Movie Review: Transformers: Age of Extinction

Previous Review: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Next Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The Transformers film franchise, which started in 2007, was always highly criticized for its chaotic, messy plot, over-the-top bad acting, the tasteless, offensive and crude humour, cheesy and cliché ridden dialogues, blatant product placement for companies and overly long screen time for every instalment. But, why people still flocking to the cinemas to watch them? It is simply because Michael Bay always managed to leave the audience wowed each time with realistic and life-like CGI robots, big action sequences with explosions, beautiful scenery, stylish luxury sports cars and attractive young stars.

The film takes place 5 years after the events of Dark of the Moon, start fresh by telling a new story with the Yaegers replacing the Witwickys, which got caught up in the battle between man and machine when Cade bought a rundown trailer truck, unaware that it's actually Optimus Prime himself. This puts him and his family right in the path of ruthless corrupted CIA agents, who seeks to destroy all Transformers and eliminate anyone who's involved with them. Many of the Autobots or Decepticons who remained on Earth are either hunted down and killed or forced into hiding.

The film takes a serious approach, darker tone compared with the previous trilogy. It has a more complicated plot compared to the previous trilogy. The story centers around the Yeagers' father-daughter relationship, which is slightly refreshing and better compared with the unrealistic relationships between Witwicky and his two exceptionally hot girlfriends. For this film, Michael Bay finally managed to clear up the film's visuals with better action choreography. The slow-motion action sequences actually help the audience to follow what is happening on screen and who's fighting who. This makes the action sequences more enjoyable for a wider audience. Not to mention, Bay also reduces and removes many of the stupid, offensive, racist jokes that the previous trilogy had.

Another noticeable improvement which never been done in the previous films: developing distinctive personalities for the robot characters by giving them more screen time to interact with each other. This time, Bumblebee shares his screen time with the newly-introduced Autobots (Hound, Drift and Crosshairs) for the audience to really get to know them, instead of being just big hunks of metal clanging against each other. The film has lesser military combats and focusing more on the robot action. There are more interesting character dynamics between them than before, especially Optimus. Optimus is more compelling than previous films, showing his anger and disappointment towards the humans for their betrayal. He is losing faith in humanity and questioning his ideals. Lockdown was amazing and he is perhaps the most memorable Transformer villain of the franchise. His character motivations were clear and he has the best entrances and lines in the film as well.

As usual, the visual effects by ILM are absolutely stunning and groundbreaking. The CGI effects actually manage to bring these non-existent mechanical beings to life. The details of the Autobot transformation remains impressive and convincingly realistic. The film still managed to put me in awe at how lifelike these robots are on screen, despite the fact that it's 7 years after the first Transformers film. It is truly a sight to behold when Optimus rides the fire-breathing Grimlock to war after he swiftly convinces the Dinobot leader to assist his cause. Once again, ILM has proved that they are the best in the visual effects industry.

Mark Wahlberg has proved himself that he's a better actor and a better lead than Shia LaBeouf. Mark actually involves himself in the action sequences, never overacts, runs and screams "Optimus!!" or "Bee!!" like Shia in the previous trilogy. Stanley Tucci is also better as the tech corp KSI founder Joshua Joyce compared with the annoyingly stupid Agent Simmons (John Turturro) or Leo Spitz (Ramón Rodríguez) in past films. Kelsey Grammer is perfectly cast as the villainous CIA black-ops head, Attinger as well. Unfortunately, Nicola Peltz's character as Cade's daughter and Jack Reynor's character as her boyfriend falls flat though, with Reynor giving the worst performance among the cast.

Despite the numerous improvements, the film still suffers from numerous plot logic issues, cheesy bad dialogues and unnecessary scenes, overdone jokes that failed miserably (not all, some worked though) and lots of annoying blatant product placement advertisements to reduce the film's budget. The film also feels overly long with its 157 minutes of running time (excluding film credits). A lot of unnecessary scenes can be removed to tighten up the story. Dinobots are the main attraction for this film, but sadly there's not a lot of screen time for them at all. It would be interesting to see more of them in robot mode, speaking and interact with other characters in the film. The film also ends abruptly with many questions left unanswered in the end, which opens for another sequel again.

Overall, this is not a great film by any means, so do not expect deep, meaningful story lines which this film does not have. However, this one actually have its heart at the right place this time compared with the previous two sequels. Age of Extinction is the film that Transformers should have been a long time ago. In my opinion, it's the best Transformers film so far. A decent blockbuster entertainment.

Rating:7/10


Cade Yeager: "You're not actually leaving, are you?"
Optimus Prime: "How many more of my kind must be sacrificed to atone for your mistakes?"
Cade Yeager: "We’re humans; we all make mistakes, Prime. That's what we're good at. But out of those mistakes come some beautiful things. When I was fixing you, I was just thinking of money, to take care of my family. I'm asking you to look at the junk and see the treasure. You gotta have faith, Prime. Maybe not in who we are, but in who we can be."


