Transformers Reviews

When I saw Transformers, I will admit I wasn't expecting much. And you know what I thought it was a good movie. It is far from the best movie ever made, but it is well worth watching for a number of reasons.

The best thing about the movie was the visual/special effects. They were absolutely mind-blowing, and the whole movie is worth the look just for them alone. And the robots especially Megatron were convincing enough, and the movements weren't jerky in any way. The sound is absolutely terrific, and the music is great. The storyline is original, fast-paced and gripping on the most part. There is some nice humour thrown into the mix, however the dialogue for me was a little too cheesy in places.

The performances are spirited and bring a sense of fun to the proceedings. Shia LeBoeuf brings some charisma and appeal to the title role of Sam, and Megan Fox is hot. John Tuturro has fun in his role, and Kevin Dunn and Julie White are both hilarious as Sam's parents. Hugo Weaving is superb as Megatron, and Peter Cullen makes the most of his character Optimus Prime. In fact, the only weak performance came from the talented Jon Voight, he just seemed out of place. And while there are plenty of visual thrills, I wasn't a massive fan of Michael Bay's direction, it just seemed as though the visuals, story and performances were doing the work and Bay was just there making sure it was all going to plan.

Overall, it is flawed but Transformers while not the best or worst of its genre is worth the look, especially if you are looking for terrific visuals, great sound and a good story. That way, if you overlook the flaws it does indeed have, you are in for a treat. 7/10 Bethany Cox

My uncle, who was near a filming location for the movie while it was beginning filmed, had a small roll in Transformers for a moment in the opening scenes. You can't see his face very well, but he is one the guys standing to left/right behind a guy sitting in front of a computer, then he is running from the base during the opening scenes of the movie. He got to meet a few people who worked on the film and was given a few Transformers action figures mint in box. I first saw the movie at his house were he added his commentary and told us about his role in the movie.

'Transformers' features great effects and action scenes and some good acting, but I didn't think it was a very good idea to focus more on the humans. Still the entire cast charms, the whole thing looks amazing and the action scenes are mind-blowing! This is surely better than the sequels (which I haven't yet seen)

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, it is rather difficult to judge this movie so many years later after its release, especially considering the fact that the 4 sequels that followed were so disappointing and, honestly, just some rather expensive garbage. But how was this first installment? Honestly, I didn’t remember that it was so interminable, seriously, they could have easily cut 30 mins or even longer. Still, I thought it was not bad at all, especially since I didn’t have some really high expectations. Indeed, you have to give that to Michael Bay, those robots looked really awesome and the action scenes were really neat. One thing that was great with this movie is that you really had the feeling you were watching something new and quite thrilling, whereas with the sequels, there was a terrible sense of ‘déjà vu’ and the whole gimmick was getting rather tiresome (However, this aspect works much less when you rewatch the damned thing, I’m afraid). Furthermore, I thought that Shia LaBeouf was seriously charismatic and really funny in this. Back then, his career was really exploding but after starring in some of the biggest blockbusters ever made, he decided to do something completely different with his career. So, it was a really fun movie and I enjoyed most of it. Of course, it was far from being a masterpiece though and many elements didn’t work out. For example, to make us believe that someone like Megan Fox’s character would fall for a guy like Sam Witwicky was just rather pathetic. The other major weak point was that they put the focus way too much on the human characters and the robots were just some supporting characters when they should have been central to the story. Of course, since it was a huge box-office success, they decided to make some sequels and I think the mistake they made was to keep Michael Bay as a director. I mean, he did actually a decent job on this first installment but he didn’t even try to make something interesting out of these sequels whereas another director could have bring something new, something fresh to this franchise. Anyway, even though the sequels were terribly weak, this first installment was actually a decent, fun and entertaining blockbuster and it is worth a look.

Spectacular visual effects is what springs this film far above the average action flick. A little more focus on the Transformers would have gone down well, but the storyline was nevertheless very entertaining and the fantastic musical score helped raise this film to a surprisingly high level.

