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Review: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

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  • Review: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

    I went to see this movie last night, opening night, in 3D, on an IMAX screen, with 12,000 watts of audio power!

    The ticket price was equally astonishing...$18.50 + $1.25 Fandango fee

    On to the review.

    The intro was great. It was something different. We jumped right into the backdrop of the events leading up to this movie. There was a tidbit about the Transformers war on Cybertron. A ship took off with potential "war winning weapon" onboard, but was intercepted and crashed on our moon. Both the Soviet Union and the United States detected this alien ship on the moon. President Kennedy ordered a manned mission to the moon to investigate. Soviet Union sent numerous robotic landers to the moon for the same purpose. There were historical and computer generated images to document this process.

    This was great for a history buff like me. I've always loved historical fiction. This intro drew me right into the movie. Unfortunately, the best part of the movie was over.

    Next we see Sam's girlfriend's butt in skimpy panties. I wish there were more scenes like this, but this was it.

    Sam graduated from college but was unable to find a job. He has this super hot chick as a girlfriend and she's supporting him. Gee...I wish I had someone like that. He's cut off from the Autobots as they were working for the US government to take out "rogue" elements who pose a threat to world stability. Decepticons were laying low.

    I don't want to get into the details and spoil the movie for everyone. Needless to say, this movie had a generic plot, with some twists in the middle that were not too hard to figure out or anticipate. The Decepticons tricked Autobots into helping them ushering the end of the world and enslavement of the entire human race. Sam had to convince the government to let him help because he alone figured out the connections between the evil characters and the evil plot. Government didn't believe him. He acted outside the government's permissions with the help of his friends. Finally he proved his worthiness and the government let him help. The final titanic struggle was in Chicago, home of the Obama and Oprah. Hmmm...Chicago would be the place where the end of the world arrives, who woulda thunk it? With Sam's help, Optimus Prime and the Autobots prevail, saved the world, again, and the movie ends abruptly. I was hoping for an epilogue. A little something to ease the audience back into a slower pace of ordinary life after the roller coaster ride in the last 45 minutes of the movie.

    There were quite a few characters. Many of them returning from the previous 2 movies including the special ops guys and the FBI agent hunting Sam in the first movie.

    Sam's character felt like a frustrated and spoiled brat rather than a more mature hero type character. He's frustrated that his girlfriend was supporting him. He was frustrated that Bumblebee was away on mission all the time. He was frustrated that he couldn'f find a decent job after graduating from an Ivy League school. He was frustrated that he couldn't tell people how he saved the world....twice. It got old about 1/3 of the way into the movie. He's not the type of character that a viewer would like to identify with, at least not for me, other than the hot girlfrield of course.

    Carly, Sam's hot girlfriend, serves as the traditional female lead in a young adult male sci-fi action movie...eye candy. She didn't have anything important to do. She looked good, wore tight jeans and short dresses, running around in high heels, but other than those, she was not an important character. I have to say that I liked her way more than Megan Fox though. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Carly) was hot in a classy way. Megan Fox was hot in a slutty way. I thought Megan Fox is the hottest trailer trash in the world. I'm not into trailer trash hotness though. I like the classy hotness.

    Remember how I said Sucker Punch was a visually stunning movie? This is also a visually stunning movie, but in a different way. Sucker Punch had vivid colors and sharp contrasts in the background. The visuals were very artistic and almost organic, but all in the background. Of course one would look at the characters as they were central to the story of Sucker Punch, but one couldn't possibly not be drawn to the background. The background was like an additional character telling the story.

    Transformers was all mechanical, technological, metallic, full of angles and sharp edges. The visuals were all in the foreground. Your attention was immediately drawn to the details and the thousands of moving parts on a Transformer. The amount of work that went into rendering each Transformer character must have been staggering.

