Transformers

In this day and age, when most big-budget blockbusters are special effects-driven, it takes something special for a movie to amaze us with its computer graphics and special effects alone. Transformers manages to do that. Unlike in the case of Superman, Batman and other superheroes, I've had no exposure to the toys or comics that this film is supposedly based on but the film's special effects and action sequences kept me pinned to my seat for its entire running time.

The factor that works to the movie's advantage is that the basic premise - robots take the shape of a variety of automobiles and then transform back when the need arises - never gets old until the end credits roll. The sequences where different vehicles like cars, trucks, tanks, fighter planes and helicopters turn into robots are always thrilling. We know its computer graphics but they do look realistic enough to seem like working, mechanical models and that makes the transformation acts really cool. Some moments where the vehicles transform in mid-air before smoothly launching into an attack and a couple of slo-mo shots of the transformations are particularly spectacular and elicited many involuntary "Wow!"s from me.

But its good that the special effects are so fantastic since the movie offers precious little apart from that. The story is simplistic to the point of being silly and none of the characters make an impression. The humor is pretty lame (actually, there are some mild laughs from the humans like Shia LaBeouf, his dad and the hacker. But the robots' attempts at humor, like when they use street slang they picked up on the way, fall flat. It would've been much better if they had remained serious and left the humor to the human characters). The fight sequences between the robots sometimes get confusing since its not clear what exactly is happening due to a hyperactive camera and director Bay's tendency for quick cuts.