"Transformers": Not More Than Meets the Eye

Director Michael Bay Creates a Film That, Though Visually Stunning, is Nothing Special

Despite what the famous tag line says, there's not much below the surface in director Michael Bay's live-action adaptation of "Transformers." Everything, from the massive explosions to the crude humor, is what audiences have come to expect when Bay sits behind the camera.

Though the Transformers themselves, modeled after the Hasbro toy line that became a sensation in the 1980's, are visually stunning, a talented young actor, one cute Chihuahua with a drug problem and a tricked-out Chevy Camaro steal the movie from the band of alien robots.

The story focuses on Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), a teenager who is part nerd and part huckster (he even tries to sell some of his grandfather's belongings while giving an oral report at school). If Sam can raise $2,000, his father Ron (Kevin Dunn) will match him dollar-for-dollar and let him buy a car.

Sam does get a vehicle, a rusting yellow 1976 Camaro that seems to have a mind of its own, and uses it to impress a classmate named Mikaela (Megan Fox). Sam's car rises to the challenge and helps the awkward teenager get the beautiful girl into his passenger seat.

Later on, Sam is shocked to see his car driving off and, convinced that it's being stolen, he follows it on his bicycle. Sam is shocked to discover that his car secretly is a giant robot and a member of an alien race called the Autobots.

The Camaro, which goes by the name of Bumblebee, introduces Sam to Optimus Prime (voice of Peter Cullen), the leader of the Autobots who tells the young human about their home planet of Cybertron.

These mechanical beings, who came to life thanks to a mystical cube called the "Allspark," once lived in peace on their planet, but a radical group led by Megatron (Hugo Weaving) broke away from the rest.

The ensuing war between the Autobots and Megaton's group of Decepticons ravaged the surface of Cybertron and forced the mechanical creatures to leave and search for the Allspark. Optimus Prime believes that Sam holds the key to finding the Allspark, but they must hurry before the Decpticons find Sam.