Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

[Pyro Tramp]

After Revenge of the Fallen being literally one of the worst films i've had the displeasure of viewing, this one was something of a curiousity, with Bay seemingly acknowledging his errors. And it's fair to see he's gone a way to make a far superior film to that sequel but still suffering his ego.

The film basically spends the run time setting up the final act, it's not a ground breaking script and has the typically ham fisted dialogue and inconsistencies, which generally serve to allow for Bayhem. That said, the plot does what it needs. It's a lot less convoluted than before but the twist got me and it plods along at a pace to just about maintain interest over the (overlong) runtime. A few more liberties could have been taken with the editing and present a much tighter film instead of aiming for a Blockbuster 'epic'- is it me or do they all seem to have a need to be 150mins these days?

There's a few new characters, both human and metal and a few have been dropped. All surprisingly worked except trying to making emotional death scenes for characters we don't really know. The new piece of ass in the film isn't fantastic at acting but she wears the tight white dress and looks good in slow motion, so she's fine. Shia seems to be hated by a load of people but i've liked him since Even Stevens and he does fine here. A lot has been toned down, the humour's still shaky but it got the laughs when needed and wasn't cringe inducing like when his parents got stoned *groan*. Ken Jeong has a great cameo and, for my money, was far funnier than in Hangover 2. Alan Tudyk also had a great cameo that needed more screen time, hell, i'd be happy with a spin-off of just him and Turturro. Malko has an odd cameo and McDormand is mostly exposition but it certainly brings up the quality with higher calibre actors (mostly Coen regulars). I liked the little human plot they had with Dempsey as well and generally the human angle was pretty engaging and not just something getting in the way of Bayhem.

Ah. Bayhem. Let's be honest, the film is just an excuse for it. He delivers his biggest film, with sweeping shots of a devastated Chicago landscape. He does seem to be getting a bit away with himself, merging in a post apocalypse resistance angle but when it comes to the end it's all about huge robots fighting. And they are huge. The editing has been calmed down and the action is a lot easier to follow and enjoyable. There's not a massive set piece per se and it's not quite the jaw dropping spectacle any more but if one thing Bay can do, it's Baysplosions and he's on form here and the restraint pays off. Shockwave with the tentacles was fun but the problem still remains identifying any robots other than Optimus and Bumblebee and there's a host of new ones thrown in with little introduction.

Overall, it's not a perfect film but it's about what you can expect from Bay and then maybe a little more. I'm glad he's recognised some downfalls of the last film and he's certainly improved on it. If Revenge made you lose faith in the franchise, this redeems it. Plus there's a cool meta-joke about Nimoy who marvellously voices one of the characters.

3_5+

Oh and saw it in 3D, not my choice as it was 3 times the price of a normal ticket but it actually wasn't dark and distracting like most flicks i've seen in the format.

[gandalf26]

Terrible! I want my money back. I don't even know where to begin. Such a total mess of a film.

1/10

[LuDiNaToR]

id go with a 1.5.

[Darren Aronofsky]

A Big Improvement from Revenge of the Fallen ..

Great Action Movie i liked.. :D

7-10

[Pyro Tramp]

Is this all jumping on the "it's hip to knock Bay bangwagon"?

It had trite dialogue, plot holes, questionable cohesion but was still delivered what you expect it to. And I give Bay props for learning from his mistakes while staying true to his style of bombastic over the top Bayhem. It big, dumb, fun and I liked it without as much pretentiousness as it could have.

[Saully]

Terrible! I want my money back. I don't even know where to begin. Such a total mess of a film.

1/10


id go with a 1.5.

I haven't seen it yet, but i am pretty sure that it's not that bad.
Surely it's better than Revenge of the Fallen?

[gandalf26]

Is this all jumping on the "it's hip to knock Bay bangwagon"?

It had trite dialogue, plot holes, questionable cohesion but was still delivered what you expect it to. And I give Bay props for learning from his mistakes while staying true to his style of bombastic over the top Bayhem. It big, dumb, fun and I liked it without as much pretentiousness as it could have.

I loved Transformers 1. I must have seen it like 8 times.
But 2 and 3 are simply terrible. I honestly dont know if 2 is worse than 3 or vice versa.

[gandalf26]

I haven't seen it yet, but i am pretty sure that it's not that bad.
Surely it's better than Revenge of the Fallen?

Dunno dude, it was really really bad. So disappointed.

[Monkeypunch]

I haven't seen it, but the consensus is it's better than Revenge of the Fallen, which is saying it's better than sh*t, so isn't that faint praise? Anything is better than that cinematic pile of puke.

