Transformers 4: Predacons Rising

Transformers: Predacons Risingis a 2007 American science fiction action film based on the Transformers toy line. It was directed by Rupert Wyatt, with music by Michael Giacchino, and stars Michael Cera, Emma Stone, Liam Neeson and Michael Clarke Duncan. It was followed by two sequels.

Plot
14,000 years ago, a mysterious missile lands in Death Valley, Nevada. A blue fluid seeps begin wiping out most life on Earth. In the present, somewhere in the Arctic, a geologist named Darcy Tirrel discovers a mammoth corpse covered in a strange blue fluid.

Ten years after the Battle of Chicago, humanity has grown fearful of the Transformers. The Machination, an elite black ops unit led by paranoid agent Silas Arkeville and team leader James Savoy, has been assigned to hunt down the remaining Decepticons, but have also been secretly hunting down all Transformers, regardless of faction, unbenknowst to the general public, who believe that the Autobots left Earth in exchange for amnesty. With the aid of the Predacons, a group of non-affiliated Transformers, they ambush and brutally kill Ratchet. However, their primary target is Optimus Prime, whom the Predacons' paymaster personally wants alive.

In rural Texas, Dominic "Rad" White, a struggling inventor, buys an old car to strip it for parts to send Cade's daughter Tessa to college. Cade soon discovers that the truck is an injured Bumblebee and repairs him after unexpectedly bringing him back to life. Locating Optimus in Texas, the Machination and the Predacons confront and threaten the Yeagers before Bumblebee rescues them and attacks the operatives. Rad, Alexis and Lucas are saved by Tessa's secret boyfriend, Jack Darby. After a long chase through the town, one of Razorclaw's grenades instantly kills Lucas while the others escape. Tensions rise between Rad, Alexis and Jack over the latter two's secret relationship while Bumblebee hails Optimus Prime and the remaining Autobots: Ironhide, Sideswipe, Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Arcee. Rad hacks into a drone he took from the Texas attack, learning of MECH, a robotic corporation, partnering with the Machination, and they decide to infiltrate MECH headquarters in Chicago.

Meanwhile Chip, the head of MECH, shows Darcy that he has perfected Transformium, the metal that the Transformers are composed of, but needs more. He has imprisoned Brains to decode dead Transformers' and utilize their data for human-created Transformers. Joshua shows Darcy his prized creation Galvatron, created using data from Megatron. The Autobots storm the facility, but Joshua stops them, proclaiming the Autobots are no longer needed now that they can create their own Transformers, and then Optimus and the Autobots decide to leave.

Arkeville sends the Predacons to pursue the Autobots. Optimus fights Galvatron before Razorclaw wounds him, capturing him and Tessa on his ship. He explains that his paymaster wants Optimus alive. Before leaving Earth, the Predacons collect a mysterious missile, giving the Autobots time to board the ship. Dominic and Jack save Alexis and escape with Bumblebee while the others save Optimus and escape on a detachable ship. Optimus reveals that the Predacons were manipulating Arkeville in order to acquire the Ore-13 missile for their paymaster. Cade warns Joshua, who retreated to Beijing to use production facilities there, about the Predacons and Arkeville. Chip backs off his deal with Arkeville while Razorclaw, realizing Prime has escaped with the Ore-13 missile, and orders a return to Earth. Joshua flees with the Seed to Hong Kong, with Attinger chasing him.

When the Autobots try to retrieve the Seed, their ship is shot down by the Predacons, leaving the Whites, Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee to fight. After Cade kills Savoy in a fist fight, the Decepticons leave the Autobots outnumbered. Knowing this, Optimus releases and tames the legendary warriors known as the Dinobots. With their help, they beat back the Predacons. However, Razorclaw returns with a magnetic weapon to reclaim Optimus and the Dinobots. Optimus destroys it and fights Razorclaw. Cade tries to help, but is held at gunpoint by Attinger, who is angered by Cade's choice to side with the Autobots. Optimus saves Cade by killing Attinger, but is immediately impaled by Lockdown with his sword to a wall. As Dominic and Bumblebee hold off and distract Razorclaw, Alexis and Jack use a tow truck to pull the sword out of Optimus, who then fatally injures Razorclaw. They finish off Razorclaw's remaining crew as the Predacons retreat. Optimus sets the Dinobots free and announces, in exchange for the Autobots' being granted permanent sanctuary, he, as a representation of the Transformers' war, will leave Earth. He gives the Ore-13 missile to Dominic for safe-keeping, requests the Autobots to protect Dominic and his family before taking Razorclaw's ship and flying into space, saying that Optimus Prime is dead... and Orion Pax is reborn.

