Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review Thread

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Was wondering whether or not I should bother with posting my review so I don't further my rep as a Michael Bay lover that I somehow got, but to hell with the haters. I'm gonna share my thoughts on one hell of a blockbuster. And for the record, I may have given the ROTF a positive review after my first viewing, I have watched it a couple times since, and came to realize there were very few redeemable qualities. Anyways, on to the review.

Easily the best of the franchise. Now, you're thinking, that's not saying a whole hell of a lot, and to a degree, I would agree with that. But what needs to said is that this one is different than the first two.

The action is there. The Michael Bay trademarks are there(plenty of slo mo, plenty of panoramic shots of the actors etc) but what sets this one apart is the story. There actually is a decent one. The story isn't a complete mess like the 2nd one. It's actually rather interesting and for the most part makes sense. I'm not an uber nerd and have no idea whether or not this was true to any mythology of certain Transformers, but I personally don't care about that stuff. As long as the story is interesting and this one was, relatively speaking of course.

And then there is the overall tone of the movie. A lot darker than the first two. You see the Decepticons finally do some truly bad ass stuff. You see a different side to Optimus. Shockwave was bad ass as well. The tone is what sets this one apart from the other ones IMO.

I'm not a 3D fan. I actually don't like it and don't see how it adds anythign to the movie. For this movie though, I will say that the viewing experience was a lot more enjoyable. To me, the 3D looked awesome. The attention to detail in this was downright amazing. If you don't like the story or tone of this movie, just enjoy the visuals and appreciate the effort that must go into a movie of this size. Great stuff. The folding building scene you see in the trailer is a bit much, but damn, it was fun to look at. Keep an eye for an awesome highway chase scene.

The negatives: Some of the annoying characters are back. I still don't see the need for john Turturro's character. Found him stupid and unneceassary again. Like the first two, there's plenty of bad one liners, but some genuinely funny lines as well mixed in. A couple from Shia's mother that had the theatre busting a gut. The movie is a little long, 2.5 hours, and drags in the beginning, but the final war scene is probably an hour long, so it goes by pretty fast.

Oh, and the new Megan Fox character....SMOKIN!!! Couldn't act if her life depended on it, but who cares. The shot right after the title graphic is one of the best camera shots in the history of film.

Overall, a fantastic summer movie. A lot of fun, but with some substance as well. I do however stress "some".

Best of the franchise IMO...I still think that ultimately these movies can be made better, but they're still a lot of fun.......It's not for everybody, but if you're into this kind of stuff, you will have a good time.......

Great dark tone, AMAZING visuals and cool 3D...........7/10

[VANFLAMESFAN]

And if you're just gonna come on here and rip me for liking this movie, try to come up with something original and funny.

Saying "VFF likes a Michael Bay movie.....weird" is neither.

[CaptainCrunch]

So how many explosions were there?

When you see an explosion in 3d do you instinctively open your mouth because you think that the shock wave and over pressure is going to explode your head.

Did the movie end with Megatron swearing revenge against the Transformers again.

I'm half tempted to wait for this movie to come out in Blue Ray because I've been let down so often in the past.

Does Optimus Prime finally jam the all spark up Megatrons butt?

[3 Justin 3]

I'll go see it this weekend in 2D. I am expecting horrible dialogue and terrible acting, but some cool action, so hopefully that delivers.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I'll go see it this weekend in 2D. I am expecting horrible dialogue and terrible acting, but some cool action, so hopefully that delivers.

The 3d is done pretty damn good in this one, would definitely recommend seeing that way. And this is from a guy thy has been very anti-3d in the past. It added to the fun and didn't seem like a gimmick to me.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I'll go see it this weekend in 2D.

Haters gonna hate.

[RedMileDJ]

I'm glad to see a positive review from someone that can enjoy a popcorn flick. It's Transformers people...not the Green Mile.

I have one question: how did they write Megan Fox's character out of the movie?

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by Red-Mile-DJ

I'm glad to see a positive review from someone that can enjoy a popcorn flick. It's Transformers people...not the Green Mile.

I have one question: how did they write Megan Fox's character out of the movie?

Not gonna give any details, but it's believable and they don't make a big deal out of it. I did find that in a movie about alien robots, the most unrealistic part of the movie was Shia scoring another amazing hottie.

