264. Transformers

Title: Transformers
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Year: 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Summary:

Transformers (2007): Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, narrates the collapse of the Transformers' home world, Cybertron. It was destroyed by war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Led by Megatron, the Decepticons were searching for the AllSpark so they could use it to take over the universe. The Autobots want to find the AllSpark so they can use it to rebuild Cybertron and end the war. Megatron managed to locate the AllSpark on Earth, but crash-landed in the Arctic Circle and froze in the ice. After stumbling upon his frozen body in 1897, explorer Captain Archibald Witwicky accidentally activated Megatron's navigational system and his eye glasses were imprinted with the coordinates of the AllSpark's location, an incident that left him blind and mentally unstable. Sector 7, a secret government organization created by President Herbert Hoover, discovered the AllSpark in the Colorado River and built the Hoover Dam around it to mask its energy emissions. The still-frozen Megatron was moved into this facility and was used to advance human technology through reverse engineering.

In the present day, the Decepticon known as Blackout attacks a U.S. military base in Qatar in order to find the location of Megatron and the AllSpark. He tries to hack into the files of the computer base, but is stopped when the base commander cuts the computer hard lines. Captain William Lennox and his team manage to escape from the base and search for help. Back in the United States, Captain Witwicky's descendant Sam Witwicky buys his first car, which turns out to be the Autobot scout Bumblebee, who tries to help him woo his crush Mikaela Banes. Later, Sam catches a glimpse of Bumblebee's true form when he signals the other Autobots.

On Air Force One, another Decepticon named Frenzy infiltrates the plane and tries to hack into the network again, only this time is more successful until he is stopped by the US Security Defense before he can retrieve all of the file information. Frenzy is then picked up by his partner Barricade and they go after Sam after learning he has the glasses needed to find the AllSpark. Sam is rescued by Bumblebee and Mikaela also learns of the Transformers' existence. Bumblebee fights Barricade and manages to subdue him while Sam and Mikaela decapitate Frenzy, although he still survives and disguises himself as Mikaela's phone.

Meanwhile, Scorponok, who was sent by Blackout, goes after Captain Lennox and his team, murdering one of them and injuring another. During the battle, Scorponok is forced to retreat when he gets injured by sabot rounds fired on him by the Air Force. Lennox and his team are then returned to the United States and report their findings on the Decepticons to the Pentagon.

Sam and Mikaela soon meet Optimus Prime and his other Autobot partners Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet. They explain their origins to the two humans and insist on the urgency to get to the Allspark first before the Decepticons, knowing that the Decepticons plan to use it to turn all of Earth's technologies into a new army of Transformers and render humanity extinct. The Autobots bring the two humans back to Sam's house to find the glasses, and they nearly reveal their existence to Sam's parents by accident. However, Sector 7 agent Seymour Simmons and his team find Sam and take his family away to a classified location after learning Sam came into contact with the Autobots. Optimus and the Autobots try to rescue Sam and Mikaela, however they fail and Bumblebee ends up getting captured along with Sam and Mikaela. The Autobots, however, retrieve the glasses and use them to find the AllSpark's location so they can destroy it before the Decepticons use it. Sam and Mikaela are taken to Hoover Dam, along with two hackers named Maggie and Glenn, who were arrested by the FBI for trying to decipher the information Frenzy stole while working in the Pentagon.

Frenzy, who was transported to the dam while in disguise, finds the AllSpark and contacts the other Decepticons, Starscream, Bonecrusher, Brawl, Barricade, and Blackout. Starscream attacks the dam and Frenzy frees Megatron from his frozen prison, where he joins his cohorts into chasing down Sam and the Autobots. Bumblebee shrinks the cube to a reasonable size so they can escape with it. They then arrive at Mission City, where a large battle ensues. Working together, the Autobots and human soldiers defeat Bonecrusher, Blackout and Brawl. However, Bumblebee is crippled and Jazz is killed by Megatron. When Megatron begins to gain the upper hand in the fight, Optimus urges Sam to put the AllSpark in his chest, which will destroy them both. Instead, Sam instead inserts the cube into Megatron's chest, which kills him and destroys the AllSpark.

