Pajiba

I completely agree. I saw it last night and enjoyed every second. This is a summer blockbuster done right.

Before I read the review I'd like to say FINALLY! I thought you guys weren't gonna review this movie. I WILL NOT be watching it and it's only because it's a Michael Bay movie. That son of a bitch's movies always makes me dizzy and my ears bleed.

Love Transformers though.

I'm seeing it today and yes I am fucking stoked.

Oh yeah...and the theater was packed and at the end it got applause if that's any indicator.

Is it bad that my penis makes that Transformer sound when I get an erection?

Are you kidding me? Did we see the same film? Maybe I am biased-by-osmosis because my husband is a huge fan of the Transformers, but this movie was a steaming pile. Parts of it wanted to be a great, light-hearted movie while other parts were just a Michael Bay product-placement CGI-wankfest. It had his greasy fingerprints all over it, from the overblown, boring action sequences to the unnatural colors. Not all of it was horrible, in fact some parts were quite good. The casting of everyone except Anthony Anderson and the blonde bimbo analyst who somehow wasn't smart enough to figure out how to color her roots was great. In the hands of a less adept cast the script would have been Schwarzenegger-painful. And parts of it were quite hilarious. The interactions between the robots in the first half of the film were great - especially the scene at Sam's house.

But if he was going to make a movie about the Transformers then why not make it about, you know, the fuckin' Transformers? In both the series and the movie the Autobots and the Decepticons took center stage above the humans. You know why? Because it was their story. Not only that, but there was an entire cast of Transformers instead of just five of each. Plus, he slapped the wrong name onto one of the Decepticons. Leave it to Michael Bay to completely miss the point.

Not only that but, with the exception of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and later Megatron, I could not tell the difference between the individual Transformers. That was one of the great things about the series, toys, and movies - they all looked different so you could make sure to bug your parents to buy each one for you! And he never introduced the little boombox guy. (I told you, my husband's a fan, not me so I don't remember all the names.)

The worst part of the movie was the second half - when the film lost it's sense of humor and began to take itself way too seriously. The first few action sequences were great, but the last major fight was boring. Don't get me wrong, I loves me some tits and explosions but the action so so overwrought and so poorly edited that it was hard to tell what the hell was going on and who was shooting at who.

Perhaps the worst thing about this movie was Michael Bay's flippant attitude towards the entire series. My husband has been following the developments of this movie for three years and throughout the development of this movie it was always a Michael Bay film. It was never a film about the Transformers. It was never meant to give a cultural nod to the original series, toys, or movie. It was never going to be anything more than Michael Bay capitalizing on a generation's fond childhood memories of their favorite toys. He was never going to make it any way than exactly the way he wanted to make it and fuck off to the people who don't like it.

And don't even get me started on the ridiculous product placements. In every shot with a GMC vehicle, Bay made sure that GMC logo was spit-shined and maybe enhanced with a little CGI. Then there was the in-your-face shot of the Panasonic chip, the Pontiac Solstice, and the Hummer. And, lest I forget, the completely inappropriate placement of the logos for Citibank and Deloitte & Touche. Like who the fuck watching this movie is going to see those placements and think, "Gee, I need to invest some money in technology stocks"? Talk about aiming for the exact wrong demographic.

I know, I know, it is just an action film. I shouldn't get so worked up. But it's not even a good action film. It was wretchedly mediocre. Michael Bay took everything that was great about the series and crapped all over it. I would have loved a really great action movie about the Transformers. With the exception of parts of the first half of the movie, this was not it.

Holy crap, I just realized how long that rant is. Had to get it out.

Karenann, if you're still with my post - I wouldn't worry about the masturbation jokes. They're pretty harmless. You might want to have your boys miss the trailers at the beginning though. I don't remember all of them, but there was at least two that are not appropriate for children under 12.

Transformers + IMAX= Ocularbation. Can't wait... weak story and trueness to fond childhood memories be damned. I can always dust off the VHS of the animated movie if I want to take a walk down memory lane.

stardust savant: You're probably absolutely right about everything you brought up. It didn't bother me as much though because my personal involvement in the Transformers universe extends little beyond "passing interest." The difference between me and the friend with whom I saw it was that my fond childhood memories weren't at the mercy of Michael Bay.

That said, the only thing that really honest-to-God bugged me (aside from Bay's stupid sense of humor) was the rediculous amounts of product placement. There were a few scenes that could have almost passed for commercials. I can handle corprate plugging to a point but I made the decision long ago that my personal line would be drawn at a robot that transforms into a Mountain Dew machine (No, seriously.)

