Re: Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Discuss, Grading, Reviews (SPOILE
Rating it Above Average. I liked it better then the second one since it tried be different in tone, and take the story to a darker place, with a waster scale. But that's also where I find some it went a bit askew.
I see what they want to do with the darker edge, but sometimes they just went too far. Some of the robots literally tearing each other apart I could have done without, but most importantly, the quite graphic killings if humans I was quite shocked to see. It really teetered on the line with Decepticons shot people and they where blown apart, if in unfocused unidentifiable shreds. But then the last bit with that where some people got shot and there where some bones and a skull quite visible lying around...took it a bit too far for my taste.
Look, I quite like gore and violence. When it's appropriate. Like in a Zombie film or a Medieval hack n' slash flick. But in the films based on toys? Really? A lot of kids are gonna see this and I think some bits are too intense for them. I see the point they tried to make, and while I applaud Bay for taking a bit of a risk, I still think he could have made his point in another way and that he should've considered his target audience more.
Okay, moving on. FANTASTIC 3D. Best I've seen since Avatar. Bay really gets how to use it well. Also liked that he action was more clear this time around, and the new robots had great designs, even if I would've like to see more of Shockwave. But Soundwave was great, with a fantastic vehicle mode. Nimoy did great as Sentinel Prime and while he's obviously a douche, still brings some definition to the character.
Speaking of douches, I gotta mention the Dempsey. I'm a Grey's Anatomy fan, so I know Patrick Dempsey mostly as that series freaking saint of a brain surgeon, Derek Shepard. Which is why casting him as the biggest opportunistic and cowardly asshole in the movie was great. Love that he took the part and he's really great at it, you really hate the guy. Alan Tudyk was a delight as Simmons' butler/manservant/assistant/bodyguard.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley did a much better job then I had dared to hope, and distinguished herself well enough from Megan Fox. Still think the latter is sexier, but it works.
Shia is a great, I think he's the actor that's been consistently great in these films. Granted, his wigouts in this film are a bit on the energetic side, I can't help but laugh my ass off at his girly scream after the whole flying transformation bit on the highway
And he does the serious stuff damned well also, and he finally got to actually take down a Decepticon himself.
In the end the one I really have problems with is the aforementioned "darker bits". The first Transformers had a great tone, it was a great movie overall. It was the most fun I'd had a the theater since Jurassic Park. And a big bit of that is because it hit the right kind of tone between good old fun and seriousness. This one tries to stray a bit too far into the latter, and it hurts the movie a bit.
Still, very well spent money.