In the aftermath, the dead Transformer bodies are dumped into the Laurentian Abyss in the Atlantic Ocean to be hidden, the government orders the closure of Sector 7, and the Witwicky family is released from custody. Sam and Mikaela soon start a new relationship and Optimus says that the Autobots' fates have given them a new home, Earth, and sends a message calling out all surviving Autobots to join them. In a mid-credits scene, Starscream escapes into space.

Revenge of the Fallen (2009): Thousands of years ago, the 7 Primes traveled the galaxy to create Energon with sun-absorbing machines called Sun Harvesters. The Primes follow a law that no sun can be destroyed if it has life on one of its planets; however, one of the them breaks the law by setting up a Harvester on Earth in 17,000 B.C. after defeating ancient humans. The rest of the Primes Dynasty name him The Fallen, and sacrifice themselves to hide the "Matrix of Leadership", the key to start the Harvester.

Two years after Megatron's destruction, the Autobots have joined the U.S. military to create the Nonbiological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty (NEST), an elite, classified military task force working with the Autobots hunting down Decepticon resistance, with Major William Lennox and his squad as the human part of the NEST. During a mission in Shanghai, Optimus Prime learns of The Fallen's return, but is unfamiliar with the name. They chase remaining Decepticons through the Shanghai streets, puncturing a bridge. National Security Advisor Theodore Galloway chastises the task force for their destructive tactics and reminds them of the location of Megatron's corpse in the Laurentian Abyss and the surviving Allspark shard retrieved by Optimus. Soundwave, the Decepticons' communications officer, eavesdrops on the conversation and sends Ravage to retrieve the shard from NEST's base.

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky prepares to attend college, leaving his girlfriend Mikaela Banes and guardian Bumblebee behind. Packing his things, he discovers another Allspark shard in his old T-shirt he wore on the day when he destroyed Megatron. The shard channels its knowledge into his mind, causing him to see Cybertronian symbols. He gives the shard to Mikaela, and when the Decepticon Wheelie tries to steal it, Mikaela locks him in a toolbox. At college, Sam meets his roommate, Leo Spitz, who runs a conspiracy website regarding the Transformers. Sam's hallucinations get worse, attracting the attention of fellow student Alice, who is really a shapeshifting Pretender Decepticon. Ravage, Scalpel, and the Constructicons resurrect Megatron using the retrieved shard, who reunites with The Fallen, the founder of the Decepticons. The Fallen orders Megatron to capture Sam and kill Optimus, who is the last surviving descendant of the Primes and the only transformer who can kill him.

Sam, Mikaela, and Leo are targeted by the Decepticons. They kill Alice, but are captured by Megatron, Starscream, and Grindor. Optimus and Bumblebee attempt to rescue them. Optimus kills Grindor but in the ensuing fight, Optimus is killed by Megatron. The Fallen uses Earth's telecommunications to ask for Sam in return for mankind's survival, making Sam an international fugitive. Sam, Mikaela, Leo, Bumblebee, and twins Skids and Mudflap enlist the help of ex-Sector 7 Agent Seymore Simmons. Simmons reveals that the Transformers visited Earth eons ago and the most ancient, known as Seekers, live in secret. With help from Wheelie, they track down the elderly Decepticon Jetfire, who defected to the Autobots years ago, tired of fighting. Jetfire teleports the group to Egypt and explains The Fallen's history before sending them off to find the Tomb of the Primes to revive Optimus. Simmons contacts NEST, telling them to bring Optimus and the other Autobots to Egypt.

Sam's group finds the tomb hidden in Petra, but the Matrix crumbles to dust in Sam's hands. Undeterred, Sam places the Matrix's remains in his sock. NEST and the Autobots land, but are cut off from the Pentagon thanks to Starscream. The Decepticons attack, including Constructicon Devastator (which is made up of smaller Decepticons) who demolishes one of the Pyramids of Giza, unearthing the Sun Harvester, which was hidden inside the pyramid. He is then killed by a railgun attack summoned by Simmons. Sam's parents, who were kidnapped by the Decepticons, are used as bargaining chips with Sam to try to obtain the Matrix, but the trap fails when Bumblebee rescues them, killing Ravage in the process. Chief Master Sergeant Robert Epps summons an airstrike which kills most of the Decepticons; however Megatron manages to shoot and seriously injure Sam. Whilst fighting for life, Sam has a vision, in which he meets the Primes, who tell him the Matrix is not found but earned, and that he has earned the right to bear it. They then revive Sam and restore the Matrix, which Sam then uses to resurrect Optimus. The Fallen appears and steals the Matrix so that he can start the Sun Harvester. A dying Jetfire sacrifices himself and relinquishes his parts to Optimus, allowing the latter to gain new powers, including flight. Optimus destroys the Sun Harvester, cripples Megatron, and kills The Fallen. Megatron escapes with Starscream, and the Autobots and their allies return to the United States.

