If you are a transformers fan, you will not like this movie

Rating: 5/10 (3 July 2007)

Thank you for ruining one of my favorite cartoon shows, Michael Bay. Transformers is not a terrible movie, but it is not good either. Shia LeBeouf is the lone bright spot in a film that drags, has multiple extraneous plot lines (the computer programmers, Sector 7, the Army unit, etc.), and many unnecessary attempts at humor. Bernie Mac has a hilarious cameo at the beginning as a used car salesman, but Anthony Anderson's cameo as a computer hacker is annoying and pointless. Similarly, the phenomenal John Turturro is forced to play an irritating G-man who does not contribute anything the plot of the film, but attempts to conjure cheap laughs instead. The focus of the movie should have been on plot rather than making it a film that everyone can somewhat enjoy.
My biggest gripe, however, is the lack of character development for the Autobots (the good transformers) and Decepticons (the evil transformers). Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, is the only robot with any significant screen-time besides Bumblebee, who is a silent Camaro for most of the film. The transformers should have been the stars of the movie, not the human characters who help them. Characters like Starscream, Bumblebee, Hot Rod (who's not even in the film despite being the #2 Autobot), Jazz, Soundwave, Frenzy, etc. are integral parts of the TV series and cartoon movie, yet they are barely in the film and nearly impossible to tell apart in the battle scenes. Also, Megatron is only in the film for a few minutes and turns into an airplane rather than the giant gun that he is supposed to be. How can the antagonist only be in the film for the last scene? To top off night of epic disappointment, there was no Stan Bush song on the soundtrack. Whos is Stan Bush you say? Only the musical god who rocked our socks off with "Dare" and "The Touch" in the original film. Bay opted for Linkin Park instead...F+ for that decision. There was also no mention of energon cubes, the matrix of leadership, or Unicron. Granted, only hardcore fans know what I'm talking about, but many of the 20-somthings who went to see this movie grew up watching the show and were probably as disappointed as I was with the lack of effort to stay true to the show.
While the visual effects are stunning, the plot wanders like lost child at the fair and the transformers are presented as little more than advanced machines. For anyone who truly enjoyed the cartoon show and movie, avoid this film.