TRASHformers, rubbish in disguise!

Rating: 6/10 (27 October 2008)

Michael Bay didn't get it. What's Transformers about? Robots transforming into machines? If you have only a mediocre interest in deep storytelling, like Bay, yes.
Transformers is about the ancient struggle between good and evil, embodied here by Optimus Prime and Megatron. The face-off between these two stands at the heart of the series.
They both have henchmen to expand on the universe and there are humans involved to make it more accessible to viewers. Bay however, didn't get that.
In the film it's all about some teenage kid Sam and his all-American new chick mobile which turns out to be a robot. Who has some friends. Who crack jokes. And fight evil robots. Who have a leader as well. And something about a huge cube. That can also conveniently fit in your pocket.
The transformers are pretty cool as machines, but no so much as characters. At that level they are as metal and clunky as their carcasses. When one of them dies, you're like "which one was that again?" As for the confrontation between the two leaders? Megatron appears only at the end of the film! They wrestle a bit without exchanging words and then it's already over and done with.
Where is the cool dialogue between the two giants? Where is the confrontation between good and evil? And Megatron dies? I'm betting they're going to do a follow-up. So, is this going to be like a Nightmare on Elm street, where the bad guy is resurrected at the beginning of every film?