Oh dear Michael Bay strikes again!

Rating: 5/10 (28 July 2007)

I really wanted to like this film. The trailers were awesome and even when the words "A Michael Bay film" flashed up, I was only slightly worried. I should have known better.
So it's five out of ten because it's half good; that half being the half with the Transformers in it. The humans are really of no interest whatsoever, save perhaps the two central characters. The scripting is dire, there are no memorable lines and it would seem at times that if you were to read the script every line would end with an exclamation mark (even the questions).
That said, the effects are jaw-dropping! The fights are spectacular and the sound effects whizzed, whirred and pinged appropriately and for once, loudly. Kudos to Bay at least for realising that an on-screen explosion should rock the theatre, not sound like someone passing wind! However, the battles at times are tricky to follow, particularly when the Auto-bots and Deceptocons (TM?)are fighting each other, as they are just a frenzy (sic) of gears, pistons, wires and hardware, intertwined and knocking seven bells out of each other. Bays frantic camera work (Cut/new angle/zoom/pan/tilt/cut/zoom out/pan - all in 2 seconds) does not help at all. It just adds to the confusion.
One last minor barb is the fact that, although the Autobots are introduced, they are not fleshed (automated?) out and the Deceptocons are not introduced at all - they are just there to kill everyone. It seems we are expected to remember their personalities from the 80s cartoons and carry on from there. Extremely lazy! So, no real story, no dialogue, no characterisation, amazing effects. Oh, and way to long! Two hours and twenty minutes is too long for an action film, but it seems to be a trend in Hollywood at the moment. When will they learn that you can't carry a film that long on sfx alone? Halfway house - 5/10