RATINGS: IMDB ― 7.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes ― 57%, ME ― 75%
Agent Simmons: What you're about to see is totally classified...
[Project Iceman is reveled: a towering mechanical colossus, imprisoned in a cryogenic chamber]
Keller: Dear God... what is this?
Tom Banachek: We think that when he made his approach over the North Pole our gravitation field screwed up his telemetry and crashed into the ice, probably a few thousand years ago. We shipped him here to this facility in 1934.
Agent Simmons: We call him NBE-1.
Sam Witwicky: I don't mean to correct you on all that you think you know, but that's Megatron. He's the leader of the Decepticons.
Tom Banachek: He's been in cryo-stasis since 1935. Your great-great-grandfather made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind.
Agent Simmons: Fact is, you're looking at the source of the modern age. The microchip, lasers, cars, space flight: all reverse-engineered by studying him. NBE-1...
[glares at Sam]
Agent Simmons: That's what we call IT!
Keller:: And you didn't think that the United States Military might need to know that you're keeping a hostile alien robot frozen in the basement?
Tom Banachek: Until these events we had no credible threats to national security.
Keller:: Well, you got one now!
John Turturro as Agent Simmons, John Voight as Keller, Michael O'Neel as Banachek and Shia KeBoeuf as Sam Witwhicky
Trivia (From IMDB):
Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime, described reprising the role as "slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven't worn for a while," and was grateful to the fans for wanting and bringing him back.
For the scene where Scorponok bursts out of the sand right on the heels of the soldiers, the effect was achieved by detonating a primer cord under the sand. The explosions would be in close proximity, and very dangerous to the actors in the scene, so before the scene was shot, Michael Bay told the actors to run and keep running no matter what happens, or else they could seriously be injured or, even worse, killed. As a result, the look of panic on the actors' faces as they flee from Scorponok in this scene, is one hundred percent genuine.
According to Megan Fox, she was attending a Linkin Park concert and when it was over, the band met her personally, and stated that they heard about the live-action Transformers film, and requested whether they could have a song of theirs in the film, and thus the Linkin Park song "What I've Done" appears in the closing credits.
To keep the film realistic and under budget, the U.S. Department of Defense provided their support towards the film's production, the largest project they have assisted since Black Hawk Down (2001). The Military provided their vehicles as the alternate modes of the Decepticons Starscream and Bonecrusher. They also allowed their F-22 and CV-22 aircraft to be filmed, the first time these planes have been seen in a feature film since Hulk (2003). Soldiers served as extras, and authentic uniforms were provided for the actors. In return for the favor, the filmmakers provided an advance screening of the film to the soldiers, free of charge.
Tyrese Gibson paid the filmmakers to get him a role in the film.
The release date was set without a script or a cast.
Optimus Prime's original alternate mode in The Transformers (1984) was a cabover truck, but this was revised to a bull-nosed Peterbilt truck. This was because test designs showed a cabover could only disguise a twenty-foot robot, and so the larger Peterbilt truck was chosen to make Prime taller (at 32 feet tall). The truck was also colored blue with red flames (like Rodimus Prime, Optimus's successor), to give Prime a distinct look.
Bumblebee's original alternate mode in The Transformers (1984) was a Volkswagen Beetle, but this was revised to a 1976/2009 Chevrolet Camaro. This was because Michael Bay wanted to avoid comparisons with Herbie the Love Bug, and felt that the Camaro held a more tough-but-friendly quality than the Beetle. As a tribute to the series, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle appears next to Bumblebee at the auto dealership (and as a joke he damages it).
In the film, Megatron does not choose an alternate mode, choosing, out of arrogance, not to disguise himself on Earth. He instead maintains his alien protoform/jet mode. His original alternate mode in The Transformers (1984) was a Walther P38 pistol, but the writers felt it was like "having Darth Vader transform into his own lightsaber and someone else swinging him around," so he was given a more realistic alien design, and made more hideous, to make him more menacing.
As the Decepticons' pilot holograms flicker, Optimus Prime's face can be seen for an instant.
Shia LaBeouf's first scene filmed was where Sam is attacked by guard dogs. One particularly fierce dog kept chasing him even after the scene was shot. He later summed it up as "Welcome to Michael Bay's set. Release the hounds!"
Optimus Prime speaks his trademark motto ("Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.") for the first time ever; it was not heard in The Transformers (1984), but was mentioned in the packaging for his original action figure back in the 1980s.
In her role as Mikaela Banes, Megan Fox gained ten pounds of muscle to be more compatible for the action scenes.
The Decepticons were to have more dialogue in the film, but most of their lines were cut out, to keep them mysterious (screenwriter Roberto Orci reasoned that the more a villain talks, the less threatening they are). To please the fans, though, Megatron's classic berating of Starscream ("You fail me yet again, Starscream...") was put in the film.
According to the ILM animators, each and every transformation in the film is unique (even if carried out by the same robot), with thousands of components moving around in significantly different orders/sequences and via different routes around the body. This is because the robots transform in a fluid, instinctive manner depending on their circumstances (speed/terrain/intent of action); however, the animators also admit that each transformation was mainly animated to look interesting and believable.
To make the cars appear sentient, stunt drivers wore black balaclavas, and concealed themselves from view; and wherever possible, the cars were also given tinted windows, and had their interiors darkened.
Since there were no running 2009 Chevrolet Camaro automobiles during production, Saleen Inc., working with the Pontiac GTO and using Camaro designs from General Motors, was able to build a running Camaro in thirty days, to serve as Bumblebee's alternate mode. Saleen also provided one of their S281 automobiles (a modified Ford Mustang) to serve as Barricade's alternate mode.
To prepare for their roles, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson spent three days in boot camp, and Gibson also spent time with combat controller Ray Bollinger to make his dialogue sound natural.
The Transformers possessed such a rich level of detail and complexity, it took the ILM animators 38 hours to fill them in a single frame of the film.
For the scene where Megatron corners Sam at the top of a tall building and Sam clings on to a statue out of sheer panic and fright, Shia LaBeouf was actually on top of the building wearing a safety harness, but with no safety net beneath him, and so his terror was real.
Michael Bay, at first thought Shia LaBeouf was too old to play a teenager, having seen his performance in Constantine (2005), but LaBeouf, with a makeover, and audition, convinced the filmmakers that he could indeed appear younger than he actually was.
Shia LaBeouf was so amazed with the "Project Iceman" set that he would secretly visit the set on weekends, sometimes bringing his friends along.
Michael Bay originally wanted an Apple iPod for Simmon's demonstration in the All Spark chamber, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs objected to the use of one of his products, and a Nokia cellphone was used instead.
Michael Bay cut his fee by thirty percent, to save expenses on shooting, and to keep the film in the United States, territory he was familiar with.
The film's tagline "Their war. Our world." was originally meant for AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004).
The fastest-selling DVD release of 2007.
Steve Jablonsky was assisted by his mentor Hans Zimmer in composing the musical score.
As part of the promotion campaign for the film, a special Sector 7 site was launched that featured videos showing "evidence" of Transformers having already arrived on Earth: a video featuring Grimlock destroying a construction site; Reflector transforming at a birthday party; Kickback and Laserbeak being accidentally videotaped; and a security video showing Bumblebee (in his old Volkswagen Beetle mode) transforming in a parking garage.
