Transformers: Dark of The Moon Review

Prepare to have you mind blown... to smithereens! That's always the case when it comes to the action in a Michael Bay film but believe it or not, the storyline for Transformers: Dark of The Moon was pretty damn good as well and made this installment of the franchise the best one yet.

I guess after Revenge of The Fallen, you can only go up from there... or can you? Many were wondering whether or not Dark of The Moon would be a step up from the previous film which was bashed by critics and fans alike but I'm here to assure you that Bay did everything in his power to redeem himself. Redemption achieved! For starters the caliber of actors that came on board for this, the last film for both Michael Bay and series star Shia LaBeouf were excellent from top to bottom. John Malkovich, who is a top notch Hollywood actor came on board in a supporting role and showed his comedic skills while adding just a little extra to the film in the process. Frances McDormand and Patrick Dempsey joined the cast for this installment as well, the latter having a bigger role than I originally thought and showed me a different side to the actor which I haven't seen before. More additions to an already stellar (for an action film) cast that already included the likes of Josh Duhamel, John Turturro and Tyrese Gibson. But the most noticeable and surprisingly good acting performance in the entire film belonged to that of newcomer Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

In her first acting role, Huntington-Whiteley was a standout and proved that she has some acting chops to go along with her sexy appeal. As we all very well know, she took over for Megan Fox who was fired at the behest of Executive Producer Steven Spielberg. That pressure alone could have easily been used as an excuse to under-perform or for the Victoria Secret model to let her assets do the talking but instead she did a hell of a job with what dialogue she was given and made a name for herself in the process. Let me just say that yes Megan Fox was in the first two films and it would have been nice to see her reprise her role in Dark of The Moon as well but was she missed, not at all. Huntington-Whiteley made up for whatever it is that Fox brought to the table... and more! It's not a diss either because I liked Megan Fox in her designated role in the first two films but I just think Huntington-Whiteley brought just a little more to her character in this one. The word acting doesn't usually present itself when it comes to a Transformers movie but it goes to show you that Michael Bay wanted to make a complete film this time around. I have to give a nod to Shia LaBeouf as well who stepped his acting game up in some of the more intense and emotional scenes the film had to offer.

Now as for that storyline I was talking about. Dark of The Moon can be told as a tale of two movies. During the early stages of the film, Bay went for that storyline, setting us up for what was to come, an all out war that took up most of the film thereafter.

We start off with a prologue that gives us some history of how the war for Cybertron began and the real reason behind the U.S.-Soviet space race of the 1960s. Fast forward to present day where Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) tries to find a job post-college while the NEST Team work in tandem with the Autobots to take out the remaining Decepticons around the world. However, the Decepticons eventually get the upper hand and begin an all out invasion to conquer Earth, with Chicago playing as Ground Zero in this final war between good and evil! You get a sense that Bay learned from his "mistakes" with Revenge of The Fallen and instead of a nonexistent storyline full of action, he took time to wedge out a story that was simplistic and somewhat believable. The over all tone of the movie was a lot darker as well which you could probably tell from the various trailers that were shown. I'm sure that was done purposely not only to show the growth of LaBeouf's character but to show an overall growth of the franchise.

But this is a Michael Bay film after all which comes with three things: hilarious but sometimes unnecessary dialogue, pretty neat camera work and lots and lots of action! He likes to blow shit up! And blow shit up he did! The war which took place in the movie seemed like it went on forever but the action was hard and the suspense was equally impressive as Michael Bay did what he does best! You had your classic Transformers scenes with LaBeouf's character running for dear life. He does a lot of running in all of the films but not as much in Dark of The Moon as in previous films. There were new and old Transformers alike who all took turns kicking ass but I always wonder why Optimus Prime doesn't have more of an over all role in the films when it comes to the main action! He is easily the most popular and recognizable Autobot there is but for long stretches of the film, which was the case in Revenge of The fallen, he seems to disappear. But what I will say is when he does get the opportunity to open up a can, he does so better than anyone else! As for the city where all the mayhem and destruction takes place, Chicago was completely destroyed in the film! Massively overtaken by military and  Decepticon forces to the point where it almost seemed like Michael Bay had some personal vendetta against the windy city! Destruction like you wouldn't believe but this is a Michael Bay film we are talking about here!

Now I had chance to see the film both in regular 2D and in 3D as well and let me tell you, visually the 3D used in this film is amazing. Michael Bay is always a genius with the camera and the way he films his scenes but with the 3D technology he used in this Dark of The Moon it just took the overall action over the top! Great use of 3D in this film! There were scenes that stood out more than others, most of which naturally occurred during the action sequences but the way the Transformers themselves were shown in the film and the way they looked visually were hella impressive and fun to watch as well.

Overall Transformers is a great ride once the action gets going. Are there better films out there, yes but if you want to be entertained for two-hours just throw all your inhibitions out the window and enjoy this blockbuster because it's a real summer treat. If this is in fact that last Transformers film for director Michael Bay then he went out with a bang! And a very impressive one at that!

4 1/2 stars out of 5