Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel,Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro
Voice actors: Peter Cullen, Hugo Weaving, and Leonard Nimoy
157 min
Rated PG13
You might think that crazy-awesome special effects, a pulsing soundtrack and GIANT FIGHTING ROBOTS would be enough to guarantee an summer blockbuster. And you’d be correct – in terms of box office sales. In fact, Transformers 3 is currently the 47th highest grossing movie of all time.
But if you think the same formula would guarantee a movie worth 2-1/2 hours of your time…not necessarily.
The latest installment in the movie series based on Hasbro’s toy line of yore, Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, has all the elements of a sure-fire Hollywood hit. Tested director of notable action movies like Armageddon & Pearl Harbor, Michael Bay? Check. Fan-boy favorite producer, Steven Spielberg? Check. Score by Steve Jablonsky, composer of the two previous Transformers film scores? Check. Voluptuous love interest? Check. Mighty morphin’ robots in disguise? Check.
Strong storyline told in logical progression…not so much.
Don’t get me wrong – I know that any Transformers movie is not exactly meant to have an Oscar-worthy script. I’m not expecting rich character development, or to be able to relate to the story on a deeply personal level. I know it’s a summer blockbuster that’s meant to be eye candy. And on that criteria, the movie did deliver. The transformation from vehicle to robot was as flawless as in the previous movies, with all the whirling cogs & gizmos, and usually while in motion. Visually stunning.
But the story seemed all over the place. It was like they just thought up a bunch of scenes, filmed them, and just threw them together. It felt very abrupt and disjointed, and was generally distracting, even with the impressive special effects.
Also distracting was the newly-introducted love interest – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley took over for Megan Fox in this installment. Her role was completely gratuitous to the story, though perhaps that’s to be expected, too, especially after the first two movies. Giant robots and a pretty girl, and fanboys are typically content. (oh I’m sorry, did my bitter resentment show?)
That said, a delightful surprise (for me) was the voice acting by Leonard Nimoy (need I say he played Spock in “Star Trek“?), and the “sidekick” part by Alan Tudyk (“Wash” from “Firefly“) as a rather flamboyant German assistant. So there was a little something for the geek girls – at least THIS geek girl. ;)
Overall, I’d say Transformers 3 is a renter, if anything.
LINKS OF INTEREST:
X-Men: First Class (2011)
My only disappointment was relatively minor, and not any real issue – my whole family agreed that the way they depicted Beast was just off. When Hank McCoy finally mutated into the blue hairy Beast, he was almost more of a blue werewolf version of a 98-pound weakling, rather than this huge hulking…well, Beast. He needed to be taller and broader, which could have been easily achieved. We couldn’t figure out why they decided to go with a leaner Beast. But, eh, no real biggie. Not a major distraction from the overall entertainment. The cameo by Hugh Jackman with a fabulous Wolverine moment more than made up for it.