To note, I always have a love/hate relationship with the Transformers film series. I hate them because of the messy, flawed story, over-the-top bad acting, distasteful, stupid, offensive and crude jokes, cheesy and cliché ridden dialogues, lack of character development for the robots. Because of these issues, I cannot give a higher rating for the previous trilogy. But, I also love them very much because of the realistic, lifelike CGI robot designs and the awesome action sequences. These are my guilty pleasure films. For comparisons, here are my ratings for the previous films: 

• First Transformers:        6/10 

The first film that put many viewers in awe, we never would have thought we could ever see realistic, lifelike robots on screen. The story was acceptable, but filled with over-the-top bad acting from the leads, stupid, offensive crude jokes and cheesy dialogues and lack of character development for the rest of the robots, except Bumblebee and Optimus. It has a boring, draggy 'Autobots hiding at Sam's house' scene, an unsatisfactory climactic battle. Best action sequence in the film: Optimus VS Bonecrusher.

• Revenge of the Fallen: 4.5/10

The worst film in the series. The plot is messy and chaotic, a lot of plot holes, contrivances, over-the-top bad acting, filled with offensive, stupid, racist, sexist jokes, cheesy and cliché ridden dialogues, blatant product placement for companies, no character development for the bots and overly long screen time. The Twins and Wheelie made you hate the Transformers. Also, Devastator has balls. Some Autobots 'magically' appear and disappear throughout the film. An extremely unsatisfactory Optimus VS The Fallen battle. But, it has one of the best action sequence in the franchise: 1 VS 3 forest fight.

• Dark of the Moon:       6.5/10

A much improved sequel with darker, serious tone, link historical events as part of the story and comes with a plot twist. Provide more screen time for other bots, not just Optimus or Bumblebee. The offensive, stupid, racist, sexist jokes were lesser, product placements were less obvious, have a few credible actors in it, but has an overly long screen time. It has a few excellent action sequences: highway chase scene, 2 VS 2 fight, the whole alien invasion third act, Optimus VS Sentinel.




I've managed to find one of the best reviews written so far by a critic named Mark Hughes, let me quote some of his best written lines here:

"Some viewers and critics seem to have lost their ability to comprehend that yes, sometimes entertainment is strictly that, and even a silly premise serves its purpose as long as it embraces its own silliness and does its best to deliver on that premise in the most entertaining and unrestrained way. It’s okay for some movies to be silly and not make much sense because making sense would eradicate the premise itself. Some films doesn’t need to be over-explained or grounded in realism or any of the other currently popular approaches to fantastical filmmaking."

"Yes, sometimes taking the silly premises more seriously and offering explanations can work, and when it does that’s great. But sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes you get a better end result by not being pretentious about it and accepting concepts you either get or you don’t, and if you get it then you don’t need it explained or grounded. It’s okay if you don’t like that sort of film, but it’s also okay if you do, and we need to be able to be honest about the fact there’s room for that kind of film at the cinema, just as there always has been."

"No other filmmaker understands the visual narrative of epic CGI action battles, and the weight and placement of characters and objects within action, as well as Michael Bay. Many films lately have depicted widespread catastrophic destruction in large cities, and alien invasions on massive scales, but nothing you've seen before compares to how extensive, how well choreographed, how visually stunning, and how remarkably well-filmed the alien invasion catastrophe is in Age of Extinction."

"I've always appreciated Bay’s presentation of the mechanics of the Transformers, the way things can gradually descend into increasingly chaotic clockworks of shifting metal and gears, until the destruction and the transformations lose themselves in one another. This time, however, Bay tries a different approach, because here the character of the Autobots are so well-defined and because there are such clear visual cues to distinguish between the different sets of robotic lifeforms. The result is the cleanest and most accessible visual style of any Transformers film. And it’s particularly important because the action is so much more expansive and prolonged this time around...If you’re looking for the film that makes the Transformers the real main characters and gives them the best part of the story and the best, most resonant arcs, then Age of Extinction is your ticket."

- written by Mark Hughes, taken from http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2014/06/26/review-transformers-age-of-extinction-is-the-ultimate-transformers-movie/

For the origin of the Transformers (film series only), please visit the link below:

http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2014/06/things-to-know-about-transformers-film.html

For the Complete List of Autobot Characters in the Transformers film series, please visit the link below:

http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2014/06/complete-list-of-autobot-characters-in.html

For the Complete List of Decepticon Characters in the Transformers film series, please visit the link below:

http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2014/06/complete-list-of-decepticon-characters.html

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCH THE FILM

The plot logic issues in the film (to list a few):

• No mention of any human characters of the previous trilogy at all.  

This is the biggest problem because it's quite far-fetched that the high-ranking military officers (General Morshower the leader of NEST, Lieutenant Colonel William Lennox, or Charlotte Mearing, Director of National Intelligence) doesn't know the secret CIA operation that hunts down the Autobots at all. If they know, they shouldn't have let this killing to happen. Epps left NEST and retired from the U.S. Air Force, Sam presumably has his own family and living without knowing that the Autobots were being secretly hunted down and killed.

• The main casts managed to survive without any injuries at all for most of the action sequences in the film.

This is a huge issue that requires a huge amount of suspension of disbelief. Some of the scenes actually defies the laws of physics. It is impossible for anyone to outrun the large scale explosions shown in the film in real life, to be able to survive when an Autobot catches them in mid-air, to survive after being thrown/hit by a Transformer, etc.

• Other Transformers are presumably hunted down and killed by humans. 

Only Ratchet and Leadfoot is shown being hunted down and killed in the film. The film should have shown the fates of the rest of the Autobots as well.

• When Lockdown shows up with his spaceship and shoots Optimus, the other Autobots essentially 'disappear' and nowhere to be seen. 

