Transformers

To counter their old slogan, There's NOT more than meets the eye in the new Transformers movie. It's ALL about the eye! You never want to blink, and you wish you had a rewind button.

The effects in this movie are over the top. And they're complemented by great action and a pace that keeps you interested despite the fact it's a longer than average movie. Currently my benchmark for action/pace/effects is Spiderman 2. It has the perfect balance of story, character and one of the best fight/action scenes since the Matrix- the train fight between Spidey and Doc Oc.

There's also a lot of humor, which I prefer over typical long drawn out philosophical speeches that usually end up in action/sci-fi movies to fill in the gaps between fight/chase/escape scenes. I've noticed this as well in superhero movies like Spiderman and Fantastic Four. Superman Returns didn't have enough humor, and suffered for that lacking.

If there's anything that's hidden beneath the surface, it's that Transformers is a well-crafted commercial for GM cars, iPods, XBox 360, Nokia, and probably a few more products I didn't notice consciously but will want to buy some time soon for no apparent reason.

Also, there are the typical Michael Bay trademark scenes:

• Big things happening at sunrise or sunset. Nothing important ever seems to take place at noon.
• A little dog.
• Lots and lots and lots of military planes, tanks, ships, etc.

Steven Speilberg is credited as Producer. There's a scene with a transformer coming out of a swimming pool while a little girl watches... I wonder if that was his idea.

This movie definitely fits in the "Big Screen" category. DO NOT wait to see this in a theater when it's been moved to the smaller screen.