OVERALL THOUGH, I thought the action scenes were nice, the visual effects were spectacular, and the LaBeoufinator (As I've been calling him lately. Clever, right?) did a good job.

And if nothing else it at least beat the living shit out of Die Hard 4.

My little Pony... Transformers... He-man and
She-rah... Care Bears... Strawberry Shortcake..
Jem and the Holograms

So depressing when you grow up and realize all those fond memories of watching TV on the floor, while your mum ironed clothes so high up on the ironing board, were all one long, big advertisement. A generation of kids brainwashed from birth by marketing and product whoring. Sigh.

God, how I loved that Jem doll.

This is NOT a real Transformers movie.
My review:
http://andydreamseeker.blogspot.com/2007/06/movie-review-transformers.html

Phaeolus:

YOU GOT THE TOUCH!

YOU GOT THE POWER!

Don't fucking get me started.

My Little Pony is coming, folks. Directed by Roger Christian, the guy who did Battlefield Earth, and starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and that girl from Because of Winn Dixie.

Yea alot of our childhood cartoons are lame. Cartoon Network statred playing Voltron a few months back and I can't believe I used to worship tha show.

My main reason for not taking part in this movie experience is because of who directed it. Micheal Day directs his movies like a true meth head. From camera movement, to cinematography, to sound. It's always over the top, confusing and muted as far as the picture quality goes.

With that being said. This movie will be a major hit for all involved.

As a big fan of the original Transformers cartoon series and toys, I was excited about the prospect of this movie from the get-go. But following the development over the last 3 years has been soooo disheartening. I went and saw it last night knowing full well I'd hate it and, of course, I did. I really tried to give it a fair shake. It did 3 or 4 good scenes and made me laugh a bit. But on the whole, it was a bucket of shit.



I try to keep perspective and say it's just an action flick based on a silly cartoon. I agree with TK, too, the Transformers cartoon series in retrospect is pretty terrible. But I don't think the Transformers premise is any sillier than that of Spiderman, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. To me, the Transformers have just as much potential to be beloved and inspiring to kids.



I hated the movie for a long list of detailed reasons, but the sum of it all is the distance between what it was and what it could have been. I don't think it would have been so difficult to have a reasonable plot, a believable cast, and easily recognizable Transformers that transform from vehicles into robots in a plausible way. I don't see why this movie couldn't appeal to die-hard fans and newcomers alike. It's astounding to me that so much money can be spent, so much time can be devoted, and so many people can be involved in making something that just misses the mark.



And I'm sure in the face of harsh criticism, the disgustingly bloated egos who are responsible for the Transformers movie will defensively cite its box office take and plastic toy sales as the litmus for its success, but that says nothing about the quality of the story or the filmography, and just highlights the greed that drives them.

At least nobody's talking Smurfs Live Action Movie. (SLAM- Get it? Ha Ha)

I'm torn: Michael Bay or Tony Scott for best Excedrin Migraine endorsement? Both give me a headache and piss me off- for wasting money. Tony Scott fucks up good movies with incessant camera cuts while Michael Bay makes bad movies blindingly large and loud. Talk amongst yourselves...

Rebecca H.

You are so right about Jem. She was like the punk rock step sister to Barbie that pulled her hair in gym class. I loved her too.

I am sad to hear that She-rah might be made into a movie. To me...being a girl and all...My Little Ponies and She-rah in film form strike fear into my heart the same way that Transformers freaked out the male population. But in all honesty...I liked Transformers (I saw it las night) and I am just hoping that justice is done to my childhood memories.

"wept like a 5-year-old bitch"

Wow. And not in a good way.

Watched it. Not to be a cynic asshole or anything but Bay appeals to the masses and he's going to get to keep making movies. Which is fine if he sticks to his own material. I'm not going to pine over the wasted potential of a Will Smith/Martin Lawrence buddy cop movie. But let's just hope the beloved franchise soiling can stop here. And as someone mentioned the concept of Transformers are no more ridiculous than Spider-Man, Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter and they have managed to turn out worthwhile projects. So yeah. Something better could have been done with this.

Um... yeah. I should probably nip this in the bud before it gets out of hand.

I made the My Little Pony thing up. Sorry, guys.

Seriously, the director of Battlefield Earth? How hilarious would that be?

But what's scary is how many of you believed it... which means that we have truly come to expect the worst from Hollywood.

Be afraid. Nothing is sacred. No one is safe.