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Veteran voice actor Frank Welker, who voiced the Decepticon leader Megatron (among other characters) in The Transformers (1984), was approached to reprise the role, but had to turn it down due to conflicts with other projects. Michael Bay also felt his voice was too light for Megatron's new beastly look, and so Hugo Weaving took the role of Megatron. Welker would also go on to voice several Decepticons in the sequels, notably Megatron's new body Galvatron in Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), and returning to voice Megatron in Transformers: The Last Knight (2017).
Michael Bay originally turned down directing the film, considering it "a stupid toy movie." However, he wanted to work with Steven Spielberg, and wanted to make the first family film of his career, and being a car buff, the idea of sentient cars interested him. He later admitted that not being a Transformers fan, proved to be a blessing, as it enabled him to introduce the saga to other non-fans.
To keep up the film's frenetic mood, most of the action sequences were shot practically, with the actors performing their stunts live on camera. All computer graphics imagery was restricted only to the robots and certain essential scenes. Due to the intensity of the action (a majority of car crashes and explosions), the camera was kept in a box of bulletproof glass. Shia LaBeouf later quipped, "The camera's protected, but the actors are expendable!"
The "Moustache Man" hologram projected by the Decepticons is actually Brian Reece, a serving MH-53 pilot. He was spotted while piloting the Blackout helicopters, and Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg thought he had the right look (mean and cold) for a Decepticon hologram. Reece had to reschedule his wedding and honeymoon to film his scenes.
Sam's eBay name LadiesMan217 refers to Michael Bay's birthday: February 17th. The eBay name was an actual user name with last activity at the same date the movie was released.
During filming, Mark Ryan acted as a stand-in for the Transformers on-set, to give the actors a physical presence, to which to react, and against whom to act. He also ad-libbed characters during the film's post-production. He was eventually taken on board to voice Bumblebee.
The character of Mikaela Banes is named after Michael Bay.
Bumblebee was designed to visually resemble a bumblebee: his coloring is yellow/black, the protrusions on his helmet resemble antennae, and the car doors fold up behind him like wings.
Don Murphy originally wanted the film to feature seven Autobots (Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Jazz, Ratchet, Prowl, and Wheeljack) against eight Decepticons (Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, Skywarp, and Shockwave). Only seven of those Transformers (five Autobots and two Decepticons) made it into the film, but Soundwave and Ravage made it into the second film, and Laserbeak and Wheeljack (renamed Que) made it into the third film.
As the script went through several different versions over the years, every draft of the script always included the same four characters: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Megatron, and Starscream.
The female Autobot Arcee was going to appear in the film, but the writers couldn't properly explain the concept of robot gender in the film, so she was removed and replaced with Ironhide. Arcee would appear in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), the writers deciding to ignore the issue of gender.
The sequence where Bonecrusher smashes a bus in half was an actual stunt filmed live. The bus was constructed with a split-line and had cables built-in (which held the bus together until they were cut off), as well as explosives and cannons (which were used to blow the bus apart).
In his police car mode, Barricade's front side holds the Decepticon symbol, and reads "Pacis Quod Alcedonia" (Latin for "Still, Halcyon days of Peace") and "Incorporated since June 1865." His back side reads "To punish and enslave," a twisted version of the classic police slogan "To protect and serve."
In the The Transformers (1984) series, the Autobots had blue optics (eyes) and the Decepticons had red optics. The animators created a new eye design resembling a camera shutter in order to make the robots more engaging; however, the color scheme remains the same. The only exception is the Decepticon spy Frenzy, who has blue optics.
Frenzy's Cybertronian dialogue is mostly the word "Tutankhamun" repeated over and over rapidly.
During the Scorponok Desert Attack, Captain Lennox calls reinforcements through a telephone. This was inspired by a real-life anecdote a soldier told Michael Bay during filming: during the Grenada invasion, a unit lost its radio in an attack, but found a nearby telephone line, so one of the soldiers in the unit helped out by giving his credit card to get through to the Pentagon. A scene depicting this, featuring Mario Van Peebles, was in Heartbreak Ridge (1986).
According to one of the CGI artists at the Industrial Light & Magic studio, if you took all the polygons (CGI blocks) from all the Transformer models they created and strung them end to end, they'd reach to the moon and back and you'd still have enough left over to build the Roman Colosseum in Italy twice.
Prior to shooting the scene where the Autobots intercept the Sector 7 convoy, an extra (the driver of the car where Sam and Mikeala are being held) worried that he would be injured when the Agents are being disarmed by Jazz. Michael Bay assured him that no harm would come to him, as the guns would be quickly pulled away by bungee cords, and were made of rubber. But during shooting, a rubber gun struck the extra on his temple as it was pulled away, causing him to wince in pain (it can be seen in the film). Bay could only give a sheepish apology for the extra's misfortune.
That was a real truck of Furbies blown up in the film.
In the film, the name "Autobot" stands for "Autonomous Robotic Organism." In the series, the Autobots were so called, because their alternate modes were automobiles.
The Scorponok desert attack was shot on the site of a minefield. The area was scanned by an unexploded ordinances firm, to ensure it was safe, before a Bedouin village could be constructed (which would ironically be blown up).
To prepare for his role as Sam Witwicky, Shia LaBeouf worked out five days a week for three months and gained 25 pounds of muscle, but he realized during shooting that Sam required agility rather than strength.
During the Battle of Mission City, when Sam accidentally drops the All Spark, an Xbox 360 being carried by a bystander converts into a Transformer. During its transformation the sounds used when an Xbox 360 boots up (and also heard in Xbox 360 commercials) can be heard.
During the Battle of Mission City, Megatron tosses a silver-grey automobile out of his way. The license plate on the automobile says "ENERGON", which is a vital power source used by the Transformers.
The military aircraft seen in the film did not fire a single shot during filming; all of their shots were created through CGI.
Executive Producer Steven Spielberg and Shia LaBeouf are fans of Bumblebee, Megan Fox prefers Starscream, Josh Duhamel likes Ironhide, and Tyrese Gibson favors Optimus Prime (all four as seen in the animated series and the film), while Michael Bay's favorite Transformer is Bonecrusher (as seen in the film).
The film contains references to "More Than Meets the Eye", The Transformers (1984)'s three-part pilot:
- Sam and Optimus Prime say the title in their lines.
- Megatron is frozen at Hoover Dam, referring to the first battle between Megatron and Optimus Prime (set on the fictional Sherman Dam).
- Optimus carries an energon blade and Megatron carries a flail (both used these against each other in the above battle, while not in this film).
- Amanda Seyfried and Emma Stone both auditioned for the role of Mikeala.
- When the little girl discovers Ironhide in her swimming pool, she is holding a "My Little Pony" stuffed toy. Hasbro owns the "My Little Pony" toyline.
- During the Battle of Mission City, Bumblebee and Ironhide use a "Furby" truck as a shield against Starscream's attack. The "Furby" toyline is also owned by Hasbro.
- A sign reading "Takara Sushi" can be seen during the Battle, shortly after Jazz and Ratchet engage Devastator in combat. The Japanese toy company Takara was responsible for Transformers in Japan until it was sold to Hasbro.
In the scene where Secretary of Defense Keller (Jon Voight) and other military personnel are walking briskly through a tunnel, the man to his left, who is listed in the credits as a "Four Star General", is Steven Ford, the son of former U.S. President Gerald Ford.
