Trying hard to appease the fan base while crafting a believable take on a classic ‘80s cartoon, Transformers is an action summer romp that tries to twist too many story lines into a simple narrative. The film is bogged down by an extended unnecessary running time, too many characters, and humor that puts this into the realm of comedy while dragging down any attempt at being serious.

While it may irk traditional fans, the movie needed to be set on Earth. The human characters are the key to the story, and add in an element that would otherwise be missing. It also allows for wilder battles in a realistic setting that enhances the action, increases the amount of expected “summer movie explosions,” and increases drama.

Sadly, there are too many people. Characters are continually added well into the film, including Anthony Anderson and Rachael Taylor, neither of who fit in the role of high-end computer geeks. Their inclusion in the story seems purely for comic relief, which the film has far too much of already.

The same goes for the clichéd “secret government organization” called Sector 7. Likewise, their entire subplot could have easily been cut, decreasing their awful humor spots substantially.

Some lines are genuinely funny, especially one ripping on Michael Bay’s prior disaster effort, Armageddon. By the end of this exceedingly long affair, the humor has drained all tension, seriousness, and believability right out of the film.

It’s obvious that months, if not years, were spent attempting to make the Transformers themselves realistic and believable on screen. The updates are wonderful, and the special effects stunning. Yet, they're made out to be fools, especially the Autobots in a painful sequence outside the house of Sam Witwicky as he argues with his parents. This scene continues on well past the point of being entertaining, and does nothing for the characters.

Action is consistently interrupted by cutaways to one of the multiple story lines, and these stoppages are jarring. Aside from the opening battlefield brawl, there fails to be another energetic action sequence like it without constant interference by an unnecessary plot development.

In addition, while the special effects are a true achievement, they’re hard to follow. The fights between the robots are either too fast or close up to tell who is gaining an upper hand. On a smaller scale, the same can be said for Frenzy, a small Transformer that moves incredibly fast and attacks without being able to tell where he’s even shooting.