You have to admit, if Thundercats is up on deck, My Little Pony is suddenly within the realm of possibility. CGI ponies would just be creepy, though.

Whoa... You had me going too TK.
But I guess that is how Hollywood rumors get started right?

'Cuno, I do remember Beast Wars, and Dinobot (said raptor guy) ruled. Also, considering it was technically a prequel to Transformers, it is okay to get them mixed up.

Oh TK, you little scamp. You totally had me there (blush).

Yeah, TK, is definitley a "scamp". I'd also throw in rascal, ne'er do good, lollygagger, and miscreant.

Just got back from seeing Transformers, and during the movie I kept thinking, "I wonder what the folks over at Pajiba thought of this?"

I think this movie was excellent for what it was intended to be: a big, dumb summer action movie. It delivered on all levels. I remember watching Transformers as a kid and loving it. But I didn't have any expectations for the film's artistic integrity because 1) it is Michael Bay after all and 2) robot cartoon, people. Ghandi it ain't.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a sucker for dumb action movies where things get blown up. And Josh Duhamel. So I think perhaps I, and not the true cartoon geeks, were the targeted demographic here. And I gave my $9 up real easy.

I raised a question.
Why do they make movies like this?

I stared at this question long and hard.
This is a commercial film for the mass market.
A large population on earth knew what the Transformers are.
It will generate lots of money for the companies involved.
from "Andy and the Dream Seeker"'s post:

This is NOT a real Transformers movie.
My review:
http://andydreamseeker.

An excerpt from the "review":

I shall repeat it; this is a commercial film for the mass market.

Talk about the number of toys a movie like Transformers can sell.
Hasbro is going to be rich.
Talk about product placements in a movie like Transformers with the names of Panasonic, Nokia, Chevrolet, GM and the likes showing up.
Product marketing cannot be more obvious.
It's all in the money.

------------

Well, Andy (or "Dream Seeker", whatever you like to call yourself is OK with me)...I pose YOU a question:

What the fuck was the purpose of the Transformers cartoon? Was it exposition? Was it storytelling? Was it introspection?

No, it was to fucking sell toys. As was pointed out on a review on another site, the Transformers cartoon, as awesome as it was to me as a kid when I watched it, essentially was a product placement, toy selling juggernaut. Each episode had the same plot, and surprisingly enough a "new character" (conveniently available in stores that week) would make an appearance in the episode. Coincidence? I think not.

So to criticize the film version of Transformers as being a shill for product placement and selling toys...well, Transformers has been there done that. That's what it was then, that's what it is now. So stop your crybaby whining and just go watch big robots blow shit up and sell toys without caring about the ethics of motivation like you did when you were a kid.

I know I will.

Just saw Transformers and I honestly think it is the worst movie I have ever seen. Zero redeeming qualities. My expectations were low to begin with, and those expectations were exceeded.

Holy Shit!!! It has been ages since I have posted on my most beloved movie site. I just got back from seeing Transformers and OMG!! A certain Decepticon that shall remain nameless not being a combination of five or six? WTF? Frank Welker not taking part? What the hell? Chris Latta not involved? Okay he is dead but I mean come on WTF? Surely with all the money they spent on this film they could have at least transformed (hey, a really bad pun) the actors voice to match!

Even with all the above, the movie...KICKED ASS!!! Action, action, action. Yes it was a Michael Bay movie...so what? As far as product placement...well, duh! The cartoon, as has already been eloquently pointed out, was a massive product placement to begin with. Perhaps I was watching a different movie, but it wasn't as prevalent to me. Perhaps because I was paying attention to the fact that the Transformers were giant fuckin' robots and it didn't matter whether they had Bugatti or Mini on the side. It ain't like I'm going to go out and by a new Camaro just because one of the robots was one.

I went in expecting nothing and got one hell of a return. I may not have wet myself when Peter Cullen's voice hit my eardrums, but I damn near died. It was a fun experience and I would be more than willing to do it again and again. Can't wait for the sequel. Maybe Galvatron or even *gasp* Unicron! Who cares as long as it remains what it is. Mindless entertainment. And sometimes that is just what we need.

"A certain Decepticon that shall remain nameless not being a combination of five or six? WTF?"

Yeah, Hasbro decided to change it and call him Brawl officially. The toy is named Brawl but they couldn't change the movie. But I hear ya, now that the name's been used onscreen for someone else....damn.