Arg, this movie could have been so good if it wasn't geared towards 13 year olds with Ebay accounts. The last thing I wanted to hear was a Transformer saying "Are you ladiesman217?" And those are the first words you hear from a Transformer in the movie...bloody mental! The only thing this movie had going for it was that the effects were awesome but in this day and age a movie without good effects is well, from the 90's. The idea of all these smart highschool kids cracking codes and saving the World is so played out and doesn't work at all anymore. I saw the trailer for Part 2 and it looks just as retarded so I won't bother seeing it until it's on DVD...and even that's pushing it.

Ok, I am going to admit that I did really enjoy this when I first saw this at the cinema but I have to say that after getting into the more critical side of films, I could easily spot what the flaws are in Transformers. I didn't watch the original TV cartoon programme as a child so I didn't really know very much about it when I first saw it but was just expecting entertainment in which I did get. Flaws are that you can easily tell that the dialogue is trying to be an epic; like they're trying too hard so to speak by using lots of effects but with quite a cheesy story. Yeah, I understand that it is just a bit of fun but what annoys me the most is that almost every single teenager nowadays always favourite this film like 'Transformers is just the best film ever because the acting is so perfect, directing is flawless and the effects are amazing'! One bit of credit I will give this film is that the effects are absolutely fantastic! I always feel stunned with the effects when I watch Transformers.


A long time ago, far away on the planet of Cybertron, a war was being waged between the noble Autobots (led by the wise Optimus Prime) and the devious Decepticons (commanded by the dreaded Megatron) for control over the Allspark, a mystical talisman that would grant unlimited power to whoever possessed it. The Autobots managed to smuggle the Allspark off the planet, but Megatron blasted off in search of it. He eventually tracked it to the planet of Earth (circa 1850), but his reckless desire for power sent him right into the Arctic Ocean, and the sheer cold forced him into a paralyzed state. His body was later found by Captain Archibald Witwicky, and before going into a comatose state Megatron used the last of his energy to engrave a map, showing the location of the Allspark, into the Captain's glasses, and send a transmission to Cybertron. He is then carted away by the Captain's ship.


Shia LaBeouf may have made himself very well known from here onwards throughout his career thus far but that doesn't mean the acting was brilliant. I mean, I don't think he is an awful actor but I really don't see the hype and the credit that people give him. In many ways, Shia bought out absolutely nothing to Sam Witwicky's personality; like his personality was empty so to speak. His performance was about average but his performance in the sequel was just epic fail! Megan Fox, you are nothing more than an incredibly overrated 'actress' who really isn't as attractive as a lot of people think she is. I mean, what gets on my nerves about Megan Fox in both Transformers is that just because one might find her attractive, that doesn't mean her acting is any better. Josh Duhamel wasn't exactly brilliant either. His personality was flat and there was nothing majorly serious going out regarding him. Well, that's what I think anyway. Rachael Taylor just drove me absolutely insane! Not only was her very strong Australian accent incredibly annoying but her acting was like 'Ohh God! I'm just gonna be so shit in this film because I didn't even want to be part of it' sort of thing but one thing though: she's incredibly attractive but even that didn't save her in Transformers.


Michael Bay, do you ever make a film that involves explosions and effects with flat acting and directing? I think what Bay's major weakness is that he tries too hard with pretty much every film he's made by overloading explosions and action scenes instead of focusing on the characters and the plot to make them epic. If you think about it critically, Michael Bay hasn't made one single successful film out of the 9 films that he has made. This was about 20 minutes too long as well so that is another flaw that Transformers has. Best bit of credit that I can give Transformers is that it was robbed of the Best Visual Effects Academy Award by The Golden Compass even though the effects in that film were great too.


Overall, Transformers is far from something special but it is far from a massive disaster as well. To be honest, I would say this is Michael Bay's best film despite it is an average and a guilty pleasure. If you hated this one, you will be ashamed you saw the sequel and you'd want to kill yourself. Good luck if you choose that. Entertaining action scenes and that is it.

Take a classic cartoon about a bunch a large robots from outer space that change into a bunch a cool vehicles that raised the testosterone level to the point that little boys became little "guys",
mix in a healthy batch of modern day hard driving live action peppered in with a few swear words & gritty gun play,
and top it all off with the absolutely & ridiculously hot Megan Fox,
and there you have it.
A summer super-mega-blockbuster incorporating all the things that can easily make the males of our species grunt with ultimate ball-quivering delight.

