Don't Shia away from this one. You think that's bad, read the review.

Rating: 5/10 (27 October 2007)

First and foremost, I should mention that I am not familiar with the cartoon. Therefore, my review will not compare this film to the cartoon in any way, shape or form. In fact, all movie long I was expecting the autobots to form together and become Voltron - different cartoon altogether as it turns out. What I'm trying to say is, if you're some sort of purist, this review is unlikely to help you. Then again, if you're a Transformers cartoon maniac, you're probably going to watch the movie no matter what I write here.
With that said, let's get on to the review. I liked it. I thought the movie was pretty entertaining, fun, and worth my time to watch it. Shia La-la-la--la boof! buff? Either way, gesundheit!. Yeah, he was good. He really made the movie for me, his unusual name aside. This guy is funny and offsets the action and suspense quite nicely, providing the audience with some relief from all the edge-of-your-seat hoopla.
Like I said, overall the film was pretty good. I can't give it more than a 5/10 though because aside from the action and the drop of humor mixed in, this film really wasn't about anything. Alien robots duke it out on Earth's soil, horny teenager gets involved, girl has history of family issues - hardly vital to the story, and all this drama for what - a cube? This must be one hell of a cube, probably kicks the Rubik's cube to the curb, I imagine. I guess with a movie of this sort though, the story/plot/order of events is simply a vehicle for all that kick-arse action. That's fine of course, if you like that sort of thing.
For me to have given this film a better rating, it would have needed a more compelling story with some sort of theme, purpose, reason for existing other than to have its audience drool over its coolness. I like my films to be a little more meaningful, I guess. You know, artsy fartsy. Sometimes just fartsy.
This film was neither of course, but I still think it's worth watching. Hey, just look at its rating! Someone's likin' it.