better film press did not spare their poisonous smears for this reckless explosion fest - 563 fire explosions, more than double that of predecessor 'Dark of the Moon' (2011). The general public consigned their vicious pens to the trash with a single pass. The 'Age of Extinction', which was made with around 210 million dollars, was the second 'Transformers' film to break the magical mark of 1 billion dollars - with a box office of 1.104 billion. Pour la petite histoire: it was the only blockbuster that succeeded in this in 2014. Of course, the $300 million in Chinese ticket sales helped. The fact that half of China showed up for product placement and the world premiere took place in Hong Kong obviously had nothing to do with that.

After the financial and creative hangover of The Last Knight (2017), the Transformers universe seemed on the verge of death for a while. Michael Bay had blown out his last detonator, Paramount Pictures turned blank when they saw the accounts and even Hasbro started to wonder out loud whether the toy boxes would still reach the cash register on their own. Enter Rise of the Beasts. No flashy reboot, no shameless sequel, but a careful restart with your hand firmly on the emergency brake. You feel that immediately. Less epileptic editing, less metal mess in which robots look like exploding scrap containers, and above all: recognizable designs. Optimus Prime finally looks like Optimus Prime again and not like a moving iron pile that accidentally has a head. The film visibly breathes respect for the Generation 1 aesthetic, without completely losing itself in nostalgic self-gratification. The story is set in 1994, a conscious choice. Just far enough away from the 80s romance of Bumblebee, but also well before the Bay era. Young Noah and Elena function as human anchor points, without the usual hysterical supporting roles and adolescent side paths. That helps. The focus is more on adventure than on decibel terrorism. The biggest novelty is of course the introduction of the Maximals and Predacons, known from the beloved Beast Wars animated series. Primal, Airazor and associates give the universe a more mythological layer, although their narrative role is unfortunately limited. They are there, they look good, but they are not given enough space to really take hold. This is more of a taster than a full-fledged buffet. Still, the film works. Not because he is great or groundbreaking, but because he knows what he wants to be. Rise of the Beasts doesn't frantically try to prove that Transformers is "relevant" again. It accepts its place as solid franchise maintenance. And sometimes that is exactly what is needed. Financially the film did well, without the absurdities of the Bay years. Creatively, he opened the door for a future in which Transformers can also exist without permanent noise pollution. No high point, no low point, but a stable mid-range that proves that this franchise has not yet been completely written off.

After the rather disappointing 'Revenge of the Fallen' (2009), the 'Robots in Disguise' franchise was already hanging by a thread in terms of quality. Apparently there were also some other things going on behind the scenes. Megan Fox was conspicuous by her absence in successor 'Dark of the Moon' (2011). Was it because the highly mediatized sex symbol compared Michael Bay's work ethic to Adolf Hitler? Or was it that ever-affable producer Steven Spielberg who unilaterally thanked his leading actress for her services? One day, film archaeologists will brush up on the true facts in the year 3875 AD. In any case, the replacement did not disappoint. Victoria's Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, also known as Mrs. Jason Statham, replaced Fox as Sam Witwicky's new girlfriend, Carly. A striking casting choice. The British blonde's acting experience was limited to sultry lingerie commercials directed by… Michael Bay! Three guesses from whom the audition invitation came. While Rosie made the readers of the men's magazine 'Maxim' go crazy as the 'World's Most Beautiful Woman', half of Hollywood fell under the dark doom of 3D glasses. After the monster success of 'Avatar' (2009), every major studio wanted to get a piece of James Cameron's groundbreaking innovative 3D techniques. Bay initially resisted the IMAX 3D boat, but eventually agreed. Probably also to get rid of Cameron's nagging - the Canadian director and cunning blockbuster commercialist even wanted to sell Bay his entire technical 'Avatar' crew. Story-wise, this 3rd part meant 'a giant leap' for the 'Transformers' franchise. The $195 million “Dark of the Moon” amusingly linked Apollo 11's moon landing in 1969 to the age-old battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons. In addition, the makers nicely roped in Leonard Nimoy's sonorous vocal chords for the ambiguous Autobot Sentinel Prime. The legendary 'Star Trek' actor was not ready for his test piece. Mr. Spock already voiced Galvatron for 'The Transformers: The Movie' (1986) a quarter of a century earlier. During the making of his successful 'homeland version of Black Hawk Down with giant alien robots', Michael Bay destroyed an impressive 532 motorized vehicles - no pain at all: an insurance company gave the mismanaged car bodies free of charge. Between all that twisted steel and better demolition work, there was another nice sound. The clink of a $1.12 billion box office. Today, the average Marvel Studios cast shrugs its spandexed superhero shoulders at that. In fact, 'Avengers: Endgame' has been at a lonely height since 2019 with its 2.79 billion. But in 2011, raising that 9 zero amount was still an earth-shattering event. 'Dark of the Moon' could even call itself the 5th most successful film of all time. Only 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2' did better that year. Bay scratched his stretched chin and promptly decided to shoot another sequel - 'Age of Extinction' (2014).

