Transformers (film): Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call...home. We live among its people now, [[Hidden in Plain Sight|hiding in plain sight]]...but watching over them in secret...waiting...protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there's [[Mythology Gag|more to them than meets the eye."]]''|Optimus Prime's transmission [[Sequel Hook|at the end of the first film]]}}

The success led to two sequels so far: ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]''.

 

 

Here is [[Transformers Film Series/Characters|the character sheet.]]

 

== Franchise-wide tropes ==

* [[Action Girl]]: Mikaela (who just seems to be [[The Chick]] at first).

* [[Action Survivor]]: Sam Witwicky, the world's first action hero who spends the entire movie fleeing from his enemies (since he's kind of not trained to deal with things like 30-foot-tall robots trying to squoosh him).

** In the third film, he finally takes action into his hands. Unlike the previous movies, he isn't drawn into the story due to some outside force but actively seeks it out.

* [[Adaptational Badass]]: Bumblebee. No longer is he simply the kid friendly tag-along character and the smallest Autobot who would get swatted away by any and all Decepticons. This version of him is a very capable combatant, perhaps second only to Optimus Prime in how much ass he kicks.

** Starscream. This guy is actually a deadly and capable warrior, and [[All There in the Manual|when Megatron isn't around]], not all that bad of a leader. Ironhide's [[Oh Crap]] reaction to him showing up in Mission City, seemed ''very genuine''. As the TF wiki put it: "Ironhide is the first person in some twenty years to consider Starscream a serious threat... with good reason for once." Oh and those tattoos he shows up with in ROTF? He etched those into his own hide, using his fingers, to honor Cybertron's history of warriors. [[Badass Decay]] occasionally kicks in, but in DOTM he's back on form, {{spoiler|destroying the Autobot ship}} and ripping a load of Ospreys to pieces, to the point that {{spoiler|Que has to give Sam some pretty strong grenades to finally kill him}}.

* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: The third film combines elements of "Megatron's Master Plan" and "The Ultimate Doom."

* [[Alien Invasion]]: Small-scale in the first movie, taken up a notch in ROTF, and then played for all it's worth in DOTM.

* [[Aluminum Christmas Trees]]: The vacuum of space means heat radiates off very slowly. Thus flying out in space [[Space Is Cold|would not freeze the Autobots]] in their ship forms, while ice and cold gas, which froze Megatron, is a different matter. So fans complaining about that are applying [[Convection, Schmonvection]].

** And they would have remelted during entry of the atmosphere, that part tends to get very hot.

* [[Amazingly Embarrassing Parents]]: The Witwickys in all three films, but Mrs. Witwicky is the more serious offender, especially in ROTF.

** [[Bumbling Dad]]: Mr. Witwicky.

* [[Asskicking Pose]]

* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]: Megatron, Optimus Prime, the telekinetic, teleporting Fallen, {{spoiler|Sentinel Prime}}.

* [[Back for the Dead]]:

** In ROTF, {{spoiler|Scorponok. He appears, severely injures Jetfire, and is destroyed by him, all in 15-20 seconds.}}

** And in DOTM, {{spoiler|Barricade}} ''finally'' comes back, only to die in the Chicago battle.

** In the Simon Furman-penned fifth issue for ''Tales of the Fallen'', {{spoiler|Ravage}} gets this treatment as well. {{spoiler|Who brought him back, however, remains to be seen, and Soundwave was noticeably shocked by it.}}

* [[Badass]]: Any given robot has their moment...except Arcee and Jolt. Optimus and Bumblebee get the lion's shares, though.

** Arcee gets to display her badassitude in the comics. No joy for Jolt yet, however.

{{quote|'''Simmons''': Ok, I'm going to count to five.

* [[Badass Army]]: Lots of guys with shaved heads trying really hard to look tough and serious around giant multicolored CGI robots. "GO GO GO! KEEP FIRING! HOLD YOUR POSITION! [[Semper Fi]]!"

** And when that strategy doesn't work, they simply apply [[More Dakka|More Gun.]] [[Awesome Personnel Carrier|AFVs]], [[Tank Goodness|tanks]], and [[Death From Above|air strikes]], including ''carpet bombing strikes and AC-130 Spectre gunships''. The Decepticons may be 30 foot tall unmatched killing machines, but there are ''millions'' of human soldiers on Earth to pile on with.

** This exchange between the two leaders in the first film;

{{quote|'''Optimus:''' It's you and me now Megatron!

