Transformers (2007)

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers (WGA):

Roberto Orci (screenplay) &
Alex Kurtzman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 July 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Their war. Our world.

Plot:

An ancient struggle re-erupts on Earth between two extraterrestrial clans, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, with a clue to the ultimate power held by a young teenager.

Plot Keywords:

Planet | Captain | Alien | Robot | Deception

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 28 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Shia LaBeouf	...	Samuel James 'Sam' Witwicky
Megan Fox	...	Mikaela Banes
Josh Duhamel	...	Captain Lennox
Tyrese Gibson	...	USAF Tech Sergeant Epps
Rachael Taylor	...	Maggie Madsen
Anthony Anderson	...	Glen Whitmann
Jon Voight	...	Defense Secretary John Keller
John Turturro	...	Agent Simmons
Michael O'Neill	...	Tom Banacheck
Kevin Dunn	...	Ronald 'Ron' Witwicky
Julie White	...	Judy Witwicky
Amaury Nolasco	...	ACWO Jorge "Fig" Figueroa
Zack Ward	...	First Sergeant Donnelly
Luis Echagarruga	...	Ranger Team
Pat Mulderrig	...	Ranger Team (as Patrick Mulderrig)

Also Known As:

Prime Directive (USA) (fake working title)
The Transformers (USA) (working title)
Transformers: The IMAX Experience (USA) (IMAX version)
Transformers: The Movie 2 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor, and language.

Runtime:

144 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-11 | Australia:M | UK:12A | Singapore:PG | Denmark:11 | Sweden:11 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Canada:G (Quebec) | South Africa:10M | Ireland:12A | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIA | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43585) | Germany:12 | Malaysia:U | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | France:U | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Chile:TE | Canada:PG (British Columbia) (re-rating on appeal) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) (original rating) | Taiwan:PG-12 | Brazil:10 | India:UA | Iceland:10 (theatrical rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

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 starred as Megatron's successor Galvatron in The Transformers: The Movie (1986).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Maggie gets in a cab after she makes a copy of the Decepticons' signal the cab is black and white, then in the very next shot when she is getting out the cab is all white.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Optimus Prime: Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Soundtrack:

Doomsday Clock

"You shoot, I'll drive!"

And drive he does as Michael Bay translates the Transformers world of animation and toys to the big screen.

But before I get ahead of myself I have to admit I never watched even a single episode growing up. I had just hit high school and I wasn't interested. So there wasn't any real baggage involved either side of the coin.

Yet there I sat in the first public screening anywhere on the planet (June 12th in Sydney, Australia, with Michael Bay introducing it) and it just overwhelmed me and everyone else! There was never a dull moment, the script flowed easily, the acting was first-rate and the seamlessness of the CGI and live action was taken to another level.

It's going to be the hit of the summer and was better than any of the big third installment trilogies I have just also seen. And I love each of those franchises.

Congratulations on a movie that not only met expectations but exceeded them.