Dark of the Moon (2011): In 1961, the Ark, a Cybertronian spacecraft carrying an invention capable of ending the war between the benevolent Autobots and the malevolent Decepticons, crash lands on the dark side of Earth's Moon. The crash is detected on Earth by NASA, and President John F. Kennedy authorizes a mission to put a man on the Moon as a cover for investigating the craft. In 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 lands on the Moon.

In the present, the Autobots assist the United States military in preventing conflicts around the globe. During a mission to Chernobyl to investigate suspected alien technology, Optimus Prime finds an engine part from the Ark, discovering that it had survived its journey from Cybertron. The Autobots are attacked by Shockwave, who manages to escape. After learning of the top-secret mission to the Moon, the Autobots travel there to explore the Ark. They discover a comatose Sentinel Prime – Optimus' predecessor as leader of the Autobots – and the Pillars he created as a means of establishing a Space Bridge between two points to teleport matter. After returning to Earth, Optimus uses the energy of his Matrix of Leadership to revive Sentinel Prime.

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky is frustrated that he is unable to work with the Autobots or find a job. He also becomes envious of the close relationship between his new girlfriend, Carly Spencer, and her boss Dylan Gould. After finding work, Sam is provided information by his eccentric co-worker Jerry Wang about the Ark, before Jerry is assassinated by the Decepticon Laserbeak. Sam contacts the now-independently wealthy Seymour Simmons, and together they realize that the Decepticons and their leader, Megatron, are murdering people connected to the American and Russian space missions to the Ark. They locate two surviving Russian cosmonauts, who reveal satellite photos of hundreds of Pillars being stockpiled on the Moon. Sam realizes that the Decepticons raided the Ark long before the Autobots' mission and intentionally left Sentinel and five Pillars behind to lure the Autobots into a trap – Sentinel being the key to activating the Pillars and the Decepticons lacking the means to revive him. The Autobots rush to return Sentinel to their base for protection, but Sentinel betrays them and kills the Autobot Ironhide, revealing he had made a deal with Megatron to ensure the survival of the Cybertronian race.

Sentinel uses the Pillars to transport hundreds of concealed Decepticons from the Moon to Earth. Carly is captured by Gould, who is revealed to be in the service of the Decepticons. The Autobots are exiled from Earth at the demand of the Decepticons to avoid war, but as their ship leaves Earth it is destroyed by Megatron's second-in-command, Starscream, seemingly killing the Autobots. The Decepticons, led by Megatron and Sentinel, seize Chicago as their agents place Pillars around the world. Gould reveals to Carly that the Decepticons plan to transport their homeworld of Cybertron to the Solar System, then to enslave humanity and use Earth's resources to rebuild their world. Sam teams with U.S. Air Force Chief Robert Epps to go into Chicago to save Carly, but they are nearly killed by Decepticon forces before the Autobots intervene, revealing they concealed themselves during the launch of their ship to convince the Decepticons they were destroyed as well as to prove to the humans that the Decepticons were untrustworthy.

Working together, the Autobots and human soldiers manage to rescue Carly and destroy Laserbeak, Starscream, Soundwave, Barricade, and Shockwave, with Optimus using Shockwave's arm-cannon to blast the Control Pillar, disabling the Space Bridge. Sam confronts Gould as he reactivates the Control Pillar, and knocks Gould into the Pillar, electrocuting him. Bumblebee and Ratchet arrive and destroy the Control Pillar, permanently disabling the Bridge and causing the partially transported Cybertron to implode. Optimus and Sentinel fight while Carly convinces Megatron that he will be replaced as leader of the Decepticons by Sentinel. Sentinel severs Optimus' right arm, and is about to execute him when Megatron intervenes, incapacitating Sentinel. Megatron invokes Optimus for a truce, having the desire to become the one in charge again. Optimus refuses and attacks Megatron, decapitating and killing him, pulling out his head and spine. Sentinel pleads for his life, but Optimus executes him too for betraying his own principles. With the Decepticons defeated, Carly and Sam are reunited and the Autobots accept that, with Cybertron gone for good, Earth is now their home.