This was the first film to feature the Hoover Dam and the Pentagon since the September 11, 2001 attacks (while the Hoover Dam was not attacked, security around it has been heavily fortified since then).
Michael Bay spent most of the film's 150 million dollar budget on fifteen practical action sequences, making sure the visual effects aspects of the film did not overwhelm the live-action elements.
Steven Spielberg suggested to the writers the central storyline of "a boy and his car," and read each of their drafts and gave notes on improving the story. Spielberg also encouraged Michael Bay to film most of the stunts live, and keep the use of CGI to a strict minimum.
This film holds the record for the biggest opening week for a NON-sequel with 152.5 million dollars. The former record holder was Spider-Man (2002) with 151.6 million dollars.
Charlie Adler voices the evil Decepticon plane Starscream in the film. He had earlier voiced the heroic Autobot plane Silverbolt in The Transformers (1984).
To save money, the filmmakers entered into a production deal with General Motors, saving about three million dollars. The company provided the alternate modes of the Autobots (in fact they provided three versions of each car, in the event that some of them would crash), and also provided around two hundred cars that were blown up in the Battle of Mission City.
The word "transformer" is used only once in the entire film, when Ron Witwicky decides to call the city ("We got a blown transformer."). Its derivative "transform" is also heard in the film, used by Mikaela, Ratchet, Agent Simmons, and Sam.
Although Scorponok is the only robot in the film that does not transform, the center of his body appears to be a General Electric T64 turboshaft engine, and his forearms are partly shaped from the side exhausts; since his master Blackout was a helicopter, this would mean he was one of Blackout's engines.
The U.S. Department of Defense provided authentic military uniforms for the actors. The uniforms worn by the base attack survivors is the Multicam uniform of the Army's Future Force Warrior system (part of the Future Combat Systems project), and Agent Simmon's uniform holds a Combat Infantryman's Badge and the silver oak leaves of a Lieutenant Colonel (indicating Simmons was once a U.S. Army Infantry officer).
Starscream's original alternate mode in The Transformers (1984) was an F-15 Eagle jet, but this was revised to a F-22 Raptor (In real-life the Air Force has planned to replace the F-15 with the F-22). He was also given small bird-like feet to be able to appropriately transform and perform his feats throughout the film.
According to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, during the designing of the Transformers, as a test, Optimus Prime was first designed in CGI in his classic boxy look from The Transformers (1984), but he looked fake and boring. So the robots were designed in a more intricate, three-dimensional image, to be more realistic and to reflect their alien origins. The major influences in these designs were real-world physics (each robot matches the size of its chosen disguise), the Rubik's Cube (numerous pieces moving to convert one thing to another) and samurai armor (going back to the toyline's Japanese origins).
A sign in the All Spark chamber reads "The last accident happened here 322 days ago." Michael Bay considered filming this accident as a flashback (which would also show how the claw marks appeared on the chamber walls), but decided to scrap it, in favor of a present demonstration by Simmons.
Peter Cullen wants to own one of the Peterbilt trucks that served as Optimus Prime.
The first scene Michael Bay shot for the film was the secret transmission from the Beagle 2 Mars Rover.
Originally the Matrix of Leadership was going to be the powerful artifact the Transformers were searching for, but the writers thought it sounded too similar to The Matrix (1999) and renamed it the All Spark (the concept itself was a hybrid of the Matrix, the Energon cubes from the television series, and the cube-shaped artifact the Underbase from the 1980's comics). The Matrix would appear in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), with its purpose altered to being a key to activate the solar harvester machine.
Throughout the film, Bumblebee communicates using his radio, in a manner reminiscent of the Junkions, denizens of the planet Junk, featured in The Transformers: The Movie (1986), who spoke entirely in the form of television broadcasts. Notable transmissions by Bumblebee include:
- The voice of Lieutenant Uhura, from Star Trek (1966), saying "Message from Starfleet." The role of Megatron/Galvatron was previously played by Leonard Nimoy and Frank Welker, who have also both played Spock in Star Trek.
- A line, "Across the inanimate vastness of space," was taken from Orson Welles's infamous 1939 radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds". Welles' final film was The Transformers: The Movie (1986), where he voiced the planet-devouring Unicron.
- A phrase from a sermon, "angels from Heaven". In Japan, the Transformers are known as the "Super God Robot Force."
- A line by John Wayne from El Dorado (1967). Wayne's voice has long been associated as an influence on Peter Cullen's voice for Optimus Prime.
Soundwave was going to appear in this film, disguised as a MH-53 Pave Low helicopter. Later the copter was re-named Blackout, and then Soundwave was going to be a Saleen Mustang automobile. However, the Hasbro Company requested that a music player, Soundwave's original alternate mode from The Transformers (1984), be in the film, so the Saleen was re-named Barricade, and the music player robot appeared as Barricade's partner. However, the writers felt the role did not give Soundwave justice, so they re-named the music player Frenzy, after Soundwave's minion. Soundwave himself would appear in the next two films.
Optimus Prime's body language and movements were modelled after Liam Neeson.
This was the highest-grossing film in Malaysia, grossing about 5.2 million dollars.
Ratchet's alternate mode is a Hummer H2 search-and-rescue vehicle. This vehicle is an original Hummer built from scratch for the film, and modified to have a sturdier build. The vehicle was also painted green to give it a distinct look (although a Ratchet toy released in commemoration of the film featured him in his classic red/white look).
According to one of the CGI artists at Industrial Light & Magic, the Transformers are composed out of a total of 60,217 pieces. Optimus Prime is composed of 10,108 pieces, Megatron is composed of 2,411 pieces, and Bumblebee is composed out of 7,433 pieces. Ironhide is the bulkiest Transformer in the film, with both his guns composed of 10,000 pieces each.
The soldiers at the beginning of the film are seen in a Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Originally, they were to be shown returning home in a Humvee, but during filming, Michael Bay saw and requested to use the newly arrived CV-22s instead. A unique feature of the CV-22 is that its rotors tilt, so that it can change between a helicopter and an airplane. With this ability to change modes, it is in essence, a real-life transformer.
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Ewan McGregor was considered to voice Bumblebee and Ratchet.
Jazz's original alternate mode in The Transformers (1984) was a Porsche sports car, but this was revised to a Pontiac Solstice. As a tribute to the series, Ron Witwicky teases Sam by driving him through a Porsche dealership before taking him to the used car lot.
Most of the cars that were destroyed in the film had their engines and transmissions removed to make them easier to flip around.
Bonecrusher's alternate mode is a Buffalo H Mine-Protected Clearance Vehicle, which comes equipped with a claw at the end of a telescopic arm. According to Production Designer Jeff Mann, the production design team saw a picture of the vehicle with the claw in the foreground, which gave the impression that the claw was large enough to turn over other vehicles. But when they contacted the owners of the vehicle to ask about using it, they were amused to learn that the claw was only fourteen inches wide (it turned out the picture had been edited by Photoshop). The claw seen in this film is a ten-foot appliance the team had to construct to fit over the existing claw.
Griffith Observatory is a private area and its authorities were initially reluctant about allowing shooting to go on with the film. However, the filmmakers were able to get permission, through its officials Leonard Nimoy and Susan Bay (Nimoy's wife, whom Michael Bay is related to), to shoot the Autobots' arrival to Earth and their council. Nimoy had voiced Megatron's successor Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie (1986) and went on to voice Optimus Prime's predecessor Sentinel Prime in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).