** And from ROTF;

{{quote|'''Megatron''': Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?

** And from DOTM;

{{quote|{{spoiler|'''Megatron''': Besides, who would you be without ME Prime?}}

{{quote|{{spoiler|We will kill them all.}}}}

* [[Badass Grandpa]]:

** Ironhide in all three movies.

** Jetfire in ROTF.

** In fact, by DOTM, they're not even using heavy weaponry against the Decepticons. Regular old assault rifles with armor-piercing ammo work just fine, if you know where to shoot. Sniper rifles work also well, if you [[Go for the Eye]].

* [[Beauty Is Never Tarnished]]: Not too badly applied to the women in the movies, but quite [[Egregious]] with the cars. The paid [[Product Placement]] from GM ensures that all of the Autobots are conspicuously sparkling clean every time they transform into car mode, even if they're battered and dirty in robot form just before they change.

{{quote|'''Optimus Prime:''' [[Shoot Everything That Moves|We will kill them all]].}}

** On the human side, Dutch in DOTM. He seems harmless and nice at first but he reveals to be much more. {{spoiler|"That was the old me!"}}

* [[BFG]]:

** Ironhide's cannons.

** Megatron's combined-arm cannon in the first movie, and his tank form [[Arm Cannon]].

** Chromia's (one of the Arcee sisters) cannon arm is ''larger than her torso''.

* [[Black Dude Dies First]]: The only Autobot to die in the first movie was Jazz, who most would consider black. [[Word of God]] is apparently that they killed him because he was the only movie character who ''hadn't'' died at least once before. They also intended it to be a [[Player Punch]] of sorts, as they felt he was the most likeable character after Bumblebee and Optimus.

** Averted with Epps, who was one of the few remaining soldiers from his group to survive.

* [[Bond One-Liner]]:

{{quote|'''Jazz:''' You want a piece of me Megatron?! You want a piece?!

*** Revenge of The Fallen ({{spoiler|after Prime kills The Fallen}}):

{{quote|'''{{spoiler|Optimus Prime}}:''' I rise, ''you'' fall.}}

*** Also in ROTF, Sideswipe's first line after killing Sideways: "Damn, I'm good."

** In DOTM, {{spoiler|Ironhide:}} "Class dismissed."

* [[Bullying a Dragon]]: Seriously, the last two films have shown that more than a fair share of humans seem to have no issues with telling a bunch of 5 story robots each armed like a small military where they can stick it, regardless of them being on our side.

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Simmons is certainly off his rocker, but his original job was basically being behind a [[Government Conspiracy]]. So in unraveling new conspiracies (both alien in nature) in the sequels he is the first guy Sam calls on for help.

* [[Color Wash]]: Good luck finding anything in the movies which isn't either blue, orange, or an Autobot.

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Basically all of the Transformers' close combat styles can be summarized as "rip chunks off until it stops moving."

* [[Composite Character]]:

** Bumblebee takes his name and "friend to the humans" role from the G1 Bumblebee, but in every other regard he incorporates the visual look of G1 Prowl/Bluestreak (the door "wings") and the reliable soldier nature of G1 Sideswipe. This ends up making him an [[Adaptational Badass]], and one of the most popular characters in the film.

** {{spoiler|Starscream gets a [[Eye Scream|grappling hook in one eye, and a spike-bomb jammed in the other]]. He is left to flail around screaming for several seconds before the bomb goes off.}}

** {{spoiler|And finally, Megatron has an axe cleaving his face into two and gets his spine wrenched out as his head his pulled off.}}

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]:

** When the Twins start bickering over who was tougher and they started wrestling, Bumblebee in his usual silence picked them both up by the scruff of their necks like they were obnoxious kids and tossed them outside.

** And then in DOTM {{spoiler|Optimus completely owned Megatron in less than a minute. No, seriously, Megatron shoots Sentinel Prime in the back in order to attack Optimus, only to have his head ripped out just a few moments later. And Optimus ''had just lost an arm''. Of course, Megatron was still severely weakened from the beating he received from Optimus during the end of the ''last'' movie.}}

*** However, {{spoiler|Optimus himself had been curbstomped by Sentinel Prime ''twice'' and would have been killed if it wasn't for [[Villainous Rescue|Megatron]].}}

* [[Cyber Cyclops]]: Swindle, Dreadwing and Payload in the tie-ins to the first film; Ravage in ROTF; Shockwave in DOTM.

