Transformers is one of the biggest film franchises of the 21st century, despite never having been a favorite among critics. Until the release of Transformers: The Last Knight, the films were some of the highest-grossing titles of their respective years. With the release of Bumblebee, the franchise shifted to a new tone and style and received praise from critics and audiences. A new Transformers film is set for release in the summer of 2023, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which recently released a new trailer.

Fans and critics have debated the Transformers films for years, but one common point of discussion is the films’ visual effects. They are paradoxically an impressive display of complex computer animation while also being heavily criticized for being over-designed. The characters themselves are impressive, but in motion tend to become a blur of moving parts that make it difficult to make out what exactly is going on; when the characters engage in combat, it often looks like a moving mess of parts that overlap with one another. Why do the Transformers films look like this? Is the issue with the VFX or is there something more at play?

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The First Transformers Was a Big Deal

     Paramount Pictures

Transformers was a hugely anticipated film in the summer 2007. The movie’s initial teaser trailer (which premiered a whole year before its release) promised a realistic take on the classic cartoon franchise, and each subsequent trailer teased the design of the title robots. They were unlike anything anybody had ever seen before, reimagining the Transformers characters in a way that made them believable in a modern world. They had complex moving parts and seemed otherworldly. The shots of the robots in disguise transforming in motion were images that captured the imaginations of audiences around the world.

Despite the poor critical reaction to the Michael Bay films, the VFX work still did earn high praise, and both 2007’s Transformers and 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon were nominated for Best Visual Effects at the Academy Awards. There is no doubt that even 15 year since the release of the first film, Transformers’ VFX was still an impressive feat of movie magic. Yet as time went on, the magic faded from the franchise, but it may have had less to do with the VFX work itself and another issue that bleed over into the rest of the movies.

Less About VFX and More About Design

The issue with the Transformers film series has less to do with the VFX on their own, but more with the design of the characters and how they translate to the big screen when rendered. While the realistic take on the characters worked for the first film, tonally setting it as a big budget adaptation of the toyline and placing it in the real world, the impact was lessened with each subsequent sequel. Over time the designs of the robots began to merge together, so much so that even by the first sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, they reused multiple designs for various Decipticons.

Over the course of the franchise, the character designs became more complex but also bulkier and overcomplicated. The desire to make them more real had the effect of making them look bland and difficult to look at. The Autobots at least have the benefit of having color vehicles to help break up their design and make them pop. The Decepticons on the other hand all are various forms of gey and black, making their parts blend together. Even with some of the best VFX teams on the planet, they could not make up for the over designed characters and poorly laid out action sequences.

New VFX Are Designed to Look Like Cartoons

2018’s Bumblebee was a soft reboot of the Transformers franchise, with Rise of the Beast continuing that trend. Part of the creative mandate with the new films has been to bring the franchise, specifically the character designs, back to their classic looks from the animated series. This meant taking the realistic template of the previous Michael Bay films while also simplifying the designs with simple shapes and bright colors. This makes every character distinct and easy to identify.

It also makes the franchise now look more like a cartoon, and the VFX work reflects that. While still believable interacting with their environments the new designs have a look that lends themselves to a degree of cartoonish exaggeration. They stand out more which has less to do with poor VFX and more of a creative decision by the filmmakers.

Rise of the Beasts Is Only a Trailer

Since the release of the trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, many have noted how the VFX work seems off, especially compared to previous entries. This comes following a greater discussion about the sheer amount of VFX work being asked on special effects houses with few resources and the impact it has on workers. The first trailer for She-Hulk: Attorney at Law in particular received a lot of negative reaction for the title character’s look. Although by the time the series premiered, the title character had a more polished look (although some shots still seemed a bit rush).

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts was originally set to open in theaters in June 2022 but was delayed a whole year due to COVID-19. Like other big blockbusters, the studio needed more time to work on their VFX, which had seen a shortage of workers while a surplus of projects lined up. With Transformers: Rise of the Beasts still six months away from release, there is plenty of time to fully polish the VFX work and get the movie ready for audiences.