    Everything is in 3D now, even Jackass (WTF?). Some 3D movies were retrofitted after being shot in 2D, like Priest. Some 3D movies deliberately try to show off the 3D effects, like Resident Evil 4. Some 3D movies use 3D as part of the movie, not the driving force, like Avatar. I am glad to say that Transformers in 3D was more like Avatar rather than Priest or Resident Evil 4. It showed off 3D effects when needed. It faded into the background when there was no need. The 3D technology used in this movie was not straining on my eyes. I wear glasses. I have to put the 3D glasses over my regular glasses. Most were not pleasant. This was not bad at all.

    It's hard for me to rate this movie. I am a Transformers purist. I loved the original cartoon and the toys. It was cool to see robots retain the shape and parts of their alter ego somewhat, as in the cartoon. The redesign of these beloved characters was a downer for me. Then again the detailed rendering of every single millimeter of every single Transformer in the movie was simply amazing.

    The beginning of this movie was strong. It tied the history of the moonlanding to the Transformers. The story did drag a little and did venture off into introducing too many characters. The general feel of the movie was classic Michael Bay with a lot of slow motion and sunset and rotating camera shot and car chases. Those might be good, or could be bad. I'm not too fond of his technique.

    I feel like I need to give 2 scores for this movie. I would rate it a 9 based on the visuals and the well done 3D effects. I would have to give it a 5 based on the annoying character (Sam) and the introduction of too many characters and not enough time for them all. It would have been lower if not for the well-done intro. It certainly was entertaining in the way of a summer popcorn shoot 'em up, blow 'em up, giant robot movie. I suppose this would be a 7* out of 10, with an asterisk (*).
    "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

  • #2
    please keep the topic restricted to legal ways of watching the movie.

    Comment


    • #3
      Got it...
      Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

      Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by bigross86 View Post
        Got it...
        ditto

        Comment


        • #5
          "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

          Comment


          • #6
            M and tankie were discussing downloads
            Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

            Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks for the thread, I wasn't aware of the release, I thought its going to hit cinemas in July.

              Oh BTW Sorry i haven't read your review, because i am going to watch this movie on Saturday with my son .

              We both are Transformers fan, big fan.

              Tickets booked right away.

              Thanks again.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by ambidex View Post
                Thanks for the thread, I wasn't aware of the release, I thought its going to hit cinemas in July.

                Oh BTW Sorry i haven't read your review, because i am going to watch this movie on Saturday with my son .

                We both are Transformers fan, big fan.

                Tickets booked right away.

                Thanks again.
                I think the review is safe for you. I didn't include any spoilers. It's mostly about my views on the technical aspect of the movie and the characters.

                Or you can read it after you watch the movie to see if you agree with me.
                "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I caught this yesterday. The visual and sound effects were awesome. All transformers sequels centre around "courage" of mankind. Sadly, my ticket seats placed me in the middle of a group of college teens who gossiped loudly throughout the movie about irrelevant things.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I had a chance to watch it in 3D IMAX just like you, gunnut, and I can say what you said in about 20 words....

                    First 20 minutes were very good.

                    Last 30 minutes were awesome.

                    Enjoy your popcorn and have a nice conversation with the guy next to you for the rest of the movie. :)

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Another DVD for my library for sure.
                      It was my first 3d imax movie. 3D glasses were too small, no more 3ds next time.
                      I missed F22 this time.
                      Most of the technology shown was alien, it could have been better with giving more footage to drones etc.
                      I liked tomahawk missiles playing some role.
                      Part I =10/10, Part II =9.5/10, Part III =8/10

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Plot holes were just way too big that I can drive the planet Cybertron through.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by bigross86 View Post
                          M and tankie were discussing downloads
                          When did the head of the British Secret Service from all of the Bond movies start posting here?

                          As for the movie, couldn't be bothered with all of that fake sci fi crap. I am looking forward to the best movie of the summer...the good old fashioned western "Cowboys And Aliens"!
                          “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                          Mark Twain

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
                            When did the head of the British Secret Service from all of the Bond movies start posting here?
                            I knew it!

                            All the illegal download acivities around the world can be attributed to the Limeys and the Jooooooos!!!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              My main beef with the Tranformers movies is that it makes the US military look relatively impotent;
                              Spoiler!
                              "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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