Spielberg's on board, be it ever so minimal! But it shows!!!

Rating: 6/10 (6 December 2007)

Transformers is a film by Michael Bay, the same man behind such action spectacles as Armageddon, Pearl Harbour and The Rock, which is normally the kind of film I steer clear of. However, I decided to view this upon learning that this time out Bay had traded his producer of those three films, Jerry Bruckheimer, for the more acclaimed Steven Spielberg (arguably the auteur of the Hollywood Blockbuster) and it's probably a good thing that he did, because Transformers delivers.
Unfortunately I'm not that familiar with the original cartoon series, so I cannot comment on the films accuracy, but then if the film is meant to be an adaptation - how many adaptations are entirely accurate? I have read some critical reviews of this film and the majority seem to be disgusted at the representation of the Transformers - mainly due to their alteration from the original cartoon. I feel that the film doesn't aim to be a direct replication of a cartoon series, but that it aims to be a blockbuster in homage of a cartoon series and I believe this to be something it does very well. When Hollywood makes these films I am almost sure they have a checklist or a personal routine that the maker (usually the Producer) abides by. Constructing a blockbuster is an intricate process and when Spielberg is involved it is often perfected, Transformers contains many of the elements that are familiar with Spielberg's blockbusters and fantasy's including good old fashioned fighting, aliens, a geek, a computer nerd, a hot chick, a funny fat guy, fast cars, gadgets, an old explorer, secret military layers, secret government divisions, the President, Air Force One, explosions, goodies, baddies, a crack code, a hidden map, polished CGI and many more.
In an academic and purely filmic sense, the film is floored on nearly all levels, the acting is poor, the script is bad and there needs to be a lot more work done in post-production, but to attack a film like this would be like a Michelin Star rep attacking McDonald's cuisine  it would be mean and unfair. Films like this serve a purpose, and it is the achievement of that purpose that is carried out very well in Transformers.