Transformers (film)


Transformers is a 2007 American science fiction action film based on Hasbro's toy line of the same name. Directed by Michael Bay from a screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, it is the first installment of the Transformers film series. The film stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager who gets caught up in a war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, two factions of shape-shifting alien robots. The Autobots and Decepticons both seek a powerful artifact called the AllSpark, to win the war that has devastated their home planet of Cybertron. Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Anthony Anderson, Megan Fox, Rachael Taylor, John Turturro, and Jon Voight also star, while Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving voice Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively.
Don Murphy was initially interested in developing a G.I. Joe film, but then decided to develop a Transformers film after the United States went to war against Iraq in 2003. Murphy and Tom DeSanto developed the project in 2003, and DeSanto wrote a treatment. Steven Spielberg came on board as executive producer the following year, hiring Orci and Kurtzman to write the screenplay. The U.S. Armed Forces and General Motors loaned vehicles and aircraft during filming, which saved money for the production and added realism to the battle scenes. Hasbro's promotional campaign for the film included deals with various companies; advertising included a viral marketing campaign, coordinated releases of prequel comic books, toys, and books, as well as product placement deals with companies such as General Motors, Burger King, and eBay.
Transformers premiered on June 10, 2007, at the N Seoul Tower in Seoul, South Korea, and was released on July 3 in the United States, by Paramount Pictures. The film was a commercial success, grossing $709.7 million worldwide against a production budget of $145–200 million and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2007. It won four awards from the Visual Effects Society and was nominated for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing at the 80th Academy Awards. It was followed by a sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Plot

The planet Cybertron was ravaged by a civil war between two Transformer factions — the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the Decepticons, led by Megatron. Both search for a lost artifact called the AllSpark, a cube-like object that is the source of all Cybertronian life, to win the war. The Autobots want to find the AllSpark to rebuild Cybertron and end the war, while the Decepticons want to use it to conquer the universe. Megatron found the AllSpark on Earth, but crash-landed in the Arctic Circle and was frozen in the ice. Captain Archibald Witwicky and his crew of explorers stumbled upon Megatron in 1897. Captain Witwicky accidentally activates Megatron's navigational system, causing his eyeglasses to be imprinted with the coordinates of the AllSpark's location. Sector 7, a secret U.S. government organization, discovers the AllSpark in the Colorado River and builds the Hoover Dam around it to mask its energy emissions. The still-frozen Megatron is transported into the facility and is reverse engineered to advance human technology.
In the present day, the Decepticons — Blackout, Scorponok, Frenzy, Barricade, Starscream, Bonecrusher and Brawl — have landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles and electronics. Blackout and Scorponok attack the U.S. SOCCENT military base in Qatar and try to hack into the U.S. military network to find the location of Megatron and the AllSpark, but their mission is thwarted when the base staff severs the network cable connections. While Blackout wrecks the rest of the base, Captain William Lennox, Sergeant Robert Epps, and their small group of survivors with photographic evidence of the robots escape the destruction. They are pursued by Scorponok, but he is repelled by air strikes. In the process, Lennox's team discovers that the only effective weapons against the Transformers' armor are high-heat sabot rounds. After Blackout's failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One to hack into the military network and, in doing so, plants a virus. He finds the map imprinted on Archibald's glasses, which is owned by his descendant, Sam Witwicky, leading him and Barricade to begin tracking Sam's location in Los Angeles.
One of the Autobots, Bumblebee, is also on Earth, disguised as a 1976 Chevy Camaro, and is bought by Sam while shopping for his first car. Bumblebee helps him woo his crush, Mikaela Banes, and leaves at night to transmit a homing beacon to the Autobots, with Sam briefly seeing his robot form. The next day, Barricade confronts Sam and demands his grandfather's glasses, but Bumblebee rescues him and Mikaela. After Bumblebee upgrades his vehicle form by scanning a 2007 Chevrolet Camaro, they rendezvous with the Autobots — Optimus, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet — who have landed on Earth and taken on forms of Earth vehicles as well. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home and obtain the glasses. Government agents from Sector 7, led by Seymour Simmons, arrive to arrest Sam and Mikaela, and capture Bumblebee after the Autobots try to rescue them.
Frenzy, disguised as a mobile phone, secretly accompanies the group to the Hoover Dam, where he alerts the other Decepticons upon locating the AllSpark and releases Megatron. Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can get the AllSpark to Optimus. Frenzy's virus has shut down worldwide communications, but a pair of hackers, Maggie Madsen and Glen Whitmann, manage to establish a signal to the Air Force. The Autobot-human convoy goes to Mission City to obtain a radio to guide the Air Force and secure an extraction for the AllSpark as Decepticon forces attack the convoy. Bonecrusher, Jazz, Frenzy, Brawl, and Blackout are killed in the ensuing battle, and Sam manages to ram the AllSpark into Megatron's chest as he battles Optimus, killing him and destroying the AllSpark. Optimus takes a fragment of the AllSpark from Megatron's corpse, but realizes that Cybertron cannot be restored with its destruction. The U.S. government decommissions Sector 7 and sinks the deceased Decepticons into the Laurentian Abyss, while Sam and Mikaela begin a relationship, Starscream escapes into space, and Optimus sends a signal to other surviving Autobots, directing them to Earth.

