Wonderfully Overblown but never Pompuous

Rating: 9/10 (1 July 2007)

First and foremost, people should keep in mind that this movie is made to entertain. It's not high art, it's not though-provoking in any sense, and I see that some critics take themselves way too serious when reviewing this film. It's a thrilling and lovingly crafted popcorn ride from beginning to end. I'm a massive movie fan who enjoys Almodóvar, Truffaut and Welles (wait a minute, that's Unicron!) as much as the next person, yet enjoy the movie for what it is: a totally over-the-top, humor-littered action flick based on a line of toys.
I initially had my reservations when I heard that this flick was to be directed by Michael Bay. However, now I can see that Mr. Spielberg wasn't talking total PR- babble when he said that Bay was the ideal director for Transformers. Yes, the action sometimes is overblown and it's often difficult to make out what is going on (especially with the admittedly spectacular one-on-one robot fights), but here Bay's bloated style totally fits. And his signature car chase sequence is stirring stuff.
As for the characters: even though there's little room for character development here with all the action, what is actually there is handled very well. The robots remain fairly underdeveloped when compared to the human characters, but that's more due to the nature of the introductory storyline. I'm sure that the inevitable sequels will give the robots (and hopefully the Decepticons and Starscream in particular) a little more screen time. Even so, it has to be said that the Autobots' personalities are handled very respectfully in regard to their original incarnations.
In the end, what we have here is a very engaging action film that establishes its core cast well enough to make a genuine emotional connection, and sets the door wide open for a sequel. Its shortcomings lie in its simple plot and its lack of background explanation- although a prequel novel and comic do a reasonable job of providing a bit more depth. A roller-coaster ride that looks and sounds spectacular and thankfully doesn't take itself too serious. Hopefully its audience follows suit.