When Megatron steps on Jazz, a squeaky toy sound can be heard.
Bumblebee has an air freshener hanging from his rear-view mirror with a Bee on it that says; "Bee Otch."
Michael Bay's dog, a mastiff named Mason, who can be seen in the film (Miles is giving him a bath). During filming, Bay adopted another dog, whom he named Bonecrusher. He can be seen in the next two films.
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Sam's ancestor, Captain Archibald Witwicky, is seen in a news article in the Air Force One computer, referred to as "Capt. Witwicky, Amundsen." This is a reference to Roald Amundsen, a famed polar explorer who embarked on various expeditions to the Antarctic region.
If you take a close look at Starscream, markings can be seen on his F-22 form:
The tail that forms his left shoulder displays a winged sword enclosed in a shield (the emblem of the Air Combat Command) and the letters "FF 1st FW" (indicating the 1st Fighter Wing, based out of Langley Air Force Base).
A part of the nose that forms his chest reveals a "flying fist" insignia, which belongs to the 71st Fighter Squadron of that 1st Wing (this squadron still flies Starscream's The Transformers (1984) mode, the F-15 Eagle).
And his tail markings read "ED," which places him at Edwards Air Force Base (he is also seen among a squadron bearing "ED" tail markings).
This is the only live action Transformers film not nominated for the Worst Picture Golden Raspberry Award. However, it was nominated for Worst Supporting Actor for Jon Voight, which it did not win.
Michael Clarke Duncan was originally going to play a member of Sector 7.
Mark Ryan claims he didn't know the lines he recorded for Bumblebee would actually be used in the film, and had he been informed for certain, he would have given Bumblebee a younger-sounding voice.
Reno Wilson performed Frenzy's rapid, shrill chattering in real-life, without any speeding-up or digital alteration.
The Transformers official slogan, "More than meets the eye," is heard twice in the film: firstly, when Sam is talking to Mikaela inside Bumblebee; and secondly, when Optimus Prime makes his transmission at the end of the film.
Brawl's alternate mode, a hybrid tank resembling the M1 Abrams and Leopard II, was a remodeled version of the "stealth tank" from xXx: State of the Union (2005). Michael Bay had browsed through all the tanks in the United States Military to find the right tank to serve as Brawl's alternate mode, but finally settled on the stealth tank, which he felt had the proper attitude for a Decepticon (it was mean, authoritarian, and weapon-loaded). Additionally, the prop tank is much lighter than a real one, which was of benefit when most on-screen action was of it driving on paved roads.
Two of the Decepticons in the film are named Bonecrusher (the mine-clearing vehicle) and Devastator (the tank). They were named after two members of the Constructicons, a faction of Decepticons in The Transformers (1984) who took the forms of construction vehicles, and who could combine into a larger robot. The Constructicons would appear in the second film, though some names necessarily had to be changed.
Michael Bay wanted Steve Buscemi to play Agent Simmons, but Buscemi was unavailable due to shooting other films. Buscemi would later appear in Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), as a Transformer.
When Frenzy transforms to the CD-player after shooting his discs, the display of the CD-player reads "NO DISC."
According to Michael Bay, the key to making the robots look real was lighting. Each and every component of the robots had to reflect light like real metal. Photographs of each set were taken to use as a lighting reference to recreate the scene with the robots, and extensive use of ray tracing (a light reflection technique) was carried out. However, there were a variety of light sources (optics, headlights, lamps, sunlight, et cetera), which had to reflect off a variety of surfaces (which had different textures), which made ray tracing an arduous task to perform.
Sam, at first, believes Bumblebee is a Japanese robot. Transformers originated in Japan. Agent Simmons also talks about samurai, furthering the Japanese connection.
The transformation sound from The Transformers (1984) is heard on five occasions in the movie:
- Blackout transforms at the SOCCENT base.
- Bumblebee transforms to catch a falling Sam and Mikaela.
- The Nokia phone becomes a Transformer after exposure to the AllSpark.
- Ironhide and Blackout transform in the Battle of Mission City.
- When Starscream flies into space at the end.
The Transformers were created with a mix of computer graphics imagery (from Industrial Light & Magic, and Digital Doman) and props (from KNB Effects). The props built include the miniature AllSpark; Optimus Prime's head, chest and foot; Megatron's legs and claws; Barricade's pop-out sensors; Blackout's feet; Bonecrusher's claw; Scorponok's head and tail; a seventeen-foot model of Bumblebee; and a four-foot model of Frenzy (the latter three in life-size). While ILM designed 75 percent of the 630 effects shots in the film, Digital Domain handled the remaining 25 percent, which include the Arctic discovery of Megatron, Frenzy's animated head, the machines mutated by the AllSpark, and the Autobots' protoforms.
In the Battle of Mission City, Mikaela and Bumblebee use a GMC tow truck. This is a tribute to the Autobot Longarm, whose alternate mode in The Transformers (1984) was a tow truck.
Rachael Taylor is a pacifist and wasn't enthusiastic about starring in what was fundamentally a war film, but to her surprise, she had a fun time shooting.
The mention of robots having "sparks" (or souls), is taken from the Beast Wars: Transformers (1996) show, where the concept was first introduced.
Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar's favorite scene is where the Autobots hide from Ron Witwicky.
Around April 2010, the CIEPE (China International Exhibition on Police Equipment) launched a fleet of their own "Ratchet" H2 Hummer vehicles.
John Turturro claims he based his performance as Agent Simmons on Michael Bay, though Bay insists the character is nothing like him.
Originally, the Ark and the Nemesis, the respective spaceships of the Autobots and Decepticons, were featured in the script. Roberto Orci removed the spacecraft element, wondering "Why would aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel inside?" and replaced it with the travelling protoform concept from Beast Wars: Transformers (1996). However, the Nemesis would be seen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and the Ark would be seen in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).
When Frenzy climbs into Barricade after the attack on Air Force One, the holographic driver is wearing an Oklahoma Highway Patrol uniform.
A soldier in the film is named Jorge Figueroa. This is a reference to Don Figueroa, a writer and illustrator for the Transformers comics.
The term "Sector 7" was taken from the first ever dialogue of Beast Wars: Transformers (1996).
Corey Burton, who voiced Shockwave in The Transformers (1984), was approached to voice Jazz and Brawl. He turned Brawl down, as he didn't want a blink-and-miss voice role, and later expressed bewilderment that he would be considered for the "black character" Jazz. He was later approached to voice Shockwave in the third film, but turned it down as he'd done that role too many times.
According to Rachael Taylor, the only difficulty about her performance was wearing high heels.
Steven Spielberg and Producer-Writer Tom DeSanto are both fans of the Transformers, and brought on as part of the film's crew several other fans. These included Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman; Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and Anthony Anderson; and many of the ILM animators.
In close-up shots, the Transformers are sped up, and in wide shots they are shown in slow-motion. This gives them weight to their movements, as well as making them look cool. The ILM animators also watched footage of martial arts fights, to get an idea on how to portray the Transformers' movements as graceful and organic as possible.
In the AllSpark chamber, Epps asks if "Nightmare on Elm Street" anti-hero Freddy Krueger had been around. Michael Bay went on to produce A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).
