Not really living up to its hype

Rating: 4/10 (15 November 2007)

I didn't intend to see this movie at first, but after some stellar reviews from friends who I usually agree with in movie selections, I decided to give it a chance. First I will say what I did like about the film.
The visual effects were superb. The shots with the transformers transforming were amazingly realistic. My wife told me that there were a few times that she was watching them and thought "come on, don't take so long..." and then realized that what she was watching was not really happening. Very cool.
There were some of the funniest one-liners I've seen in an action movie. Even though I wasn't especially enjoying the film, there were several times that I laughed out loud at a line or sight gag.
Now for what I didn't like about the film. First of all, I'm over the whole "amazing visual effects" effect. Have been since the last LOTR. I don't go see CGI movies because I don't care how amazing the animation is if there isn't a good story. So I see them when I hear there's a good story. To me, Transformers had the effects, and that's it. And I got bored with it.
Further, there were too many characters, and none were developed at all. Not to mention that Bernie Mac's cameo was extremely unnecessary and distracting. It appeared that the filmmakers were trying to tug on your heart about certain characters, but you didn't know who they were or care about them. The only character I cared about was Bumblebee, and that was because you just thought he was sweet. Everyone else seemed like people you were looking at while you walk through Wal-Mart's toy section.
I paid one dollar to see this through RedBox. I'm glad I didn't spend any more.