A well run dry

Rating: 7/10 (1 July 2007)

Let me just settle this: The first hour of "Transformers" is incredible. It's everything you wanted, and more, including humor, acting and special effects that are beyond reason. Michael Bay's take borders on action-comedy, with charming robot slapstick and tons of giggly one-liners taking turns with the hyper-realistic and often brutal action sequences. Shia LaBeouf does a nice job as the human main character, and the cast (including a hilarious guest appearance by Bernie Mac) does an honorable job, without stealing the thunder of the movie's real stars: Optimus Prime and his band of vigilante robots. And again - the effects really are mind-blowing. Fight scenes are messy and sped-up (as seems to be the norm these days), but with the incredible attention to details, such features only enhance that sense of immediacy that carries much of the movie. And although the plot is pretty thin at times, and the clipping strange just as often, it's all nit-picking compared to the massive impression the movie makes.
And so all is well until about half an hour is left. The story has been worn pretty thin by then, and without revealing any plot points, it then suffers a deadly blow. The main characters unanimously make a decision that, at least to me, defies any rational thinking, and after a couple hours of swallowing camels, the whole thing suddenly becomes quite hard to accept.
This is however nothing when faced with a sudden and extremely bland ending, seemingly rushed together at a tenth of the effort of the rest of the movie - it's like watching the final minutes of Spielberg's "AI" all over again. It all sums up extremely off-balance, with a climax that in no way meets the expectations built up by so many excellent moments before it. One can only hope that the sequel rectifies some of that final impression.
That being said, "Transformers" is a movie well worth both your time and your money, and even a crummy finale cannot overthrow this film's position as action flick number one so far in 2007.