I won't see this because even if it is better than the second one, it still has all the things I hated about even the first one:

-Shia LaBoeuf and his unfunny parents
-Indecipherable robot designs. I mean come ON, we all KNOW what the Transformers look like and it's not the walking garbage sculptures in these movies...
-Michael Bay. Not a good director any way you slice it.

Plus, in 3d, you're forced to pay 15 dollars for all this. No.

[originalgw]

Well, I was excited by transformers 3. I like shia Leboef, I liked the music in the first 2, and the trailer was awsome. So, I went to see it, and then I went to see it again. In 2D. I counted 2, (there may have been more) useless scenes, only included to make people who paid for 3D think it was worth it.

The story line wasnt great, but it was WAY better than number 2. And it was darker. The humour was less cheesy than the previous films, but it was still pretty funny. I do agree that it was overlong, but it was a good fun film to watch. I have a history of liking films, good or bad, if they are entertaining. This was entertaining. 3.5/5

[Pyro Tramp]

I loved Transformers 1. I must have seen it like 8 times.
But 2 and 3 are simply terrible. I honestly dont know if 2 is worse than 3 or vice versa.


2 was terrible but I thought Bay definitely made an attempt to avoid most the reasons that made it stink

[moviegoddess]

everyone says 2 was bad...2 wasnt bad..it was just the language, and the pervy little 13 year old jokes.... and i wish i saw it first, my kids love transformers, and they pick out their fav...well o. prime is a fav and if i had known, that would have happened...i would not have shown the kids until much later.

other than that...loved it...i loved it because it gave us so many g-4 references, and devastader...[i can never spell his name] did yall see that *****...

i cant let my kids see the new one either!! bumble bee is a fav....and iron hide....oh, no..no..my kids would be so sad...

i have loved transformers since g-1, beast wars..so-so..armada sucks, i dont even want to talk about the "new" travisty that cartoon network has trotted out like a show pony... and michael bay is the only one to stick with orginial names, and all we wanted was..please, please--make the noise..it was love at first sound..

i think i saw the first one about..from july 3rd to the second movie...average twice a week...second one was less, but its a middle child, and i am waiting to go see dark of the moon in 3-d in about 2 weeks..

but im such a geek, and a fan boy [even though im a girl] so anything that comes close to g-1 through g-4...and will take a little bit from all things transformers and make it sound great, and look amazing...i cant really be upset at anything important in the movies..i thought the music could have been better like the first one..

[Powdered Water]

Solid rating Pyro and I completely agree with your assessment. The folks that keep saying that this is a terrible movie. Explain? What did you expect exactly? This movie has spectacular effects and a moderately enjoyable story to bridge us to all the effects. What more do you want from an over-the-top Sci-Fi - action film?

I'd say 3.5 is right on the money.

[Pyro Tramp]

Everyone says 2 was bad.... including the people who made it.

[Powdered Water]

It's funny, I'm one of those too and yet when I watched early last week before going to see the new one. I thought it was OK. Not terrible though, just too busy is all.

[Pyro Tramp]

I picked up the transforming bumblebee case version, as i'm a sucker for a special edition. I remembered good parts so thought i'd give it a seocnd watch and yeah, it stunk. Still awful, misfires on almost every beat.

[MoviezAdda]

In such movie end-of-the-world movies, the score plays a very important part as the sore has to be spot-on to engage the audience in every sequence of the movie, be it a very tense moment or a very emotional, and the composer really does an excellent job with the sore for this movie.
hope u would agree with this..

[LuDiNaToR]

people say they hate the second because there is to much going on, this is worse for that.

[ballstouweboll24]

Is it not too much to ask Bay to take a portion of the £56 billion dollars he spends blowing stuff up and instead put it into his Transformers scripts so we have some decent dialogue and three dimensional characters to go with his "jaw dropping" effects, maybe a cohesive storyline aswell

[Monkeypunch]

people say they hate the second because there is to much going on, this is worse for that.

No, people hate the second because it was full of racist, juvenile, and just plain unfunny jokes, plus it was hard to tell what was going on, and even harder to care, since nothing in the film had consequences.

[Yoda]

And, of course, the biggest reason people hated the second can be summed up in just two words:

Robot. Heaven.
At least Steve Jablonsky's score was great.