They were presumably separated from the group when Stinger and Galvatron shoot them. However, it should be possible for the Autobots to locate Optimus' location from their communicators. They should have at least shown the Autobots arrive late after Optimus was taken.

• Age of Extinction briefly takes place in Chicago. The city is shown to be in perfectly fine condition. 

It's very far-fetch to assume the U.S. managed to rebuild a large city such as Chicago in 5 years.

• Early in the film, Optimus was shown to be heavily damaged and worn down. But he was able to quickly reformat himself to assume his new 'Knight' form appearance.

The film should have at least re-explain that as long as a Transformer's protoform - the base form or spark - the core are not severely damaged and no Energon depletion, a Transformer can 'heal' themselves and replaces their current form with any extra surrounding matter nearby by 'trans-scanning' to generate a new exo-structure disguise. This is lazy storytelling.

• Optimus can fly without the aid of his mech-tech trailer or even the Jetpack parts from Jetfire. He can simply fly into space without any assistance at all. 

It was briefly shown, but not explained that Optimus had a further upgrade for his Knight form when he retrieves the sword. There are subtle differences after he pulled the sword. However, the film should have shown him revert back to his protoform (the preferred form for space travel) and fly off to space, instead of maintaining his Knight form.

• Autobots were hunted down and killed in the film, and Prime decided to leave the remaining surviving Autobots without leadership and guidance.

Optimus would never do that, he would never leave his Autobots behind. He should leave together with them, using Lockdown's spaceship.

• When Hound, Bumblebee, Cade and the rest is in serious trouble because of the overwhelming new army of Vehicons, Optimus freed the Black Knights/Dinobots and coerce them to assist him in defeating the Vehicons or die at his sword. This is not the Prime we know as this is against his own 'Freedom is everyone's right' ideal.

From the previous trilogy, we should know by now that Optimus in this film series is a far more aggressive Prime compared to his original cartoon counterparts. Besides that, this version of Optimus has been through a lot in the series...He was betrayed by Megatron back on Cybertron, his former mentor betrayed him, he's lost countless Autobot friends during the war (none of the Autobots from the previous trilogy survived except Bumblebee and Brains), and this time he was betrayed by the people he swore to protect. He isn't the Prime he was before, he's changed. He did what he had to do for everyone's survival. Furthermore, it seems that the Dinobots in this film only listens to someone who's stronger than them. Prime have to prove that he's strong enough to lead them. He didn't try to enslave the Dinobots (Sentinel Prime tried to enslave the humans, Megatron tried to control all Cybertronians through tyranny), he offered Dinobots their freedom if they assist him in saving Hound, Bumblebee and humanity. After all, he was the one who set them free from Lockdown's prison.

It's understandable (slightly acceptable) that the film intends to show Prime's inner conflict after his dedication to a noble cause ultimately betrays him and desperate situations do require desperate measures, (If Optimus doesn't do that, then Hound, Bumblebee, Cade and the rest will die, Galvatron will get the 'Seed' and built a new army, which leads to extinction of the entire human race) but it's just wrong for Optimus to sacrifice his ideals (Freedom is everyone's right) because this is not his character at all.

The script should modify the script to fit his character, the situation should be something like this: Optimus explains the dire situation to the Black Knights, request for their help as a leader, a Prime and a fellow Knight. However, the Dinobots saw this as a sign of weakness and unwilling to yield, except Grimlock, the leader of Dinobots/Black Knights. He sees true leadership in Optimus because he wanted to protect his 'family' and challenges him to a duel. If Prime wins, he and his Knights will ride with him to save Prime's 'family'.


Questions that are mistaken as plot issues:

• If Galvatron is Megatron, then why he still calls himself 'Galvatron' instead of Megatron?

Galvatron is reverse engineered, using data recovered from Megatron's head and built from Megatron parts. Because of that, he carries his 'will', but he is not Megatron anymore. He's just a glitchy, imperfect version of Megatron.

• All the mass-produced human made Vehicons were easily killed and destroyed by the Autobots and Dinobots despite the fact it was shown that the Vehicon's KSI-construction and their lack of a true Spark renders them virtually invincible. Optimus tried to stop Galvatron by attacking his centre core with his sword (where the Spark normally lies for all Transformers), but was useless since he doesn't have a Spark. They can simply discompose themselves into Transformium particles before taking damage from others. 

In the film, it was revealed that Galvatron secretly manipulates the humans to create their own Transformers for him to use so he can steal the Seed for himself to rebuild his Decepticon army. It was shown that only Galvatron has a mind of its own, the rest (Vehicons, including Stinger, were following orders and don't have the intelligence to analyse battle situations). So, it is understandable when Bumblebee tried to shoot Galvatron, he managed to discompose himself into Transformium particles and transforms back into a truck in the nick of time.

Despite the lack of a true Spark, they're not invincible. During battle, it was shown that the Autobots used heavy artillery or bombs to attack, decapitate or shoots the Vehicons countless times to make sure they were in pieces. The Dinobots crush the Vehicons to small pieces with their spikes, tails or jaws.

• CIA Black-ops head Attinger and Savoy hated Transformers to the point that they're hunting down Autobots as well. Why they hated them so much? Then why they cooperate with another Transformer, Lockdown? Why the U.S. government didn't stop them? 

It was explained that Attinger think of the Transformers, good or bad, as 'illegal immigrants/refugees'. They caused so much trouble by bringing war to Earth and therefore shouldn't be allowed to stay. Savoy lost his sister (or possibly more family members) during the Chicago invasion. This is enough to motivate him to take revenge.

