Transformers ... not much that meets the eye

*** WARNING: There are no real spoilers in the text below, but if you're a die-hard fan that hasn't watched the movie, skip this entry ***

Saeeda and I watched the new Transformers movie two nights ago. It was every little boy's dream come true. There were cool cars, crazy aircraft, hot babes, thunderous explosions, and destruction galore. And it was loud. Really loud. Saeeda and I both enjoyed the movie - Saeeda because she grew up watching the cartoon, and me because of all the special effects. It was hard to tell what was real and what was not.

However, halfway through the movie, Transformers turned into Independence Day. You remember that Will Smith movie? The one that had aliens running Windows software, and the President of the United States leading fighter aircraft into battle? The same thing happened to this movie - robots began cracking jokes (they have a sense of humor?), in one scene Optimus Prime tries to stay quiet by tiptoeing around a house and hiding behind a tree (!), super-attractive college hackers figure out information that teams of government scientists can't crack, etc.

You see, there's one thing about suspending disbelief. I am fully willing to believe that there can be robots running around that transform into everyday machines to disguise themselves. But then there are other, seemingly trivial things, that bug the crap out of me. Why is that?

Oh, and maybe I can get some help with this next. You see, I never watched the cartoons as a child (they didn't air in Spain when I was growing up there), but I know enough about Transformers through pop-culture osmosis. When we walked out of the movie, Saeeda remarked that she was disappointed the robots didn't unite like they used to do in the cartoon. I said that she was confusing Transformers with Voltron. She said I was wrong. I reiterated that she was wrong. Therein ensued a passionate argument, that continues to simmer. Any help?