I went to see Transformers with little-to-no expectations, other than to be entertained by fantastic CGI and watching things get blown up. I was extremely surprised to get so caught up in the 2 and a half hour, non-stop action, and fun-fest this really was.

The basic premise is that this robotic race, in the search for power, destroys their own world. During the power struggle, they lose an incredible source of powering the shape of a cube, which finds its way to earth. The Autobots, those who choose to protect humans, race to find the cube before the Decepticons get their hands on it and destroy earth.

The CGI was absolutely amazing. My favorite parts of the movie were watching the transformation from robot to car (or plane, etc) and then back again. The action was intense, definitely earning its PG-13 rating. The bad guys (Decepticons) seemed unbeatable and the good guys fought to the death.

The personalities of the Autobots were a lot of fun as well. Bumblebee was at the forefront, with plenty of humor when interacting with his human friends. Hearing Optimus Prime speak for the first time made me smile with geeky gladness. And I accepted the cheesiness in turn, which just brought me back to my days of youth.

The human characters were all wonderfully acted. Shia LaBeouf is definitely headed towards super-stardom with this and his role as Indiana Jones’ son in the next sequel. He has a wonderful mix of geekiness and bravery that makes him extremely lovable in his role as Sam Witwicky. His love interest and every fanboy’s dream, Megan Fox, was there as window dressing, but only made Shia’s role shine that much more. John Turturro (Ambrose from Monk) had a wonderful role as the head of a secret government sect. You just love to hate his eccentricity.

All in all, a wonderful 4th of July flick – plenty of action and everything centers on America. Even down to all the Autobots transforming into American made cars only. Yes, this is my only complaint. That the Decepticons transformed into cooler transportation.