Get what you paid for

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2007)

I was excited for Transformers to come out after watching all the previews for it online. After I saw it Monday night, I went out and saw it Tuesday again. I'm not typically one to see a movie in the theater multiple times, but I think Transformers is one of those movies where two viewings does it justice.
The first time I came into the movie expecting ferocious, giant robot-on-robot violence. I know Michael Bay's track record (I completely avoided "Pearl Harbor" and didn't like "The Island"), so I wasn't expecting much else. After seeing it, my taste for explosions, destruction, and violence was fulfilled (as expected), but the non-robot parts of the movie were entertaining as well. I've been consistently impressed by Shia LaBoeuf and the parents, John Turturro, Bernie Mac, and Anthony Anderson all keep your attention between Autobot-Decepticon battle scenes.
The main reason why seeing the movie a second time is so that you can get a second look at the action scenes. The first time I saw it I was positively floored by them; the way the CGI interacts with the environment is stunning. When I saw it the second time, the adrenaline rush was a bit less so I could actually pay attention to what was going on during the battle scenes.
This movie won't win any acting or writing Oscars (the story is simple and the romantic and family subplots are cute, but not deep or extremely engaging), but if you come into this movie expecting the right thing, you will get your money's worth.
9/10