A well staged sci-fi action film

Rating: 9/10 (30 December 2012)

There are people who like Michael Bay for his work and others who don't. I only like Bay for certain films and Transformers (2007) is one of them. Because this is the first live action adaptation of the transformers toy line, I am amazed at how well all of it was brought together. Everything from the action, the special effects, the music and the acting.
Just like the TV show, transformers involves two sides of alien robots; the autobots (good) and decepticons (bad). Both of which fight for control over each other. This conflict soon brings them to planet Earth where the autobots join forces with the human race. The first human contact (dialog) that the autobots have is with an ordinary individual named Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf). Witwicky is like any other young guy; he tries to find a good-looking first car so he can impress the girl of his dreams. The girl of his dreams; Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox).
Both LaBeouf and Fox look great together on screen. It is easy to see that they have good chemistry. Along with them are Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson who play two military officers who become one of the first people to experience coming in contact with the "transformers". And this happens around the beginning of the film. As for the autobots and decepticons, Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime returns and Hugo Weaving voices the menacing Megatron. Along with others, these voice actors give great performances.
The action in this film is exhilarating. Right when things seem like the movie isn't going anywhere, something either blows or lights up to get the audiences' attention. That's where the special effects come in. What amazed me the most about this is that the special effects department made sure that every single component of whatever vehicle the alien robot took form of, was all in the transforming action. Also, the sound itself of the robots transforming was so unique that it is one of those noises that can't be mistaken for something else.
The musical score composed by Steve Jablonsky was well executed too. Each track has its own tone and represents each scene accurately. It also has a memorable tune for when Otpimus Prime is on screen and that makes the action that much more entertaining. My only quarrel with the film is LaBeouf's character. If I were in his situation, yes, I would be quite nervous as well but his jitteriness gets tiresome really quickly. I'll partially accept it for now because it's Mr. Witwicky's first time experiencing this kind of unnatural event.
Michael Bay's live-action take on the Transformers toys is a blast. The action is explosive and the music is resounding.