The reason why they cooperate with Lockdown is because of money. If Attinger willing to assist Lockdown for capturing Optimus, he will get the 'Seed' as a reward. Attinger and Joshua are partners. Joshua promised Attinger if he delivers the 'Seed' to him to make more Transformers, he will get a seven figure sum of shares of KSI, effectively becomes a major shareholder of the company and a billionaire. Besides, Lockdown have no interest in Earth and probably promised him that he will leave the planet once he captured Optimus.

The U.S. government didn't stop them because most of the government officials didn't know that they're hunting down Autobots, not just Decepticons. It's a top-secret CIA operation and Attinger didn't reveal much of the operation details to the government. It was shown throughout the movie that Attinger and Savoy were telling everyone (including the President's Chief of Staff) that they were taking down Decepticons when in fact they were indiscriminately hunting down all Transformers. They also intend to call it Decepticon activity after the failed raid to retrieve Optimus on the Yeager residence. Attinger also fooled the people at KSI that they were melting down Decepticons instead of Autobots.

• Why the Autobots were scattered and not part of the US army after Dark of the Moon? 

The Autobots were originally 'kicked out' from Earth under the orders of United Nations in Dark of the Moon. They came back to stop the Chicago invasion without permission. They presumably returned to the U.S. military after the end of the 3rd film. Optimus was repaired by Ratchet for the injuries he suffered during the fight with Sentinel. But during the period of 5 years, a Transformer bounty hunter, Lockdown arrives on Earth and ambush Prime by shooting him 3 times. CIA Attinger also secretly hunts all the Transformers (Autobots or Decepticons) at the same time. Prime barely escapes and crashed himself in the old theatre, he sends an emergency message to all the Autobots to escape as soon as possible (they have been betrayed by the humans) before he goes stasis lock. Attinger reached an agreement with Lockdown to assist him in capturing Optimus in exchange for the 'Seed'.

Previous Review: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Next Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Movie Review: A Million Ways to Die in The West

Riding on the success of Ted, Seth MacFarlane returns to direct, write, produce a Western romantic comedy film, in which he is also the main lead as well. While I was immensely entertained by his previous film about a grown man who has to deal with a foul-mouthed, beer-drinking, obsessive talking teddy bear, it's a shame the same couldn't be said for this film. This has to be one of the most unfunny and over-explained 'comedy' film that's filled with so many unnecessary and over-extended scenes I have seen for quite some time.

The story is rather simple: A film that sets in the West around the year of 1882 with a cowardly, pessimistic shepherd who gets dumped by his long-time girlfriend because he's too much of a wuss, later on meets and falls in love with a beautiful, mysterious, hot new badass woman in town, who also teaches him how to use a gun and find the courage to become a man to win the girl of his dreams.

The film suffers from a huge problem: It features a lot random crude jokes that just aren't funny at all. Seriously, I don't find it particularly funny (but utterly shocked, not in a good way) when a guy gets crushed with ice or when a guy suddenly gets pierced by a rampaging bull out of nowhere. Is sheep peeing at your face or finding sheepshit or horseshit under your pillow in the morning look funny to you? Do we really need to repeatedly see a virgin guy keeps on asking her prostitute girlfriend to have sex with him? Do we really need to listen to a guy who keeps on explaining and show that he does not belong in the West?

During plot development, the film also seems to completely forgets to keep the audience laugh or feel entertained. It's so serious or got caught up in explaining the plot details that they failed to include any witty or slapstical dialogues/scenes. The film has so many weird, out-of-place cameo appearances from many actors: Ryan Reynolds, Ewan McGregor, Jamie Foxx, Bill Maher and Christopher Lloyd (what the hell? seriously?) which doesn't fit in the film at all. It just keeps you wondering the whole time why those scenes are even included in the film. The film also features an unnecessary, out-of-place dream sequence brought on by the American Indian drugs that adds nothing much to the story.

Furthermore, Seth MacFarlane's gives a weird acting performance that doesn't seem natural...his character just doesn't have that defining personality for the audience to root for. The film's only saving grace is the romance between the leads. Charlize Theron does share a decent chemistry with Seth MacFarlane in the film that carries the film through the end. Their relationship is properly developed and fleshed out.

While it's not the worst film ever, it's an extremely disappointing film despite its hidden potential. Some might find this film funny and enjoyable, but for me, it's a huge letdown.

Rating: 5.5/10

Movie Review: Blended

Previous Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Next Review: A Million Ways to Die in the West

After recent flops like Grown Ups 2, That's My Boy or Jack and Jill, I'm not actually looking forward to watch Sandler's new romantic comedy film, Blended. His previous films were awful, annoying and dumb. But I was surprised. Blended turned out to be a fun, entertaining, exciting, happy and relaxing film for family, friends or even couples to enjoy.

Once again, Sandler pairs himself with Barrymore after 50 First Dates and The Wedding Singer. The story is about a widowed dad of three girls, who's still trying to move on after the loss of his beloved wife and a divorced mother of two boys, who's still trying to cope with her divorce with a cheating, irresponsible husband, swore not to see each other again after a disastrous blind date. However, they both ended up together in a trip to a luxurious African resort with a jungle safari. Their holiday 'just happens' to be during the African resort’s ‘familymoon’ event, which is aimed for creating romantic opportunities for grown-ups while keeping their kids occupied.

