The latest Transformers film, an animated prequel, comes out in theaters this week. It will be the eighth theatrical release since 2007. In honor of its release, I’m looking back at the previous seven. My ranking appears below in ascending order.

No. 7: Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
About: This was the fifth theatrical film and the last of a seemingly continuous franchise. It just wasn’t good. It features Mark Wahlberg in the lead human role, but it was time for these films to go in a new direction.

No. 6: Age of Extinction (2014)
About: This was the first with Wahlberg and its nominally better. The Michael Bay experience with these films worked at first, but once we got to a certain point, they all started to feel like more spectacle than story and characters.

No. 5: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
About: This was the third of the franchise films and it marked the first time in history I thought a film was missing the presence of Megan Fox. This has some moments, but it certainly feels more like an action spectacle than a compelling film.

No. 4: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
About: This was the first sequel, and I actually enjoyed a lot of this film. Shia LeBeouf and Fox work well together, and the story is somewhat engaging. I also liked the way this pulled back into the action, the soundtrack, and some of the action sequences.

No. 3: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
About: This was the most recent film, coming out just last summer. It capably re-booted the franchise and delivered a new story, and new characters, that ended up being more compelling than I expected. It gave me a new sense of hope for the franchise moving forward.

No. 2: Bumblebee (2018)
About: This prequel was a breath of fresh air. I loved Hailee Steinfeld in this role and the focus on Bumblebee, one of my favorite of the Transformers. The period setting is fun, and the story works well here, too. This is a good film.

No. 1: Transformers (2007)
About: How was it going to work to bring these action figures to life? We got the answer to that question in a weird, crazy, often wonderful ride. I liked the sense of humor and action, the way the characters came together, and the way this story was built. This is one of my favorite Michael Bay films.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.