Don Murphy brought in Tom DeSanto to write the plot, impressed with the way DeSanto had managed the many characters and storylines in X-Men (2000). DeSanto, a big fan of the series since childhood, carried out extensive research on the Transformers. He held several meetings with comic book writer Simon Furman, and he invited fans to discuss the film on Murphy's online message board. His treatment explored the Transformers' existence and history, as well as the real possibilities and consequences of "their war on our world," similar to a disaster film, which was what Murphy wanted the film to resemble.
When being chased by Barricade, Mikaela and Sam scream "We're gonna die!" This was the catchphrase of the Maximal Rattrap, who appeared in Beast Wars: Transformers (1996).
The Transformer, who transforms into a tank, was originally called Brawl in The Transformers (1984), but the name was altered to Devastator. Roberto Orci has stated this was an error which was pointed out during editing, as have Hasbro, the license holders. However, Michael Bay has stated he felt Devastator was a more destructive and appropriate name for a Decepticon. In related merchandise, the Decepticon tank was called Brawl.
During the battle of Captain Lennox's unit against the scorpion Decepticon in the middle-east town, Captain Lennox tries to communicate with the Pentagon using a cell phone, but he is asked by the operator to provide a credit card number to complete the call. This was based on a real-life event Michael Bay heard about during filming. The real-life event was featured in Heartbreak Ridge (1986).
The Decepticon animals Ravage and Laserbeak were in the original script, but they were removed and replaced with Scorponok. Ravage would appear in the second film, and Laserbeak would appear in the third film.
In Japan, the Transformers: Animated (2007) series is presented as a prequel to this film. Thus that show's Transformers are seen as young versions of the movie Transformers (while most of the characters are similar, the character of Bulkhead is treated as a young Ironhide). This is only in Japan, though; everywhere else the Animated and movie versions are kept as separate.
The character Scorponok made his debut in the Headmasters episodes that comprised the final season of The Transformers (1984); since these episodes are set shortly after the events of The Transformers: The Movie (1986) (which was set in 2006), it is likely that Scorponok's first appearance on the series was also set in 2007. The film is set in the then-present day of 2007, and one of the first Transformers seen is Scorponok.
The aerial attack Starscream carries out (jumping on a jet and flipping it over) was jet judo, a martial art seen in The Transformers (1984).
Hasbro released several toys based on the movie's characters. These toys feature new "Automorph Technology," where moving parts of a toy in transformations allowed some other parts to shift automatically. This marks a rare time when Transformers toys are designed after the characters in the fiction, whereas normally, the toys are designed first (Although Michael Bay admitted most of the Decepticons had their appearances chosen before their characterization as Hasbro needed to get started on the toys).
Don Murphy originally planned to make G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), but in 2003 he negotiated with the Hasbro Company for a The Transformers (1984) film instead. However, the soldiers in the film were inspired by G.I. Joe, and one of its characters is mentioned during the Scorponok desert attack (a pilot calls for "Falcon Opps").
Patton Oswalt was offered, but declined, the role of Glenn Whitman.
Ron and Judy Witwicky were named after Roberto Orci's parents-in-law.
This is the only Transformers live-action film that did not release the same year as a Marvel Cinematic Universe film (since that series began in 2008) or an X-Men film. However, this film, Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) released the same year as a Spider-Man film, respectively Spider-Man 3 (2007), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
In the battle of Mission City, Jazz attacks Devastator and bends his gun barrel while he's in tank mode. This is similar to a scene from The Transformers: The Movie (1986), where Kup jumps on Blitzwing when he's in tank mode and does the same thing to him.
The Decepticon that transformed into a MH-53 Pave Low helicopter was originally named Vortex, after the Combaticon from The Transformers (1984), but this name was later altered to Incinerator, then to Soundwave, and finally he was christened as Blackout.
Rockstar Stan Bush, who composed the soundtrack for The Transformers: The Movie (1986), composed a song for this film, but there was no suitable point to place it in the film.
Peter Cullen had voiced the Autobot Ironhide in The Transformers (1984) and auditioned to reprise the role. Instead, Jess Harnell was brought on to voice Ironhide.
Dane Cook lobbied for a part in the movie because it was his favorite cartoon growing up.
Jess Harnell voices both an Autobot and Decepticon in this film (Ironhide and Barricade).
The working title for this film and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) is "Prime Directive." This was the name of Dreamwave Productions' first "Transformers" comic book, but it is also an edict mentioned in Star Trek (1966) which emphasizes avoiding interference, harmful or otherwise, in alien civilizations (which the Transformers obviously breach). Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and William Morgan Sheppard would go on to work in Star Trek (2009).
The rock band Mute Math composed a rock version of the The Transformers (1984) theme song, but there was no suitable point to place it in the film.
To make the dialogue in the film more natural, the writers got closely involved during post-production and wrote additional dialogue for the actors and Transformers.
The bird in Bobby Bolivia's petting zoo is a ñandú, a flightless bird native to Bolivia and other parts of South America.
In his helicopter mode, Blackout's vertical stabilizer reads 4500X. The same registration also appears on Michael Bay's privately-owned jet.
Michael Bay described the tone of the film as "Seven Samurai (1954) fused with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and charged with 85 mph fight scenes."
Darius McCrary felt honored to voice Jazz, and claims he could feel the force of Jazz's original voice actor Scatman Crothers during his performance.
The Autobot Prowl, who transformed into a police car, was in the original script, but the writers and Michael Bay loved the idea of an evil police car, and so the character was altered to become Barricade.
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox had previously appeared in Will Smith films: Labeouf appeared in I, Robot (2004), and Megan Fox was an extra in Bad Boys II (2003).
Howard Stern was originally approached to make a quick voice cameo in the film, but his agent talked him out of it.
Prior to the Battle of Mission City, the air base gives the command "Scramble!" to its pilots. This command was the last words of the Shockwave during a battle in The Transformers: The Movie (1986).
As the Decepticons mobilize, Blackout calls out "All hail Megatron!" IDW Comics released a series in late 2008 titled "All Hail Megatron".
This is the first time a female Witwicky appears in the "Transformers" universe. Before, there had only been male Witwickys (Spike and his father Sparkplug from The Transformers (1984); Spike's wife Carly doesn't count).
The platform that Megatron stands on at Hoover Dam has a little plaque on it, which reads "Bay Foundry" after Michael Bay.
Simon Furman, who had written the Transformers comics in the U.K. and the U.S., collaborated with the screenwriters to produce a graphic novel, "Transformers: Prequel", which chronicled the events that led to the classic Autobot/Decepticon war back on Cybertron, and serves as a prequel to the events that occurred in the film. This story can be seen as a bonus feature in the Walmart DVD, Transformers: Beginnings (2007).
A Decepticon named Stryker, who transformed into an armored personnel carrier, was going to appear in the film, but was eventually cut out and replaced with Brawl. Stryker would instead be re-named as Wreckage, and appear in the IDW "Transformer" comics.
The name of Glenn Whitmann was taken from a friend of the writers. The real Glen Whitman is a Professor of Economics at California State University in Northridge, though he has also written episodes of Fringe (2008), which was created by writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
At one point, Agent Simmons refers to the Witwicky's dog Mojo as "your little Taco Bell dog." This is a reference to the Taco Bell "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" advertising campaign in the U.S. that used a talking chihuahua from 1997 to 2003.
