Michael Bay Probably Ruined a Great Movie

Rating: 4/10 (3 July 2007)

With movies such as The Rock, Bad Boys, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and The Island, (not to mention Aquaman 2) Michael Bay has gained a reputation as a director who makes summer blockbusters loaded with explosions and huge special effects, but lacking in story and characters. If this is what you are looking for, than Transformers will probably not disappoint.
The movie, which stars Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Josh Duhamel, and the beautiful Megan Fox, depicts Optimus Prime and the Autobots battling Megatron and the Decepticons while the fate of the human race hangs in the balance. Overall, the story was what it was, neither too complicated nor too intriguing.
The special effects on the transformers themselves were simply wonderful. They all looked as realistic as cars which turn into robots can possibly look, and they blended in nicely with the human actors and the settings. It was actually stunning to see them all transform.
However, where the movie went wrong was Bay's direction. He absolutely ruined the film for me with his pacing, shot selection, and editing. While the machines looked great, every scene where they battled was cut up so much that I could hardly tell what was going on. One reason I enjoyed Live Free or Die Hard was because the filmmakers took a step back and allowed the audience to see the action scenes play out. This made the movie far more entertaining, and easier to follow. In Bay's film, action scenes seemed disjointed, and I felt like I never truly got a good look at what was happening.
Furthermore, the movie had too many characters that were in separate places for much of the movie. While many action movies deal with a situation from one point of view, this movie dealt with it from four or five different points of view, making the movie feel even more disjointed. While each of these characters was well acted, I think the film would have been well served to tone it down to simply one point of view (that of Shia La Beouf and Megan Fox). This would have trimmed down the running time, and made for more of a succinct plot.
Overall, I came into this film not expecting much, and I left disappointed. Where its cheesiness was at times entertaining, it quickly became boring. The action sequences also made me angry with their quick cuts and numerous close-ups. I think this had the potential to be a great movie, but because of Mr. Bay, it was a huge disappointment. I give the film 4.5/10 salty stix, and I would recommend if you are looking for an entertaining action movie to see this July 4th, skip this and see Live Free or Die Hard.
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