MOVIE GUIDE: TRANSFORMERS 3: DARK OF THE MOON

I have been looking forward to Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon for over a year now. When news broke that there was going to be a final installment to the Transformers franchise, I was very much looking forward to it. Almost any new tidbit that came out, I was all over. There were a few videos posted on youtube from onlookers and extras alike and I flocked to them like a Piranha. And after a ton of anticipation, I finally got to see it.

In 2007, after seeing the first Transformers movie TEASER TRAILER, I went bananas and I was hooked. I waited valiantly for months to be able to see my favorite cartoon made into a movie. And when I did, in my opinion, it was that start of a revolution. Transformers transcended every movie at that time. I initially questioned the relevance of Shia Lebeouf in this blockbuster but Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg knew exactly what they were doing. The movie surpassed my expectations. With the colossal success that Transformers had, I was going into Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen with very high expectations. Unfortunately Revenge of the Fallen didn’t even come close to those expectations. Don’t get me wrong, Revenge had its moments but I felt a lot of the movie was slow and lagging, unnecessary, or just plain stupid, i.e. Sam’s mom at the college and Skids and Mudflap. In a few interviews, Michael Bay and the rest of the cast said that they knew in their hearts part 2 was a failure. However, they also promised that Transformers 3 was going to redeem t he franchise and lift it up to an even higher plateau. Could they really do this?

I thought the opening sequence was brilliant. They brought some conspiracy to the table with the United States and Russia racing to get to the moon with discovering and recovering the remains of a crashed Autobots spaceship. Of course that wouldn’t be true but the thought of it all possibly happening just makes it that much cooler. The first big difference in Dark of the Moon is the absence of Mikaela, Megan Good’s character. She was replaced by Victoria Secret model Rose Whiteley Huntington as Sam’s love interest Carly. I thought she did rather well considering she’s the franchise newbie. The aspect that I liked about Sam and Carly’s relationship is that there wasn’t any mention on what happed to Mikaela. On the other hand, there could have been and I just missed it. Either way, Carly was a nice addition. There were a lot of other big names that made their way into the franchise like Patrick Dempsey. In the movie, he plays a billionaire race car playboy who is also Carly’s boss. He has an amazing car collection and seemed nothing but genuine to both Sam and Carly. At the beginning of the movie, I didn’t care too much for his character but that all changed by the ending. I loved that he was eye candy antagonist to Sam. Considering he turns out to be an enemy, one thing I would have loved to see is either the Autobots, Decepticons, or the humans totally annihilate his car collection. Beyond that, he did well. Another newcomer is John Malkovich. It’s been awhile since I seen this guy around. Yes, he was in RED but beyond that, I can’t recall the last movie I seen him in (I’m thinking Con-Air). He didn’t have a big part in the Transformers 3 but he was almost tailor made for that part. His whole “Humpty Dumpty” line is so him. Along with the newcomers, there were several key characters that made their return. Josh Duhamel had much more screen time in TF3 than he did in the other 2 combined. The only downside I would have to say with his character is that I wish he was more of a badass. I mean, you’re an elite soldier not just fighting for your country but for your species, I’d think you’d be a bit more ruthless. That’s just my opinion, he did extremely well otherwise. Tyrese Gibson also reprised his role but I didn’t like that Sam had more balls than he did in the mounting moments. All in all, I thought the cast held their own really well considering the biggest stars of all were named Optimus Prime, Sentinel Prime, and Megatron, which brings us to the Autobots and Decepticons themselves.

Transformers wouldn’t be Transformers without Optimus Prime. The new addition to his arsenal is his trailer. It’s not much to look at when he’s in his semi truck mode but it serves great purpose when he transforms. He didn’t seem to get much screen time this time around but just about every scene that he does have is crazy, especially the ending. Fan favorite Bumble Bee is also back. You can’t do nothing but love this little guy. I think it’s to the point where if anything would happen to him, a lot of people would fall out of love with the franchise. Again, Bumble Bee plays Sam’s savior, confidant, and sidekick. The character I fell in love with in Revenge of the Fallen was Sideswipe, and I’m happy to say, he had a lot of screen time. In the way of the Decepticons, the movie wouldn’t be able to come full circle without Megatron. With the Decepticons losing their previous battles against the Autobots, Megatron is now left tattered and withered. He still has his sinister ways but can’t fully carry out his plan of galaxy domination because of his now malfunctions. StarScream also makes his appearance but not enough to garner much attention, which in my opinion is unfortunate. On the good side, the Decepticon I’m glad they included was Laserbeak. Back in the cartoons, Laserbeak was the little cassette tape that used to pop out of the chest of Soundwave. Growing up, I hated the crap out of him because he always seemed up to no good. In Transformers 3, it was no different. The big named newcomers are Sentinel Prime and fan favorite slash despised Shockwave. Sentinel Prime was more the brains than anything else. He did have his physical moments but that was only a few. On the other hand, Shockwave did nothing but destroy. There were a few mere mentions of his name in the movie but when he showed his face, he also leveled the crap out of Chicago. He was seriously beautiful and his destruction was a sight to see. He himself leveled the skyscrapers of the Chicago skyline more than any other being in any other movie, EVER.

The storyline of Dark of the Moon I thought was impressive. I liked that there was a lot of substance and not just an abundance of style. I think there’s going to be enough spoilers in this post so I don’t want to give away the storyline any more than I already did and ruin it for anyone.

The special effects to TF3 were simply amazing. It was damn near Avatar-esque. Between the Transformers themselves, their interaction with the humans and with each other, and the fight scenes, it was seriously incredible. Based on the action sequences, it seemed like there was no spared expense. The action sequences were awesome. The only logical way to explain it is by comparison. Transformers 3’s action sequences are like a best of, of both parts 1 and 2, and it’s on steroids. That good.

By far the greatest aspect of TF3 is how much of an absolute bad ass Optimus Prime is when the human race is at stake. The final battle sequence is by far the best of the bunch. From every angle, it’s just so much better than what’s been put out in years past. If you watch it, you’ll definitely agree.

This is probably the longest movie review that I’ve written thus far but if any movie warrants this, it’s definitely this one. Transformers 3 is not to be missed. With or without the 3D (which we did), you’ll definitely be entertained. Over half of the movie is the climactic final battle that ends this great franchise’ tenure and it’s absolutely amazing. This is a movie that I definitely recommend and I can’t wait for it to come out on DVD. Believe me, YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.