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Transformers (2007)

Director: Michael Bay

Time Out rating

Average user rating

149 reviews

Synopsis

Based on the hugely popular cartoon and toy range from the 1980s, ‘Transformers’ revolves around a war between two sets of robots for supremacy on earth. Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots, who have travelled to earth to protect mankind from Megatron and his evil army of Decepticons. Meanwhile, young human Sam Witwicky buys his first car, which just happens to be Autobot Bumblebee, and soon finds himself embroiled in the battle to save the planet.

Movie review

From Time Out London

The cars – are they here to help us or destroy us? Not an idle question in these carbon-conscious times, and Michael Bay’s ’splosiongasmic ’botfest could, at a stretch, be parsed as a grand-scale id-fantasy of America’s doomed infatuation with the internal combustion engine: both goodies and baddies look sexy as hell, and both leave destruction in their wake. You could even tease an oil-anxiety subtext out of the film’s overseas settings: a spot of blowback in the Middle East and a salutary warning against exploratory polar digging.

As in the ’80s cartoon series/corporate promotional tool on which the movie is based, Earth is the battlefield for two tribes of ancient alien robots who can shape-shift into items of our technology. (They also seem to have developed a kind of robo-parkour.) The evil, spiky Decepticons and the friendly but, in this version, equally spiky Autobots are slugging it out for control of a magic Rubik’s Cube; caught in the middle is high-school kid Sam (Shia LaBeouf), who inadvertently picks up a battered Autobot at a secondhand car lot and develops an even bigger crush on it than he has on the girl from history class (Megan Fox).

Sprawling, hardware-heavy, gung-ho with a streak of cruel humour, ‘Transformers’ is a Michael Bay movie, all right. It’s also about as nimble as a 30-foot behemoth with fried navigation circuits, lunging and lumbering from misfiring comic set-piece to messy pitched battle, landing the occasional bullseye along the way. John Turturro is good value as a sleazy spook but you’ll search in vain for anything like characterisation elsewhere, especially among the robots themselves. Less than meets… you know.

Author: Ben Walters 2007-07-24 16:35:01

Time Out London Time Out London Issue 1927: July 25-31 2007

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User reviews of this film

Ross said...

Posted on Aug 19 2007 14:04 Terrible. Some good effects combined with little or no plot. Could have easily shaved a good hour off.

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Darren said...

Posted on Aug 19 2007 12:23 Amazing!

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willowstig said...

Posted on Aug 19 2007 11:55 WOOOOOOOOOW SO FRIGGIN AWSOME I LOVED THE WHOLE THING IT IS WELL WORTH IT APART FROM THE CORNY DEATH SCENES THAT AREN'T EVEN FIGHTS OTHERWISE ABSOULETLEY FAANNTTTAAASSSSTTTTIIIICCCC

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Sharron said...

Posted on Aug 19 2007 10:45 I was made to go and see this by my 8 year old son and was expecting to have to sit through something i really wasn't going to enjoy. How wrong i was, the film was fantastic from start to finish it keeps your attention and now i will most certainly be purchasing this when it comes out on DVD. Amazing film with fantastic special effects and story line.

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Daek said...

Posted on Aug 18 2007 18:59 How desappointing !!! I was a fan as kid.
Robots transformation are a mess (clever but to complexe and fast), love story à la Michael Bay (ridiculous), a hot blond girl who also is a top Hacker, There a lond list of this kind of thing going on.
Yet Another Micheal Bay Crappy Block Buster and yet again everyone come and tell me "woow dude ! it was awesome ! the best movie ever !" ... I just don't get it. Well, those are the same people who love going to McDonald for Dinner.
Don't go see this movie. wait for the DVD or get it from Peer to Peer. I wouldn' pay for that crap.

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Diane Williams said...

Posted on Aug 17 2007 20:54 This was a fantastic action movie that had a really good story with characters that evolved throught the film. The effects are excellent. It was fun and thoroughly entertaining. It was a great family film and so far everyone who I know has been to see it thinks it is a great film.

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brockso78 said...

Posted on Aug 16 2007 21:56 what a great film, best ive seen in a while. and the robots .....well....what can i say, superb ? i think so.

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mossy said...

Posted on Aug 16 2007 20:35 this is by far the best flm ever it is funny and soo realistic wicked it is a must see defo. im seeing it again soon and it also has hot chicks in and smart cars amazing film !!!!!!!!!

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??????? said...

Posted on Aug 16 2007 17:07 this is the best film in the world and i really mean it this is gonna be the biggest hit in the wotld and i really mean that and out of all the movies i hav seen in my 11 years of life!!!(i hav seen ALOT of movies)!!!this goes right to the top!!!!!!

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??????? said...

Posted on Aug 16 2007 16:59 this movie takes the top out of all the movies i hav eva seen and i hav seen alot of filmz so that is quite amazin!!!!!!!!I LUV U BUMBLE BEE!!!!!!

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Deb said...

Posted on Aug 16 2007 14:24 I was dreading going to see this film with my hubbie and his guy mates who loved transformers when they were little. I was really surprised because I really liked it. The guys said the plot was a bit simple and there was too much acting and people characters but not enough robots and action scenes. I thought it was a nice dont have to think about it too much film anyone can sit and watch. I dont think you would have had to have seen the original cartoons to like the film - I hadn't. Go expecting an action film with basic plot and a few funny quips and i think you'll enjoy it. Expect it to be the action film of the century or as good as the cartoon was when you were 8 and you might be disappointed.

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Tina said...

Posted on Aug 16 2007 13:13 Was okay, not overly fussed. Thought it might have been better and the plot about the cube was a bit ridiculous.

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Richard said...

Posted on Aug 15 2007 22:33 Unbelievably stupid and sprinkled with extra mild cheese this film redeems itself by being an unashamed dose of jaw dropping eye candy. So often big effects pictures fail to deliver, usually waiting for a big set piece finale but Transformers thankfully doesn't mess about. You don't have to wait too long before some enormous, disturbingly real looking robots-cum-fighter plane/car/kitchen sink go at each other and the human race with all guns blazing. The pace rarely drops rendering the pitiful high school romance and other equally poorly written sub-plots as merely annoying sideshows taking place in an unmissable thrill ride for those who, every once in a while at least, are happy to leave half their brains in the foyer for a bit of crash bang and wallop. Tonnes of fun.

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zoeee said...

Posted on Aug 15 2007 14:51 FILM OF THE YEAR!!
id say better than pirates of the caribbean!!!
GO SEE IT PEOPLE!!!

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taff said...

Posted on Aug 15 2007 08:23 A good old fashioned good v evil story, don't think too much and you'll enjoy it. I didn't look at my watch once which is saying something, effects are great. It took me back to my childhood with bells on.

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