As for dead guys I've been vocally pining lately for Scatman Crothers to a female coworker who's been buzzing for weeks. Boy I felt old, and yet proud, when I corrected her and said "no no, Spike *did* say 'shit' in the (198*6*) theatrical release, that wasn't just added to the dvd, and boy were were pissed when that shitty FHE vhs release was cleaned up!"

I think this movie would completely fall apart for anyone coming in clueless....maybe that's not the case, I dunno...but I wouldn't recommend it to the uninitiated. But when Prime rolled up, even though I knew he was about to, I welled up anyway, which kinda freaked me out. The transforming sound that was in the trailer wasn't there though. Hmphy-hmph. He was still Optimus Prime though. To get my precious center seat with no one's leg on my armrest I had to go up to the second row. Sure couldn't tell who was throwin a punch where, so the actual fighting didn't do all that much for me. But the Autobots going to Sam's house was just the cutest thing. Best scene for me. And when they're alone, say *arriving* to the fight, or when Nameless is friggin skating on the interstate, the animation work is stupefying.

The credits got fucked up somehow, there was just the sound and the between-shows slideshow started up, til they finally gave up and killed the sound too, with me thinking "I KNOW there's a sequel stinger", but that's okay. Just the "oh, we'll never have a problem with this again!" and Prime's final speech both say "See y'all next time!".

Again, if you care about these guys, I think you'll enjoy. Just sit a fair distance back, I tell ya!

Replying to Craig:

Sorry that it mattered to you about me "plugging my site".
I didn't want to paste my entire review here to hog the page and disrespect Pajiba.
In the name of sharing you can find a link to Pajiba on the side bar of my blog among other sites on movies.

As to "no one cares", I know you did. ;)
Thank you.

Below is the comment by Craig:

"Andy, sweetie, quit plugging your own site. It's disrespectful to Pajiba, and, really, no one cares."

Transformers -- actually better than I thought.

The teaser for J.J. Abrams's "Cloverfield" though?

UN-FUCKING-REAL.

Aaaah good to see that someone else was feeling the "plant" vibe and I'm not just insanely paranoid. Thanks for restoring my faith in my own sanity TK!

The reviews for this movie are irrelevant. I will see it. At the Imax. It's inevitable.

Although I will say that it is encouraging to know that the movie isn't a complete write off. And by "a complete write off" I mean "as bad as Ghost Rider".

andydreamseeker if the owners of Pajiba don't have a problem with you posted a link to your site then don't worry about it. It's a link that's there for someone to click or not to click. I read it (because I'm fucking stuck at work while everybody is barbecuing) and I understand what you're saying.

did anybody notice that the love interest, who is supposed to be in high school, looked about 30 years old!? I'm a 17 year old girl, and if I saw a chick like that at school I'd direct her to the nursing home down the road. So much for being realistic.

How could any of you mutton-heads actually enjoyed this big steaming pile? You make a movie about big transforming robots and then go a good 45 minutes to an hour without showing them? You have villians like Megatron and Starscream (somewhat beloved by the "Transformers" crowd) and not introduce them until the last 20-30 minutes? (I think Starscream has all of one line).

Even worse, Michael Bay and the "writers" of this nonsensical clap-trap rip off other Michael Bay movies. The opening scene is right out of "Armageddon" (as are the shots of the Autobots coming to Earth), the flare at the end is "The Rock," any shot of the army guys (did they have names?) is "Pearl Harbor," and the "action" chase scenes are straight out of either "Bad Boys." Add on top of that a heaping helping of the "plot" of "Independence Day (ID4)" (Hoover Dam = Area 51) and you wind up with this dreck.

I bet all you fan boys are already geeked that they're working on a sequel to this crap. I cry for you.

For all the haters, what the hell happened in your childhood that stopped you from enjoying a popcorn flick???

Posted by: ccivilian at July 4, 2007 4:35 PM

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Armageddon.

After the total progressive trainwreck of Alias seasons 3-5, JJ Abrahms is dead to me.

Dead.
To.
Me.

And if Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck succeed in making another Daredevil movie, she's dead to me too. (Ben isn't worth discussing, though I considered giving Hollywoodland a try.)

You know, there will be a My Little Pony movie, and I hate to break it to you MadameZ, but it will almost certainly feature a Mountain Dew machine.

Hoorah, well said. First he brought in "She who shall not be named" (Season 3 Alias), then he gave us Lost, and recently, let us not forget the teaming up with the incredible gay midget freak, or the Batshit crazy one, (take your pick of a name)to make MI:3 I am SO Hetero. Abrams has his work cut out in order to make me like him again.

Still planning on going to see this after opening weekend of course. I like my movies with as few morons as possible, yes, even those with the moron fanbase.

