Transformers - More than Meets The Eye, Ear, and Rest of Your Senses!

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2007)

I've seen probably close to 1,000 movies at the theater, including every single major release over the past 15+ years. I've seen crowds get up and leave after 10 minutes. I've seen crowds all jump and scream at the most frightening of scenes. I've seen crowds cry together.
Transformers took me back to the re-release of Star Wars: A New Hope back in the 90s, and then went much further. From the start of the movie the entire theater here in San Antonio got very involved. Clapping, cheering, and even a bit of hooting were commonplace throughout the film.
First, let me tell you who carried this film: The Robots and Shia Lebouf. Of course the Autobots were the main attraction, but they went well beyond that by being absolutely stunning. When Blackout lands at Soccent Forward AFB in Qatar, gasps were heard throughout the theater. I found myself literally in awe just staring at him every chance I could get, unfortunately causing me to miss a good bit of what else was going on.
Shia Lebouf did a wonderful job of playing an awkward teenage boy from start to finish. His first speech in class trying to hock his Grandfather's valuables was disconcerting to someone like me who treasures their family, but very understandable. I was a teenager once and remember quite well that I'd have done just about anything to buy my first car! In one of his final scenes, when he's on top of the building, cornered hanging off of a statue and Megatron on the verge of fulfilling his hunt for the AllSpark, he seemed very genuinely scared and yet steadfast in his desire to do the right thing.
And if it is possible to put humanity in a digital robotic creation of ILM, they accomplished it with Bumblebee. Not only was his humor poignant and sly, but very heartwarming. If you could believe that your car loved you back, Bumblebee could pull it off.
For those of you who are hardcore "old school" fans of the series and looking for your goodies, you will not be disappointed. From Shia's nervous flirtation with Fox (good name for her!) that leads to him explaining that he's "More than meets the eye" to many of the lines directly from the original series and movie, Michael Bay didn't let you down.
This is the first movie in years I've been able to give a 10/10 rating. I've read several other reviews already, some very disparaging, and I have to say this: Send a 10 year old to review Sense & Sensibility and you're most likely going to get a very nasty review. Don't send 60 year old know-it-all movie critics to review this for you, because those that actually go see it will most likely never agree with them and get nothing from your "reporting".