[billygoforth]

Went and saw it with the fam and really liked it. Yes, 2 sucked and sucked bad. I thought this was engaging and kept my attention the whole show. I did look at my clock a couple times but was not bothered by the length. I didn't see it in 3d, but have heard it was worth the extra few bucks.

[filmgirlinterrupted]

I thought "Transformers 3" was just plain terrible. I'm all for big, dumb, summer entertainment - but this was just too absurd. It got to the point where I was leaning forward in my seat, tapping my foot, just praying for the credits to roll.

:down: :down:

[LuDiNaToR]

I thought "Transformers 3" was just plain terrible. I'm all for big, dumb, summer entertainment - but this was just too absurd. It got to the point where I was leaning forward in my seat, tapping my foot, just praying for the credits to roll.

:down: :down:

yeah i felt the same, i got so restless and bored. i seen it in 3D and to be honest it looked a bad picture, very dull.

[filmgirlinterrupted]

yeah i felt the same, i got so restless and bored. i seen it in 3D and to be honest it looked a bad picture, very dull.

It's funny, because when I found out that James Cameron would be "loaning" Michael Bay his 3D technology, I thought the movie would be slightly improved.

I was dead wrong.

In all honesty, the 3D added nothing. The action sequences were still choppy, there's metal flying everywhere, it was tough to distinguish certain bots from others...

...god, I can't even come up with a cohesive way to express my disdain - that's how irritating this movie was!!

[LuDiNaToR]

i am gonna watch this movie again maybe on dvd when its released, maybe i'll change my mind watching it from home but i dought it very much.

[MovieMan8877445]

Are you guys serious? While the movie wasn't that great, the 3D was probably the best I've seen since Avatar.

[LuDiNaToR]

hahaha it was like every other 3d movie thats come out since avatar, which is nearly every film :)

[MovieMan8877445]

hahaha it was like every other 3d movie thats come out since avatar, which is nearly every film :)

How was it like every 3D movie that came out since Avatar? It wasn't some crappy post-conversion 3D like Clash of the Titans or some gimmicky pop-out effects 3D like most kids movies in 3D. It added depth to the look of the film, because it was actually filmed with 3D cameras.

[filmgirlinterrupted]

How was it like every 3D movie that came out since Avatar? It wasn't some crappy post-conversion 3D like Clash of the Titans or some gimmicky pop-out effects 3D like most kids movies in 3D. It added depth to the look of the film, because it was actually filmed with 3D cameras.

It was certainly a step above the 3D used in "Clash of the Titans," "The Green Hornet," etc. But still, I just feel that it would have been the same exact movie if I had opted for 2D.

[MovieMan8877445]

It was certainly a step above the 3D used in "Clash of the Titans," "The Green Hornet," etc. But still, I just feel that it would have been the same exact movie if I had opted for 2D.

I'm not saying that it made the quality of the movie any better, but it certainly has the best use of 3D that I've seen since Avatar. The 3D certainly isn't like every 3D movie that's came out since Avatar.

[LuDiNaToR]

well for me it made the film look really dull, nothing special at all.

[Deadite]

I'm pretty sure a movie can be fun without being bad.

[filmgirlinterrupted]

I'm pretty sure a movie can be fun without being bad.

I agree with you

...But I wasn't having fun when I was watching "Transformers 3." I know I was supposed to, but I just couldn't get into it. *womp womp*

[louieyak]

Not very good, but MUCH better than 2.

[Pyro Tramp]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2011/06/transformers_3_dark_of_the_moo.html

[under0ath777]

I hope Michael Bay stops making movies like this LOL

[Ash_Lee]

I might as well spoiler this, it's less a review and more of a tired, grumpy rant:

The 3D was awesome, best since Avatar (possibly better?), and there were some absolutely beautiful shots in this film. For instance the robots rising out of the ground on the moon (it's not a spoiler, it's in the trailer) and the camera floating through it... one of the most beautiful 3D shots I've seen.

It's just a shame I hated the film. I don't think I've ever seen such an incoherent mess, I was just about able to keep up (I admit my mind was wandering with boredom).

What really irritated me was that there were some good moments in it. John Malkovich's initial cameo, the Autobot spaceship escaping Cybertron was the best space battle scene since the opening of Revenge of the Sith (actually it's possibly the first space battle scene since Revenge of the Sith...), the Kraken transformer who tore down that skyscrape but more than anything else I was really impressed with the moon landing conspiracy at the start. No disrespect to Michael Bay, but that was a really inventive way of involving giant fighting robots with an incredibly important historic event, and I'm still so disappointed that it was over so quickly. It was the most interesting part of the whole franchise so far for me.