I gave myself a few hours time before writing any sort of review for this movie, because the initial reaction typically isn’t the same as your view in retrospect, but in this case it’s pretty much the same: distaste and an overall resentment toward Michael Bay and the entire team behind the movie. And, before I go on, if you’re just going to present me with some pointless, irrelevant argument about how Michael Bay is good for his other movies, skip it. Ditto that if you’re going to tell me it was good for what it was (a robot action movie), because my opinion of this movie covers that point of view. The shortest review I can give it this: failure. But in case you’re interested, here is the longer version.

If you followed the production of the movie, it’s clear that Bay had a very hard time with the film. If you haven’t followed it, but have seen the movie, it’s clear that Bay had a very hard time with the film. From the start of the film it’s clear that it’s going to be very typical in terms of what Bay is comfortable with, which is clichés. There are many under plots all throughout the film that seem very irrelevant, in the way, and only really added to give the film a deeper feel, which it doesn’t do. It instead leaves you wanting more Transformers, which is a word I don’t think applied fairly to the robots we see. After a collection of totally useless characters all quipping silly jokes and offbeat reactions to serious situations, we’re presenting with a love story. A love story? Isn’t this Transformers? It’s hard to tell, but I think the title could have been Shia LaBeouf and His Robot Friends.

The love story takes up more time, gets more screenplay, and seems, at times, a little more important than what the movie should be about: Transformers. It seems weird that it even has to be said, but it does. The movie takes nearly an hour and a half to get going, and by then you’re either bored or angry. If you’re someone that watched the cartoon, you’re both. Despite this, most people sat there like saps and let the film continue and yes I do include myself in that generalization.

The story (not the love story, the “real” story) is so vague, and so untouched, it seems totally secondary, as do the Transformers themselves. It isn’t that it has plot holes per se, it’s just got a lazy feel to it. The biggest mistake was making the movie like a summer blockbuster, and not like a movie for Transformer fans. But even as a summer action film it falls very short. The real action isn’t until the end of the movie, and clocking it at around two and a half hours, it doesn’t seem worth the wait. I won’t give away what the story is about, but not out of consideration for those yet to see it. I’m not going into it because it won’t ruin it, or enhance it. It’s so irrelevant to the movie I could tell you every single scene and it wouldn’t matter. Going in with knowledge or going in fresh, it’s all the same boring, cloudy experience.

Now, on to the Transformers themselves. I knew they would look different, but wow. I took a screen shot of Megatron and sent it to a friend of mine who grew up watching the show, and she wasn’t able to identify who it was. Had I not told her it was a Transformer, I’m sure she wouldn’t have known, and that should never be the case. You should know them by sight, without any aid. Granted, they all don’t look nearly as bad as he does, but they certainly don’t look much better. You don’t see them very often, and when you do get lucky enough to see them, it’s hard to tell what they’re doing. They so bulky, and skeletal at the same time, it’s a real challenge to make out what’s what on their body. Throw in a second or third figure, jumping and fighting, with a shaky camera and it becomes nearly impossible to even know what you’re looking at. Even worse is when they’re in car form. Not being a car enthusiast, I normally couldn’t have told you what car was what in terms of make and model. But I can now that I’ve seen this film, and that’s all thanks to the awkward sequences that seem to be straight out of a commercial. It really makes the pace of the movie noticeably slow, and set to the insanely generic and thoughtless rock music, the “action” scenes that take place in car form and less than exciting. They seem dated and lazy, like every other aspect of the movie that doesn’t involve some huge stunt.

Now, I wish I could say “at least it had good action scenes”…but no. It didn’t. They had plenty of potential, but since I couldn’t tell who was who and what was going on, and the camera was positioned extremely low, you’re essentially just watched a bunch of shapes and colors roll and mangle to noises, eventually ending it one robot standing in victory. This becomes even more annoying due to a constant lighting situation that Bay must have insisted on. All throughout the movie there are unnecessary light sources shining toward the camera, giving it that, what would be, nice silhouette look. But it’s almost every scene. Sam (Shia) could have been eating a Butterfinger bar in his room and they would have made the sun setting in a window behind him. If it isn’t the sun, it’s some completely random light. It’s to the point where if the scene isn’t a panning camera with a fixed light shining at you, it’s out of place. I understand that sometimes it works, but Bay overuses this is all of his movies, and goes completely overboard with it in Transformers. My head hurt after a while.

