Transformers: Dark of the moon is the third installment in the Transformers movie franchise. Michael Bay attempts to breathe new life into old characters (practically the entire cast of the first movie returns) by introducing an intriguing story line, one wrought with conspiracies and betrayals; however, he fails to do so and only leaves the audience feeling forced into a façade of emotions.
Director Michael Bay sorely disappoints as his attempts to reach an adult audience completely ignores the fact that this is supposed to be a children’s franchise. I do understand that it got a PG-13 rating, but there is no way that I am going to be able to tell my three sons that they can’t watch Transformers because it’s not for kids; let me tell you though, this movie is not, I repeat NOT for kids. The first fifteen seconds of the movie is a close up shot of the rear end of a Victoria’s Secret lingerie model, not that I mind that kind of thing, but it is not something I want my seven-year old son watching. There are several instances of “naughty” language as an attempt at humor, one instance happens as early as the second scene in the movie.
The movie depends on the audience having a preexisting attachment to these familiar characters and when these attachments do not exist, many critical scenes in the movie seem out of place and forced. Throughout the entire movie, there were characters that seemed unnecessary and only there to move the plot along. Other than the main protagonist (Sam) and his girlfriend (Carly), there were no real connections with any of the other characters in the movie. Characters simply exist because the movie assumes that you have already seen the first two movies in the series and one can only assume that this is why Bay did not attempt to create or build any sort of bond between characters. There were many times when one could tell exactly what emotions Bay was aiming for but without that connection to the characters, there is nothing.
Introducing a major conspiracy that the “Race to Space” of the mid-to-late twentieth century happened in order to investigate a crash on the “Dark Side of the Moon” was quite interesting; unfortunately, the sense of mystery quickly diminishes as the trivialization of the conspiracy’s severity provides Sam his only purpose throughout the film. This conspiracy seemed to know no bounds as it involved NASA, secret agencies, and even two Presidents, yet each time Sam is found useless, he miraculously gains a new truth to the conspiracy thus making him important again. By the end of the movie, everyone is turning to Sam for direction and guidance.
The best part of Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the same as in the first film, the Transformers themselves. Although the Autobots felt weaker than they should have been, the Decepticons were perfect. The bickering between Megatron and Starscream is back and better than ever, Soundwave is as powerful as he should be, and the liberties taken with the rest felt acceptable. To his credit, Michael Bay did not disappoint in the wow factor; the film had a very high body count, giant robots ripping each other apart, lots of explosions, and great eye candy. Aside from the plot holes, poor character development, and immature attempts at humor, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is worth seeing on the big screen.
7 out of 10