** {{spoiler|One of the more awesome moments from the start of ROTF is Sideswipe cutting a car in half. Guess what happens when the Decepticons capture Sam and Co.?}}

** Also, the epic moment from the first film in which the Autobots arrive from space is replicated in ROTF with the Decepticons...which proceed to slam through aircraft carriers.

** Sam with {{spoiler|Alice}} while riding in Bumblebee has sinister echoes of his ride with Mikaela in the first movie: similar situation, twice the awkwardness. {{spoiler|Trying to kill him later was the perfect end to a perfect day...}}

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Bumblebee, even though he can only communicate via the radio and pantomime.

* [[Demoted to Extra]]:

** Ironhide, Ratchet, Lennox and Epps had significantly smaller roles in ROTF. The latter two, however, get more screen time in DOTM.

** ''Megatron'' goes from the [[Big Bad]] in the first film to merely [[The Dragon]] in the second.

*** The novelization of the film actually works this into the plot.

* [[Defiant to the End]]:

** Jazz in the first film.

** Optimus Prime (as expected), particularly during ROTF.

* [[Dirty Coward]]: Sideways, [[All There in the Manual|according to]] his toy bio, and toy-only character Dirge, who has an [[Statistically Speaking|almost unprecedented courage score]] of ''2 out of 10''.

** Maybe Dirge is so cowardly because he's a legacy character known for dying in a kill-happy universe?

** Dylan from the third film. {{spoiler|He ''betrays Earth to the Decepticons'' just so he will be safe.}}

* [[Doting Parent]]: The bumbling but loving Witwickys.

* [[The Dragon]]:

* [[Dual-Wielding]]: Prime has both dual swords and [[Guns Akimbo|dual guns]] in ROTF, and puts them to use again in DOTM.

* [[Dub Name Change]]: Averted, Optimus Prime's name is unchanged in all international versions (even in Japan, where he's normally called Convoy/Fire Convoy).

* [[Everything Is Better With Spinning]]:

** DOTM has Optimus spinning while taking down multiple Decepticons.

* [[Expy]]:

** Leo is basically Sam's buddy from the beginning of the first movie combined with Glenn Whitman and Maggie Madson, and given a libido.

* [[Five-Man Band]]: The Autobots usually correlate to one.

** First movie

** Second movie

** And the Third movie

*** [[The Big Guy]]: Sideswipe, Bumblebee, and Dino.

*** [[The Smart Guy]]: Ratchet and Que.

*** [[Those Two Guys]]: Wheelie and Brains.

*** [[Eleventh-Hour Ranger|Eleventh Hour Rangers]]: The Wreckers.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: In ''ROTF'', Sam mentions "the Sentinel Prime expedition" and the space bridge during his AllSpark-induced rant in the astronomy class.

** Sam accidentally asking Mikaela if he can ride her home instead of give her a ride home qualifies also.

{{quote|'''Simmons''':"I am directly beneath...the enemy's scrotum..."}}

* [[Genre Savvy]]:

** Pretty much ''everyone'' by the time ''Fallen'' rolls around. Take, for example, {{spoiler|the Fallen. He thinks -- or possibly knows -- that he can only be defeated by a Prime, so he absolutely ''refuses'' to take one step out of his lair until Optimus Prime is dead. When Prime is revived by the Matrix of Leadership, the Fallen promptly teleports in, ''rips it out of his chest'', and teleports to the machine the Matrix activates, leaving Optimus critically injured.}}

** Blackout receives a ''barrage'' from a ''grenade launcher''. Also a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] for Lennox.

** Happens to [[Butt Monkey|Leo]] twice in ROTF. Once when [[Epic Fail|he tasers himself in the nuts]], the second when Mikaela lands on him after they get teleported to Egypt.

* [[Gunship Rescue]]: Both with the [[Transforming Mecha]] and regular human vehicles. It's a Transformer movie with heavy military support, it is a given.

* [[Half the Man He Used To Be|Half the Bot They Used To Be]]: Jazz and Sideways.

** {{spoiler|Jazz}} in the first movie when {{spoiler|he tries to fight Megatron on his own}}.

** Several in ROTF:

*** {{spoiler|Simmons keeps trying this, but it doesn't take.}}

{{quote|{{spoiler|"One man, alone, betrayed by the country he loves, now its last hope in its hour of need..."}}}}

** Ron Witwicky makes mention that they get a government check if Bumblebee damages anything.

* [[Hollywood Tactics]]: More or less averted. The actors were trained by real Marines, and the human soldiers do use artillery, air support, cover, cover fire, and know what they're doing. The robots, however, fight differently, on account of being giant transforming robots from a mechanical planet. Naturally, they have an ''extremely'' heavy emphasis on mobility.

