The list is easy for me (in order from 1 to 5)

Autobots

Optimus (the grand leader we all wanted to see on screen)
Bumblebee (reinvigorated the character and made him a staple once more)
Hound (the scene stealer)
Ratchet (the old guard. His death showed the new films would be different)
Crosshairs ( another scene stealer, the right sarcastic attitude that we needed)
Decepticons:

Sentinel ( the best villian, the traitor we needed)
Laserbeak the decepticons scene stealer... And the mist chilling)
Megatron (from tyrant warlord to broken bot to human puppet to the exiled warlord looking to reclaim his glory)
Lockdown (cold, calculating, deadly)
Starscream (the whining second in command who died not in Grand battle but to a bunch of humans he underestimated)

 

 

Minor correction: the rifle Optimus used to execute Sentinel was actually Megatron\'s.

 

Yes, sol fury this was a wonderful article that perfectly shows were these movies have room to grow, and despite its issues why AOE is my favorite. All I ever asked for as a fan was characterization of my favorite characters.

Great article

 

A sadly accurate yet very well written article. Nice writing, Sol Fury.

Another minor correction: The "rifle" was actually a shotgun.

 

wouldve been cool if they went the DC route for a spell and just have great direct to dvd animated movies, Id be all over that

 

Excellent piece, Sol. I have no counter for it whatsoever. I also agree that Sentinel would've probably been #1 Bay character ever, followed by Lockdown.

So many little character moments. Strafe helping tug Slug out of harm's way. Ironhide playfully nudging Ratchet when they confront Sector 7. Ratchet pointing at Lennox encouragingly before the Egypt battle in a "great idea!" sort of way. Ironhide and Ratchet blinking their lights at Sam at NEST. Sideswipe scoffing when Galloway yelled "the secret is out".

Blegh. I wish we could've gotten a movie based show presumably filling the gaps between each film (even if they inevitably are totally ignored by the next film). Especially as we got great crews in 2007 and AOE, or so many blank slates that were wasted like Arcee and Jolt that could've used the development.

 

(Sorry to be long winded) It is really tough to choose favorite characters (especially in the past two films) as development of the bots was very limited. I'll still go see all of them in theater, but AOE was a chore (took me three days to get through it the second time). Was thinking about the films the last couple days, and come back comparing Last Knight to Revenge of the Fallen where I think there could have been a decent movie somewhere in there, but the focus is way too jumbled. Part of the problem (IMO) in developing the robots is the flux of human cast members between films. Adding Sam's roommate, not bringing back useless roommate, including more focus on his parents, having less of parents, adding new girlfriend, adding new boss for comic relief, adding co-worker for comic relief, getting rid of most cast, developing new father/daughter/boyfriend/cannon fodder friend, deleting daughter/boyfriend, adding new young girl who was fairly useless in movie, adding new love interest, adding co-worker, bringing back lennox. All this flux takes time away from developing bots. Introducing the cons in this film was a little more elaborate way of doing what they did in the first one in just putting names on the screen as Megatron called them into the final battle. Most of mine probably stem from the first film as development of the story, as well as the bots was a bit more straight forward, and at least had a fair amount of continuity across a few films.

Bots:
Optimus
Bumblebee
(Both have the most longevity and decent development, we know Optimus is going to give a monologue at the end of each film, and nothing like a boy and his first car)
Ironhide- Again, decent development, and I actually felt cheated when he died.
Ratchet- Great design (IMO), again, felt like we had lost something when he was hunted down.
The Twins- Yea, I found them annoying as well, but for good or bad, at least they took time to develop them so we could all agree that they were annoying characters.

Cons-
Megatron- I think he shined in both the street battle in the 1st film and the forest in the second. Though he seems to be like Jason from Friday the 13th.
Shockwave- Had some decent gimmicks, and was introduced early enough in the film to have some presence on screen
Barricade- Though I am not sure why he is special to so many people, it is nice to see him as a holdover through much of it. Can't say there is much character there, but bots see the sirens and they are running like a crackhead from behind a minimart.
Fallen- Good back story into who he was and why he became a villain.
Laserbeak- Some development behind the character, though I find him a bit cheesy, served a purpose in the films.

For some reason I can't get behind Lockdown, maybe because I found that film to be a cobbled mess, or that he wasn't geewon enough for me.

 

I agree with the most, while ROTF no my favorite film, but Battle in the forest was the best event for me, following with TLK event when optimus said "Did you forget who I am? I'm optimus prime", then he beheaded all infernocus with his sword.

and it's 10 years already.. 10 years I have patience and tolerance for those who mock and hate the bayverse transformers, and I will keep like that forever...

 

This article is about robots, but movies are about people.

 

Ops was cool but all he says now is \"I\'m Optimus Prime\"
 

 

One day I'd like to see the movie you've been watching...it sounds better than the one I've been watching.

 

Autobots:
1.Optimus Prime
2.Sideswipe
3.Bumblebee
4.Hound
5.Bulldog

Decepticons:
1.Megatron
2.Blackout
3.Starscream
4.Lockdown
5.Sentinel

Runner Ups:
Crosshairs
Ironhide

Shockwave
Stinger

 

I've always been an adult since these movies started. I'm not a G1er. I was too young when that was on. I had Beast Wars. My love and reverence for the franchise really was created by that show.

I went in to the movies each time with what I think are reasonable expectations. I want to be told a good story wth interesting characters. Marvel is able to repeatedly and mechanically knock those out of the park. I even like the Star Wars prequels while acknowledging their flaws.

