The beauty of mashing metal

Rating: 6/10 (12 October 2007)

Despite Michael Bay's numbingly loud and macho direction, he seemed a good fit for presenting this alternate vision based on the 80's toy superstars. Yes, all the trappings of a typical Bay film are present...The pretentious camera-work, embarrassing acting, laughable script, and visual overkill all remain in spades with this spiritual successor to Independence Day, yet somehow the movie remains watchable until the end. Mainly this is due to the unsung heroes of movies like these: the computer animators. Here they are allowed to reach new heights with some outstanding point-of-view renderings as these gigantic robots battle for supremacy. In what is this year's most explosive, debris-laden sequencing, these CGI artist's elevate the formulaic and exploitative idea and turn it into a profound tech demo. While the actual Transformers themselves feel more manipulated into a petty human-based script then what this adaptation should have called for, the presence of lead Shia LaBeouf considerably helps alleviate so much dead weight supplied by the rest of the flesh-based cast.