* [[Humans Are Ugly]]: Megatron regards humans in this way. The Fallen apparently shares the notion as do many other Decepticons. One notable aversion is Wheelie, who describes Mikaela as "hot but not too bright" after listening to a phone call about the location of an All Spark shard.

* [[Humans Are Warriors]]: Fortunately for the Autobots...not so much for the Decepticons.

** One of the main things the films show is how the humans are able to fight against the Decepticons. Okay, a human alone wouldn't last very much against a Decepticon, but a well organized group (like the survivors of the base in the first film) can fight and survive once they have an idea what they are facing... and then we have the heavy artillery.

* [[Humans Through Alien Eyes]]: Somewhat related with a couple of above tropes, but there are plenty of different ways in which Cybertronians view our species. At one point in ROTF, Megatron refers to Sam as an "alien specimen" as he is about to be examined by Scalpel (aka The Doctor).

* [[Humongous Mecha]]: It's another given, although they [[Mechanical Lifeform|aren't just machines.]]

** Well, they work ''better''; Transformers still survive hits from weapons that would destroy a tank.

* [[Incoming Ham]]:

** "BEHOLD! The eternal glory of...''Jetfire!!!''"

* [[In the Back]]: Several bots are brought down this way, including {{spoiler|Optimus (by Megatron), Ironhide (by Sentinel Prime during his [[Face Heel Turn]]), and Sentinel Prime (by Megatron who's [[The Dog Bites Back|tired of being his bitch]])}}.

* [[It Got Worse]]:

** In ROTF, after {{spoiler|the Transformers are asked to leave NEST, and Megatron kills Optimus, he declares they're not going to hold back anymore. Then Sam's face is flashed on every TV screen in the world, with the Fallen demanding the world hand him over. Oh and Decepticons start making appearances across certain major cities (New York and Paris are shown) as well as sinking an entire aircraft carrier, just to show that they could. Oh yes, and Sam's parents are captured by them.}}

** ...and robots too. In the first battle of ROTF, Optimus skydives into Shanghai.

** In DOTM, {{spoiler|this is how NEST gets into Chicago. [[Heroic Sacrifice|Some of them, anyway]].}}

* [[Ivy League for Everyone]]: Thanks to the government, Sam goes to a ''really'' nice school.

** ROTF starts with him going to Harvard.

** {{spoiler|Dylan Gould's death results from Sam, the one he's manipulated and used to spy on the Autobots, knocking him into one of Sentinel Prime's pillars that he helped set up, electrocuting him to death.}}

* [[Kid Appeal Character]]: But of course. He actually rejuvenated the use of the name Bumblebee in Transformers media.

* [[Killed Off for Real]]: Jazz in the first movie, at least two of the Arcees in ROTF, and {{spoiler|Ironhide, Que, Sentinel Prime, and pretty much every important Decepticon by the end of DOTM.}}

* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: Several, from ones that take shots to the original G1 mythos, and, as of ''Dark Of The Moon'', one on the [[Unpleasable Fanbase]] 's reaction to the entire trilogy: "It was like a cheesy line from a bad science fiction movie..."

* [[Large Ham]]:

** John Turturro as Agent Simmons.

{{quote|"You see this? This is a "Do whatever I want and get away with it" badge!" and "NOT ON MY WATCH!"

** Hugo Weaving as Megatron.

** [[Peter Cullen]] as Optimus Prime kinda counts, if only for giving tons of gravitas to each line he says.

** John Malkovich as Bruce in DOTM.

* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: Bumblebee is fairly well-armed, and also has one of the fastest altmodes among the Autobots. Sideswipe could qualify for this if he had a little more armament. And Optimus, best fighter of the bunch, isn't exactly slow, either.

* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: Both of the sequels.

** ROTF has two MacGuffins: {{spoiler|the cube fragments for the first half and the Matrix of Leadership for the second.}}

* [[Magic A Is Magic A]]: The original cartoon eventually handwaved mass shifting as being a part of the Transformers' powers in order to explain the differences in sizes between robots and their alternate modes. The film was originally going to embrace that but [[Michael Bay]] refused to allow mass shifting of the robots, demanding they fit inside their alternate modes and great pains were taken to keep them about the right size. This only adds to the believability of the visual effects and emphasizes that they are ''Transformers'' and not Shape Shifters. As common for the trope, there was an exception to the mass shifting with regards to the Allspark, seeing as it was basically a magical item and subject to its own rules.