Before saying anything further, I believe that we all know how the story goes and how it's going to end. This is another one of those clearly formulaic plots in the romantic comedy genre. Then why we should watch this, you ask? Because I think there's always something comforting about watching these formulaic romantic comedies. It's not the destination, but the journey that matters in the end.

The film starts by taking time to let the audience learn to get to know the characters well, by showing their own personal issues. It touches on the emotional core of the characters and makes the characters relatable through the bond they share in the film. Sandler and Barrymore are a likeable, charming couple which convinces the audience to be emotionally invested in them. It is immensely appealing and engaging to see how their relationship eventually develops and trust each other, relate to each other's kids and solve their kids' personal issues.

As usual with many Sandler films, the crude humour still present and certainly capable of generating a few laughs here and there with its jokes and occasional silliness. Terry Crews (the black muscle guy who just loves to move his muscle pecs) steals the show as the leading lounge singer at the African resort. The African holiday resort in this film is simply fantastic as well.

While I do agree it's not one of the greatest film ever made, but it certainly succeeds as a simple, enjoyable, fun, entertaining romantic comedy that's filled with sweet heartwarming moments.


Rating:7.5/10

Previous Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

Next Review: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Complete List of Decepticon Characters in the Transformers film series

The purpose of this article is to provide further understanding about the Decepticons in the Transformers film series, to prepare for the upcoming sequel, Age of Extinction. Readers should have a clear understanding about the characters after reading this article.

For my review of Transformers: Age of Extinction, please visit the link below:

http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2014/06/movie-review-transformers-age-of.html

Note: The following article is written based on information provided in the films, online transformers fan sites such as wikia, tfwiki, tfw2005, seibertron.com. The pictures are taken from google, the previously mentioned online sites and the films as well (for the transformers designs).

The characters will be explained according to the order they appear in films. This article will be edited from time to time for any updates (mostly for Age of extinction characters).

By the end of Dark of the Moon, all upper rank Decepticons are eliminated and there’s only a few surviving Decepticons from the protoform army remained on Earth, without any leader to assume command.

It is shown that all Decepticons identify themselves with an insignia based on the face of The Fallen, the first Decepticon and the true founder and leader of the Decepticons.

Transformers

Megatron

Alt form: Cybertronian jet (TF) Cybertronian flying tank (ROTF) armored rusty Mack Titan 10-wheeler fuel tank truck (DOTM)

The ruthless current leader of the Decepticons, the master of warfare and a disciple of The Fallen. He was once brothers-in-arms with Optimus and a student of Sentinel Prime. But Megatron envied and resented Optimus when he knows that he’s a Prime. He’s willing to risk everything just to achieve his goals. This feeling of resentment and envy allows the Fallen to corrupt him to become his disciple. The explanation for not using his gun form from the source material is that director Michael Bay does not want to include any sort of size changing in the transformations for realistic purposes. Megatron crash-landed in the Arctic years ago in his search for the Allspark and was frozen solid for thousands of years until the humans found him. In the years that followed, many modern technological devices (by Earth standards) were reverse-engineered from his frozen body. He was remained frozen until the Decepticons found him and free him from his state. At the end of the first film, Sam merged the Allspark with Megatron's spark, destroying both the Decepticon leader and the Allspark’s physical form. Only a single fragment of the cube appeared to remain, which Prime plucked from Megatron's dead body (There's another Allspark shard in Sam's old T-shirt when he destroyed Megatron). Megatron’s body was thrown into the Laurentian Abyss. In Revenge of the Fallen, Megatron is the second-in-command behind his true master, the Fallen. Megatron is resurrected by the Decepticons with the AllSpark shard and becomes stronger as a result. After Optimus destroyed half of his face in Revenge of the Fallen, Megatron used a cowl to partially hide his face. After ‘persuaded’ by Carly to defeat Sentinel Prime, Megatron is finally killed by Optimus with his energon axe, which rips Megatron's head and spine from his body.

Starscream

Alt mode:  Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor jet

The treacherous Decepticon Air Commander who has his own personal agenda.  He was also Megatron’s second-in-command. Starscream was actually unconcerned with resurrecting Megatron, he flew into space at the end of the first film and chose to spend his time as acting commander on the Decepticon ship Nemesis to engineer a new army for himself instead. His plan failed miserably, as without energon the hatchlings were dying. After Soundwave and his deception army successfully executed his plan to resurrect Megatron, Starscream attempted to welcome his commander with open arms, only to be criticized by Megatron for leaving him to die in the Laurentian Abyss. In Dark of the Moon, Starscream is killed by Sam Witwicky who blows off his head with a small timer bomb that was designed and given to him by Que.

Barricade

Alt mode:  Ford Mustang Saleen S281 police car

A Decepticon scout whom Frenzy guides to Sam. Barricade stores Frenzy in a compartment in his chest and ejects him from his front grill. Barricade disappears at the end of the first film after he is defeated by Bumblebee and reappears again in Dark of the Moon. He is shown executing Que by Dylan's orders. During the battle in Chicago, he is killed by several shots to his head by gunfire from the soldiers.

Bonecrusher

Alt mode:  Buffalo H Mine-Protected vehicle (TF)

A Decepticon who tries to attack the Autobots on the highway to Mission City. Bonecrusher was subsequently beheaded in a fight with Optimus Prime. Another Decepticon protoform takes the same form as Bonecrusher in Revenge of the Fallen but was ultimately killed by an airstrike in the end.