Cast

  • Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, the young descendant of an Arctic explorer who stumbles upon a big secret that becomes Earth's last hope.
  • Tyrese Gibson as Sergeant Robert Epps, a U.S. Air Force Combat Controller and technical sergeant of a Special Operations team based at the U.S. SOCCENT base in Qatar and Lennox's best friend. Before Gibson was cast, Ashley Walters was approached for the role but had to turn it down as he had already signed a deal to do a small independent film in the UK.
  • Josh Duhamel as Captain William Lennox, a dedicated leader of the Army Rangers team in Qatar who allies with Sam.
  • Anthony Anderson as Glen Whitmann, Maggie's hacker friend.
  • Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes, a classmate of Sam who assists him in his mission by using skills she learned as a juvenile car thief from her convict father.
  • Rachael Taylor as Maggie Madsen, a former NSA data analyst recruited by the U.S. Defense Department.
  • John Turturro as Agent Major Seymour Simmons, a special agent of the government agency Sector 7 Advanced Research Division.
  • Jon Voight as John Keller, the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
  • Michael O'Neill as Tom Banachek, Head of Sector 7.
  • Kevin Dunn as Ron Witwicky, Sam's father.
  • Julie White as Judy Witwicky, Sam's mother.
  • Amaury Nolasco as Jorge "Fig" Figueroa, a Special Operations soldier who survives the destruction of the SOCCENT base in Qatar and was also a member of Captain Lennox's team.
  • Zack Ward as First Sergeant Donnelly, a member of Captain Lennox's team.
  • W. Morgan Sheppard as Captain Archibald Witwicky, Sam's great-great-grandfather who accidentally activates Megatron's navigational system while exploring the Arctic Circle.
  • Bernie Mac as Bobby Bolivia, a used car salesman.
  • John Robinson as Miles Lancaster, Sam's best friend.
  • Travis Van Winkle as Trent DeMarco, Mikaela's ex-boyfriend.
  • Omar Benson Miller as Glenn's cousin.
  • Glenn Morshower as Colonel Sharp
  • Sherri Shepherd as Rhonda

    Voices

  • Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots who transforms into a blue and red 1994 Peterbilt 379 semi-trailer truck. Cullen had previously voiced Optimus Prime in the original 1980s cartoon and was chosen to reprise his role.
  • Mark Ryan as Bumblebee, the Autobot scout and Sam's new guardian who transforms into a yellow and black Chevrolet Camaro.
  • Darius McCrary as Jazz, Optimus's second-in-command who transforms into a silver 2006 Pontiac Solstice.
  • Robert Foxworth as Ratchet, the Autobot medic who transforms into a green 2007 search and rescue Hummer H2 ambulance.
  • Jess Harnell as
  • * Ironhide, the Autobot weapons expert who transforms into a black 2006 GMC Topkick C4500.
  • * Barricade, the Decepticon scout and interrogator who transforms into a black 2007 Saleen S281 police car.
  • Jim Wood as Bonecrusher, a Decepticon soldier who transforms into a Buffalo H Mine-Protected vehicle.
  • Reno Wilson as Frenzy, the Decepticon hacker and Barricade's minion, who transforms into a PGX Boombox, and later a Nokia N93i. Howard Stern was offered the role, but turned it down when his agent talked him out of it.
  • Charlie Adler as Starscream, Megatron's second-in-command who transforms into a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Adler had previously voiced several characters in the original series, most noticeably Silverbolt.
  • Hugo Weaving as Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons who transforms into a silver Cybertronian jet. Frank Welker was considered to reprise his role, but according to the film's DVD commentary, Bay thought his voice did not fit, so Weaving was chosen instead. After Weaving left the role, Welker returned as the voice of Megatron in later sequels.