Film Okay rip-off of "The End Of Time"
First things first, Transformers Dark of the Moon is an okay film with an average soundtrack. What gets on my nerves is why Michael Bay felt that he had to steal the plot of David Tennant's last Doctor Who episode and make is more Transformers-ish
Film Transformers 3: "This movie was FANTASTIC!"
At least that's what the guy who sat behind me in the cinema said when he stood up to leave, in between loudly singing along with the lyrics of the Linkin Park song in the credits. His behavior reminded me of MovieBob saying that Michael Bay makes movies "by douchebags, for douchebags".
So, how's the movie in my opinion? It's the same old shit as the two first ones. Maybe a little better than either of those, but only because the studio twisted Bay's arm and made him remove the most controversial elements. No more rutting dogs, no more robo-testicles and no more blackface-bots. Instead, as if it was some sort of game, Bay has fit in new annoyances to piss of his haters, such as a "wacky" scene where Sam gets Mistaken For Gay and a subplot where he gets a competitor for his new girlfriend's affections.
The first act of the movie plays like it's two entirely different films spliced together. It takes forever for the robot plot and Sam's plot to meet at all, and even then, it's like the script keeps inventing excuses to keep Sam locked out of the main plot of his own movie.
The climax is much better than Revenge's horrific clusterfuck. Instead of having a backdrop-battle with the characters running through it, instead it flows from scene to scene, with new locations and enemies distinct from each other. The cinematography in action scenes is still confusing and hectic, but I guess I've gotten used to it by now, since it didn't piss me off much.
The story makes no sense, and the villains' motivations don't match in any way to the previous movies. It's kinda funny in a sad way, especially since I kept coming up with new plot holes for hours after exiting the cinema.
Leonard Nimoy as Sentinel Prime has a refreshing feel of class in a lowbrow movie like this, though the lines he's given are mostly clichéd and boring. Likewise, John Malkovich as Sam's new boss is funny in a crazy kind of way, though his character is written as an annoying dickhead.
I probably won't see this movie ever again. It was worth seeing once, I guess, and I'll admit I was entertained for roughly two thirds of the film. As is the case in all but two films I've ever seen, the 3D is worthless and you're better off saving that money and spending it on something else.
Film Transformers 3: I Freaking Loved It!
From what I've read so far, very few people liked the third movie, or in fact, the entire series as a whole. With the the first two movies I can empathize yes but Dark of the Moon was, to put it simply, Fudgecaking awesome!! Like Shia said, "Michael has really outdone himself."
If you are the type of person (like me) that needs a bit of action to get it up, then the latest Transformers movie to you, should be like Hitler's decapitated head to a Jew; which is to say, jizz. This movie is chock full of action and laughs and to those who complained that the action scenes in the past movies looked like a couple of bolts being put in a blender (a really strong blender), this final movie has solved all those problems. The fights are sleek and full of tension.
I must admit that the main reason I liked the third movie so much is because of its brilliant pacing. I also liked how there was such a huge feeling of foreboding and despair further on into the film. They got to such a low point that it had me wondering what grand scheme would they have to come up with to end up victorious and had me literally gripping the edge of my seat, and that wasn't only so I could raise my head above old chewbacca sitting in front of me.
The 3D also was also worked amazingly well and made it easier to admire the level of detail of the complex alien species. The Megan Fox replacement did surprisingly well as they managed to flesh her out quite well considering that it had to be a bit of an ass pull. The plot was cohesive and the movie overall entertaining.
I recommend it to anyone with a currently empty Saturday night and HIGHLY recommend it to fans even with plans for a Saturday night. It is, at the very least, not boring and the most, EXTREMELY entertaining.
Film SPOILERS: Dark of the Moon - Worth a watch, if you're not a fan of sci-fi.
It's obvious going by public reactions that the Transformers films are a gateway series to the sci-fi genre. However, the elements of sci-fi are too simplified and are used too blatantly as ways of promoting merchandise.
