Good for Michael Bay.

Rating: 6/10 (20 August 2007)

I hate Michael Bay films. Seriously. I don't know why he is still allowed to make them.
When I saw the trailer for Transformers, I wasn't a fan of the franchise but I have to say I was excited until I saw Michael Bay's name on the screen. I had a gut feeling that he would just ruin the movie with his cheesy directing style. Also, I wasn't sure how he and Steven Spielburg could make a movie as challenging as this together and make it good. And I have to say in the overall product there is a slight clash of their two styles, but it doesn't really subtract from the overall experience.
The story, if a bit cliché, is well structured and there is a great development of the plot. However, for the first hour or so when the Transformers aren't a large part of the plot yet, the pace is slow and sometimes it can be very dull, but Autobot Bumblebee is very entertaining as he helps Sam in his day to day life. The actions sequences, while entertaining, can be very confusing as the fights are either too close or too far away to realise what is going on, for example when Jazz is killed by Megatron myself and half the audience hadn't realised until it was actually stated. It's also confusing because many of the robots are coloured the same, and the only really distinguishable figures are Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron. Also at times, it can be rather predictable, but I won't go into details there.
However, like Bad Boys, this is one of the only good films Michael Bay has made. Here's hoping he isn't directing the sequel.