I haven't read the books, so I can't make a comparison there. I have heard that there is something important left out of the film that was in the book, but I don't know. I thought this was a great way to spend a couple of hours in a dark, cool place on a very hot day in Phoenix (115). I thought Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Tom Felton put in great performances in this movie.
Special effects were top-notch, not overdone, the story line was tight and kept me guessing, and the cinematography was up to the standard we've come to expect with previous movies.
This movie had its moments, I'll give it that. But mostly it was a 2.5 hour blur of crashing metal, stock military footage, tough military guys showing who was boss to the weak civilian government...every time you think the movie is finally over, there's some long expository dialogue about the history of the Transformers, and you realize with dread that the end is far away..
Stunning, dazzling, smart, funny, moving....I can't believe what the filmmakers packed into 2 hours. I had gotten so tired of the previous Star Trek movies. This one beats them all, by a MILE. This is the way Star Trek should have been done in the movies from the beginning. I took one son to see it on Saturday, then went right back on Sunday with both sons. I'll go again, too, with my wife, before it leaves IMAX. Way, way cool.