Like EPCOT, only louder

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2007)

I heard awhile back that EPCOT center in Disneyworld is really the result of two different theme-park ideas really "pushed together" by Disney's Imagineers into one sort of impressive but over-reaching whole.
Okay-- now fast-forward about 20 years or so, and you have an explanation of how this film feels by its conclusion: 2 different segments linked together into one impressive but over-reaching whole.
Arguably, the film has two major "Acts." In Act I, we have our ultra-slick but geeky teen protagonist getting his first wheels and the hottest too-old-for-high-school-but-we'll-buy-it-anyway-girlfriend in recent film history, and the focus seems to be a humorous one. Teenage lives are "complicated" enough, we're reminded, but the mix of new car, new girl, and old, suspicious parents works here to lighten up the complexity of how Bumblebee and Co. are going to figure in to the rest of the story.
Then, Act II: Autobots and Decepticons really "taking it to the streets" in urban combat. Loud and louder chaos ensues, as we're forced to figure out exactly which Transformer is taken out by its enemy (I guess there's just too many silver-colored ones on both sides). The focus now is upon the intensity and excitement we feel at seeing robots smash each other up at eardrum-busting decibels. Where's the humor of Act I? Never mind, just duck and cover (your ears?) for now.
If you're willing to suspend reality for awhile (like the existence of a super-secret "Sector 7" government agency that even the military doesn't know about, that Hoover Dam was originally built to cage Megatron (uh, duh!-- why not just build a smaller, cheaper, and much more isolated base atop the polar ice cave where they first found him?, etc)), you'll enjoy the show. If you like more continuity in your action-adventure flicks (like humor and/ or action intensity throughout, then just watch either half of the movie, and you'll be fine.
Transformers is still the best action film out this summer-- just bring your patience. Oh, and your earplugs, too. ;-)