Transformers....Michael Bay in disguise....badly

Rating: 6/10 (26 September 2007)

Hmmm....where to start. Well, its a Michael Bay film, so I was fairly certain I'd get plenty of action, which is true of the movie. I also expected, and was not unpleasantly gratified to note, that common sense would play second fiddle to creating contrived scenes in order to generate a more "vibrant" feel. This last isn't always a bad thing, but common sense must be paid at least lip-service or things just end up looking foolish.
In Transformers, the heroes insult your intellect by having the super-power module, The Allspark, taken from its hidden repository and transported into the middle of a major city. What's wrong with this picture? Oh yeah, the incredibly violent badbots(TM) are sure to follow and rain carnage on said city. Duh! Common sense is...drive it out to the desert, wait until the badbots (TM) show up, then nuke the lot of them. Problem solved.
Despite this typical Bay foolishness, the movie entertains well enough and moves along at a fair pace. It IS fun, but could have been a lot better. Characters are reasonable drawn, except for the bots, who you are almost expected to know before you go to watch the movie. The effects of the transformation sequences are well done, but happen a bit too quickly for you to fully appreciate them. In fact, a lot of the action takes place at such a pace that you can lose track of who's where, fighting who etc.
There are a lot of comic bits that serve to add nothing to the film other than grate on the nerves, however. The tiny scoutbot that tracks the hero (Shia LaBouef) is particularly pointless and comical, uttering needless little growls and squawks that put you in mind of Gremlins. Utterly stupid.
However, as I have mentioned, the film isn't awful. With a bit more attention to sense, rather than contrived scenes, it could have been great.