* [[Magnetic Plot Device]]: The first film has the Allspark as just a [[MacGuffin]], but the sequels show that it still leaves a lasting impression on the characters and the story.

* [[Mechanical Lifeform]]: Kind of the premise of the whole franchise, really.

* [[Merchandise-Driven]]: Although both movies appear to be less [[Merchandise-Driven]] than prior [[Transformers Generation 1|Transformers]] [[Unicron Trilogy|franchises]] for the sake of mainstream appeal, they still mostly serve as two-and-a-half hour long toy (and GM) commercials. In particular, ''ROTF'' features impossible (and impractical) gimmicks such as Megatron being rebuilt into a new body (despite being mostly intact), and {{spoiler|Jetfire sacrificing himself so that Optimus Prime can combine with his leftover parts}}. Really, there's just no denying it. [[Fan Dumb|Except of course]], for the fans who say it "sold out". [http://www.shortpacked.com/2009/comic/book-9/06-revenge-of-the-fallen/soldout/ Mr. Willis? You're on.]

** In ROTF: between NEST soldiers & Autobots and the regular Army troops.

** In DOTM: Ironhide and Sideswipe's 2-on-2 battle with two Decepticons results in a classic four person circle with each combatant holding two guns, one trained on each of the two combatants from the other faction. Sideswipe even invokes this trope by name in describing the situation.

** While the fans [[Unpleasable Fanbase|would never be satisfied]], not using a VW for Bumblebee or a Porsche for Jazz (their iconic G1 alternate modes) was described as "raping my childhood." Michael Bay instead made a deal to use [[Product Placement|primarily GM vehicles]]. The issue is the problem with ''licensing''; both Volkswagon and Porsche have refused here and in past toylines to be associated with Transformers because of image concerns. Toys can be made to [[Bland-Name Product|skew around copyright infringement]], but in the film it would be impractical. GM just made the highest bid.

** Skids and Mudflap have been seen as racist caricatures of black people. The intent was for them to be parodies of "wiggers", non-black people who act in what they consider a "black" or "gangsta" manner. The difference between the caricature and the idiot is usually the actual ethnicity of the person acting stupidly. Since the two are ''robots'', a lot of people assumed they were intended to be the former.

** Some fans wanted to bean the [[Strawman Political]] over the head for discussing all of their secrets over the satelite connection when Soundwave was hacked in. Only one problem there, while the political weenie was indeed a dumbass, they ''were'' using what was supposed to be a secure connection. Discussing secret stuff is pretty much what those connections are ''for''.

** More of a misattribution than misblamed, but [[Megan Fox]] was not fired for [[Godwin's Law|comparing MichaelBay to Hitler]]. Ask anyone and that is supposedly common knowledge. The truth was she was actually giving Bay a lot of respect and sincerity in that interview, the entire thought was basically "He's friendly yet awkward off the set but on-set he tries to give off a controlling 'Hitler' persona." This can be evident in that Bay's response was basically laughing it off and saying that it's part of her quirky charm (it may have been a poor choice of words but it wasn't meant in a damning way). There was evidence released later that suggest Fox's departure from the series was actually at the suggestion of [[Steven Spielberg]] who disliked her general attitute and Bay also admitted she never really focused on her work. The whole thing wasn't a petty "You said WHAT about me?" ordeal.

** Doubles as a [[Mythology Gag]]. G1 Megatron did the ''exact same thing'' in one of the episodes in the original cartoon.

* [[Mood Whiplash]]: Zig-zags between slapsticky sitcom and dead-serious [[Alien Invasion]]. (Note the "peeing" scene.) One scene in particular whips the viewer through {{spoiler|fanservice, surprise, anxiety, relief, anxiety, squigglies, laughter, then relief. That would be the Sam/Alice makeout scene.}}

** Decepticons' occupation of Chicago, complete with random slaughters of defenseless civilians, wanton destruction and {{spoiler|turning the downtown in a super-sized concentration camp for human slaves}} seems... rather familiar.

** This unfortunately got Megan Fox fired from production when, during a speech for winning an award, [[Godwin's Law|she compared Michael Bay to Hitler]], and axed her character with her. Amusingly, Bay wasn't offended by the comparison. However, producer [[Steven Spielberg]] ''was''.