When the film was announced in 2005, it was to be released by DreamWorks in the United States, and by Paramount Pictures internationally. Early in pre-production, Viacom, Paramount's owner, also acquired DreamWorks, giving the longer-established studio full ownership of the film, indicated by the use of Paramount's logo at the end of the U.S. release, instead of the DreamWorks logo. Paramount's involvement came, because at the time, Hasbro had licensed DVD rights to some of their more recent animated productions (both television series and direct-to-DVD films), such as Transformers: Energon (2004) and Transformers: Cybertron (2005), to Paramount (these productions are now distributed by Shout! Factory). Beginning with the second sequel to this film, the Transformers movies would solely be presented by Paramount, as DreamWorks became independent again in 2008, but left behind its library at Paramount.
Megatron was originally going to have a streamlined helmet design based on his classic bucket-head look from The Transformers (1984). However, the filmmakers decided it wasn't menacing enough, and passed the head design to Starscream, and gave Megatron a more jagged and crowned design. The helmet design would later evolve into Megatron's design for Transformers: The Last Knight (2017).
Judith Hoag auditioned for the part of Judy Witwicky.
The Autobot Jazz's robot form was based on the 1984 toy, comic book, cartoon version from his chest plate and eye visor. Also, his transformation to vehicle mode was similar to the pilot episode of The Transformers (1984).
When Bumblebee switches to his updated version and is in robot form, the stripes on the doors and his chest overlap to format the Chevy symbol.
The U.S. and Canadian DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment is available in both a stand alone version without any special features and a two disc edition with special features.
Cameo
Ian Bryce, Kenny Bates: Producers appear as workers and Agents at Hoover Dam.
In the Battle of Mission City, Mikaela and Bumblebee use a GMC tow truck. This is a tribute to the Autobot Longarm, whose alternate mode in The Transformers (1984) was a tow truck.
Rachael Taylor is a pacifist and wasn't enthusiastic about starring in what was fundamentally a war film, but to her surprise, she had a fun time shooting.
The mention of robots having "sparks" (or souls), is taken from the Beast Wars: Transformers (1996) show, where the concept was first introduced.
Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar's favorite scene is where the Autobots hide from Ron Witwicky.
Around April 2010, the CIEPE (China International Exhibition on Police Equipment) launched a fleet of their own "Ratchet" H2 Hummer vehicles.
John Turturro claims he based his performance as Agent Simmons on Michael Bay, though Bay insists the character is nothing like him.
Originally, the Ark and the Nemesis, the respective spaceships of the Autobots and Decepticons, were featured in the script. Roberto Orci removed the spacecraft element, wondering "Why would aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel inside?" and replaced it with the travelling protoform concept from Beast Wars: Transformers (1996). However, the Nemesis would be seen in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and the Ark would be seen in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).
When Frenzy climbs into Barricade after the attack on Air Force One, the holographic driver is wearing an Oklahoma Highway Patrol uniform.
A soldier in the film is named Jorge Figueroa. This is a reference to Don Figueroa, a writer and illustrator for the Transformers comics.
The term "Sector 7" was taken from the first ever dialogue of Beast Wars: Transformers (1996).
Corey Burton, who voiced Shockwave in The Transformers (1984), was approached to voice Jazz and Brawl. He turned Brawl down, as he didn't want a blink-and-miss voice role, and later expressed bewilderment that he would be considered for the "black character" Jazz. He was later approached to voice Shockwave in the third film, but turned it down as he'd done that role too many times.
According to Rachael Taylor, the only difficulty about her performance was wearing high heels.
Steven Spielberg and Producer-Writer Tom DeSanto are both fans of the Transformers, and brought on as part of the film's crew several other fans. These included Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman; Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and Anthony Anderson; and many of the ILM animators.
In close-up shots, the Transformers are sped up, and in wide shots they are shown in slow-motion. This gives them weight to their movements, as well as making them look cool. The ILM animators also watched footage of martial arts fights, to get an idea on how to portray the Transformers' movements as graceful and organic as possible.
In the AllSpark chamber, Epps asks if "Nightmare on Elm Street" anti-hero Freddy Krueger had been around. Michael Bay went on to produce A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).
Don Murphy brought in Tom DeSanto to write the plot, impressed with the way DeSanto had managed the many characters and storylines in X-Men (2000). DeSanto, a big fan of the series since childhood, carried out extensive research on the Transformers. He held several meetings with comic book writer Simon Furman, and he invited fans to discuss the film on Murphy's online message board. His treatment explored the Transformers' existence and history, as well as the real possibilities and consequences of "their war on our world," similar to a disaster film, which was what Murphy wanted the film to resemble.
When being chased by Barricade, Mikaela and Sam scream "We're gonna die!" This was the catchphrase of the Maximal Rattrap, who appeared in Beast Wars: Transformers (1996).
The Transformer, who transforms into a tank, was originally called Brawl in The Transformers (1984), but the name was altered to Devastator. Roberto Orci has stated this was an error which was pointed out during editing, as have Hasbro, the license holders. However, Michael Bay has stated he felt Devastator was a more destructive and appropriate name for a Decepticon. In related merchandise, the Decepticon tank was called Brawl.
During the battle of Captain Lennox's unit against the scorpion Decepticon in the middle-east town, Captain Lennox tries to communicate with the Pentagon using a cell phone, but he is asked by the operator to provide a credit card number to complete the call. This was based on a real-life event Michael Bay heard about during filming. The real-life event was featured in Heartbreak Ridge (1986).
The Decepticon animals Ravage and Laserbeak were in the original script, but they were removed and replaced with Scorponok. Ravage would appear in the second film, and Laserbeak would appear in the third film.
In Japan, the Transformers: Animated (2007) series is presented as a prequel to this film. Thus that show's Transformers are seen as young versions of the movie Transformers (while most of the characters are similar, the character of Bulkhead is treated as a young Ironhide). This is only in Japan, though; everywhere else the Animated and movie versions are kept as separate.
The character Scorponok made his debut in the Headmasters episodes that comprised the final season of The Transformers (1984); since these episodes are set shortly after the events of The Transformers: The Movie (1986) (which was set in 2006), it is likely that Scorponok's first appearance on the series was also set in 2007. The film is set in the then-present day of 2007, and one of the first Transformers seen is Scorponok.
The aerial attack Starscream carries out (jumping on a jet and flipping it over) was jet judo, a martial art seen in The Transformers (1984).
Hasbro released several toys based on the movie's characters. These toys feature new "Automorph Technology," where moving parts of a toy in transformations allowed some other parts to shift automatically. This marks a rare time when Transformers toys are designed after the characters in the fiction, whereas normally, the toys are designed first (Although Michael Bay admitted most of the Decepticons had their appearances chosen before their characterization as Hasbro needed to get started on the toys).
Don Murphy originally planned to make G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), but in 2003 he negotiated with the Hasbro Company for a The Transformers (1984) film instead. However, the soldiers in the film were inspired by G.I. Joe, and one of its characters is mentioned during the Scorponok desert attack (a pilot calls for "Falcon Opps").
Patton Oswalt was offered, but declined, the role of Glenn Whitman.
Ron and Judy Witwicky were named after Roberto Orci's parents-in-law.
