It’s been two years since the release of the second film, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon will be the last in the series. The opening sees the noble Autobots traveling the world with the human soldiers of the US government task force NEST to hunt down straggling Decepticons and resolve latent diplomatic issues. Meanwhile, human protagonist Sam Witwicky is left dealing with real world issues like getting his first job out of college. The world seems to be returning to normal when an incident at the infamous Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant reveals the true nature of the 1960s Space Race. An Autobot spaceship carrying items to repair Cybertron, the Transformers’ home planet and previous Autobot leader Sentinel Prime (voiced by Leonard Nimoy, the original Star Trek’s Spock) crash landed, prompting the Americans to put a man on the moon. Optimus Prime and his Autobots travel to the moon to retrieve Sentinel Prime and the ship’s precious cargo, and as you probably guessed- chaos ensues. The rest of the film has a pretty straightforward storyline with a few minor twists.
Overall, it is a lot more coherent than Revenge of the Fallen and with a more serious tone; there’s still plenty of laughs but less than the previous films. Does it suffer from pacing issues, Ehren Kruger (writer of The Ring, Scream 3) as the writer without Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (writers of Transformers & JJ Abrams’ Star Trek), and Michael Bay’s directing? Yes. While there is a lot more at stake here than in any other Transformers film, it was never truly suspenseful. Even with high amount of human and robot casualties, I was never gripped with suspense or genuine tension. This is due in no small part to the lack of character development or emotionally stirring moments.
Who watches a Michael Bay movie for emotion though? It’s all about the action, which Dark of the Moon has more than enough of. Slow-mo? Plenty. Hot girl standing with explosions in the background? Not till the end of the film, but it’s there. Bay’s directing conventions aside, the folks at Industrial Light & Magic have kept up and delivered. There are a few moments where it is hard to tell who exactly is fighting whom but for the most part, it was easy to tell from the camera angles used. Following just the action is a more effortless and rewarding experience. On top of that, the 3-D is amazing. James Cameron convinced Michael Bay to film in 3-D and allowed him to use the 3-D cameras used for Avatar. It definitely shows: there are a lot of moments where debris and robots are flying out at you, and there is added depth to big set pieces. Downtown Chicago during the final action-packed hour of the movie features superb combat and 3-D scenes. Many aerial shots feature soldiers gliding in real-life flying squirrel-inspired wingsuits, providing moments of 3-D induced vertigo. There is no post-production 3-D conversion rubbish. Bottom line: the 3-D is actually worth the ticket price and, in terms of quality, second only to Cameron’s Avatar.
Alright, so the 3-D and special effects are great, but how’s the acting? Victoria Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley plays the new love interest of Sam Witwicky. Her acting skills are roughly on par with previous female lead Megan Fox, but a lot less skanky. Her first few minutes of screen time have the camera focused on her lingerie-wearing butt walking up the stairs. Everyone else is about the same as we have come to expect.
Shia LeBeouf portrays Sam Witwicky as a frustrated young adult trying to find his place in the world, but is still willing to fight the good fight. John Turturro’s Agent Simmons and Kevin Dunn and Julie White as the Witwicky parents are a little toned down from Transformers 2, thankfully. Alan Tudyk (Firefly) stars as Simmons’ interesting Dutch butler and Ken Jeong (Hangover, Role Models) is as awkward as ever. Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are back as robot-destroying US soldiers. Curiously, a number of A-list actors including John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, and Patrick Dempsey are also in Dark of the Moon.
I think I also need to mention how unbelievably pro-America this movie is. American flags wave in many of the set piece shots. The Autobots speak of freedom and stand next to a battered yet still standing American flag. All branches of our military work together to assist defeating the Decepticons (even the Navy SEALS). One of Washington DC’s presidential memorials gets wrecked in a scene that left me, as a patriot, angered. Optimus Prime takes cover behind a statue of the Founding Fathers as they protect him from Decepticon fire. This is the perfect movie for 4th of July weekend and anyone who loves America like I do.
VERDICT: Transformers: Dark of the Moon is better than Transformers 2 with more coherent story and action. However, it does not break any new ground for the series so if you aren’t a fan of any of the Transformers movies or even action flicks in general, Transformers: Dark of the Moon won’t change your mind. For everyone else, you will probably have a good time. Battles are intense and feature sequences of ballet-esque slow motion chaos. If you go see this movie, see it in 3-D – I can’t stress it enough. Last of all, Transformers 3 is by no means a great or even a “good” film but I knew what to expect and got it.
Add 1 star if you love Transformers, sensory overload, or mindless action in movies. Minus 1 star if you are looking for good filmmaking like a critic, hate explosions, or 3-D.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon opened at 9PM June 28th in 3-D & IMAX and everywhere midnight June 29th.