Some of the move trivial problems I have with the movie deal solely with Bay and the decisions he made. I’m not a whore for source material, and I typically welcome change, despite my love for the original content. But that welcome is only warm if you’re changes make sense and aren’t obviously out of disrespect for the content you’re changing. Bay decided to redesign all the Transformers and make them more alien looking, and that’s fine to some extent, but once you actually see them you’ll understand the complaint. They looks like skeletons with car parts hooked on them. It’s hard to tell who is who without the color, which makes the Decepticons a whole new challenge. They’re all colored the same. Plus, there aren’t any real scenes with them talking, or not fighting, so they just seem like nameless evil robots that seemingly appear.

Another problem with Bay is that he wanted the effects team to watch martial arts movies so they could understand how he wanted the Transformers to fight. Well, that’s a neat idea, but a little ridiculous. And if someone hadn’t told you that bit of trivia, you’d never guess they were influenced by martial arts movies. They use guns the whole movie, and while that’s fine, I would have been happier with a few lasers. There doesn’t seem to be any lasers in it. In the cartoon they used lasers so much it seemed like they ate the beams for breakfast. But the movie? The only laser I remember is used to fix a Transformers wounds, and they don’t work until the last minute of the movie. What gives?

Bay suggested that he wanted to make the film family friendly, which for the most part is fine, except you don’t have to make it overflowing with stupid jokes to be family friendly. You can cut out all the dumb remarks and overacting and goofy personalities and it still be family friendly. I know the cartoon was riddled with silly jokes, so the movie should have been too, but the way they’re presented is so juvenile, it makes your skin crawl. I think it’s safe to say that a lot of the people looking forward to the movie were fans of the show, and those people are all typically eighteen years and older, so a PG-13 rating would work, just don’t dumb it down to appeal to ten year olds more than the fans of the show. Those are the people you needed to win over Bay, and you failed.

So with the generic everything, poor lighting, horrible camera work, poor script, bad story, piss poor decisions, stupid jokes, silly moments, annoying robots I didn’t even go into, side plots, useless characters, and everything else I’ve mentioned, you’d think that was it. But no, there’s more screw ups. Things are left with no answers. Transformers disappear and never come back, there are multiple devices in the plot that make no sense, and it’s so clear to anyone paying attention. Clearly Bay was hoping the action sequences would shadow all the little problems, but they didn’t. It seems pointless going into them, since they’re not really issues that demand closure, my problem is that it feels (and problem is) that they just didn’t care enough to write everything with a proper ending. Oh, the ending, yeah it’s stupid too. Girl falls for boy, robots and boy become friend, Optimus Prime makes a statement nodding to the theme song, and the credit roll. Kick start crapping music, and start demanding your money back. Going in as a Transformers fan, you’ll be left angry at the changes, shocked at all the screw ups, and confused as to why the Transformers seem so completely secondary. Like mindless robots on some stupid quest. As a fan of action movies, you’ll be pissed that it’s a love story, and it takes two hours for any real action to kick in. But the real action is impossible to see due to the camera work. I can’t see any real way to enjoy this movie, and I’m now more curious than ever as to why it has such high reviews. To be fair, this movie did do one thing right, and that’s convince people to buy the DVDs of the original cartoon show and movie. Think of it as the really bad food you just ate to promote gum or toothpaste. A huge conspiracy. I’m sure that’s not the case, but, if it were, it would at least explain why this movie was so bad.

I've been a bit wary with this fad to turn all my favourite childhood television shows/comics into movies so I must admit I was putting off watching this just to save being disappointed.

Now that I've finally watched it I wish I had of watched it sooner! I loved it right from the word go. One of those movies that I would of preferred to see on the big screen, but still fantastic. Lots of great action to hide the substandard acting and lack of dialogue (don't need much riveting dialogue in a movie like this though).
Only one thing really annoyed me. It was the attempts at humour which ended up being not particularly funny and slightly embarrassing. It's when they weren't trying so hard that I found myself having a little chuckle.
Other then that excellent for a highly polished action packed movie.