In a post-credits sequence, the mysterious paymaster who sent the Predacons to Earth to retrieve the Ore-13 missile is revealed as Shockwave.

Humans
Nathan Jackson - Dominic "Rad White, an aspiring inventor who drags himself and his family into the Transformers' war when he finds the deactivated Bumblebee. On his character, Jackson said "Him [sic] and his sister [Alexis] lost their parents have spent most of their lives defending and looking out for themselves and each other... His sister really is his guidance - emotionally she's the one who looks after him, and vice versa." Jackson also stated "He's very naïve and idealistic, and he endears to the Transformers very quickly."

Holly Jackson - Alexis White, Dominic's sister. Jackson commented "She's the adult in the relationship - she's been his parent for the past 10 years. She's very overprotective of him - she flips out at anything that might put him the tiniest bit in danger".

- Jack Darby, a race car driver and Alexis' secret boyfriend.

Gary Oldman - Silas Arkeville

Aaron Eckhart - President James Keller

Autobots
Liam Neeson - Optimus Prime

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Bumblebee

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Arcee

Tom Hardy - Ironhide

Roger Moore - Ratchet

Arsenio Hall - Jazz

Predacons
Djimon Hounsou - Razorclaw, the sadistic leader of the Predacons, who transforms into a lion. Wyatt described Hounsou as his "first and only" choice for the role, due to his deep, commanding voice. Hounsou took the role after seeing a sketch of the character, saying that "It's fun to play a baddie". Hounsou described the voice as an integral aspect of the character, saying that "I wanted to show the character's power and command, as well as the slow-burning fury visible that is visible in his voice every time he speaks."

John Leguizamo - Wingspan, the assassin of the Predacons, who transforms into an eagle. Leguizamo described the voice as the hardest thing to do. He added, "I wanted to convey the pure peaceful joy that he takes in doing his duties. Not laughing like a madman or posturing, just ripping an Autobot to shreds with the glee of a child opening presents on Christmas morning."

Mads Mikkelsen - Pounce, an aggressive and sadistic Predacon. Mikkelsen commented "I used a very quiet voice.

Jason Statham - Headlock. Statham was cast after Wyatt. Statham stated that "I had to soun

Toby Kebbell - Torox, an aggressive and violent Predacon, who transforms into a water buffalo. Of his character, Kebbel said "He's not just some brutish thug or brawler. He's a sadist, a bloodthirsty animal let off its leash."

Production
Despite the intention for the third film to be the last, a fourth film was announced. Zack Snyder announced, shortly after, that he would not return to direct, saying that "I'm done with the franchise. It's time to have someone else to put their own spin on it". Matt Reeves, James Gunn, Alan Taylor, Shane Black, Louis Leterrier and Rupert Wyatt were rumored to replace Snyder. Shortly after, Rupert Wyatt was confirmed as Snyder's replacement.