Never underestimate the nostalgic shiny appeal of a bunch of toy robots. Because among the crowd of 'Robots in Disguise' fanatics from the very beginning, there was also a certain Steven Spielberg. Yes. The blockbuster genius who changed the modern film industry forever with 'Jurassic Park' in 1993 is a huge fan of the well-built Hasbro toys. Not Michael Bay, but Spielberg provided the impetus for the outrageous billion-dollar success that 'Transformers' is today. In fact. Michael Bay, who made continuous 'Transformers' films between 2007 and 2017, initially declined the director's chair for what he called 'a stupid toy movie'. Fortunately, De Baard talked into the bombastic action director. Central to the story would be the heartwarming bond between a teenage boy and his car. Bay, who has never quite outgrown puberty, and is also a notorious lover of anything that emits even a whiff of burning rubber, thought that sounded a lot more fun. Especially when he heard that the souped-up car in question was a 1977 Chevrolet Camaro. And just as Spielberg convinced the reluctant explosion king to make 'Transformers' (2007), Bay also convinced millions of mortals who until then heard thunder in Cologne at technical terms such as 'AllSpark', 'Energon' and 'Matrix of Leadership'. The rest, as they say, is history. The 1st live-action 'Transformers' film, an expertly made 150 million dollar bombshell, cashed in 709 million at the cinema box office. Later that year, the blockbuster also became the best-selling DVD of 2007. Yes, you read that correctly. Those archaic shiny discs were still flying over the counter in whole boxes. While Bay's later, tiresome sequels were laden with scorn and vitriol from the critics, this beautifully made mothership received 3 Oscar nominations in addition to cautious positive reviews. And for 'Sound Mixing', 'Sound Editing' and how could it be otherwise 'Visual Effects'. An honor that was also given to 'Dark of the Moon' (2011) 4 years later. This 144-minute smash, generously sponsored by General Motors and the US Army, immediately made world stars of human protagonists Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. World stars that would extinguish as quickly as a piece of kindling under an incontinent tsunami, admittedly. But that is a completely different story.

After 5 increasingly deafening and visually stunning - but story-wise rather shaky to sometimes even rheumatically crippled rollercoasters of 'Transformers' films, Michael Bay passed on the 'Matrix of Leadership' to Travis Knight in 2018. Bay still kept an eye on things behind the scenes as a producer. Yet even a senile mole with cataracts whose armpit-fresh signature bears 'Bumblebee' (2018). Striking: this spin-off / prequel / soft reboot or whatever Paramount Pictures wanted to call this thing, was also Knight's live-action directorial debut. The former rapper (he operated under the alter ego 'Chilly Tee') was previously head animator at Laika, the acclaimed stop-motion animation studio for which he directed the sublime 'Kubo and the Two Strings' in 2016. And what a debut that was! This adventure, set in 1987 (a nice reference to the year in which the original animated series ended), is about the unlikely friendship between 17-year-old Charlie, struggling with all kinds of teenage issues (the all-rounder Hailee Steinfeld also provided the credits with the electro-pop tune 'Back to Life') and displaced Autobot B-127, which feels like the perfect cross-pollination between 'E.T.' (1982), 'The Iron Giant' (1999) and a 'Transformers' film that was mainly not made by Michael Bay. While John Cena's 'Sector 7' Agent Burns is chasing Charlie and her very special Volkswagen Beetle, the great 80s soundtrack invites good people to B-127's radio player such as The Smiths, A-Ha, Simple Minds, Sammy Hagar and, oh honey-sweet youth sentiment Stan Bush with the unsurpassed 'Transformers' anthem: 'The Touch'! It is rather ironic that this once exceptionally unanimously positively reviewed 6th 'Transformers' film had the lowest cinema gross of the entire franchise with its 467 million dollars. But unlike its disappointing predecessor 'The Last Knight' (2014), which went into the red at 100 million dollars, this cuddly 'coming of age' story did score excellently at the box office. 'Bumblebee' quickly earned back its 135 million production budget and modest promotional campaign. Also nice: for the first time, the digitally animated Cybertronians actually looked like their hand-drawn 'Generation 1' counterparts.

What would happen if this cult film wasn't number 1 here? Then things certainly did not end well for the pitiful writer of this list. Just think of a Galvatron-regenerated Megatron subtly reminding his renegade Starscream minion who remains the great Decepticons final boss – 'Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy'. (…) Here's a hint!' Yes, it's true. Hasbro saw the film as a slick, drawn-out commercial to sell more toys. For the marketing department, 'The Transformers: The Movie' (1986) was nothing more than a bridge between the 2nd and 3rd seasons of the 1980s animated series. New and, above all, more expensive vehicles had to be on the shelves - so what difference did it make if Autobots leader Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen was inspired by the voice of his brother and role model Larry, a Vietnam veteran) immediately died? Those weak-willed children would blindly whine for new dolls, right? The movie alone introduced 11 brand new Autobots characters. The soulless money-grabbers were seriously wrong. The heartbreaking death of the much-loved Autobots leader sent shockwaves through thousands of children's hearts. Fortunately, that noble Optimus soon returned in the 3rd season of the cartoon series. In anticipation, this first 'Transformers' long player flopped mercilessly. The film did not even earn back its production budget of 6 million dollars and the reviews already foreshadowed the dregs that Michael Bay would receive 3 decades later. But ticket sales and film critics always only tell part of the story. For millions of boys who grew up in the 80s that seem so far away, the tagline 'More than Meets the Eye' is not an empty slogan. Never underestimate the power of nostalgia that viewers of yesteryear still feel pounding under their now sagging hoods when they think back to the epic battle for the 'Matrix of Leadership', set in the then futuristic-looking year 2005. For them, there is only one ultimate 'Transformers' film. And it was made in 1986 by Nelson Shin, pumped up with crackling pointy hard rock guitars from, among others. Lion, NRG and Kick Ax (although under the pseudonym 'Spectre General' - for shady contractual reasons) and the stirring synths of Vince DiCola and voiced by eloquent greats such as Frank Welker and Peter Cullen. And don't forget: 'The Breakfast Club' villain Judd Nelson as the dashing young hero Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime. Speaking of legends: none other than Hollywood institution Orson Welles voiced the planet-devouring supreme villain Unicron. It was the last achievement of the man who gave the world 'Citizen Kane' (1941), before he retired on October 10, 1985. When asked about his part, he described his role as 'a big toy who attacks a bunch of smaller toys'. And that's just the way it is.