As sci-fi action blockbusters go, they don???t come much bigger than Transformers. Maybe it???s because of the subject matter: it???s based on a toy line from the 1980s, concerning giant robots from outer space engaged in a civil war that pits the heroic Autobots against the evil Decepticons. They have the ability to disguise themselves as vehicles and other mechanical objects, transforming back into robots when it???s time to stomp each other senseless. As a premise, it???s rather silly. But it???s also very simple, and that???s why it works.

The heroes are truly heroic: the noble and powerful Autobot leader Optimus Prime is one of the most iconic characters of the 1980s, and getting the original voice actor (Peter Cullen) to give him life was a stroke of genius. The villains, meanwhile, are just plain evil: Decepticon leader Megatron (voiced by Hugo Weaving) is motivated by absolute power, and his soldiers are not above a bit of wanton destruction to achieve their goals. Mix in a bit of mysticism in the form of the Allspark, the source of life for all Transformers, and the result is pure cinematic magic.

It???s not a perfect film: there are some characters and sub-plots that are unnecessary and which go nowhere, and at almost three hours, it???s a lot of movie. But the Transformers themselves, rendered in CGI, have a very realistic size and weight on screen, and look particularly good as they switch from one mode to the other. Moreover, director Michael Bay is smart enough to realise that appealing to kids doesn???t mean pandering to them--the cutest robot on screen is a manic little psychotic killer with the apt name Frenzy. The humans in the film, meanwhile, keep the film grounded, whilst never detracting from the real robot stars. Unlike The Matrix trilogy, which tried to be too clever, or The Lord of the Rings films, which were too clever, Transformers is probably the best science fiction epic since the original Star Wars trilogy. --Robert Burrow

this is one of the best films ive seen all year....for the people that have only voted this 3 stars or less...has problems. the effects are amazing and the storyline is good, i ave watched it twice in 2 weeks because its that good.

I purchased this because it was cheap and was not expecting to be blown away. The morphing of cars and lorries into the Transformers is pretty stunning as are the Transformerns themselves. But storyline? What a pile of the brown stuff, I mean really what a load of rubbish!

I know it is taken from the kids toys back in the 80's or whenever but if this is the result then the producers ought to be retired with a restraining order to never have any dealings with movie making ever again.

I think it would have made more sense if the Transformers had declared war on earth instead of protecting a pair of specs found in a region of the Arctic. I know imagination is a major factor but even with a good imagination I find this very hard to watch even when I am incredibly bored!

Don't buy this unless there is nothing else that you can buy and you have money burning its way out of your pocket.

To be honest, my heart sank as soon as I heard who was directing this.

Typical Micheal Bay rubbish - make it LOUD! and FAST! make everyone SHOUT!, maybe that way nobody will notice that this is just one long series of adverts (e-bay, various car manufacturers, etc).

Well, I did notice, and I noticed that abysmal script to, and the ridiculous (barely there) storyline, and the bad acting, and the fact it's arse numbingly long, and that it's virtually impossible to tell which transformer is which in the action scenes (especially on the small screen), and the pityful attempts at comedy (what the hell happened John Turturo?).

I honestly believe the world would be a better place without this film.

Quite simply, one of the worst films of the last decade (if not all time), please don't let them make another one...........Oh, too late

1986.. that version was much better than this! The transformers are american, the action scenes are american, the whole thing is american! Transfomers were brittish cars in the 1986 version! And the generation 1 series, nothing wrong with americanisum, just doesn't work with transformers!

All i can say is, this is not the type of film i would usually go for, but i watched it with my boys and i was surprised that i actually liked it, its not fantastic in any way, other than the special effects but its a good action film with a relatively easy to follow storyline and even some funny moments, the only bad thing i would say about it is that its too long.