Masterful revival of a classic series

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 2007)

Transformers! Ah, the nostalgic robot fantasy of our childhood where vehicles morph into fighting robots. The endless battles between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The classic duels between Optimus Prime and Megatron. Now, the series is revived as a movie under the director-ship of Michael Bay.
And what a movie! A true summer blockbuster in every sense of the word. The best summer movie by a mile this year. I was left often on the edge of my seat. I caught it at The Grand Cathay in The Cathay Cineplex, in digital format. The picture quality was superb. All the robots and fights scenes were rendered beautifully.
The action is gripping and intense. The transformations from vehicles to robots and back again are seamless and classy. The fight scenes pack power and panache. The plot is acceptable, though there are a few gaps here and there, which is understandable. The history of the two rival factions are adequately explained, though not in much detail.
What surprised me was the wittiness and humour. There were many witty lines, (including some from the Autobots!), and hilarious situations, often causing the entire cinema to break out in fits of laughter. These scenes served to break up the action and dramatics, and were well-inserted.
Of course, there's the necessary love story and the resident hot babe, ala Megan Fox. She does the job well as Mikaela Banes, but she's mostly there because of her features. Shia Lebeouf does a reasonable job as Sam, while Jon Voight, Josh Duhamel, Rachael Taylor, and John Turturro did admirably as the Secretary of Defense, Sergeant Lennox, Maggie Madsen and Agent Simmons, respectively.
Will there be a Transformers 2? Only time will tell... but if it's anything as good as this, and as action-packed as this, I'll be among the first to catch it!