A decent blockbuster that should gets unfairly criticised

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2011)

The film begins with a mysterious helicopter heading unceasingly towards a military base. It's pilot is warned what will happen if it keeps coming bit still it comes. Upon landing it lands at the base it "Transforms" into one of the Decepticon and proceeds to destroy the military base, with little to no resistance from the troops who are ill-equipped to deal with such raw power, only one small team of soldiers make it out. Skip to high school dweeb Sam Witwicky's show and tell in which he reveals his grandfather was an explorer who went mad and started to ranting about a giant iceman, after getting an A for his presentation he is taken by his Dad to buy his first car, a yellow Camero. After witnessing his car driving off and later getting attacked by another vehicle, Sam discovers that the transforming robots that masquerade as cars are in a desperate quest to find the all-spark before Megatron the leader of the Decepticons.
In the hands of another director this may have become just another toy advert but Michael Bay turns it into a tour-De-force as the Transformers are as real as anything in our world, their metal shining and reflecting exactly as it should creating an illusion that is almost perfect. By being extremely smart and using as much real world stuff as he could, it means that we know that what we are watching is not some stuff that looks like it came off of a Playstation 3 game like in Indy 4 but instead were watching something real unfold, even when we know it is not.
The script does exactly the job it should of telling the story as well as it can with humour, passion, and yes even drama, as you genuinely worry about the robots as much as the humans, unlike so many other empty blockbusters that use over-hype to create a buzz and are rigged merely to sell merchandise, you always feel that in this film the story is the thing and if they do well with the merchandise, well that's a bonus. This is a big stepping stone in the right direction, if you want to sell more toys, make a better film! But for me the next thing of serious note are the actors, everyone of which takes everything they do seriously, which makes this film so believable. There are no dreadful looks to camera, no knowing nods to a post-modern world and even lines that you would think would fall on their ass like "Gentlemen. I'd like to introduce you to my friend, Optimus Prime!" actually works, when you would think that they wouldn't. Shia Le Beouf (Apologies for spelling) is magnificent as Sam Witwicky and he performs every scene like his life depends on it. His performance is an assured one that will almost guarantee that he becomes a star, after all he has been doing this for years. The rest of the cast do a great job with Megan Fox having little to do other than look nice, but with Anthony Anderson doing particularly well as the comic relief (He is great at that).
Films should always try and take us to places we may not have been and experience things we have never experienced, be it a perilous climb up the side of a building (safety last), a world of criminal corruption and secrets (LA Confidential), or a world of giant robots that are seeking an all-powerful cube.
For those who think that this is a terrible blockbuster I would say watch GI Joe before you are so quick to criticise this cracker.