Transformers save the day again

"Autobots, roll out!" This iconic catchphrase, spoken by Optimus Prime, the extraterrestrial robot hero from the long-running Transformers franchise, brought excitement to a generation of Chinese born in the 1980s.

Now, fans can hear the familiar line once again in the latest Hollywood blockbuster, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, which was simultaneously released domestically and in North America on June 9.

As of Monday, the adrenaline-charged film — the seventh installment of the live-action franchise — has grossed over 440 million yuan ($61.5 million) to soar as one of the biggest summer blockbusters, according to the live tracker Beacon.

The new story begins centuries ago with the Maximals — a group of intelligent robot-beasts — who are forced to fight against evil Transformers and ultimately flee to the Earth for their survival.

Shifting gears to the year 1994, which is the main time period for the story, Noah Diaz, a former United States' soldier, is struggling to land a security guard job to earn money for his younger brother's medical expenses. Meanwhile, Elena Wallace, a 25-year-old researcher, discovers a mysterious artifact at a natural history museum that turns out to be a pivotal treasure in deciding the fates of both the Earth and their home planet of Cybertron.

The two young people's paths cross when the duo become the new human allies of Optimus Prime and his Autobots, who team up with the Maximals, who have hidden in a Peruvian jungle, to fight their common foe, the Terrorcons, and stop their scheme to bring back their villainous boss, Unicron.

Earlier this month, the movie premiered at Aranya Jinshanling, a resort and residential community located at the foot of a section of the Great Wall that was constructed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Hebei province. Around 400 audience members enjoyed an outdoor sneak preview on a giant IMAX screen, which required a support skeleton made up of 5,000 steel scaffolding pipes weighing a total of 40 tons.

As one of the most popular Hollywood franchises in China, the Transformers movies resonated with many Chinese audiences, especially the fourth movie, which starred actress Li Bingbing and was filmed in several Chinese cities such as Hong Kong and Chongqing. This time around, Chinese viewers will recognize another familiar name in the cast — Michelle Yeoh, a martial arts legend who made Oscars' history as the first Asian female star to win the best actress award.

The Malaysian actress of Chinese descent lends her voice to Airazor, a Maximal heroine who lives on the Earth. She has the appearance of an eagle and possesses a spirit of sacrifice.

According to Steven Caple Jr., the director, Yeoh's powerful line readings have helped the design team visually define the character, with her regal temperament reflected in the elegant spread of the robot eagle's wings.

"Michelle was at the top of my list in terms of actors I wanted to work with. Although I was a little nervous at first, she turned out to be really cool and humble. She enjoyed every step of the way and was very collaborative," recalls Caple during an interview with China Daily.

It's an intriguing coincidence that the young director was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988 — the same year when the first Mandarin-voiced Transformers animated series began airing on the Chinese mainland.

"I know that the Transformers franchise has had many fans in China throughout these years, and I try hard to live up to their expectations," says Caple.

The director, known for his work on movies such as Creed II, grew up with the development of the Transformers franchise and was captivated by the Maximals, who first appeared in the 1990s computer-animated TV series Beast Wars: Transformers when he was 8 years old. He eagerly watched each episode and met up with friends after school to discuss how different it was from other cartoons at the time.

So, it was like a dream coming true when Caple heard that he would follow Michael Bay, the director of five Transformers movies, and Travis Knight, who helms the spin-off Bumblebee, to continue to tell the legendary stories of Transformers.

Although Bay, teasingly hailed as the king of on-screen explosions in Hollywood, was busy filming his heist action thriller Ambulance at the time, Caple was able to receive quick help from the renowned filmmaker, who shared his valuable experience on visual effects, particularly on how to create giant robots, some of whom stand around 9 meters tall.

The new movie continues its tradition of featuring iconic sites, as exemplified by the franchise's previous filming in Stonehenge in England and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. For the latest installment, Machu Picchu, a 15th-century Inca citadel located on a 2,430-meter mountain ridge in Peru, was selected.

"It was really tough for us to shoot because of the high altitude and the clouds that would stop production. Being on location was probably the most difficult part because we never knew what obstacle we'd face each day," he recalls.

"The Transformers franchise prides itself on shooting real action at real locations, so we did it. It was tough and time-consuming, but I believe it's a crazy and genuine experience that will be exciting for audiences in theaters," Caple says.

According to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Peru was chosen because of its phenomenal jungle, providing cover for the Maximals to hide in.

"It felt like a natural environment for them. And then, as they emerge from that natural setting and make their way toward Machu Picchu, it provides a grandeur and scale that is hard to find anywhere else," he says.

As a veteran producer who has participated in all the live-action Transformers films, one of the most charming and special aspects of these tales is that the original creators designed the alien robots with bold imagination, injecting cars with sentience.

"That's part of the magic if you consider the idea that a metal machine can have human feelings," he adds.

Despite being 16 years since the release of the first live-action Transformers movie in 2007, and even though today's young audience may not find robots as fresh or exciting due to the highly developed internet era with its artificial intelligence robots, the producer believes that the charm of the Transformers franchise will never fade.

"They (the robot car characters) could never be beaten by AI," he says, wearing a big smile.