I Don't Regret I Stepped into that Car

Not that it was a particularly great movie, though. As action movies go, Transformers had its charms. Two things, though, are immediately irritating and hard to get past. First, the writing sucks. For much of the film every line is a punch line. They're tedious, not funny, lines. Second, the cinematography during the action sequences is muddled. It's often difficult to tell who's fighting whom. The autobots and the decepticons largely look the same and mostly like a jumble of metal during the action.

The story is engaging enough for a summer action flick directed at kids and featuring kids toys. (The first audience laugh comes during the opening credits, when Hasbro is credited as a producer.) Shia LeBeouf handles the leading man role with sarcastic wit, and Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Megan Fox are just fine. The transformers get their own personalities--the autobots, at least.

So, if I'm not high on the film, it also wasn't an unpleasant way to spend the Fourth of July. But if you're looking for that real rush of adrenalin that comes from action films, see Die Hard.