This is the only Transformers live-action film that did not release the same year as a Marvel Cinematic Universe film (since that series began in 2008) or an X-Men film. However, this film, Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) and Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) released the same year as a Spider-Man film, respectively Spider-Man 3 (2007), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) and Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
In the battle of Mission City, Jazz attacks Devastator and bends his gun barrel while he's in tank mode. This is similar to a scene from The Transformers: The Movie (1986), where Kup jumps on Blitzwing when he's in tank mode and does the same thing to him.
The Decepticon that transformed into a MH-53 Pave Low helicopter was originally named Vortex, after the Combaticon from The Transformers (1984), but this name was later altered to Incinerator, then to Soundwave, and finally he was christened as Blackout.
Rockstar Stan Bush, who composed the soundtrack for The Transformers: The Movie (1986), composed a song for this film, but there was no suitable point to place it in the film.
Peter Cullen had voiced the Autobot Ironhide in The Transformers (1984) and auditioned to reprise the role. Instead, Jess Harnell was brought on to voice Ironhide.
Dane Cook lobbied for a part in the movie because it was his favorite cartoon growing up.
Jess Harnell voices both an Autobot and Decepticon in this film (Ironhide and Barricade).
The working title for this film and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) is "Prime Directive." This was the name of Dreamwave Productions' first "Transformers" comic book, but it is also an edict mentioned in Star Trek (1966) which emphasizes avoiding interference, harmful or otherwise, in alien civilizations (which the Transformers obviously breach). Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and William Morgan Sheppard would go on to work in Star Trek (2009).
The rock band Mute Math composed a rock version of the The Transformers (1984) theme song, but there was no suitable point to place it in the film.
To make the dialogue in the film more natural, the writers got closely involved during post-production and wrote additional dialogue for the actors and Transformers.
The bird in Bobby Bolivia's petting zoo is a ñandú, a flightless bird native to Bolivia and other parts of South America.
In his helicopter mode, Blackout's vertical stabilizer reads 4500X. The same registration also appears on Michael Bay's privately-owned jet.
Michael Bay described the tone of the film as "Seven Samurai (1954) fused with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and charged with 85 mph fight scenes."
Darius McCrary felt honored to voice Jazz, and claims he could feel the force of Jazz's original voice actor Scatman Crothers during his performance.
The Autobot Prowl, who transformed into a police car, was in the original script, but the writers and Michael Bay loved the idea of an evil police car, and so the character was altered to become Barricade.
Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox had previously appeared in Will Smith films: Labeouf appeared in I, Robot (2004), and Megan Fox was an extra in Bad Boys II (2003).
Howard Stern was originally approached to make a quick voice cameo in the film, but his agent talked him out of it.
Prior to the Battle of Mission City, the air base gives the command "Scramble!" to its pilots. This command was the last words of the Shockwave during a battle in The Transformers: The Movie (1986).
As the Decepticons mobilize, Blackout calls out "All hail Megatron!" IDW Comics released a series in late 2008 titled "All Hail Megatron".
This is the first time a female Witwicky appears in the "Transformers" universe. Before, there had only been male Witwickys (Spike and his father Sparkplug from The Transformers (1984); Spike's wife Carly doesn't count).
The platform that Megatron stands on at Hoover Dam has a little plaque on it, which reads "Bay Foundry" after Michael Bay.
Simon Furman, who had written the Transformers comics in the U.K. and the U.S., collaborated with the screenwriters to produce a graphic novel, "Transformers: Prequel", which chronicled the events that led to the classic Autobot/Decepticon war back on Cybertron, and serves as a prequel to the events that occurred in the film. This story can be seen as a bonus feature in the Walmart DVD, Transformers: Beginnings (2007).
A Decepticon named Stryker, who transformed into an armored personnel carrier, was going to appear in the film, but was eventually cut out and replaced with Brawl. Stryker would instead be re-named as Wreckage, and appear in the IDW "Transformer" comics.
The name of Glenn Whitmann was taken from a friend of the writers. The real Glen Whitman is a Professor of Economics at California State University in Northridge, though he has also written episodes of Fringe (2008), which was created by writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
At one point, Agent Simmons refers to the Witwicky's dog Mojo as "your little Taco Bell dog." This is a reference to the Taco Bell "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" advertising campaign in the U.S. that used a talking chihuahua from 1997 to 2003.
When the film was announced in 2005, it was to be released by DreamWorks in the United States, and by Paramount Pictures internationally. Early in pre-production, Viacom, Paramount's owner, also acquired DreamWorks, giving the longer-established studio full ownership of the film, indicated by the use of Paramount's logo at the end of the U.S. release, instead of the DreamWorks logo. Paramount's involvement came, because at the time, Hasbro had licensed DVD rights to some of their more recent animated productions (both television series and direct-to-DVD films), such as Transformers: Energon (2004) and Transformers: Cybertron (2005), to Paramount (these productions are now distributed by Shout! Factory). Beginning with the second sequel to this film, the Transformers movies would solely be presented by Paramount, as DreamWorks became independent again in 2008, but left behind its library at Paramount.
Megatron was originally going to have a streamlined helmet design based on his classic bucket-head look from The Transformers (1984). However, the filmmakers decided it wasn't menacing enough, and passed the head design to Starscream, and gave Megatron a more jagged and crowned design. The helmet design would later evolve into Megatron's design for Transformers: The Last Knight (2017).
Judith Hoag auditioned for the part of Judy Witwicky.
The Autobot Jazz's robot form was based on the 1984 toy, comic book, cartoon version from his chest plate and eye visor. Also, his transformation to vehicle mode was similar to the pilot episode of The Transformers (1984).
When Bumblebee switches to his updated version and is in robot form, the stripes on the doors and his chest overlap to format the Chevy symbol.
The U.S. and Canadian DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment is available in both a stand alone version without any special features and a two disc edition with special features.
Cameo
Ian Bryce, Kenny Bates: Producers appear as workers and Agents at Hoover Dam.
Director Cameo
Michael Bay: the human Megatron flicks away.
Spoilers
The Decepticons outnumber the Autobots eight to five. This was a deliberate move by the writers to emphasize the Autobots' teamwork, and the threat the Decepticons pose to the world.
The film's last scene is of Starscream fleeing into space. This is a tribute to the closing credits of The Transformers (1984), which featured a scene of Starscream and his teammates Skywarp and Thundercracker blasting off into space.
16 of 16 found this interesting | Share this
When Optimus Prime takes on Megatron in their climatic showdown, he states that "One shall stand, one shall fall!" Prime told Megatron the same thing when they clashed in The Transformers: The Movie (1986). In that feature though, Prime was the one who fell, while in this film it is Megatron.
Sentinel Prime was going to appear in the film. During the Battle of Mission City, time would stop and he would briefly appear to Sam, giving him a clue as to how to defeat Megatron. In the final film, Optimus Prime provides this clue, but the concept was recycled into the Dynasty of Primes in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and Sentinel Prime himself would appear in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).
According to Michael Bay, the Battle of Mission City did not expose the Transformers to the world: "Everybody has gone ahead. It's realistic. Two weeks after the 2004 tsunami, nobody talked about it anymore. It's very weird. We decided to do the same with the Transformers. The government talks about a military thing, says all is false, that it's a joke; and people don't know what they really saw."
The Autobot Jazz is killed in the final battle. He was ironically one of the Autobot survivors in The Transformers: The Movie (1986), which featured the deaths of most of his comrades.