The Transformers movie franchise however has never even come close to delivering something good. It treats the cybertronians as props when they should be the main characters. What minisqule characterization they are given are often just horrible. When I watch a Marvel movie, yeah they make changes to the characters. I may not like all the changes but I can definitely see that the creators at least cared about the character. When I watch the Transformers movie the only impression I get is that Michael Bay loves military and barely legal sex objects. These movies are just excuses for military porn and explosions.

I haven't even seen the Lask Knight because it's just more shallow garbage.

Like I said. I don't expect the Transformers movies to be cinematic masterpieces held up on pedestals alongside Casablanca, Citizen Cane, or other masterpiece movies. I just go in wanting a good story with interesting characters. I have yet to be given such.

I had hoped the writers room would have produced a movie with such reasonable expectations but apparently I am destined to never see a good Transformers live action movie.

 

Aaaa! Where do you steal this Bumblebee's portrait? It's awesome!
I hate any types of ratings, but I would add that in Autobots list I would certainly place Jetfire on the third position His sacrifice will always be in my heart! And Ironhide, Ratchet, Hound, Sideswipe, Crosshairs, Drift and Grimlock would crowd on 4th and 5th places  It's much easer to pick Decepticons for me, because I'm not so interested in them. My respect goes to Megatron, Sentinel, Lockdown, Starscream and Soundwave.

 

That Bumblebee is from the original movie, it's where he holds the Allspark Cube in Hoover Dam.

Jetfire was on my shortlist, largely because of his sacrifice and his personality. Ultimately though it was very hard to definitely say "these ones stand out"

 

OH, MY GOD, OF COURSE, I SO LOVE THIS MOMENT! "Нечего больше тянуть!"  Thank you! Jetfire also was my third TF-toy and getting him was really hard, possibly that's also a cause, why I so cherish him.

 

No, no, no. These movies had plenty of good characterization!

Oh wait. You meant the actual robots?  

No, sorry. I thought we were talking about human characters!   They got lots of focus and characterization. We see them leave, come back, find out where they've been, etc.

Just not the robots.

Because the TFs are insecticon monsters in these movies. And monsters don't need backstories or characterization. THEY'RE MONSTERS. Come on.  

 

Besides Optimus, Bumblebee, and Megatron who are already favorites of mine and probably everyone, mine goes as:
Autobots(No Order):
1) Sideswipe was an awesome character. I wish he got more screentime because he could do so much with his blades and his feet as wheels is just a really cool design and stands out from the rest of the Transformers who came. Honestly if Sunstreaker came, Sideswipe really should come back. And whoever is directing, don't get Swipe's head wrong.
2) Dino/Mirage was a pretty cool character and I think his arm blade weapons were also cool. He seems to be another one of those flashy bots like Swipe and Hot Rod, so I think the three of them and possibly Sunstreaker would make the best squad.
3) Drift was a nice addition to the roster of Autobots and his design for some reason really got me. Being the first movie triple changer just makes him all the better. I liked him a lot in TLK as he seemed a bit more fleshed out but not as well as Crosshairs and Hound. Honestly, he feels like a character that has a lot of potential. Being once a Decepticon and now Autobot, I wonder how far they can get his character to be fleshed out and hopefully the "key" instead of a human.
4) Hound was a really cool character and looked like he would be a threat to both Autobot and Decepticon. For some reason, I wish he got to meet Ironhide since I really want to see how they would interact with each other. He was fleshed out a lot better in TLK and loved his attitude of "shoot first, ask questions later."
5) Cogman was easily one of my favorites. He was such a funny character in TLK and it was weird how he just disappeared right after he mourned for Sir Edmund Burton while everyone else ran out into battle. I guess he was depressed and didn't want to fight anymore. I really wish he does come back in Transformers 6 since apparently that's what it is and hopefully the Aston Martin is used as his body.

Decepticons(No Order):
1) Blackout was an absolute beast in TF1 and was probably the first Con who was on screen that made me say "HOLY SHIT". He was probably the only Decepticon as of now that gave me the "wow" factor. It was cool he carried Scorponok on him too but I can't get over his scene when he destroys the military base. That was one of my favorite scenes as of any TF movie. Sucks he died.  
2) Brawl was literally a tank in TF1. When three Autobots gang up on you and you're still standing, it's a surprising moment that you're still able to fight. The reason I like him a lot is because Decepticons nowadays are treated as cannon fodder or mindless, idiotic drones with no personality. Brawl was just a ruthless and destructive Decepticon. If only Onslaught was like this.
3) Nitro Zeus became one of my favorite Decepticons and seeing his interactions with the guards during his intro was pretty funny. I thought he would make it out alive though since he and Mohawk would've been a great comedic duo if they were given more screentime.
4) Barricade was a cool Decepticon and seeing him in TLK was just amazing simply because he looks so good in the movie and a lot better too. He's just a character that I think is full of mysteries and hopefully he's in the BB spinoff as his rival.
5) Mohawk became my favorite right when he was introduced. I was actually happy we finally got a Decepticon with personality and hopefully just as much as Nitro Zeus. I'm hoping he returns in TF6 since he was still alive when he got his head blown off. I hope the new squad is Megatron, Barricade, Berserker, Mohawk, and some other new ones.

 

Very solid article, great work!

Honestly, the lack of concern over really making the titular characters into characters is a big part of why these movies don't feel anything like "Transformers" to me. They're just disposable CGI monsters with difficult-to-discern individual physical features.

 

The problem for me with the movie Decepticons is that, beyond Megatron and Starscream and a couple of others, the rest of the Decepticons are just growling monsters. 
In most fiction being a Bot or Con is a choice, a faction you join...but I can\'t imagine Berserker switching sides...I dunno...I just wish the robot characters were treated more like the human cast...you know, with dialog and all that.  It\'s rare to get robot only scenes...which is odd, because they are the real stars of this whole thing right?