I'd been waiting for years for a Transformers live-action film, having been a collector of the magazines and toys when I was a kid. I feel sorry for girls; they never had the experience of boys toys, and I really think they have missed out. Anyway, I was really excited when I heard about the new film.

And it got better and better. Steven Spielberg was producer, and some really good screenplay people were involved. I couldn't believe it; this film should be amazing. Then I heard Michael Bay was directing it. EEK! But I gave him the benefit of doubt, as he may actually do a good job of it.

So having waited approximately a year from the day I heard about the film, I was chomping at the bit to see the film. Initially I was amazed; mainly due to the jaw-dropping special effects. I think these are some of the best special effects I have ever seen in the film. The transformations of the characters in the film were a joy to behold and stunning to watch. Shia LeBeouf is really strong as Sam Witwicky and I reckon he's going to be a very popular actor in the future. I was also impressed by some of the extra updates to the film namely the Allspark and how it gave life to objects.

But, and this is a big but, once you get over the splenour of the special effects, what remains is a very shallow film. It's a bit like Independence Day in a way. The dialogue of the robots for the most part is terrible, although there are some genuinely funny moments. Shia LeBeouf carries this film through in a lot of ways and I don't think it would have been watchable without him. The script is mostly terrible and they've wasted lots of great talent. Although I think Megan Fox is gorgeous in that dirty way I like, I don't think her part adds much to the film and to be honest it would have been better to exclude it. In my opinion she is not a particularly good actor either.

Anyway, I was both disappointed and impressed at the same time. If it weren't for the special effects and a couple of the characters, I would have been entirely diappointed. Hopefully they will sort these things out for the second film.

GC