Introduction
Ever since Michael Bay released the Transformers franchise in 2007, he has heavily been criticized for producing plotless films that are widely loathed. Some critics went ahead and christened the first film as fun but very dumb (Fleming, par 1) with the robots showing no remorse for human life. The second film is described as having a paper thin plot, little racist robots and metal testicles (Fleming, par 1) which became the worst most successful franchise of all-time (Fleming, par 1). After such criticism, many people expected Transformers: Dark of the Moon to be no better if not worse than the previous two.
When the third film was released during the summer of 2011, I took my opportunity to watch and find out whether critics baying for Michael’s blood were justified. I was determined to find out whether his movie had a “thin plot” or if they were “dumb” as the critics had stated before to become a Success Story or a Technological disaster. As a movie fan, I was more than impressed by the film. Transformers: Dark of the Moon exceeded all expectations answering critics who believed it would be a failure as the other two films. For me, it was like a sweet revenge by Michael to his critics who ate a piece of humble pie.
Evaluation
The first two films of the franchise Transformers have been criticized for their poor plot development which made it hard to follow. One of strong points of this film is the storyline. Unlike its predecessors, Transformers: Dark of the Moon develops a plot where the viewer gets a sense of physical or emotional consequence to the events that transpire (Vejvoda, par 3). The storyline reveals the reason for the 1969 space race between U.S. and the Soviet Union, and the hideous plan by the Decepticons to take over the world. With genuine stakes between the Autobots and Decepticons, they fight harder and longer resulting in the decimation of the city of Chicago. The storyline is straightforward and consistently moves forward (Gibron, par 1) peaking in the final half hour where there is a full scale war between the Autobots and the Decepticons in Chicago. The plot of the film is excellent with the actual Decepticon plans of the past having been almost totally ignored (Fleming, par 6) causing mismatched timelines between this movie and the first two Transformers. The integration of spectacular scenes, suspense, action and relative coherent combining with the ferocious robots makes the movie to be more memorable and brutal than the first two Transformers series.
The film director goes ahead and gives the robots a more distinct personality and emotion than before, an improvement from the previous films in the franchise. When one of the Autobots died, the mood of the film toned down a little revealing the emotions attached in death. The Decepticons appear scarier than before as seen when they invade homes, butchering humans. In this film, Optimus Prime is portrayed as the ruthless robot depicted in the animated series, had to fight bigger battles than before (Vejvoda, par 8). His ruthlessness is seen when he kills a remorseful Sentinel as well as Megatron thus ending the war. The mini-Autobots, Wheelie and Brains, add more personality to the film by entertain the viewers with loads of jokes (Fleming, par 13). The tense battle between humans and the Decepticons to take over the city of Chicago highlights the emotion of the film better even though a lot of humans died in the process (Fleming, par 18). Shockwave, a Decepticon wrapping itself around a building like a boa constrictor (Travers, par 4) crushing everyone in it leave the viewer pleading for mercy. This shows emotional connection the director used to connect with the viewers.
The use of 3-D appeals to add depth has been magnificent especially in the final battle thus making it more entertaining than before. Unlike other 3-D films, Transformers: Dark of the Moon had its 3-D executed skillfully with longer scenes and pictures moving in slow motion giving it the much needed edge. Apart from the 3-D features, the film has “an incredibly virtuosic amount of intricate production and effects design and execution, not to mention stunt work” (Kenny, par 5). One of the most memorable 3-D appeals highlighted on one scene in particular where the solders are gliding through Chicago as the battle rage around them (Fleming, par 18). This shadows the fact that though the film is longer than its predecessors, it will keep the viewer at the edge of the seat.
Another strong point is the choice of actors that Mr. Bay settled for. The actors played their roles well with the lead actor “Sam still struggle to prove his worth despite having saved the earth twice before” (Vejvoda, par 5). Charlotte Mearing the Director of National Intelligence brought an ascendancy of seriousness to the film. The film having Bruce Brazso, Sam’s employer and Jerry Wang who works with Sam makes the movie to be funny with their witty performance in the first scenes of the film.
One of the setbacks of the movie is the difficulty to tell the robots apart especially in the final battle. There are a large number of robots fighting in Chicago and with the battle so intense; one becomes confused easily since there are no distinct features to identify the Autobots from the Decepticons. The confusion easily forgotten with the help of the 3-D features which highlights the extent and depth of the war. The use of slow motion in the action scenes makes the movie much easier to follow the robots fighting, thus becoming an excellent choice by the director to cover up the confusion caused by fighting robots. This makes the viewer thirst for more action well after the movie has ended. This gives the viewer the most unforgettable experience ever.
Perhaps the most confusing scene is when a “mini-Autobot watching “Star Trek” on TV, not noticing that Spock has the same voice as Sentinel Prime…” (Jenkins, par 8). Many critics have described this scene as “having a little fun with itself” (Jenkins, par 9) as well as the soul-killing “Star Trek” Joke (Kenny, par 7). This causes holes in the plot and leaving the viewer wondering and asking dumb questions. It is one of the small bits that the director failed in an otherwise exciting film. This bluff is overshadowed by the full scale war in the final hour of the film.
Compared to the other two films of the Transformers franchise, the third installment, Dark of the Moon is the longest. A viewer can easily lose concentration as a result of exhaustion even before the film ends. Most of the time, one hardly notices the length of the film due to the simple plot development and engaging robotic war viewed in 3-D leaves one demanding more of the action long after the film has ended.
Conclusion
Of the three movies in the Transformers franchise, Dark of the Moon is the best. The best scene is depicted by the shots of the robots fighting resulting in a captivating and an entertaining battle that will leave most of the critics dumbfounded. Its predecessor, “Revenge of the Fallen seemed to be made for a younger-or at least more adolescent audience…” (Fleming, par 21) but Dark of the Moon seemed to have matured and improved on the mistakes by its predecessor. The film is praiseworthy so much that it might even make one consider going back to watch the previous two in order to see if they are better (Fleming, par 19).
In my view in which I concur with A. Scott of New York Times, who believes that, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon is among Mr. Bay’s best movies and by far the best 3-D sequel ever made about gigantic toys from outer space” (Scott, par 1). Movie lovers’ looking for pure entertainment and undying satisfaction, then Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a success story integrated with technological brilliance worth every dime paid for to watch it. It is surely not a classic movie, but it is another implausible piece of pure popcorn entertainment (Gibron, par 7).
Works Cited
Fleming, Ryan. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review.” yahoo.com. Yahoo News., 2011. Web.
Gibron, Bill. “Transformers: Drk of the Moon.” filmcritic.com. AMC Networks., 2011. Web.
Jenkins, Mark. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon – The Transformers-do-D.C. movie.” washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post., 2011. Web.
Kenny, Glenn. “Transformers 3’ Blows Up Real Good.” msn.com. MSN Entertainment., n.d. Web.
Scott, Anthony. “One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Autobots.” nytimes.com. New York Times., 2011. Web.
Travers, Peter. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone Reviews., 2011. Web.
Vejvoda, Jim. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review.” ign.com. IGN., 2011. Web.