Blackout and Grindor

Alt mode: Blackout - Sikorsky MH-53J Pave Low III helicopter (TF) Grindor - Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter (ROTF)

Blackout is a one of the largest first-strike Decepticon soldier who is very loyal to Megatron. Other than his arsenal of weapons, he has the ability to disrupt electronic devices via EMP blasts. He is also able to detach and wield his tail rotor blades as a close-combat weapon. Blackout has a minion, Scorponok that attaches to him. He is killed by William Lennox when he shoots his spark toward the end of the first film. Grindor is another Decepticon who similar to Blackout but they’re different characters. Grindor appears in Revenge of the Fallen to capture Sam for Megatron, Starscream, and the Doctor to obtain information about the ‘knowledge’ of the Allspark in his mind. He can be seen fighting Optimus along with Megatron and Starscream before his head is torn apart by Optimus.

Scorponok

Robot mode: none

A Decepticon Tracker who served under Blackout. His machine form is a robotic scorpion and he has no robot mode. He is able to dive under desert sands or other soft landforms. Scorponok repaired his tail after being wounded in an attack by the military. He was involved in the Egypt Giza battle where he managed to severely wound Jetfire before the old Seeker kills him.

Frenzy

Alt mode:  GPX BCDW9815CNP boombox and Mikaela’s mobile phone (TF)

A small but skilled Decepticon spy/infiltrator who is responsible for locating Megatron whereabouts and find the Allspark. Frenzy mostly speaks in Cybertronian. He is killed by his own razor-disk shot from his chest that aimed the wrong way.

Brawl

Alt mode:  dark green M1 Abrams tank

A Decepticon demolition specialist who is seen in the first film answering to Starscream's call with the other Decepticons. The character was intended to be named Brawl, but a subtitled Cybertronian line in the film mistakenly showed as “Devastator reporting”. Bumblebee killed him by shooting him several times in the chest with the last hit getting him in the spark. In Dark of the Moon, there’s another decepticon protoform that takes the same form as Brawl (but in a different colour). He is seen fighting the Autobots before being killed by Optimus.

Revenge of the Fallen

The Fallen

The first and original founder and leader of the Decepticons, the strongest member of the Dynasty of Primes and Megatron's master. As one of the original seven Primes, he can only be killed by a Prime or a descendant of the Primes. All Decepticons must have an insignia which is similar to the Fallen’s face as a sign of allegiance to him. He has the ability to teleport by opening Space Bridges at will and generates a shockwave upon reappearance. He wields a spear as his weapon. He also has telekinesis. As a Prime, he cannot transform, but is bigger in terms of size compared with other Cybertronians. He is initially shown to be in the Decepticon Nemesis ship in some kind of stasis due to the injuries he suffered during the battle of the Primes. He is ultimately killed by Optimus Prime.

Soundwave

Alt mode: Cybertronian Satellite (ROTF) Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (DOTM)

Decepticon’s Intelligence and Communication Officer who is very loyal to Megatron. Soundwave is a satellite in Revenge of the Fallen, stationed high in the upper atmosphere and capable of processing millions of data streams at once. He is able to attach himself to a military satellite to monitor the Autobots and coordinate Decepticon movements around the world. It is actually Soundwave and his deception army that’s successfully retrieves the Allspark shard to resurrect Megatron. Soundwave have two minions to serve him: Ravage and Laserbeak. In Dark of the Moon, he disguises himself as a car given to Carly by Dylan and is ultimately killed by Bumblebee in Chicago.

Constructicons

The Constructicons are Decepticon robots that transform into various construction vehicles and they are capable of combining with each other to have a larger form known as Devastator.

Demolishor/Scavenger

Alt mode: white (Demolishor) and red (Scavenger) Terex O&K RH 400 hydraulic mining excavator (ROTF)

The largest Constructicon. In robot mode, his treads turn into huge wheels, enabling him to roll either on the two of them, or only on the front one, with the rear lifted behind his head. He is killed when Optimus Prime shoots him the right eye at point blank range. Demolishor shares his model with another Decepticon, Scavenger. Scavenger takes part in the formation of Devastator (forms part of the upper torso of Devastator) and he was destroyed when Devastator was ripped apart by a rail gun.

Rampage

Alt mode: red Caterpillar D9T bulldozer with model number M930 (ROTF)

A member of the Constructicons. He moves around by jumping and he has treads coming out of his hands, which he uses as whips. He is killed by Bumblebee. Rampage also shares his model with another Decepticon but colored yellow. The yellow Decepticon forms Devastator's left leg and was destroyed when Devastator was ripped apart by a rail gun.

Mixmaster

Alt mode:  black and silver Mack concrete mixer truck (ROTF)

A member of the Constructicons. He has a third “battle mode” which appears to be a gun emplacement other than his robot form. He is killed by Jetfire during the Egypt Giza battle. Mixmaster also shares his model with another Decepticon. The Decepticon forms the head of Devastator and was destroyed when Devastator was ripped apart by a rail gun.

Long Haul/Payload

Alt mode:  green (Long Haul) and yellow (Payload) Caterpillar 773B dump truck (ROTF, DOTM)

A member of the Constructicons. Long Haul is killed in an airstrike during the battle in Egypt. Long Haul also shares his model with two other Decepticons. One of which forms the right leg of Devastator (Payload) and was destroyed when Devastator was ripped apart by a rail gun, while the other is present in the Chicago invasion and seen fighting the Autobots before being killed by Optimus.

