Tremendous fun

Rating: 7/10 (26 July 2007)

I've been looking forward to this movie ever since they started thinking about it. I had such high hopes, then they announced that Michael Bay was going to do it. There was a collective "Uh-Oh" from everyone at this announcement given the trail of bad movies he's given us over the years. Over the course of production, the scares kept coming - Megatron's design, no Frank Welker, no Soundwave, Optimus as a different style of truck etc. Hopes started to become dashed. Until the movie came out.
I went to a special preview screening, found a good seat and sat down to enjoy the show, trying to forget all the negativity surrounding the movie and trying to clear my head to have an open mind. The film started. From the very opening moment when Optimus Prime started speaking, I was smiling from ear to ear. Optimus is back! So many memories and feelings flood back to me.
Bay made a good decision in getting stuck straight into the action. When I saw the very first transformation I just went "wow" in the cinema from the awe of watching it happen. The effects were amazing. All the transformations were amazing, for that matter.
The film was also really funny - funnier than I expected. Shia LaBoeuf does a fantastic job as the awkward hormonal teenager Sam and puts in a really convincing and funny performance. Josh Duhamel is passable as the typical standard GI Joe movie marine, though thankfully keeping his shouts of "move" and "go go go!" etc. to a minimum. Jon Voight is...well...Jon Voight. He's not bad, but his character is one of those that won't exactly stick in your head. John Turturro was incredibly funny as the Sector 7 agent Simmons, very over the top, although perhaps a little miscast. Megan Fox is true to her name as the human eye candy in the movie with an interesting back story, though her acting impact is perhaps less potent than that of Shia's. There is a very funny scene with her in Sam's bedroom though. Bernie Mac is also a legend.
Who cares about the humans though? We're here for the robots! The transformations were all amazing. The effects are really second to none. Megatron's design was interesting - I didn't think it was great but I'm sure it could have been a lot worse. Frenzy is funny as the angry little spy robot. Prime is brilliant and exudes leadership, but the lips thing...I'm sorry, but it just didn't wash. However, he speaks his lines like we all remember him, especially those lines that are little nods to the original series. Hugo Weaving does an alright job as the voice of Megatron, but I didn't feel it was particularly menacing - more like a standard bad guy voice.
There are a few gripes I have with the movie - not enough Megatron, not enough Starscream, the lubricant thing, Prime's lips, calling Brawl Devastator instead, the lack of the original theme music in any form outside the credits, the obvious product placement (some parts look like pure car adverts), the thinness of the other human plots (the hacker group working on the sound was pure silly) and sometimes the screen was just a little too busy.
Despite all this, the movie is clearly and easily Bay's best. Say what you want about him, he's given us some awful trash in the past, but occasionally he can put in some nice touches and exciting action, and this movie is tailor made for him. Do not expect the next Citizen Kane or Star Wars - just go in and have some fun. Well worth a watch.
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