Thoughts on the 'Transformers' Franchise

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   The Transformers franchise is arguably one of the most popular franchises out there right now. Its two most recent films have joined the Billion Dollar Club, and the other two before that made north of $700 million dollars. Despite its monetary success, these films haven’t been nearly as successful critically, evidenced by the fact that none of the films have received a "Fresh" score on RottenTomatoes. With the recent release of the first trailer for the fifth film in the series, The Last Knight, here’s what I think of the franchise so far.

   When I was a kid, I absolutely loved the Transformers. However, it wasn’t in the same way that a lot of people did. I remember playing with the toys with my brother and cousin when I was little, but I never watched the animated shows or films. My only experience with the Transformers was through those toys. It was that way until the first Michael Bay film came out in 2007. I watched that film, and at the time I thought it was the greatest thing ever. I became obsessed with the Transformers movies. I saw Revenge of the Fallen in theaters and loved it. The same can be said for Dark of the Moon. It was in the years following Dark of the Moon that my obsession with film started to develop.
    During those first few years of my movie obsession, I began to look at the Transformers franchise through a different lens. At one point in my life, I had watched those movies basically on repeat daily. I knew the movies extremely well. However, whenever I thought about them, the things in them started making less and less sense. My opinion of those films started sinking fast. It got to the point that I didn’t even care to see Age of Extinction. The fourth film in this franchise I once loved came and went, and I didn’t even care. To this day, I have yet to see the fourth Transformers film.
    In my current opinion, these films are an embodiment of everything wrong with Hollywood. However, I was actually curious to see how this fifth Transformers film would turn out. A couple years ago, they announced that they had a "Writer’s Room" full of really talented screenwriters. The point of this was to come up with and pitch really great, original ideas for Transformers films. This gave me a little bit of hope for the franchise. Then, as it seems things always do with this series, that looks to have gone down the drain.
   Why do I say that the "Writer's Room" went down the drain? Well, I’m sure you saw or at least heard about the trailer for the fifth Transformers film, The Last Knight. It was a decent trailer, but it didn’t show you any of the absurdities that have been confirmed about this film, at least not in detail. So far, here’s what we know (minor spoilers ahead). The film features some form of time travel. Through this, the film will feature both King Arthur and Merlin (No, I’m not joking). We’ve also seen set photos of Mark Wahlberg’s character wielding Excalibur, and there are some reports saying that Optimus Prime wields the sword at some point as well. That’s not all, though, the movie also heavily features Nazis. Yes, Nazis. In a Transformers film. They filmed part of this film at Winston Churchill’s actual house, but they didn’t use it as such. They covered it in Nazi insignia, which naturally upset a very large amount of people.
    This franchise isn’t done there. They also want to start some sort of Cinematic Universe. Because, why not? They’re moving forward with a standalone film about Bumblebee. We have no idea what this film is going to be about, but we do know what it almost was. A couple days ago, it was revealed that there were legitimate discussions about making an R-Rated Bumblebee film. It was even described as being Tarantino-esque. What?! How did that ever sound like a good idea? I don’t know what train of thinking leads to that, but I hope it’s not the one they're on.

​   So what are your opinions on the Transformers franchise? Do you love it or hate it? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter! It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts!
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