So basically, this is like ARMAGEDDON with robots, right? Which is more or less fine, since it's not too hard to peg this movie for what it is, and decide whether you want to see it.

It does seem quite fitting for Bay, far better than say ARMAGEDDON with Japanese kamikaze planes.

You live in Fayettenam? I love that town. Go Hogs! (Now back to your regularly scheduled scathing...)

Now, on to my thoughts... (some spoilers)

The girl... too old-looking. She's been laying out on one too many beaches. Plus, she has toe-thumbs. GROSS!

The plot... meh... they made this big deal about Megatron not getting the cube, then they just... gave it to him? And it makes him die? WTF?

The Transformers... fun to watch, enjoyed every minute they were on screen. Yes, the black Autobot (also the shortest, most useless, the wanna-be rapper, the only one who cussed and the most defiant) could have been fixed, but they let 2 other black people live, so he had to go. You know a brotha has to die in these movies! ;-) And, yes, if the boom-box Decepticon can survive being cut in half TWICE, then I think they could have fixed my boy up easily too.

But was it just me, or did they "transform" a little too fast? If your going to spend billions on CGI, at least let me see it!

Hey dude, i know you are prolly perty smart, but why do you use such big werds? ambivalent, inherently, concurrent, disingenuous to name a few. So let me get this striaght... Did you like it or not???

I saw this a couple of nights ago, and though I've only seen the first movie, and have basically no knowledge of Transformers, I thought it stank to high heaven - the jokes were all painfully unfunny, there was casual racism all over the place, the dialogue was rancid and tedious, and, for a movie that's supposed to be about giant robots, they didn't actually get much screen time. I completely agree with whoever said that the CGI was pretty much wasted - not only was too much time spent on the (completely uncompelling) human characters, I pretty much couldn't tell what was going on in any of the robot action sequences.

The original movie was pretty bad, too, but it had the advantages, for me, of 1. actually focusing on the robots, 2. action sequences I could follow, 3. warped shit happening to the robots that would have really freaked me out as a kid, 4. much shorter running time, and 5. Orson Welles.

I think this was supposed to be a Transformers movie for people who know of the series, but don't really know much about it. For me, though, it didn't make the mark. I like brainless action movies, but I couldn't like this one, it was just excruciating. Too high a ratio of flimsy plot, crap-tastic dialogue and irritating human characters to explosions, robots, etc. I can only imagine the suffering of the nostalgic fan I went with.

By the way, does anyone else find the whole making out on the hood of your sentient robot car thing as freaky as I do? Because that seemed pretty damn creepy to me.

This movie was frickin' sweet and quite frankly, anyone who went looking for some great plot deserves to be dissapointed...or flogged. Go watch the Piano or some sh!t if you want a plot. This movie was exactly what it was supposed to be: big robots, fights, action and stuff getting blown up with just enough junk to get us from one action scene to the next.

Every movie on Earth doesn't have to make you think about your station in life or existentialism or whatever. It's summer people, relax!

I watched this, and expected no more than an action flick. And that's what I got. Now, Michael Bay is a terrible director, and there were something in the movie that were stupid, but over all, it was what I expected and wanted.

You can't have your mindless summer fun and think too.

Posted by: Ciji at July 5, 2007 2:46 PM

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Yes, yes you can:
1.Aliens

2.Star Wars

3.Empire Strikes Back

4. Back to the Future

5. Raiders of the Lost Ark

6. Jaws

7. Terminator 1 AND 2

8. Jurassic Park

9. Die Hard

Please don't be the guy that just gives up (like Ellis on Die Hard) don't be that guy. Don't be Ellis 'cause you put everyone in danger.

I just saw a late showing of this derisory cinematic disaster and one thing is for sure; Hollywood and the Armed Forces have gotten remarried.

There was a moment in film, right around "Dr. Strangelove" where directors stopped making Army propaganda films and started attacking the Army's cold war messaging and image as a godly force with derisive force. Well good news, the commies are gone and Hollywood is embracing the messaging again and has created a recruiting video to be reckoned with. I halfway expected one of the transformers,maybe the dismally offensive if not completely and utterly racist robot meant to speak in "jive talk", to transform only to say "Join the Army, Bitches! Make a robot friend or two and blow shit up!" It was that ludicrous, I'm not exaggerating.

