10 Film Franchises That Successfully Recovered From Awful Entries
3. Transformers
The Awful Entry – Everything After Transformers (2007)
Michael Bay attracts a lot of flack for his cinematic output. True, the likes of Pearl Harbour are utterly dreadful, but he is also responsible for bringing The Rock and Bad Boys to life. Without him to parody, there probably wouldn’t be a Hot Fuzz, and then what would ITV2 show every Friday night?
The first Transformers film in 2007 contained all of the Bay trademarks, with copious explosions, juvenile humour and plenty of headscratching plot developments where story was definitely sacrificed for more action. At its heart though, the story of Sam and his friendship with the Autobot Bumblebee combines with the heartfelt nostalgia held by many for Optimus Prime and company to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable film.
Never one to turn down going overboard on a sequel, Bay has since helmed four, all of them excruciatingly terrible. Despite attracting a plethora of respected Hollywood names (including Anthony Hopkins no less), each has seemingly set out with the intention of outdoing its immediate predecessor in terms of ridiculousness and any semblance of plot was dropped in favour of more explosions a long time ago.
Bumblebee was a huge breath of fresh air when it dropped in late 2018. Swapping Bay for Travis S. Knight, the scale was stripped back to focus on Hailee Steinfeld’s Charlie and her titular companion, with action used aptly and sparingly to drive the story forwards. Here’s hoping its sequels don’t descend into mediocrity too.