[banffavenue]

I must admit I do enjoy these films, Optimus Prime FTW! I will be frustrated if it ends with another Megatron semi-defeat though, is his roommate back in this one?

[Hockeyguy15]

I'll see it for sure...I have to wait a couple weeks though, since I promised I would

[Yasa]

I thanked you for the review because I have been very vocal about my hatred of the Transformers franchise but after seeing an actual trailer for DotM a while ago, I said that this actually looked good. That and I decided that watching stuff blow up for a couple hours is fun. I will see this, and turn off my brain. I'll have to watch something like The Departed or Forest Gump when I need to have my award winning taste buds satisfied.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by fotze

Green Mile is the standard for the opposite of a popcorn flick? That movie had stupid lightbulb explosion overkill that dwarfs any Transformer movie.

Shawshank would be a better example.

[trackercowe]

Well the critic reviews just crashed back to Earth (down to 35%).

Probably better than Rise of the Fallen... but obviously that's not saying much.

This series should be much better now that Michael Bay will no longer be directing.

[CaptainCrunch]

When reviews hit 35% it becomes a definate must see when it comes out on Shaw on Demand.

To me, Transformers is just not worth a $40.00 movie night.

[ernie]

So does it save 3D? I really hope not.

On the flip side of the positive review Roger Ebert has this to say:

""Transformers: Dark of the Moon" is a visually ugly film with an incoherent plot, wooden characters and inane dialog. It provided me with one of the more unpleasant experiences I've had at the movies.

The series exists to show gigantic and hideous robots hammering one another. So it does. The last hour involves a battle for the universe which for some reason is held at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive in Chicago. This battle is protracted mercilessly beyond all reason, at an ear-shattering sound level, with incomprehensible Autobots and Decepticons sliced up into spurts of action with no sense of the space they occupy......

.....Nothing, however, would have repaired the film's lack of narrative coherence. I have a quaint notion that one of the purposes of editing is to make it clear why one shot follows another, or why several shots occur in the order that they do. "Transformers 3" has long stretches involving careless and illogical assemblies of inelegant shots. One special effect happens, and the another special effect happens, and we are expected to be grateful that we have seen two special effects."


That said I'll likely go see it if only because there is nothing else in the theater this week we haven't seen.

[CaptainCrunch]

Sounds like Michael Bay's masterpiece.

[Yamer]

I don't hate Michael Bay or his style, it's just as a kid who grew up loving Transformers this franchise is extremely underwhelming.

After the first one left a bad taste in my mouth, I never even saw the second one...and have no plans to see this one.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Wow, some pretty scathing words from Ebert. And reading some of the other negtive reviews, I'm almost convinced that some of these critics walked in with their critique already written. It's almost as if they changed a few words from their review of the 2nd Transformers movie. I have a feeling that there was nothing Bay could have done to change certain people's minds because he made a way different movie and doesn't seem like he is getting the credit for it.

Now, don't take this last paragraph as me saying this is an amazing picture. It's not a work of art. It's got plenty of flaws and some bad dialogue. But it's a popcorn flick. These types of films have a time and place and they definitely have an audience. When the credits rolled, the theatre erupted in applause last night. Does that mean the movie is good?? of course not, but it does mean that a couple hundred people had a hell of a time. Movies don't always have to be a work of art.

If you go into this movie with an open mind, forget about bad RotF was, forget about Michael Bay's reputation, you miight have a different view. This installment is so much different than the mess of RotF. It really is.

[trackercowe]

While I somewhat agree with you that some critics go in with personal bias' and vendetta's towards Bay and the Transformers series in general, you can't forget that the first entry in the series actually had pretty decent reviews (57%), and Ebert gave it a positive review (3 stars). So it's not like the critics hate the series no matter what.

Once again I am sure it's a step up from the terrible Revenge of the Fallen, I'd also consider that maybe you saw the movie in a positive light, because you went to a free screening, and had little knowledge about what the movie was about before going in. I saw The Next Three Days at a screening and thought it was pretty good, watched it again at home, and ended up hating it. You're always going to grade stuff you pay to see harder than free stuff. That and I bet the majority of the audience was really into the movie, so that didn't help. I wouldn't doubt that when you see the movie a second time you won't be as pleased.

[troutman]

My Review:

Crash, Boom, Bang, Tits, Crash, Explosion