* [[Obviously Evil]]: While in the G1 universe most of the characters looked like humanoid robots, in the live action versions the Autobots' looks vary from cute to hardcore, while pretty much all of the Decepticons look like, well...homicidal monstrosities.

* [[Off with His Head]]:

** {{spoiler|Bonecrusher}} in the first film.

** Several 'bots in DOTM, most notably {{spoiler|Soundwave and Megatron}}.

* [[Oh Crap]]: The climax of the first film starts with Ironhide yelling; "It's Starscream!" A few moments later, it becomes abundantly clear why the Decepticons copied military hardware.

* orange smoke drifts into frame*

'''Lennox:''' ...'''That''' orange smoke?

** Frenzy mutters, ''"Oh shit."'' as he dies.

* [[Once For Yes, Twice For No]]: Bumblebee can only communicate through his radio.

** Also, Shockwave/Soundwave. Good luck keeping those two straight if you're not a hard-core fan.

* [[Orbital Shot]]: It's a Michael Bay movie, after all.

* [[Padding]]:

** The first movie is already lengthy with three major plots - the race for the Allspark, Sam's coming of age, and soldiers fighting alien robots - which all come together in a climactic battle bursting at the seams with awesome. Then there's the aforementioned "signal decoding" subplot, which starts off totally inconsequential, then fizzles out altogether with shreds of exposition that the viewers ''already learned'' forty minutes earlier.

*** Of course, the sequel and the expanded fiction actually do feature space-ships, The Ark and two versions of The Nemesis (which is seen in the sequel); they [[Hand Wave]] this by explaining that the comet forms are used for short-distance travel and planet entry. For traveling across entire galaxies, they use ships. Megatron is apparently one of the only Cybertronians capable of traversing entire star systems on their own steam.

*** Most other Transformers productions feature the robots as the only characters of importance, because A) that's what the people want to see and B) robots are just as easy to animate as humans in an [[Animated Adaptation]]. In a [[Live Action Adaptation]] humans ''have'' to carry an important role, because A) non-fans need to be eased into accepting transforming robots as characters, B) rendering realistic robots for two hours' worth of film would be prohibitively expensive, and C) why not just make the entire film CGI instead of Live Action [[Beast Wars|...wait]].

* [[Pre-Mortem One-Liner]]: Optimus has three, one in ROTF ("GIVE ME YOUR FACE!") and two on ''DOTM'':

{{quote|''{{spoiler|Megatron}}'': Who would you be without me, Prime?

''Optimus'': Time to find out.

''{{spoiler|Sentinel}}'': {{spoiler|Optimus... [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|All I ever wanted was the survival of our race.]] You must see why I had to betray you.}}

** Sam gets one in DOTM.

{{quote|'''{{spoiler|Dylan}}''': (Laughs at him) You think you're some kind of hero?

* [[Product Placement]]:

** General Motors, General Motors, General Motors. Also eBay, Mountain Dew, Panasonic and [[Xbox 360]].

** The conspicuous shots of the Constructicons' hood ornaments could be seen as a nod to Mack trucks.

** The third film no longer has a monopoly of GM cars, due to the company's bankruptcy issues. While the already established characters are still GM brands, this allows a great deal more variety. In addition, the other product placement is relatively subtle, compared to the first two films. It mostly consists of ''not'' obscuring brand names.

* [[Real Song Theme Tune]]: Played straight with the first and DOTM (with "What I've Done" and "Iridescent" respectively) and subverted with "New Divide", which was specifically recorded for ROTF.

* [[Remember the New Guy?]]: Happens often in regards to both sides, with characters introduced as if they had been there the whole time. Although they probably have thanks to offscreen events.

* [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]]: [[Playing with a Trope|Played with.]] Optimus Prime explained that they learned Earth's languages and cultures through the internet. Certain Autobots took on speech characteristics that they felt appropriate to their character and is the reason Jazz is considered black, besides the homage to G1 Jazz and G1 voice actor Scatman Crothers.

** In ROTF, they went even further to try and emphasize how these robots are living creatures and not hand-built machines. The robots replicate things like crying and how they react to getting old or injured.

** Optimus Prime arrives in the city and confronts Megatron (who had just killed Jazz). Keep in mind here that they haven't seen each other in over 10,000 years. Their first words to each other?

{{quote|'''Optimus Prime''': MEGATRON!

** Interestingly to note, Optimus seemed rather angry to see Megatron alive and well (well, the fact he was holding the corpse of one of his friends didn't help), whereas Megatron seemed almost happy to see the former.