An F-22 in the Battle of Mission City blitzes Megatron. Fans suggested that the attacking F-22 was Starscream in disguise, which fits in with his classic double-crossing nature and comes up in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009). Writer Roberto Orci felt it was up to fans to decide if it was really Starscream, having not considered the idea when they were writing the movie.
The prequel novel "Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday" provides a more complete explanation than in the film as to how the Autobots and Decepticons learned of the AllSpark being on Earth. Both sides encounter Ghost-1, a spacecraft reverse-engineered from Megatron, and piloted by Sector Seven astronauts. Both sides learn of the AllSpark and Megatron being on Earth, and have a battle that results in Ghost-1's destruction, but steers them towards Earth.
Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman decided to kill off Jazz, as he was the third most popular Autobot.
When Mojo the dog pees on Ironhide's foot, he makes a comment about "that's going to rust." In Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Ironhide dies by Sentinel Primes' rust gun.
Megatron meets his end when Sam pushes the AllSpark (described in the film as "raw power") into his chest. This is a tribute to The Transformers: The Movie (1986) (Hot Rod uses the Matrix's power to destroy Unicron), as well as Beast Wars: Transformers (1996) (the Predacon Rampage gets raw energon shoved right through his chest).
At the end of the film, the remains of the fallen Decepticons are dumped into the Laurentian Abyss, in the Atlantic Ocean. Ironically, in The Transformers (1984) the Decepticons had as their lair an underwater abyss.
While Jazz does not survive the final battle, a Jazz toy released from Hasbro to commemorate the film mentioned his being rebuilt into a tougher (and better-looking) frame. He is seen alive and well in the Japanese manga adaptation of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), where he participates in the Giza Guerilla, killing Long Haul and impaling Megatron's left leg with his new sword to stop him from reaching Sam, but is thrown into some ruins, where he spends the remainder of the battle fighting Decepticon protoforms.
According to Roberto Orci, Ron and Judy Witwicky learned the truth about the Transformers between this film and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009).
There is a notorious scene in The Transformers: The Movie (1986) where Spike Witwicky swears during a battle ("Oh, shit... what are we going to do now?"). In this film, Sam Witwicky yells "Oh, shit!" when he encounters a Decepticon for the first time, and when Frenzy's head is sliced in half "Oh, shit!" are his last words.
In 1973 Steven Spielberg was considered to direct Superman (1978), and in 1998 Michael Bay was considered to direct Man of Steel (2013). This film contains tributes to the original Superman (1978):
The film's last scene is of Starscream fleeing into space. This is a tribute to the closing credits of The Transformers (1984), which featured a scene of Starscream and his teammates Skywarp and Thundercracker blasting off into space.
16 of 16 found this interesting | Share this
When Optimus Prime takes on Megatron in their climatic showdown, he states that "One shall stand, one shall fall!" Prime told Megatron the same thing when they clashed in The Transformers: The Movie (1986). In that feature though, Prime was the one who fell, while in this film it is Megatron.
Sentinel Prime was going to appear in the film. During the Battle of Mission City, time would stop and he would briefly appear to Sam, giving him a clue as to how to defeat Megatron. In the final film, Optimus Prime provides this clue, but the concept was recycled into the Dynasty of Primes in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), and Sentinel Prime himself would appear in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).
According to Michael Bay, the Battle of Mission City did not expose the Transformers to the world: "Everybody has gone ahead. It's realistic. Two weeks after the 2004 tsunami, nobody talked about it anymore. It's very weird. We decided to do the same with the Transformers. The government talks about a military thing, says all is false, that it's a joke; and people don't know what they really saw."
The Autobot Jazz is killed in the final battle. He was ironically one of the Autobot survivors in The Transformers: The Movie (1986), which featured the deaths of most of his comrades.
An F-22 in the Battle of Mission City blitzes Megatron. Fans suggested that the attacking F-22 was Starscream in disguise, which fits in with his classic double-crossing nature and comes up in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009). Writer Roberto Orci felt it was up to fans to decide if it was really Starscream, having not considered the idea when they were writing the movie.
The prequel novel "Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday" provides a more complete explanation than in the film as to how the Autobots and Decepticons learned of the AllSpark being on Earth. Both sides encounter Ghost-1, a spacecraft reverse-engineered from Megatron, and piloted by Sector Seven astronauts. Both sides learn of the AllSpark and Megatron being on Earth, and have a battle that results in Ghost-1's destruction, but steers them towards Earth.
Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman decided to kill off Jazz, as he was the third most popular Autobot.
When Mojo the dog pees on Ironhide's foot, he makes a comment about "that's going to rust." In Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), Ironhide dies by Sentinel Primes' rust gun.
Megatron meets his end when Sam pushes the AllSpark (described in the film as "raw power") into his chest. This is a tribute to The Transformers: The Movie (1986) (Hot Rod uses the Matrix's power to destroy Unicron), as well as Beast Wars: Transformers (1996) (the Predacon Rampage gets raw energon shoved right through his chest).
At the end of the film, the remains of the fallen Decepticons are dumped into the Laurentian Abyss, in the Atlantic Ocean. Ironically, in The Transformers (1984) the Decepticons had as their lair an underwater abyss.
While Jazz does not survive the final battle, a Jazz toy released from Hasbro to commemorate the film mentioned his being rebuilt into a tougher (and better-looking) frame. He is seen alive and well in the Japanese manga adaptation of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), where he participates in the Giza Guerilla, killing Long Haul and impaling Megatron's left leg with his new sword to stop him from reaching Sam, but is thrown into some ruins, where he spends the remainder of the battle fighting Decepticon protoforms.
According to Roberto Orci, Ron and Judy Witwicky learned the truth about the Transformers between this film and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009).
There is a notorious scene in The Transformers: The Movie (1986) where Spike Witwicky swears during a battle ("Oh, shit... what are we going to do now?"). In this film, Sam Witwicky yells "Oh, shit!" when he encounters a Decepticon for the first time, and when Frenzy's head is sliced in half "Oh, shit!" are his last words.
In 1973 Steven Spielberg was considered to direct Superman (1978), and in 1998 Michael Bay was considered to direct Man of Steel (2013). This film contains tributes to the original Superman (1978):
- Both films feature similar locations (a dying planet, the Arctic, an underground base, and the Hoover Dam).
- A glowing green artifact from another world plays a prominent part.
- A scene is directly copied where Starscream flies towards the Dam.
- Optimus Prime catches a falling Sam the same way Superman saves Lois Lane (both even say the same line).
- Starscream, like Superman, flies into space at the end.
Barricade is last seen in the highway chase to Mission City. The movie's comic adaptation mentions a brief fight between Barricade and Optimus Prime, ending with Prime hurling Barricade into a concrete pillar. Barricade went on to survive and appear in the film sequels.
Megatron crashed in the Arctic and was frozen there for centuries. This is the third time in the saga that Transformers have been featured buried in the Arctic. The first was The Transformers (1984) when the Transformer Jetfire was discovered, and the second was Transformers: Cybertron (2005) where a Decepticon prison was breached.
In every Transformers live action installment, Optimus rips a Decepticon/bounty hunter. In this movie, the character is Bonecrusher.
In the film, Sam is the one who defeats Megatron with the AllSpark. However, in the video game adaptation, Megatron is instead defeated in a similar fashion by Optimus Prime.
The phone numbers for the Mike's Towing truck (seen during the climax) are 1-800-555-0199 and 1-800-555-MIKE (555-6453).
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