Scrapper

Alt mode:  yellow Caterpillar 992G scoop loader (ROTF, DOTM)

A member of the Constructicons. He is able to use his left arm as a chain mace. He is killed in an airstrike during the final battle in Egypt. Scrapper also shares his model with two other Decepticons. One of which forms the right arm of Devastator and was destroyed when Devastator was ripped apart by a rail gun, while the other is present in the Chicago invasion and seen fighting the Autobots before being killed by Optimus.

Scrapmetal – ‘The Little One’

Alt mode:  yellow Volvo EC700C crawler excavator fitted with a Stanley UP 45SV attachment in concept arts (ROTF)

A member of the Constructicons. When Soundwave retrieved the Allspark shard and informed the Decepticons of Megatron’s location, Scrapmetal joins the Doctor, Mixmaster, Long Haul and Rampage on the retrieval mission to recover Megatron. After the Doctor examined Megatron's corpse, he ordered Scrapmetal’s execution in order to provide spare parts for Megatron.

Devastator

Alt mode: none (ROTF) Devastator is made up of: Mixmaster - black and silver Mack concrete mixer truck forms the head. Scavenger/Demolishor - red Terex O&K RH 400 hydraulic mining excavator forms the upper torso. Overload - red KW Dart D4661 Tractor Truck articulated dump truck forms the lower torso/waist. Scrapper - yellow Caterpillar 992G scoop loader forms the right arm. Hightower - yellow KOBELCO CKE2500 II crawler crane forms the left arm. Skipjack - yellow Caterpillar D9T bulldozer bearing model M930 forms the left hand. Long Haul - green Caterpillar 773B dump truck forms the right leg. Payload - yellow Caterpillar 769D dump truck forms the left leg. Rampage – yellow/red Caterpillar D9T bulldozer forms the left foot.

A massive Decepticon combiner formed by several combining construction vehicles (he can be formed from six, seven, or nine Constructicons). He is so huge that he is physically unable to stand up straight, forcing him to walk in a four-legged fashion. He has a Vortex Grinder, which located in his mouth. He also has grappling hooks to climb the Great Pyramid of Giza. Devastator excavated the Harvester from the Great Pyramid of Giza with his Vortex Grinder before he was destroyed by a rail gun. Devastator was originally supposed to be made up of several Constructicons combine together in the film. Due to the complexity of the CGI, which takes a huge amount of time to render, Devastator was ultimately made to be formed by other vehicles that come together. As a result of this change, Overload’s and Hightower’s robot forms were dropped and only their vehicle modes being seen in the film.

Sideways

Alt mode:  silver black Audi R8 (ROTF)

A Decepticon surveillance agent/spy.  He is found to be in hiding with Demolishor in Shanghai, China. After getting chased by Arcee, Sideswipe killed Sideways by slicing him in half with his blades. Sideways shares his model with another Decepticon that is present during the Chicago invasion. He is seen fighting with the Autobots before being killed by Optimus.

Ravage

Robot mode: none

A Decepticon infiltration expert and a minion of Soundwave. He can spy inside highly secure locations undetected by using swarms of microcons (Reedman). He is killed by Bumblebee during the Egypt battle.

Microcons (Reedman)

Alt mode: small size ball bearings

Reedman is a one-eyed razor-thin robot formed by a group of microcons. Microcons are swarms of extremely small robots shaped like ball bearings, which can unfold to reveal the robot hidden inside. Ravage deployed Reedman to infiltrate the human-Autobot alliance NEST military base at the island of Diego Garcia to retrieve the Allspark fragment. Reedman’s extremely thin frame makes him virtually invisible as long as he is facing directly at his enemy.

The Doctor (Scalpel)

Alt mode:  microscope (ROTF)

Decepticon’s field medic and scientist. The Doctor has vast databases of anatomical and mechanical knowledge and extremely skilled in dissecting and rebuilding most technological devices or life-forms. In Dark of The Moon, it was shown that there’s a group of Doctors attempting to repair Megatron's head that’s damaged during his battle with Optimus in Revenge of the Fallen.

Insecticons

Insecticons are small insect-like Decepticons that are used to search for the target’s location. There’s an Insecticon called the Watch-bot in Dark of the Moon. It can attach itself to a host around the wrist and gives the appearance of a wristwatch. However, once it has tapped into the central nervous system, it can control its host, as well as observe and record any data the host sees and hears. Once it has finished gathering intelligence, it drops off and heads back to the Decepticons to report. It is later killed by Sam, with his foot.

Pretender Alice

Alt mode: A human named Alice.

A Decepticon Pretender in Revenge of the Fallen. She is sent by the Decepticons to retrieve information regarding the Allspark fragment from Sam. She is killed by Mikaela Banes.

Dark of the Moon

Sentinel Prime

Alt mode: red and black Rosenbauer Panther airport crash tender fire truck (DOTM)

One of the descendants of Primes, former leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime's predecessor and mentor, captain of the Ark that carries the Pillar technology. He has a shield, a double-bladed Primax Blade sword that can be folded into one and a cosmic rust cannon that causes any metal object that it hits to rust. His intention is to restore Cybertron to its former glory after the war, no matter the cost, even causing him to turn against his ideals by siding with the Decepticons.  After betraying the Autobots, Sentinel activates the space bridge pillars in Chicago, intending to summon Cybertron itself to Earth's atmosphere and repair the planet using Earth's resources and mankind as a workforce. Optimus fights with Sentinel but he was no match for his old mentor, until Megatron blasting Sentinel with his rifle, defeating him by surprise. Optimus seize the chance and kill Megatron by pulling out his head and spine with an energon axe and executes the weakened Sentinel for betraying the Autobots.

