Transformers succeeds with technical aspects and story

Rating: 9/10 (6 July 2007)

This film I was completely skeptical about. It has dazzling visual effects but was that the only thing that it had going for it? The answer to that is no my friends. This film beats out the other blockbuster hits or busts in my case such as Spider-Man 3, POTC 3, and Shrek The Third. It appears that this summer had so much promise with the movies above that I was in a downfall. After seeing Ratatouille hopes were back up and after watching this film "Transformers" I feel satisfied.
The film starts off with a alien, metal like cube with engravings all around it. A voice over kicks in of Optimus Prime explaining in detail but brief, the magnitude of the All Spark. Needless to say it is powerful and that the Decepticons want to retrieve it for complete domination and the Autobots plan to destroy it so that the Decepticons don't succeed with their plan. The All Spark reaches the planet earth remain hidden in a secret military base which is discovered later on in the movie. No worries it's not a spoiler.
Now we are introduced to Shia's character Sam Witwicky. Junior year at high school who is your typical average male. He wants the car and the girl. Same predicament I am in. Noice! He obviously gets the car, I mean it would be pointless if he didn't then the story wouldn't further. What's great about Sam seems to get in these unusual situations where it includes some humiliation on his part but non-intentional. I will talk about the dialog later on. Sam represents the average typical male with delight. He is a character that everyone loves and cheers for when the epic battle between the Autobots and Decepticons occurs. Supporting role is Megan Fox who plays Mikaela Banes. First off, you have to be a fox if your last name is Fox. Well golly gee, Megan Fox is definitely eye candy for the male community. At first I wasn't too sure of her role for the movie. As the movie continued on I realized her purpose was to fuel Sam's character for motivation. Since Sam is very intrigued by Mikaela, his inability to impress her is "rescued" by his car who is named Bumble Bee. One of the best things about this film is that the cars, especially Bumble Bee, is treated with respect. Despite the problems it supposedly possessed Sam always believed in the car making him even more likable. Back to Mikalea what is great about her she is not the typical damsel in distress. She was able to carry her own weight around without being too needy and annoying. As you may notice there is Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox and Tyrese Gibson as USAF Tech Sergeant Epps. Surprisingly Tyrese was able to keep his shirt on. Character wise, he was someone who could of lived or died and the story wouldn't change one bit. Epps was more of a supporting character for Lennox. I liked Duhamel character's more due to he had a wife and kid appearing to be a great husband who looks forward to spend time with his new born daughter.
Since Shia is in this film you know he was going to execute the dialog in a enthusiastic and sarcastic manner. The delivery and the emphasis was well thought. Sometimes a movie has those one liners where you cringe and go that wasn't needed. Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and John Rogers were able to avoid that. None the less Shia has come a long way since his debut on Even Stevens. He was able to execute the dialog in a suitable manner making that moment enjoyable whether content, disappointed, intrigued etc.
This movie provides a great score provided by composer Steve Jablonsky. He also did the blockbuster bust The Island which by the way is one of personal favorite movies. It busted due to bad marketing. Jablonsky was able to capture the moment of the film with his thumping moledious feel. Aside from the score, the film included various bands such as Disturbed, Smashing Pumpkins and Linkin Park giving it a edgy feel.
One thing that my friend Ryan pointed out that the negative aspect of this film is the camera work. I know it's an action flick but you wanted the camera to stop shaking or take a breather to get a still shot. Otherwise the film was completely entertaining.
Another thing that I am proud of, Transformers could easily entered the cheesy territory and it was able to avoid that. Thank you!!!!! However there were moments that bordered the line but quickly disappeared.
You don't have to be a long time Transformer enthusiast. I watched the shows, but it's not one of my favorites. It is something worth checking out. One more thing, ILM has set a higher standards of visual effects.
Very enjoyable, fun, entertaining. The characters were great. The story worked for me. Transformers is worth watching! 2 1/2 hours, kept me engaged the whole time. Michael Bay has achieved victory!