Action Movies

The first Transformers movie was released in 2007 to decent reviews and boffo box-office. The final gross revenue was tallied at $708 million. Not bad for a movie based on a 1980s cartoon based on Transformers action figures by Hasbro. There was also a comic book series based on the toys. The plot for the original movie draws from all these sources, but is also an original creation, as is the sequel: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

In case you missed the original Michael Bay blockbuster, or need a refresher before seeing the Transformers sequel, here’s a quick recap of the major events of the first film.

The Birth of the Transformers
The movie opens with a voice over by Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, one of two races of Transformers. He informs the audience that their home world, Cybertron, has been destroyed by the Decepticon leader, Megatron, in his quest to gain the Allspark. The Autobots would also like to regain the All Spark so they can rebuild Cybertron and end the decades long war between the two factions. Being villains, the Decepticons want to use it to destroy the Autobots and conquer the rest of the universe.

Transformers on Earth
In his quest for the Allspark, Megatron crash lands on earth, where it’s been hidden. Unfortunately, he crashes in the Arctic Circle and is frozen until his discovery by Captain Witwicky in 1897. Witwicky accidentally activates Megatron and the location of the Allspark is imprinted on his glasses.

A secret US government department known as Sector 7 excavates Megatron and moves him to the desert, where they construct the Hoover Dam to disguise their activity.

The Battle Between the Transformers Commences

The glasses are passed down until they come into the possession of Sam Witwicky. He prepares to sell them on eBay just as the remaining Decepticons arrive on Earth in search of Megatron and the Allspark. The Autobots have also arrived and taken on the form of GM vehicles. Coincidentally, Sam buys a yellow Camaro that turns out to be the Autobot Bumblebee. Bumblebee helps him win the affections of the local teenage hottie, Mikaela, who happens to be mechanically inclined.

The threesome team up just as the Decepticons discover that Sam’s glasses are imprinted with the location of the Allspark, so they seek him out. The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, protect him and work together to find the Allspark.

The Decepticons are stopped, for now, but before Sam, Mikaela, and Bumblebee can go into hiding, they’re taking into custody by Sector 7 agents and delivered to Hoover Dam, which is conveniently the location of the Allspark, as well.

Frenzy, one of the Decepticons, has disguised himself as her cell phone, making her the most unobservant person ever. (Hmmm, why doesn’t this have my phone numbers anywhere? Whatever. I’ll just take it with me to a top secret location while I’m being pursued by alien robots.)

Just as Frenzy transmits the location of the Allspark to the other Decepticons, Sam convinces the government to release Bumblebee so he can take it to Optimus Prime. Bumblebee changes the shape of the Allspark and the three set out. Yeah, you can probably guess how that goes.

The Final Transformers Battle Begins
Optimus Prime declares that he will accept the Allspark into his chest, destroying both of them, rather than let Megatron have it.

Much battle ensues, culminating in Sam pushing the Allspark into Megatron, which destroy the former and kills the latter. Optimus Prime removes an Allspark sliver from Megatron, but realizes it’s not enough to rebuild Cybertron. Instead, he radios the other Autobots to come to Earth, their new home, where they will work with the humans.

As the movie ends, most of the Earthly Decepticons are dead and have been dumped into the ocean. All, except Starscream, who escapes into space and thus allows for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

It’s not yet known where exactly the new Transformers movie begins, but we can probably imagine that those dumped Decepticons will not stay dumped. We also know that Megatron returns. See, when you destroy robots, you really need to melt them down. You can’t just dump them or bury them. Haven’t fictional characters learned anything from other fictional movies featuring robots?