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

To those who know me, it is no secret that I really enjoyed the first Transformers film and absolutely loathed Revenge of the Fallen. I knew a third film would come sooner or later, and here we are two years later with that installment. I went in with great hesitation, I had heavy doubts but slowly but surely I kind of started to look forward to Dark of the Moon. My local IMAX theater happens to be home to the largest screen in the southern hemisphere and 3rd largest in the world. It can either be a fantastic treat to see a film there (like Tron: Legacy) or just horrible and vomit inducing (like Revenge of the Fallen). I am glad to report that Dark of the Moon was a fantastic IMAX experience and with the state of the art tech they have there is looked mostly great. But how was the film itself? Personally I liked it the best out of the three.

The film begins with a ship from Cybertron crash landing on the Moon back during Kennedy’s presidency, and this event sparks the moon race. Of course Apollo 11 are the first to get there and they investigate the crash in the limited time they have. Flash forward to present day and we see our hero from the previous films Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) has had his fair share of ups and down is living with his new girlfriend Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) and searching for work. Meanwhile the Autobots led by Optimus Prime blend in and do secret missions for the government in order to protect mankind. The Apollo 11 missions suddenly comes into light and the Autobots are none too impressed as this secret could mean disaster in the hands of the Decepticons. Meanwhile Sam gets hired for a position, but little does he know he is just a pawn in a much larger game.

Dark of the Moon is the film that I had hoped to see when I saw Revenge of the Fallen. It took all the elements that worked with the first film and expanded upon them and toned down everything that Revenge of the Fallen had gotten wrong. The plot was easy to follow and it all made sense and came together at the end, it wasn’t a huge mess like the previous film. Comic relief side characters are toned down and not constantly being thrown in our faces, and thankfully the parents were barely in it. Skids and Mudflaps were no where to be seen and any stereo typical transformers were toned down and not put front and center. The action was fantastic, it was on such a grand scale that I honestly can’t remember seeing anything like it before. It was so clear and bright, and at my theater I felt like I was literally there and experiencing it all first hand. The performances as well were all pretty decent, everyone looked like they were having a great time. As for no Megan Fox, I didn’t miss her at all. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is nothing to write home about, she isn’t a terribly good actress but she wasn’t there to be. She is there to be eye candy for the teenage boys and they should love it, it was a little annoying at times but just how much Bay wanted to show her off but with everything going on it was quickly forgotten. John Tururro who was beyond annoying in Revenge of the Fallen was actually really fun and enjoyable here, I didn’t dread having him on screen. Shia LeBeouf was fine, the character of Sam is a fun guy to be around and I honestly don’t mind him. The smaller roles were all enjoyable as well, I particularly liked having John Malkovich, Frances McDormand and Alan Tudyk in the mix. The special effects this time around looked seamless, it was jawdropping amazing and the transformers looked so damn real. The detail for each machine was fantastic, and the action was top notch, Bay really out did himself.

On the other end of the scale, the film was a bit too long. Having to sit through that much 3D did mess with my head a little. Certain scenes were unnecessary and they could have easily have been cut. Michael Bay is not one for making a short film but really, this long, no mate. The stereotypes really need to be left out completely, I have no idea what Bay has with doing this, even down played it still didn’t need to be there. Now while the 3D did look quite awesome, some of the action scenes were a little blurry and hard to see. Other scenes looked great, but still the technology needs to improve and its a good experiment all the same. I didn’t have many issues with the actual transformers, I don’t mind that certain things have been changed, it worked for me. Overall the experience was a fun one, and I had a blast! Sure the film had problems but no where near the amount of Revenge of the Fallen and it bettered the first film. This is the ultimate summer action film, it is what the fans deserve, definitely go and check it.

Rating:

Marcella Papandrea

Film nerd extraordinaire from the land down under.

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