Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3D – (Jon’s Take) Review

It’s quite clear what was wrong with the first two Michael Bay-directed Transformers movies. He simply did not have a blank check. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a great summer movie in every sense of why we chose to cool off in the cinema after some fun in the sun, and a testament to quality over quantity all on a limitless budget reigned in by the master of the explosion. Exhilarating and exhausting, it’s finally the Transformers movie we’ve all been wanting.

Blank checks, endless action, constant explosions might be cliched stereotypes of Michael Bay’s career, but it hasn’t worked so well since The Rock, and while Michael Bay outdoes Michael Bay in every scene, it’s the character moments and story that were largely left behind in previous entries that make Dark of the Moon excels. Of course, it’s all summer movie fun, yet Sam (Shia LaBeouf) has a genuine heartfelt arc set against the backdrop of Megtron’s ultimate deception, that glues us to our seats. Sam is an archetype of our American workforce today. He’s lost, even though he’s done what a good citizen is asked: go to college. The work force is overloaded and even though Obama has granted him a medal and he’s saved the world twice, Sam’s lost and wants his life to mean something.

Don’t shake your head. Dark of the Moon is bubbling with subtle and well, maybe not so subtle allegories, often political that gives this franchise the All Spark it was solely missing. While the film has fun with history, namely JFK’s Space Race and the catastrophic folly in Chernobyl, Dark of the Moon is largely reflective of our current conscience and times, that’s just there if you care to look, and thankfully devoid of any ties to a party’s agenda. So you have this set against some of the wildest action set pieces Bay has ever directed, and Dark of the Moon is inches away from being Michael Bay’s best film.

I have agreed with fans earnest and not-so-earnest criticisms of these films, but Bay goes all out, as do the screenwriters all at the advice of the fans. It’s your film. The film is funny, but not annoyingly so like the previous entries, and we also get the one wish of many Transformers fans: all out war. Seething with a ferociousness, you’ll be hard pressed to witness mass destruction that’s so well-staged and executed. The 3D is pretty good too, but only serves as an exclamation point to the CGI-madness. Face it, folks: Transformers: Dark of the Moon is one great summer movie that’s just to exciting and exhilarating to munch popcorn during, so save your money there.  It’s mindful fun that does not disappoint.

Rating:

Jon Peters

I love film. That is all.

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