The Real Transformers Have Only Appeared For 2 Minutes In The $5.2 Billion Franchise After 7 Live-Action Movies

The live-action Transformers franchise has only shown the real тιтular robots for a matter of minutes in seven movies. The live-action Transformers timeline began back in 2007 with the release of the film of the same name. This movie spawned two direct sequels and two indirect continuations, with the five movies containing both the best and worst of the Transformers franchise. Since then, several spin-offs of the live-action movies have been crafted, including Bumblebee and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.

These spin-offs have caused the chronological order of the Transformers movies to become increasingly confusing, yet each installment continues to resonate with audiences around the world. The franchise is worth over $5.2 billion at the global box office, proving how big Transformers truly is. Despite this success, however, one could argue that the real versions of the robots are yet to be explored to their fullest in the live-action series, which upcoming Transformers movies could fix. In fact, across these seven movies, only a few minutes of one showcase the true world of the Transformers.

Bumblebee’s Opening Scene Is The Only Time That The Live-Action Movies Felt Like Transformers

Thanks To Its Otherworldy Setting

The few minutes in question came in the opening scene of Bumblebee. The film began by outlining the fall of Cybertron, showcasing the war between the Decepticons and the Autobots more thoroughly than it had been in any Transformers movies before it. Despite only lasting just over two minutes, the scene included everything Transformers fans have wanted from a live-action version of the franchise and, as such, is the only time the seven movies have actually felt like the source material they were trying to emulate.

The scene felt like the classic Transformers cartoons had come to life…

Everything in Bumblebee‘s opening two minutes worked to perfection. Be it the depiction of Cybertron at war or the visual designs for the Transformers that emulated their G1 appearances, the scene felt like the classic Transformers cartoons had come to life. This was furthered by the voice acting and storytelling elements implemented, from Shockwave’s menacing leadership of the Decepticons to Bumblebee’s depiction as a charismatic, talking scout of the Autobots. All of this imbued Bumblebee‘s opening two to three minutes with the purest Transformers feeling the entire franchise has ever had.

Michael Bay’s Transformers Movies Had Their Own Idenтιтy (And It Worked)

They Just Weren’t True Transformers

After the opening scene of Bumblebee, the film reverts to the visual style of the Michael Bay Transformers movies, despite differentiating itself regarding continuity. It is worth exploring that Michael Bay’s Transformers movies had their own idenтιтy, and that the movies mostly worked because of this. While it remains true that Bumblebee‘s opening felt the most like classic Transformers, Bay’s movies struck their own tone and design that worked to, well, transform the original franchise into a big-budget, high-octane, thrill-centric Hollywood blockbuster series.

In many ways, the general perception of the Transformers franchise has been driven by Bay’s movies in recent decades. The reason for this is the sheer commercial success the movies garnered, with Bay’s modern take on the Autobots and Decepticons becoming almost a staple of blockbuster filmmaking in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The fluctuating quality of the movies aside, Bay’s Transformers series proved incredibly popular with its own idenтιтy, differentiating itself from the opening minutes of Bumblebee. However, while the former idenтιтy still worked, no one can deny that the latter felt more like the franchise at its heart.

Transformers Is Still Not Sure What It Wants To Be After The Bayverse

The Recent Movies Have Been A Blend Of Both Styles

Michael Bay and Transformers Movies Custom Image — Custom Image by Kevin Erdmann

Thanks to the conflicting, yet equally effective, styles of the Bayverse Transformers movies and the likes of Bumblebee‘s opening sequence, the franchise is unsure of what it wants to be of late. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, released in 2023, somewhat typified this. The film included elements synonymous with Bay’s movies, such as human characters, their relationships with the Autobots, and the big-budget, loud action sequences, and those of Bumblebee‘s opening scenes, such as more classic designs and visual locations.

While the movie mostly worked, it proved that the franchise does not know what direction it wants to go in. The upcoming slate of Transformers movies proves this also, be it the Bay-like Transformers and GI Joe crossover, a more direct sequel to Rise of the Beasts, or a focus on the animated, Bumblebee-like section of the series established in Transformers One. One way or another, the Transformers series needs to solidify its future in order to keep making movies that evidently resonate with worldwide audiences.