** And lest we forget:

** It's also insinuated that Bumblebee is intentionally doing it to be cute, as Sam mentions that he's "playing it up."

* [[Space Is Cold]]: Averted. The Transformers are vulnerable to extreme cold, but are fine in space. [[Coconut Effect|The trope's prevalence]] led to some calling this a [[Reality Is Unrealistic|Plot Hole]].

** In fact, {{spoiler|Megatron punishes him mercilessly for fleeing at the end of the first movie's climactic battle and assuming leadership over the Decepticons since then.}}

** {{spoiler|Megatron is the biggest Starscream of them all in the third movie, to Sentinel Prime.}}

* [[Supporting Leader]]: Optimus Prime.

*** DOTM takes this [[Up to Eleven]] with the deaths of several Decepticon Mooks.

* [[Technology Porn]]: The transformation sequences can get ''really'' elaborate.

* [[They Look Like Us Now]]

* [[Those Two Guys]]:

** Wheelie and Brains in DOTM.

* [[Time Abyss]]: The Fallen betrayed the Dynasty of Primes nearly twenty thousand years ago, and Optimus and Megatron were born after that. Please note that this makes them considerably ''younger'' than most incarnations.

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]:

** Keeping your headphones on whilst a giant insectoid is crawling underneath the sand is a sure way to get impaled through the chest. [http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Patrick_Donnelly Sgt. Donnelly] learned this the hard way.

** At first, The Fallen seems fairly smart and [[Genre Savvy]]. {{spoiler|He absolutely does NOT come to Earth until Optimus Prime (apparently, [[The Only One Allowed to Defeat You|the only one who could kill him]]), is dead. After Optimus is brought back to life, The Fallen makes his appearance by scattering the Autobots and soldiers, stealing the Matrix (the only thing capable of bringing Optimus to life), pinning Optimus to the ground whilst sneering down at him... and then teleporting away to turn the Harvester on. Sure, at the time Optimus was too weak to do anything and no-one could predict Jetfire giving him his parts, armor and weaponry, but if The Fallen had killed him then (y'know, just to be sure), he could have avoided [[Killed Off for Real|giving Optimus]] his face. In his defense, he was more concerned with activating the machine than disposing of his enemies.}}

** Simmons levels up between the first two films.

** Sam in the third. Oh wow, Sam in the third. {{spoiler|He kills Starscream!}} He also helps bee take out {{spoiler|Laserbeak}} and lives up to his threat of {{spoiler|killing Dylan.}}

* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: The trailers for ROTF blatantly show {{spoiler|the resurrection of Megatron}}. Also {{spoiler|Devastator}}. Also, {{spoiler|Sam gets the Matrix.}} Of course, the {{spoiler|Matrix}} is unrecognizable as such until one actually sees the film.

** Subverted by the trailers for DOTM. {{spoiler|You may think Shockwave is the [[Big Bad]]. And his spectacular entry in the movie itself may still lead the viewer into believing that.}}

* [[Trilogy Creep]]: Hasbro has recently announced there will be a fourth film. [[Michael Bay]] stated that third film would be his last, but the sheer profitability of the movies has plenty of people pushing for another. Bay later said he might return but he wants to do a smaller movie in between, as the two sequels were filmed on a breakneck schedule with only two years in between installments.

* [[Troperiffic]]: '''And how!'''

* [[Unstoppable Rage]]:

** [[Beware the Nice Ones|Optimus]] [[Papa Wolf|Prime]] takes exception to Megatron's attempt to kill Sam during the forest battle sequence. A [[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown]] from hero to villain(s) ensues.

* [[World of Badass]]: Cybertron. And Earth, apart from all the comic reliefs, too. And some of ''them'' can [[Let's Get Dangerous|get dangerous]] as needed.

* [[World of Ham]]: Where to start?

* [[You Will Be Spared]]:

** Megatron tells Sam that in exchange for the Allspark, Megatron will make Sam his pet.

** In DOTM, {{spoiler|Dylan Gould mentions that the Decepticons promised to keep him safe in exchange for his help}}.

 

== Tropes in the first film ==

* [[Bros Before Hoes]]: Inverted; Sam's friend reminds him of the trope, but he's kicked to the curb so Sam can go after Mikaela.

* [[Car Fu]]:

** A more traditional case was Bumblebee's slide/drift in vehicle mode to knock down Barricade while rescuing Sam and Mikaela.

