Well worth watching for the visual effects alone!

Rating: 7/10 (11 November 2009)

When I saw Transformers, I will admit I wasn't expecting much. And you know what I thought it was a good movie. It is far from the best movie ever made, but it is well worth watching for a number of reasons.
The best thing about the movie was the visual/special effects. They were absolutely mind-blowing, and the whole movie is worth the look just for them alone. And the robots especially Megatron were convincing enough, and the movements weren't jerky in any way. The sound is absolutely terrific, and the music is great. The storyline is original, fast-paced and gripping on the most part. There is some nice humour thrown into the mix, however the dialogue for me was a little too cheesy in places.
The performances are spirited and bring a sense of fun to the proceedings. Shia LeBoeuf brings some charisma and appeal to the title role of Sam, and Megan Fox is hot. John Tuturro has fun in his role, and Kevin Dunn and Julie White are both hilarious as Sam's parents. Hugo Weaving is superb as Megatron, and Peter Cullen makes the most of his character Optimus Prime. In fact, the only weak performance came from the talented Jon Voight, he just seemed out of place. And while there are plenty of visual thrills, I wasn't a massive fan of Michael Bay's direction, it just seemed as though the visuals, story and performances were doing the work and Bay was just there making sure it was all going to plan.
Overall, it is flawed but Transformers while not the best or worst of its genre is worth the look, especially if you are looking for terrific visuals, great sound and a good story. That way, if you overlook the flaws it does indeed have, you are in for a treat. 7/10 Bethany Cox