Age of Extinction (2014): Four years have passed since the final battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons left Chicago in ruins and claimed the lives of over a thousand civilians. The U.S. government has severed its ties with the Autobots and branded them as fugitives. An elite CIA division called "Cemetery Wind" is formed by Harold Attinger with the intent of hunting down and exterminating the surviving Autobots with the aid of Lockdown, a Transformer bounty hunter. Meanwhile, using data obtained from destroyed Transformers, business tycoon Joshua Joyce and his technology firm Kinetic Sciences Institute (KSI) has discovered "Transformium", the molecularly unstable metal that is the lifeblood of Transformers. Joshua's prized creation is Galvatron, a Transformer created from the data inside Megatron's severed head.

In rural Texas, struggling robotics inventor Cade Yeager and his friend Lucas purchase an old semi-truck in hopes of stripping it down and selling the parts to get Cade's daughter Tessa into college. Cade discovers that the truck is an injured Optimus Prime, and it is not long before Lockdown and Attinger's operatives led by James Savoy storm into the Yeager's farm and threaten them. Optimus comes out of hiding to fend off against the operatives while Cade, Tessa, and Lucas are rescued by Shane Dyson, an Irish rally racer who is also Tessa's boyfriend. They lose the operatives in a lengthy chase in Paris, Texas, but Lucas is killed by Lockdown's grenade during their escape. Using a drone he took during the raid, Cade discovers that the operatives and KSI are working together. Optimus rallies the remaining Autobots - Bumblebee, Hound,Drift, and Crosshairs - and travel with their new human allies to infiltrate KSI's headquarters in Chicago. There, Cade, Shane, and Bumblebee discover the firm's reverse engineering of Transformer technology. Upon discovering thatRatchet has been slain and his head is being melted down, Optimus and the Autobots storm into the headquarters to destroy the laboratory, but Joshua convinces them that their actions are futile. As the Autobots leave the premises, Joshua launches their prototype Transformers Galvatron and Stinger. Optimus and Galvatron engage in a grueling battle where Optimus realizes that Galvatron is Megatron in a new body. Suddenly, Optimus is blasted from behind by Lockdown, and in the midst of the chaos, he and Tessa are captured into Lockdown's ship. Aboard the ship, Lockdown explains to Optimus that the Transformers were created by a mysterious alien race known as the "Creators", which hired him to capture the Autobot leader. As a reward for Optimus' capture, Attinger's operatives are given the "Seed", a powerful bomb that turns a city-wide area of land into Transformium. Cade, Shane and the Autobots storm into the ship to rescue Optimus and Tessa; while Bumblebee, Crosshairs and the humans escape and crash into Downtown Chicago, the other Autobots detach the rear section of the ship before it leaves into space. Joshua and his business partners Su Yueming, and Darcy Tyrill retreat to Beijing with the Seed; the Autobots and their human allies follow them to prevent them from detonating the Seed.

At KSI's Beijing factory, Galvatron suddenly activates by himself and infects all 50 of the firm's prototype transformers to do his bidding. Joshua, Yueming, and Darcy take the Seed to Hong Kong, as Joshua realizes the folly of his creations. There, the Autobots struggle to protect Joshua and the Seed from Galvatron and his minions, which shoot down the Autobots' ship. Cade kills Savoy during a fight in an apartment building. Outnumbered and outmatched, Optimus Prime releases a group of legendary knights and leads them back to the city to destroy Galvatron's army. Lockdown returns to Earth and uses a magnetic weapon to pull vehicles under his ship and drop them on the Autobots. Optimus destroys the weapon and causes the ship to crash. He then engages in battle with Lockdown before killing Attinger to save Cade. Lockdown grabs Optimus' sword and impales him, but the combined efforts of Bumblebee, Cade, Tessa, and Shane distract the bounty hunter before Optimus stabs him in the heart and slices his head in half. With Lockdown destroyed and Attinger's team dissolved, Optimus sets the Dinobots free before flying into space with the Seed, sending a message to the Creators.