For better or worse, "Transformers" broke new territory in producing photorealistic computer-generated characters and splicing them into live-action video.
It's difficult to conceive "The Avengers" in a universe where the Autobots and Decepticons don't clash in so-called Mission City.
Working in unexplored waters, on the other hand, always poses conceptual challenges. "Transformers" screenwriter Roberto Orci spoke with IGN after the film's release.
It was "very difficult" for him and co-writer Alex Kurtzman to combine the human and robot stories. I understand their hesitancy; before creating any scenes with the robots,
they undoubtedly had to evaluate if the animators would be able to pull them off. As a result, the first script had very few Transformers; producer Steven
Spielberg proposed the tale as "a boy and his car," so that's what Orci and Kurtzman initially penned.
Orci noted that with the "spine of the story" finished, the second draft of "Transformers" is when he and Kurtzman "opened up the world."
I understand this approach, but I believe it's important to consider the ramifications of Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf's character) being referred to as the "spine of the story.