Transformers

Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg brought the Transformers to live action with a photoreal, hyper-detailed redesign and a teenage everyman at the centre.

Peter Cullen returned to voice Optimus Prime, bridging the 1980s cartoon and the new era.

Teenager Sam Witwicky discovers his first car is the Autobot Bumblebee, and that an ancient artifact called the AllSpark, hidden on Earth, is the key both factions need to win their war. The Decepticons hunt it through his small town and into a downtown finale.

Bay insisted on practical military hardware and a grounded look, while ILM built robots with thousands of moving parts. The film launched a decade-long blockbuster series.

A commercial juggernaut, it grossed over $700 million and turned a toy line into one of the biggest film franchises of its time.