Michael Bay really shouln't try so hard. When he does, his movies tend to fall a little flat. Bad Boys II tries to be too cool. Result; it isn't. Pearl Harbour and The Island try to be too serious. Result; they're not. When Michael Bay relaxes and produces a natural, entertaining mix of action, comedy, drama and fantasy the results are impressive; see The Rock, Armageddon and his 2007 hit Transformers.
The comedy stuff is naturalistic high school boy-likes-girl stuff, straight out of an Amblin family movie. The Pentagon and Marines stuff is straight out of high tension contemprary war thriller. The Transformers inhabit a type of fantasy film-making that only John Woo knows how to inhabit properly...a powerful balancing of the rediculously corny with the profoundly mythic (see the Autobots arrival on earth or the shuttle launch in Armageddon for Bays trademark balancing act in action).
The cast deliver both comedically and dramatically. LeBeuf deserves star status, John Tuturro is comedy gold, Megan Fox wooden (but dear God, who cares), Rachael Taylor under-ratedly spankworthy, and Kevin Dunn and Julie White the best adlibbers on the market as Mun and Dad Witwickey.
The visuals are outrageuosly incredible to behold; the freeway smackdown being a favorite while Ironhide's acrobatic avoiding the Decepticon missiles still makes me giggle uncontrolablt in delight. Its all daft, silly with a crazy plot about a magic cube...but Bay serves it up with such a well judged eye towards bordom elimination and fun generation, that any rservations about story are left at the door.
You can't judge this one with your intelect. Rather, by the broadness of you grin.
And I, sir, am a wide mouth frog.
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