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More Than Meets The Eye

"Transformers" (2007)
Directed by: Michael Bay (Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon)
Starring: Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Jon Voight
Running time: 144 minutes
Rut's Rating: 5/5

Autobots and Decepticons finally engage in an explosive on-screen battle in "Transformers". It's a dream come true for any fan who grew up watching the animated TV series, bought the action figures, or simply engaged in some playground debate over who was the better leader - Optimus Prime or Megatron.
The story centers on a young man named Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LeBeouf. An independent outcast, Sam goes to an auto dealer with his father looking to buy his first car. He comes home with a yellow Camaro for $4000, and takes it out for a test drive. Coming across a party, he sees Mikaela, a girl he knows from school, played by Megan Fox. He offers her a ride home, and what we see is the usual movie cliche of loner-wants-girl, girl-sort of-resists-yet-thinks-he's-charming sort of thing. But it plays out nicely because both LeBeouf and Fox have great on-screen chemistry, and there's just something that's very likable about these two.
Meanwhile, higher-ups in the United States military forces have big problems on their hands. Mysterious machines and weapons attack bases and are assembling for a war against the human race. Scientists and experts are brought in from around the world to try and figure out what these things are, but they can't seem to wrap their heads around it. White House Defense Secretary John Keller, played by Jon Voight, issues very little information to the media, as everyone scrambles to determine what kind of threat they are facing.
Sam is sleeping, meanwhile, when his car suddenly comes to life and drives away. Sam chases after it, and Mikaela follows him as the chase ends up at a wrecking yard. Suddenly, a police cruiser transforms into a robot and chases after Sam, and out of nowhere, his Camaro also transforms and does battle with the evil robot before destroying it. Scared at first, Sam and Mikaela come to realize that this now 30' tall Camaro means no harm to them, and this is when the entire Autobot army assembles. Goose bumps appear on your arms as the robots you admired as a kid come to life on the big screen. Sam and Mikaela are speechless as these normal vehicles change shape in front of their eyes and stand before them. Finally, a blue semi truck appears and transforms, introducing himself as Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader then introduces the rest of the gang, and tells Sam and Mikaela the origins of their race, as well as the plans being formed by the Decepticons - a race of ruthless, human-destroying robots.
So with an army of robots that have their backs, Sam and Mikaela set out to stop the Decepticons from annihilating the human race. As you can guess, this results in some great-looking action and battle sequences involving good robots and bad ones. Director Michael Bay is known for loving explosions and special effects, so you can bet that both are in huge supply here. Personally, I'm not a big fan of him, because it seems like he substitutes story and character development with overblown effects and CGI. But yet, with "Transformers" he has finally hit a good balance. It's a great story and it's very easy to become immersed in it; you find yourself cheering out loud for the Autobots to win their battles with the Decepticons, and feeling a bit sad when one of the good guys have fallen. And for once, the CGI looks realistic, which helps you believe that its all the more real.
"Transformers" is the very definition of a summer action blockbuster. With a great human cast to complement the Autobots and Decepticons, as well as some great special effects and CGI, it's sure to please even the most hardcore fan base. Maybe heroes really do come as robots in disguise.