Why oh why does Bay insist on making these two and a half hour long epics? Cut the damn thing down to 90 minutes and it would be more exciting. By the time the film finally ended I was worn out from watching explosion after explosion and not knowing who any of the transformers were or what they were doing.

And why have they sidelined Megatron once again in the villain stakes? Use him! There are millions of children and adults who know who he is, and what his relationship is to Optimus, and for him to simply flit in and out while Leonard Nimoy sleepwalks through his lines was unforgivable. This was the third part in a trilogy, there should have been an epic battle between them, one on one, trading blows and trading insults until finally one stands and one falls! Why so many big budget films refuse to follow the Return of the Jedi formula for a final act I don't know, it would have worked so well here.

Instead we get a short scene where a young model tells Megatron he's a bitch, causing him to jealously beat up the only Transformer who actually brought the Autobots to their knees in these films, and as a reward he gets executed in cold blood by a frighteningly unheroic Optimus. Honestly, the character's turned into a right dick in this film.

I've got the first one on DVD from Lovefilm so I'll be watching that later, just to remind myself of what it is I saw in the first movie that convinced to keep coming back for more.

[Saully]

Just came back home from the cinema.

I think it was okay. Better than Revenge of the Fallen. Am i the only one who thinks that the fight in Chicago was dragged on too long? The movie did have some laughs in it, which was good.

I'll give it...

7/10
3.5

[SPCThompson]

hey im kinda new at this. is this website just a review website or can u watch movies on it??


sumone plz answer me and help me out..

[rlw1984]

All right, let me start off by saying that I do not in anyway like Transformers. As a kid, I never watched the series and don't know jack crap about it now. However, when I went to see this film I did it only because my fiance' asked me too. Okay, now that I have explained WHY I saw this and I can go on to what I thought of it. The film was actually very good, it had a good storyline, impressive special effects and the music was awesome. I haven't seen the other films so I can't really judge very well on this movie. Well, actually I take that bad I saw probably 45 minutes of the first film but then stopped watching it because it just didn't interest me. But what I saw was actually very good and I liked it. So I give it a 5 out of 5 stars.

[HitchFan97]

Well, considering Revenge of the Fallen was arguably the worst movie I've ever seen, I didn't bother to see this one. I refuse to throw more money down the Bay Toilet.

[Film Trash Review]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F48gJt-TRGg

EXPLOSIONS!!!

[moviegoddess]

And, of course, the biggest reason people hated the second can be summed up in just two words:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen]Robot. Heaven.
At least Steve Jablonsky's score was great.


whats wrong with "robot heaven"??? why couldnt the transformers have a higher power or belief...

does anyone remember what happened to starscream when he died, all 3 times...he was a ghost inside of unicrom...

so why not a robot heaven or hell even. they have feelings and independant thoughts, they think on their own and dont have "masters" who give them orders, they have generals and sergents...

just my thoughts...

[Pyro Tramp]

But why have Shia Le-fricking-Beouf go there?

[moviegoddess]

well who else would go?? who else did bumbebee decide to make aliances with.

this is one of the things that happened in the movie this certain way, because optiums does die, and them we get hotrod...no one lliked him, if you thought O had his soap box, the hotrod, has one twice as big.

we all hated him. so somebody ha to be trusted enough to bring him back, and it did change the movie, 2 was supposed to be g-2/g-3, but hotrod changed things, and by this time megatron is dead, and starscream is in charge...

so, if that were the case, the movie would have been different, and 3 still wouldnt be the end...and a new movie would be coming out, and we would be getting angry and annoyed...

so yes, in 2 it had to be sam who saved prime. whats wrong with sam, i spent a lot of time with sam and bumblebee over the past years, and hes funny in that dorky way, which is me all the way...

but you really did not want the other guy in charge, and somebody better had saved prime..

and am i the only one who is like tyresse??!!!! and that douch who married fergie??!

really i hate them and every movie i cant believe that both of them have lived!!!!! damn...why wont they die.."bring the rain"..we cant even joke about that in this house hold...

[Yoda]

whats wrong with "robot heaven"??? why couldnt the transformers have a higher power or belief...
Two problems with it:

1) Why posit a separate God? Do you think there's a Dog God, or a Fish God?

2) A human went to robot heaven. Re: your explanation for this. I don't see why just spending a lot of time with a robot would cause this to happen.

3) With few exceptions, having your characters enter the afterlife in a film that isn't explicitly about spiritual themes is kind of like cheating. So, even if not a plot hole, it's just crappy storytelling.

