Cinema review
Directed by Michael Bay
Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, John Turturro
Release date 27 July 2007

A race of robots, some good, some evil, arrive on Earth, searching for a mysterious cube that gives the power of life…

Transformers is perhaps the epitome of the modern summer blockbuster. It whizzes by in something of a blur, and the only thing that viewers are likely to take away from it is a vague recollection that the special effects were very good.

Certainly any hope of an engaging, tension-building narrative is shot down within the opening moments, with a McGuffin so completely meaningless that it stops the plot dead before the opening titles are even over. We're never once given an idea as to the true extent of the supposed threat, rendering the climactic life and death struggle utterly devoid of drama.

If there is one thing Michael Bay can offer as a director then it’s explosive entertainment on a grand scale. Bay shoots every scene with grandiose, sweeping camera movements, whether it’s a car’s approach to a house or a fleet of jets scrambled from an aircraft carrier; at times it feels dangerously close to self-parody. This isn't helped by Steve Jablonsky’s thumping and terribly portentous score, which sounds exactly the same as the music in all of Bay’s work, from The Rock through to Armageddon.

Given the title, it’s a surprise to see the humans given such an extended screen time in Transformers. Shia LaBeouf is asked to carry the film, and he mostly does so with charm. However, you can’t help but feel that he's given a little too much exposure, given that the audience is really here for the robots.

But at least LaBeouf manages to make an impression, unlike Megan Fox, who is simply there to look pretty, bathed in orange light. Josh Duhamel, on the other hand, disappears early on, only to return later like a long lost relative that nobody quite remembers. A subplot involving a computer hacker peters out in similar fashion, with a wave of expensive effects, and Jon Voight, clearly just here to impress his grandchildren, is completely under the radar.

But this movie was always going to live or die on the strength of its robots, and thankfully they work. For once the CGI experts have figured out how to give their pixels a sense of weight and fluidity, and they look great. When the robots clash, there is a real sense of heavy metal conflict and these, unsurprisingly, are the best sequences in the film.

Fast paced despite its extended running time, Transformers needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible for maximum impact and effect. The look of the film is undoubtedly impressive; it’s just a shame the weak story doesn't come close to matching it. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 6/10
Likely to cause a warm glow of nostalgia for fans of the original toys and cartoons, while those less familiar with TF history will probably enjoy it while it lasts.

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