Review: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

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Transformers 3I had strong reservations about Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Its predecessor, Revenge of the Fallen, is easily one of the worst films I've ever seen, and I'm definitely no fan of director Michael Bay. Of the 14 previous films he's directed, Armageddon is the only one I find worth watching a second time, and The Island is on my list of films with the greatest potential that turned out to be the biggest disappointments.

So, I went into Transformers 3 with lowered expectations in spite of the general good buzz I'd been hearing. True to form, Bay has created another example of terribad filmmaking. He's nothing if not consistent, with his films chock full of slow-motion action shots, cameras making love to the super-hot babe-of-the-month and yes, people looking up. Bay got his start making music videos and Playboy centerfolds, and his movies still play like extended music videos. The difference is that this one, this time, somehow just works, at least for about 50 percent of the people who have seen it.

The thing is, Transformers: Dark of the Moon has the attention span of a ten-year-old kid after a six pack of Yoohoo. The action moves from a battle on the Transformers' home planet Cybertron to the moon to Shia LaBeouf and girlfriend Rosie Huntington-Whitely to an insanely hilarious scene with Ken Jeong that doesn't fit in with the rest of the movie.

Each scene plays like a ten-minute music video, the medium where Bay works best, making the first two-thirds of the movie like a night of watching MTV. If you like the majority of these vignettes, and the Shia LaBeouf detective story that ties them together, you'll be in a great mood for the EPIC unbelievable 3D actionfest of the last 40 minutes.

If those don't work for you -- and they may not, even though Transformers: Dark of the Moon has the most cohesive storyline of the trilogy -- you may be in a bad mood when the real action starts. And this is one point where I'm most mixed on the movie. The action is amazing, but at times Bay focuses too long on any two robots fighting at the expense of missing the action that's going on in the rest of the battle. This is an all-out three way fight between Autobots, Decepticons and the U.S. military. After two hours of story buildup, the 40 minutes of fighting dispenses with any story and then comes to a sudden end with little to no wrap-up. The result is that you'll walk out a little exhausted and overwhelmed or else entirely wound up like a spring.

In spite of the mixed critical opinions, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a definite crowd-pleaser, especially for the kids. The highlight of my screening was the tiny four year-old kid who kept jumping out of his seat, dancing and punching the air as he fought along with the robots. If only I could have had a camera out, he'd have been the next Star Wars Kid.

The good stuff: hilarious cameos from Ken Jeong, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Alan Tudyk, fantastic 3D visuals and a recognizable if convoluted plot. The bad: Bay's poor direction outside the action and a story that's dragged out with a missing denouement. The ugly: John Turturro, acting way below his ability. Still, it's worth a shot, even if you hate Michael Bay films.

Very Good

This article was very well written, and i appreciated the insight on this film. My wife and I will be watching this film tomorrow, and my only question to you Mike is do you think is it worth seeing in 3D or just stick to the normal one?

Dany

Definitely worth the 3D. Bay used the same equipment and techniques to shoot this that Cameron did with Avatar. Remember, if you're not very experienced with 3D, the best place to sit is squarely in the center of the theater, or in another row as close to center. Also, in Austin, the Drafthouse has the best 3D projection and the highest standards, though I have to admit Regal Metropolitan did a great job with this particular screening. Thanks for the compliment!