To say that the Transformers movies have had a rocky history would be a major understatement. While they’ve typically enjoyed success at the box office, they’ve just as often been panned by critics and fans alike for their subpar writing.
While the most recent film in the series, 2018’s Bumblebee, was a massive step in the right direction for many, the earlier Michael Bay-directed films remain a source of controversy. Since Bay preferred to put the human characters in the spotlight rather than the Autobots and Decepticons themselves, the Cybertronian cast of his films tends to go sorely undeveloped — and even the robots who do receive some measure of focus are often unrecognizable as the same character from past iterations. Here are just a few of the beloved characters who were mishandled in the live-action Transformers movies.
Jazz
Jazz has been a fixture of the Transformers franchise since its early days, when he was a main character in the 1984 cartoon series. In the decades since then, he’s been a recurring character in the Transformers Animated and Robots in Disguise cartoons, and was even a playable character in the Fall of Cybertron video game. However, Jazz ends up being little more than a footnote in the live-action film series. Though he’s introduced as a core member of Optimus Prime’s Autobot team, Jazz serves as little more than a background character until he’s unceremoniously killed by Megatron. His death is only briefly acknowledged after the battle, and he’s never once referenced in any of the subsequent films.
Grimlock
Grimlock, leader of the Dinobots, is one of the most popular Transformers characters of all time thanks to his brute strength, his boisterous, battle-hungry personality, and of course his T. Rex alt-mode. As such, he was front and center in the marketing of Age of Extinction, with the striking visual of Optimus Prime riding Grimlock into battle fueling a great deal of hype around the film. But in the movie itself, he isn’t nearly as important as the trailers implied. Grimlock and his fellow Dinobots don’t appear until the third act of the film — in fact, Grimlock doesn’t even get any lines, and his name is never spoken. Despite his popularity, Grimlock’s presence in the live-action movies reduces him to a glorified cameo.
Starscream
One of the most iconic characters in the entire franchise, Starscream is beloved by countless fans for his vain, power-hungry personality and his obsession with usurping Megatron as leader of the Decepticons. And true to his usual role, Starscream appears throughout the first three Michael Bay films, portrayed by veteran voice actor Charlie Adler. But despite consistently being one of the most prominent Decepticons in every continuity, the live-action Starscream never gets his chance to shine.
After only receiving one line in the initial 2007 film, Starscream gets the chance to show off his typical cowardly, conniving characterization in Revenge of the Fallen. But even so, he has no impact on the plot, and his treacherous side is never properly explored. Sadly, Starscream doesn’t fare any better in Dark of the Moon, in which he’s killed by none other than Shia LaBeouf’s Sam Witwicky — hardly a dignified end for the Decepticons’ second in command.
Shockwave
Another major antagonist from past series, Shockwave is a fan favorite Decepticon who’s typically portrayed as a cold, logic-obsessed mad scientist. However, you wouldn’t know this if your only exposure to the character is 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon. While the film’s marketing played up Shockwave as the main antagonist — an idea supported by his dramatic entrance at Chernobyl. However, Shockwave eventually proves to be just another generic Decepticon when the role of big bad is taken by Sentinel Prime later in the film. And though franchise regular Frank Welker was brought on as the voice of the live action Shockwave, he barely gets any legible dialogue.
Megatron
Not even the main villain of the entire Transformers franchise escapes unscathed. In the 2007 film, Megatron — voiced by Hugo Weaving of The Matrix and Lord of the Rings fame — is built up as a nigh-unstoppable threat for the bulk of the film. And while he’s definitely menacing, his lack of screentime leaves him feeling like more of a plot device than an actual character. And though he reappears in all four sequels, none of them take the time to flesh him out as a character.
After all, while Megatron may have started out as a one-dimensional cartoon villain, more recent iterations have given him more nuanced characterization. With an actor like Weaving, the live-action Megatron could have easily gone down in history as one of the best movie villains of the 21st century if he was given better writing. But as it stands, he’s just as generic as his 80s counterpart.
Optimus Prime
It may be surprising to see the Autobot leader on this list, considering he receives far more screen time than any other Transformer in the series save for Bumblebee. But despite the amount of focus he receives, the Optimus Prime of the Michael Bay films is a far cry from the character fans know and love. He may seem like a faithful portrayal at first, thanks in no small part to a masterful performance by Prime’s original voice actor, Peter Cullen. But underneath all the inspiring speeches, Bay’s Optimus often feels far from heroic.
One of Optimus Prime’s defining character traits across almost all incarnations is his selfless compassion — he may be a military leader, but he values peace over all else. Optimus is “strong enough to be gentle”, as Cullen himself is fond of saying. However, Michael Bay’s Optimus tends to feel like the very sort of macho action hero that the classic Optimus isn’t, shooting first and negotiating never. While other Primes have earnestly tried to end the war through diplomacy, Bay’s Optimus murders a surrendering Megatron in cold blood at the end of Dark of the Moon. Far from the reluctant warrior of other iterations, the movie Optimus seems to revel in violence, even viciously mutilating the Fallen while shouting “Give me your face!” The Michael Bay films may frame Optimus Prime as a benevolent hero, but he typically feels more like a war criminal.