But Michael Bay didn't just sell his soul to the Armed Forces for the recruitment of our young working and middle class youth. No, he still
had a little bit left to sell to the branding agents at roughly 100 different companies. You will see so many blatant placements that it
will make your head spin...or you projectile vomit. The last two 'decepticons' created are from an XBox 360 and a Mountain Dew vending machine. No joke, the stinking vending machine starts rocketing cans of soda at the good guys. This is of course not to mention that in Bay's world, everyone drives either a Chevy or GMC...or an army vehicle.

I'd write more, but I have a sudden urge to get down to the recruitment offices...I for one am not going to miss this opportunity to fight some evil with the help of robot friends!

My GOD. The movie sucked shit, but I still want to fucking marry Optimus Prime. Biologly issues, bedamned!

I agree that a big portion of the movie shoud have been cut out. I didn't like the majority of the so called funny scenes. The robots made it watchable but it was hard to call it a good movie when there was so many annoying human characters.

And I don't get the Shia LeBouf obsession. He wasn't funny either. Makes me less hopeful for Indiana Jones.

Why get worked up about a movie about robots? Because it wasn't a movie about robots, it was a movie about humans who just happened to have to deal with a robot problem. They could have left everything else about this movie the same - same unintelligible fight scenes, same rabid GM product placement, same paper thin plot but, reversed the ratio of humans to Transformers and this movie would have been great. If I'm going to see a movie called Transformers, I expect and want to see freaking Transformers. Lots of Transformers. Transformers transforming. Transformers fighting. Transformers fighting while transforming, etc, etc. You get my point.

To add insult to injury, where was Optimus Prime's trailer? WHERE WAS THE TRAILER?

OK, for the record - TRANSFORMERS WAS F-IN COOL MAN!
That being said, had they cut about 80% of the dialogue it would have been f-in cooler man!
This needs to be put out there. Why do men (er - boys) go see movies like Transformers? Because they want to see robots like Starscream transform from a fighter jet to a robot IN MID FLIGHT!! Because they want to see a Hummer turn into a robot, skate down the interstate and CUT A FREAKIN BUS IN HALF WITH A SHOULDER CHECK!! Because when the robots transform into their vehicle of choice (and back) we want to hear (in THX at 200dB) a sound that makes the testosterone in our blood instantly reach it's BOILING POINT!! What we don't want to see is a bunch of marines tickling each other and having a pillow fight in a military helicopter. You want to set the mood for a kick-ass action flick do it ala Charlie Sheen in a chopper at the beginning of Platoon. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said. The man was terrified. Let's see, what else DON'T we want to see - OH YEAH, a couple of teenagers having a little spat about the fact that dark mysterious girl's daddy was busted for GRAND THEFT! All I kept thinking was who keeps putting the quarrelling adolescents in front of the camera? GET OUT OF THE WAY!! You want to put a love story in an action flick? Fine. Jock guy embarrasses nerd guy at high school party. Nerd guy gets revenge by sleeping with jock guys hot girlfriend IN JOCK GUYS BEDROOM! Now can we please get back to the part where huge robots are kicking the crap out of each other in downtown L.A.? Why do action movie writers insist on including a love story anyway? Did Ernest Thompson try to include a car chase while writing "On Golden Pond"?? No! Why? Because he was writing a movie about a man, a wife, a boy and a POND! But more importantly, BECAUSE HE WRITES MOVIES ABOUT DRAMA! Are we trying to include a bigger audience by infusing love stories into action movies? Well here's a thought - do women really hate action movies? Or do they just hate the sappy love stories that are infused into them?! Don't make me say the word "Armageddon"... too late - BLLLECH!

By the way, I'm so totally going to buy this movie when it comes out on DVD.

I agree with the non-naysayers. In terms of summer blockbusters, I say that "Transformers" was, in my mind, the top of the heap. Michael Bay got out his head out his f'ing ass for once and made a slam-bang film. Even the Sam/Mikaela love story didn't make my skin crawl as it would in "Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor" (while he didn't turn an action-packed ride into a mushy love fest, Bay lets audiences invest sympathy towards the main characters). Great cast (including seasoned character actors Jon Voight and John Turturro turning in worthy and memorable performances), great music (who could say no to Smashing Pumpkins and The Used songs playing during tense action sequences?), and a whopper of a final battle at the end of the film that never let up.

It's way better than "Spider-Man 3" and "Pirates of the Carribean: At Worlds End". Think of it, no untrained method actresses (Keira Knighley, I'm looking at you), no boo-hooing, no overwhelming number of villains, and plenty of laughs to boot. I'm with Taillights, I'm buying the DVD. Special Edition, even. And I hope the sequel's just as fun.