[wintertriangles]

1) Why posit a separate God? Do you think there's a Dog God, or a Fish God?It's just as plausible as what humans think is correct

[Yoda]

Except for the fact that we've yet to find ancient sea scrolls with paw prints on them.

There's all sorts of logistical problems with that kind of pantheism, anyway, but I don't want to turn this into a theological discussion. Well, okay, I do, but I doubt anyone else does.

[moviegoddess]

they had their own planet, and were old as time its self....they can have what ever worship they see fit...and their robots, they dont die, just kind of sleep...

starscream was a ghost living inside unicroms head, until he was so annoying unicrom sent starscream back to earth and brought him back to life...

these movies are for all of us who watched g1-g4 and loved it and missed it. it dosent have to make sense...its a cartoon that orginated in japan, and it was stupid they didnt like it, so america said let us have it...

and in 1984...transformers was the best thing since sliced bread...

besides i like sam and company alot better than spike and his duffy single dad who was always kidnapped, and needed to be rescued. spike was not cute, not funny and i didnt care if bumblebee ever saved him.


i will admit it was stupid, and rushed, but i explained it. hot roddmuis is a douch bag...and has a soap box big as the empire state building. we HATE him. so, he was written out. prime was supposed to die, he was saved.

[MadMikeyD]

these movies are for all of us who watched g1-g4 and loved it and missed it. it dosent have to make sense...

I disagree with both of these points.

As someone who loves the original Transformers cartoon, these movies are absolutely not for me. Let's take a beloved franchise that works for all-ages and throw in excessive violence and unneccessary sex, then market it to kids. OK, that applies to a lot of franchises these days, but it offended me most with Transformers.

Also, if I'm spending money to be entertained by something that is supposed to tell a story, I prefer the story makes sense. Does it need to be realistic? No. Thought provoking? Not neccessarily? Have some type of cohesive plot and narrative, at least within itself? Yes.

[klacc]

While it wasn't as good as the first Transformers movie, I think it was a lot better than the second one. There is definite room to improve though. I think they should focus on the autobots more than the humans.

[cunkrink]

Transformers was awesome, from transformers 1st, 2nd, 3rd, i really love this movie

[Arequipa]

This one was a total six-pack!
Verdict: If you saw the first two movies, I say pre-game and watch this one. If you’re into what Michael Bay does, blow **** up, then this movie is right up your alley. If you don’t care about a plot, but like to be teased by a smoking hot body such as Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s, go see it.

[TylerDurden99]

I'm actually one of the few who likes Michael Bay and most of his films, but I don't know how anyone could find this "enjoyable". The first hour is incredibly slow, boring and no Bay explosions to keep me mildly interested. The last part with all the explosions doesn't make up for it. And this movie has John Tutturo, John Malkovich and Francis McDormand! C'mon.

I refuse to even rank this in Bay's filmography, because, even for his public reputation, this is poor.

[TheUsualSuspect]

While it was an improvement over the horrid sequel known as Revenge of the Fallen, I can't help but feel that this entry also drops the ball, somewhat. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was bored with the action at the end. What the Transformers series lacks in story/depth, it made up for (a bit) with the special effects and action. This entry was overload on both, very abrasive and I looked at my watch more than once, which is rare for me.

[TylerDurden99]

I must be one of the only people who thinks Revenge Of The Fallen is (barely) enjoyable.

[gandalf26]

I must be one of the only people who thinks Revenge Of The Fallen is (barely) enjoyable.

Yup you are in the 0.01%.

Btw I am a strong advocate that Tranformers 3 was WORSE that 2.

[Ruthless Critic]

The first 30 minutes of this movie were excellent and I waited something special. But no. The Megan Fox replacement did not have any meaningful part in this movie and the new Autobot characters were - how would I put it... - cliches. The needles slaughtering in the end scene left a really bad taste.

More complaining here. (http://ruthlessmovieblog.blogspot.fi/2012/10/transformers-dark-of-moon-2011.html)

If you feel that there is morally something wrong in the new Transformers you can take some action here. (http://ruthlessmovieblog.blogspot.fi/2012/10/take-action-stop-fouling-optimus-prime.html)

[Deadite]

Oh noes, it wasn't Citizen Kane.

[Powdered Water]

That's right. Because it was entertaining. And as everyone knows. Citizen Kane, is not. ;)

[Deadite]

Citizen Kane is entertaining. Overrated but entertaining. Not as entertaining as Transformers, of course.