After final negotiations with Wyatt to direct the film, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed that there would be a fourth film in the franchise. In February 2012, Paramount Pictures announced that Wyatt would be directing a fourth Transformers film, scheduled for a June 27, 2014 release. The film continues the story in Transformers: War For Two Worlds, taking place four years later. In April 2013, it was announced that China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises would co-produce the film with Paramount.[48][49]

On September 1, 2013, TFW 2005 revealed three possible subtitles for the film, which were Last Stand, Predacons Rising, and Beast Hunters. On September 3, 2013, Paramount released an official teaser poster for the film, revealing the title to be Transformers: Predacons Rising.[52]

Casting
Casting began around August 2013, with Wyatt meeting with potential actors for script readings and screen tests. In March 2014, di Bonaventura said that Wyatt was looking for three unknown actors to play the leads. Wyatt held open auditions were held in the UK, Ireland and the United States in November 2013. Casting began in earnest in January 2014. Screen tests with actors continued until at least three weeks before the official announcement on April 29, 2014, with final casting decisions being made only a few weeks prior. Actors testing had strict non-disclosure agreements, preventing them, their agents or publicists from commenting on their potential involvement.

Wyatt announced that British siblings Nathan and Holly Jackson had been cast as two of the unnamed leads. In a touch of irony, they had actually been accompanying their older cousin, who was going to audition for one of the leads.

Though Wyatt intimated that previous cast members Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill would return for the new film as early as March 2013,[16] their casting was not confirmed until over a year later. Saoirse Ronan, Michael B. Jordan,[50] and Lupita Nyong'o auditioned for new characters; industry publications reported Jesse Plemons was considered, possibly for Luke Skywalker's son; Gary Oldman for an unnamed villain; and Maisie Richardson-Sellers for an unknown character.[54]

Music
When asked, Hans Zimmer, who composed the score for the previous three films, speculated that he would not be returning for the sequel, saying, "Now Zack's not a part of it so I don't know. My guess is I won't be returning. Nobody's talked to me since Zack left." Later that year, Zimmer confirmed he would not be returning for a fourth film. Michael Giacchino was announced as his replacement.

Sequels
Shortly after the fourth film's release, Wyatt expressed interest in doing a fifth film, saying that "There were some really interesting ideas that we could use in the future". Elaborating, Wyatt commented that his vision for the fifth would focus more on the "power vacuum" created after Megatron's death and will be more "Decepticon vs Decepticon". Wyatt also stated that the film will explore the dynamics of Decepticon loyalty and the inevitable power struggle created. Michael Giacchino will return to provide the score.

All of the previous film's cast will reprise their roles. Bludgeon has been confirmed to appear in the film, leading a new group of Decepticons who come to Earth to challenge Starscream's leadership. Starcream and Soundwave have been confirmed to return, sporting more "battle-worn" designs. With the announcement of Bludgeon, fans have begun to speculate that Pretenders will feature heavily in the plot. Ken Watanabe has been rumored to voice a Decepticon. British actor and comedian David Mitchell has confirmed that he will be voicing an Autobot, but didn't state the name of the character he would be playing.

Adaptions
The film was given an official comic book adaption by IDW Comics.

A novelization of the film was written by William C. Dietz entitled Predacons Rising.

Quotes
Razorclaw: Come with us if you want to live.

Arcee: Look, forget the stupid rulebook for once! We went against orders, but you know what? I'd do it all over again!

Prowl: Are we going to go through this again, Arcee? Watching you throw a tantrum because you have to do something you disagree with? Arcee, we are part of a unit. That means WE HAVE TO FOLLOW PROTOCOL! Thanks to your little intervention, our secrecy is now compromised! You're confined to quarters until further notice.

Megatron: You will stand down. If you fight, you die. There is no room anymore for mercy. In the end, you are all expendable. Choose.

Starscream: Ah, Megatron, my master. Thanks to Ore-13, I have evolved... beyond you! I am the future!

[Starscream blasts Megatron]

Megatron: Starscream!

Starscream: After all this time, after all of this waiting...My dream is finally within reach. All those stellar cycles of waiting and now the mighty Megatron shall fall. Your age is over, and mine has only begun before!

[Megatron laughs]

Megatron: You, Starscream? This is bad comedy!

[Megatron imaples Starscream]

Megatron:You honestly thought you could lead the Decepticons?

[Starscream wimpers]

Megatron: You couldn't lead a parade.

[Megatron shoots Starscream, seemingly killing him] Megatron: See to the remains. If he lives, then I'll decide what to do with him.

Shockwave: Your failure to bring me Optimus Prime notwithstanding