Transformers (2007)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Sam Witwicky	Shia LaBeouf	½
Mikaela Banes	Megan Fox
Captain Lennox	Josh Duhamel	½
Sergeant Epps	Tyrese Gibson
Maggie Madsen	Rachael Taylor
Glen Whitmann	Anthony Anderson
Defense Secretary John Keller	Jon Voight	½
Agent Simmons	John Turturro	½
Ron Witwicky	Kevin Dunn	½

Review

If you were a kid in the 80s, you might be predisposed enough to ignore Michael Bay's unsubtle, uncreative and unfunny work with Transformers, but in my opinion, you should actually be offended. Most people will agree that the basic idea of the Transformers franchise is stupid. Compared to other superhero/sci-fi concepts, this one is miles below when it comes to the science and the logic. But for 8 year old boys, that didn't matter – these were robots which could morph into cars – that's a combination of two of the coolest things one could imagine (at least in the 80s). The cars and robots are still present in Transformers, but Michael Bay doesn't seem to appreciate that the target audience now are 20 years older. The dialogue and setups are insipid and flat without being able to get the necessary laughs to justify them.

What might be just as disappointing, however, is that the action and the special effects leave a lot to be desired. The machines don't have any real machinelike quality (except for some of the Bumblebee segments) – they seem like graphics. And the action is too uncreative to maintain interest. Bay keeps his film eventful on a superficial level, but it is all empty and boring flash. The performers alternate between lacking ability to make a difference, and just not caring. Only John Turturro seems to try to have some fun with this film. Unfortunately, Michael Bay does not. His effort is confined to conducting a sophomoric film without juvenile charm. And I doubt if he ever was very fascinated by the Transformers in the first place. What a waste of time and money.