Laserbeak

Alt mode: Multiple, able to transform into a variety of electronic devices, such as a printer, desktop computer, and an audio system and even a child-size pink version of Bumblebee.

An intelligent Decepticon infiltration expert/spy and a minion of Soundwave. He’s able to speak English, unlike Ravage. Laserbeak is killed on a Decepticon ship (piloted by Bumblebee) when Sam holds his head in front of a gun barrel which Bumblebee fires, blowing off his head.

Shockwave

Alt mode:  Cybertronian tank A cruel, emotionless Decepticon assassin/hunter and scientist with a cold devotion to logic. His head features a single eye, and has an arm-mounted cannon, with a tube connecting it to his body. He commands a Cybertronian creature called the Driller that is used for personal transport and pet. He is killed by Optimus Prime.

Driller

The largest subterranean lifeform native to Cybertron, an enormous multi-tentacled beast capable of burrowing through the ground or through buildings with ease. They are capable of great destruction on any scale. Driller is killed by Jetwing Optimus.

Dreads – Crowbar, Hatchet, Crankcase

Alt mode:  Chevrolet Suburban emergency vehicles (DOTM)

The Dreads are a group of fearsome Decepticon assassins/enforcers. Their designs seem to resemble the Predator. Crankcase is the leader of the Dreads. The Dreads attacked Sam and the Autobots on the highway. Hatchet is killed by Bumblebee and Dino on the highway. Crankcase and Crowbar fought Sideswipe and Ironhide together. Both were killed by Ironhide with Sideswipe’s help.

Igor

Alt mode: none

A deformed Decepticon that wanders around with Megatron at his base in Africa. He is last seen eating the head of the Abraham Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial. His status is unknown, presumably hunted down and killed by humans before Age of Extinction.

Devcon

Alt mode:  Russian missile launcher in the concept arts.

A massive quadruped Decepticon present during the Chicago invasion in Dark of the Moon. Devcon is killed by the combined firepower of the Wreckers.

Junkheap

Alt mode:  green and white Waste Management, Inc garbage truck (DOTM)

A Decepticon who has the same body mold as Long Haul. He is only seen trans-scanning his vehicle mode before driving off after he arrived on Earth from the moon through the space bridge pillar. He did not participate in the Chicago invasion. Junkheap is presumably hunted down and killed down by humans, made back as a Vehicon, in Age of Extinction.

Protoform army

Alt modes: none, as they prefer to remain in their protoform states.

The Decepticon army mostly consists of lower rank Decepticons that do not bother (or can’t) to trans-scan to adopt new alternate Earth forms for disguise. They follow orders blindly from their upper rank transformable superiors, and are highly expendable.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT: 
Please do not proceed if you do not wish to know the characters and plot details.

Age of Extinction

Galvatron

Alt mode: black and grey 2014 Freightliner Argosy cab over truck (AOE)

A human-made Transformer who does not belong to any faction, Autobot or Decepticon, will later become the new Decepticon/Vehicon leader in Age of Extinction. Galvatron is made from Megatron’s parts and he gains sentience and decides to fight against the humans by the end of Age of Extinction. Instead of transforming, he is able to change his form molecularly. Despite the fact that Galvatron is built from Megatron parts and carries his 'will', but he is not Megatron. He's a glitchy imperfect version of Megatron.

Lockdown

Alt mode:  grey 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Coupe (AOE)

A bounty hunter from outer space who does not belong to any faction, Autobot or Decepticon, will make an appearance in Age of Extinction. He works for the 'Creators' of the Transformers. He is the main antagonist in the film. He has a huge spaceship of his own (given by the 'Creators') and is being sent by the 'Creators' to retrieve Prime on Earth (There's a bounty for Prime). He has kept a lot artifacts, weapons or alien lifeforms of unknown origins in his spaceship. He has a group of techno-organic workers and a pack of techno-organic canines under his command, referred to as Steeljaw. He is killed by Optimus Prime, with combined effort from Bumblebee, Cade, Tessa and Shane.

Stinger

Alt mode:  red and black 2013 Pagani Huayra (AOE)

A human-made Transformer who does not belong to any faction, Autobot or Decepticon, later becomes a spy/sabotage specialist and fight under the command of Galvatron. He will appear in Age of Extinction. He is designed based on Bumblebee and shares the same look as him in robot mode. Instead of transforming, he is able to change his form molecularly.

Vehicons

Vehicons are mass-produced Transformers made by humans, reverse-engineered from various dead bodies of the Transformers after learning their biology (knowing what they are made of), to counterattack any future Cybertronian invasion. They will eventually go out of control and under the command of Galvatron. They will appear in Age of Extinction. The Autobots managed to stop them with assistance from the Dinobots.

For the Complete List of Autobot Characters in the Transformers film series, please visit the link below:
http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2014/06/complete-list-of-autobot-characters-in.html

For the origin of the Transformers (film series only), please visit the link below:
http://yjcool.blogspot.com/2014/06/things-to-know-about-transformers-film.html