Before dipping into the criticism, I must first commend the acting. It wasn't as forced and strained as the first two films, and the actors seem to take the role very loosely, but not in a bad way. The acting is fun, and even if the jokes won't make you laugh, the acting will.
The film also suffers less of Random Robot Fighting (Trademarked by Michael Bay) syndrome, although it doesn't mean the action scenes are any less fast-pace and dirty. The use of slow-motion also causes less a strain to your eyes, if any one of you suffered through the 3D effects of the first two films like I did.
However, the largest criticism I have on the film is the one staring at your face: the Tranformers are treated not as alien lifeforms, but as talking magical cars. It wouldn't be as bad if it weren't for the fact the government damn well knows who the Autobots and Decepticons are. Not a single human being besides Witwicky show legitimate interest in the alien life forms themselves. There's absolutely no non-political relationships established between the Autbots and the humans besides Bumblebee and Witwicky, which is rather odd considering this is a civil war between aliens which the humans unwittingly got caught up in. You'd think you'd see more humanity in a film trying to reason that humans aren't dicks. There is literally only one scene of willing non-political interaction between the humans and the Tranformers discounting BB and Witwicky. The scene where Carly basically tells Megatron he's Sentinel Prime's bitch. And that is all.
A minor criticism would be Optimus Prime's portrayal. He's still the epic and inspirational leader, and he still kicks a lot of ass. How he handled the main antagonists were a bit... cold for him. Megatron just helped saved his life, but Optimus Prime does not even acknowledge this and just rips his face off, and immediately afterwards he looks at Sentinel Prime with a "You're next." look. They fully deserve it yes, but Prime's gestures and actions just seemed dissonant to his position as the protagonist.
It's worth a watch. But if you enjoy good writing, it's not.
Film Dark of the Moon
Alrighty, with the 3rd and maybe final Transformer film released in 3-D on the 28th, it did better than Revenge of the Fallen. From what I saw, the storyline was more consistent with a more well-known villian than The Fallen, in the form of Shockwave....although I won't say anything other than what the traiers had shown.
At any rate, Bay has done a fantastic job with the movie overall, with it's fair share of funny, awesome, sad, horrific events throughout the story. My only problem was the lack of extra correlation between The Transfomers and the human race other than what was provided from the background history and the previous movies to go on, that's all.
Still, it's a movie worth seeing for yourself to decide.
Film A good premise lost in a torrent of crud
Watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon is an exercise in frustration. This is a film that could have flourished into the best of the Michael Bay Transformers movies, but smothers its spark in a nonstop flurry of clumsy missteps, and the movie ends up a mishmash of parts that never gel into a coherent whole.
For G1 fans, the story itself is basically a live-action adaptation of "The Ultimate Doom" with a dollop of "City of Steel" thrown in. This could have served as an action-packed backdrop for some emotional high points, like Sentinel Prime's motivations, Sam Witwicky confronting his adrenaline-junkie issues, and some growth for Optimus Prime's and Megatron's characters.
Unfortunately, all of this potential is lost in the actual execution. There is no pacing to the film; all of the dialog and action proceeds at an unrelenting fast trot, whether it's an epic fight scene or a quiet conversation. The movie thus ends up as a nonstop barrage of quick cuts with clumsy exposition used to fill in plot points. Worse, this breakneck rush robs the movie of any emotional impact, as major moments are lost in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it rush to the next scene (Chicago goes from a bright, happy city to a smoke-filled warzone in less than 10 seconds). The overcrowded cast does no one any favors, with most characters reduced to one-note caricatures. Almost everyone ends up either as Comedic Relief Characters or LargeHams, and it's a rare sight when a normal person shows up. And for Primus' sake, don't try to make sense of the plot — there's a reason why the Headscratchers page is almost bigger than the main trope page. All of this is topped off by the two-hours-plus runtime, which makes the movie an emotional Death March to get through.
The only way to enjoy Dark of the Moon is to go into it without any critical thinking skills — just sit back and enjoy the assortment of eye candy. Anything else is just begging for disappointment.