* [[Car Skiing]]: Bumblebee does this to scan and transform into the 2009 version of the Camaro.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Optimus outlines a plan that the only way to destroy the AllSpark is by merging it with his own spark in his chest. The idea was that eliminating the AllSpark and Optimus along with it is preferable over Megatron getting it. Sam managing to execute that plan on Megatron was definitely seen as a [[Million-to-One Chance]].

* [[Chest Blaster]]: Blackout's chest cannon, Frenzy's CD blade launcher.

* [[Deadly Fireworks Display]]: {{spoiler|Blackout}}; {{spoiler|Megatron}}, although to a much lesser extent.

* [[Depleted Phlebotinum Shells]]: "6000-degree magnesium burn" of "high-heat 105mm sabot rounds"... Sabot rounds [http://science.howstuffworks.com/m1-tank3.htm don't work that way].

** Judging from that link, though, it seems possible that they simply confused Sabot rounds with HEAT rounds...or the Pentagon may have requested that flub to protect classified information.

* [[Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry]]: Mojo's collar.

{{quote|'''Mrs. Witwicky''': That's his bling!}}

* [[Hidden in Plain Sight]]: Parodied when Sam asked the Autobots to back off from the house while he searched for the glasses. The Autobots transform into their vehicle modes... and remained right there in the back yard. Sam screamed out that it wasn't going to work. Optimus later invokes the trope in his message before the credits.

* [[Hollywood Hacking]]: The entirety of the slightly-less-than-awesome "signal processing" subplot.

** Some of this is even intercut with the rest of the Autobots questioning Optimus over why they should save us from the Decepticons, given how primitive and violent we are as a race. Optimus Prime reminds them that at one time, Cybertronians were [[Not So Different]] from us.

* [[Magical Negro]]: Used car salesman Bobby Bolivia [[Invoked Trope|attempts to act like this as a sales pitch.]]

** Earlier, when Bumblebee pretends to cut out at a local make-out point, his radio starts playing Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing".

* [[No Conservation of Mass]]: Mostly averted, since care was taken so that the Transformers had the same amount of mass in vehicle and robot form. However, the Cube can apparently go from house-sized to basketball-sized with no release of energy.

* [[Not This One, That One]]: Invoked by Sam's dad.

* [[Online Alias]]: "Are you ladiesman217?"

* [[Ordinary High School Student]]: Sam.

* [[Reason You Suck Speech]]: Megatron to Optimus:

{{quote|'''Megatron''': You still fight for the weak! That is why you lose!}}

 

== Tropes for works connected to the films ==

* [[All There in the Manual]]: Along with the prequel novels, there are several comic books dedicated to detailing the story between the flashbacks in ROTF and what lead to the Autobot / Decepticon split, not to mention the circumstances of the Allspark leaving Cybertron.

* [[Animated Adaptation]]:

** ''[[Transformers Animated]]'' was produced in anticipation of the movie's popularity, but the story is a whole other [[Alternate Continuity]] line. As such, there are several direct nods to these films: Megatron's Cybertronian form looks like a simplified version of his movie incarnation, Bumblebee having a racing stripe and Blackout shows up in season three. The Japanese translation was initially announced to turn this series into a direct adaptation, but so far the only real difference is that Bulkhead's name was changed to Ironhide. The canceled fourth season was supposed to come even closer, with Ironhide and Jazz replacing Bulkhead and Prowl on the Earth team and the remaining Autobots using new color schemes more reminiscent of the movie - yes, including flame decals on Optimus.

* [[Fiction as Cover-Up]]: The [[Alternate Reality Game]] based on the films indicate the ''entire franchise'' franchise is truly one of these, with [[Transformers Generation 1]] being a ruse to hide first contact between our races and the films being a response to increased Decepticon activity. Agent [[Hugo Weaving|H. Weaving]] was assigned to the films to maintain utmost control.

* [[Five-Bad Band]]: In the Revenge of the Fallen game the Decepticons form one:

* [[Five-Man Band]]: The Autobots in the Revenge of the Fallen game:

* [[Genius Bruiser]]: [[All There in the Manual|According to supplemental material]], Optimus Prime was head of the Cybertronian Science division before the war started.

* [[I Love Nuclear Power]]: In the DOTM game, {{spoiler|Megatron grabs plutonium from two Soviet nukes to restore his strength enough to be able to scan his new vehicle mode}}.

[[Category:Blur Studio]]

[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]

[[Category:Film]]

[[Category:Riff Trax]]