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Michael Bay has a very strange filmography. High points of his big-budget, big-thrill, big-risk philosophy have been few and far between - the rare quality of The Rock (1996) and Bad Boys (1995) is quickly cancelled out by flops such as Pearl Harbor (2001), The Island (2005), and even a Playboy directorial stint in the early 1990s. The tutelage of regular cohort Jerry Bruckheimer is sometimes a blessing in disguise in addition to a hindrance for the Californian director, but surely with a certain Executive Producer credit for Steven Spielberg, Bay would be assured of a good film adaptation from the cult television series here? Obeying succinctness: all expectations are surpassed. Bay and his talented band of filmmaking friends have created a bona fide bombastic thriller, with a very realistic chance of topping the host of threequels, that distinct cartoonish yolky-coloured family, a teenage wizard, and John McClane, for the best film of the Summer 2007 season. Unlike so many films which could be something special but eventually struggle to fulfil basic requirements and expectations, Transformers makes you feel like you have been given the keys to a relative's Bentley Continental GT - the whole experience is as cool as you dreamed it would be, and even better.
The hefty 144 minutes is quite an action-packed breeze but the plot detail is a little patchy, rushed and highly convoluted in places. This should not be seen as a drawback however as Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have written the script in a way which invites interpretation. For example, some (girlfriends, grandparents, people who refuse to appreciate beautiful art) may see the incredible CGI sequences as tiresome, but the film also has undercurrents of comedy (LaBeouf seemingly has attributes of a natural comedian and Turturro's timing is as impeccable as ever), thriller (second unit work in the Arctic is eerie, as well as the thought of ordinary souls coming together in the midst of worldwide danger), and romance (Megan "Stone Cold" Fox pulls off the love interest with ease) to satisfy everyone. Voight can be singled out as the only thespian really in the picture to pick up a paycheque, but he still represents the Hollywood-legend-in-powerful-political-position role to a decent degree and pushes the audience-friendly story along in a sincere dramatic fashion. Basically (deep breath), nerdy teenager Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) attempts to sell his great-grandfather's glasses on eBay unaware that, a century ago, robotic brute Megatron engraved the location of the Allspark - a cube that grants unlimited power - into these sacred spectacles. Fortunately for Sam, his first car transforms into one of the good robots and everything (saving mankind) seems to be in order after retrieving the all-important glasses. This is Bay's cue to venture into successful overdrive - hilarious cameos (Anthony Anderson will never be taken seriously as an actor, but does he care?), superb combat scenes (desert and city settings in particular between the feuding Autobots and Decepticons are pant-wettingly awesome), hot women (God must have been toying with us when he created Fox and Taylor), gorgeous shots (Optimus Prime et al are relatively faithful to the original source illustrations), and hilarity (even masturbation gags) are all included in profusion. Even if you don't appreciate Sci-Fi, you will care about the fate of these overblown lumps of metal.
The summary
A cornucopia of sensational machines, solid characters and senselessness - an excellent summer blockbuster. Chastisements are not even fully deserved for the sphinx-like storytelling, just remember to leave your brain at home and prepared to be blown away.
