The Official Transformers 3 'RATE & REVIEW' thread

[Marvin]

Hey folks, looks like the first reviews(press or otherwise) will start rolling out in the next few weeks seeing as the film is mostly complete.

Our first review comes from one of those skeptics at Aint It Cool. By guess, this is safe for spoilers. (if you're going to post a review with spoilers please give a heads up, judging by the trailers Paramount doesn't want anything slipping)

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/49648

AICN EXCLUSIVE: Capone emerges from the rubble of Chicago to give you the first review of TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON!!!

Published at: May 14, 2011 3:09:31 AM CDT
Hey everyone. Capone here.

It's very late in Chicago right now, and I contemplated getting a decent night's sleep before tackling this review. But I'll be honest, the way my brain is spinning right now with thoughts of images I've just seen and the sheer destruction I've just experienced, sleep ain't happening. You see, I've just come from seeing TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, the third and easily best entry in the Michael Bay-directed franchise, and all I wanted to do when I left the theater was gaze upon my beautiful city, just to make sure it was in one piece.

Let me say two quick things before I dive into this review. The first is that, as a kid growing up, I could not have cared less about Transformers--the toys, TV show, or animated movie. When it was first announced that a live-action TRANSFORMERS movie was being made, directed by Bay, I couldn't have cared less, not because I didn't dig Bay's work but because I simply didn't care about the subject matter. Second, and perhaps more directly relevant to this discussion, the only nightmares I remember having as a child (we're talking Reagan-era 1980s) involved the destruction of the city I was living in at the time, Washington, D.C. I didn't know how many nuclear missiles the Russians had, but I knew damn well that a whole bunch of them were pointed at the nation's capital. Seeing WAR GAMES for the first time as a teen did not do me a bit of good.

Make no mistake, D.C. takes a hell of a beating in DARK OF THE MOON, but it was in the final hour of this TRANSFORMERS chapter that I simply forgot to breathe; there isn't a spare second to do so. For a solid hour, Bay and his CGI-created robot buddies decimate Chicago. And I won't lie: seeing it so realistically and utterly leveled was almost more than I could handle. Granted, people outside of Chicago probably won't have the same reaction I did (I didn't even get a little misty eyed watching California sink into the Pacific during 2012, or New York die in countless sci-fi stories), but our city has never been the victim of an alien hate crime like this before. And as much as it hurt to see, I also loved watching it happen.

Let me also add, in the interest of total disclosure, that the version of DARK OF THE MOON that I saw was not in 3D, probably because some of the effects weren't completely done, which would have forced the film to go in and out of 3D since the unfinished effects wouldn't have been in 3D. But there were definitely a few times watching this movie, where the 3D potential was very clear. As a reminder, Bay shot this movie in 3D, and it will likely look awesome. In addition, the sound mix and design wasn't quite done, so some parts seemed especially loud to the point where voices were buried when they clearly were meant to be heard. But considering that the film doesn't come out until July 4 weekend, it looked remarkably complete.

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON begins with a great concept and a cool backstory (the screenplay is credited to Ehren Kruger on imdb.com, but in the print I saw, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman's names were credited as well; since the credits weren't finished, these may have been a temp credits pulled from the last movie): When the war on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons appeared lost to the Autobots, their leader, Sentinal Prime, attempted to launch a craft from the planet, loaded with technology that would have saved their people. Instead, it crashed on earth's moon and the Autobots were forced to flee to earth. Coincidentally, this moon crash happened when John F. Kennedy was president, and he immediately made his famous promise to the nation to put a man on the moon (specifically, an American man, so that we would beat the Russians to investigate the crash; see how that works?). In fact, according to this film, every NASA moon landing was actually an investigation of this wrecked spacecraft.

The first hour and a half of DARK OF THE MOON focuses primarily on story (with brief fight and chase sequences pepperd in), but it's actually a cool story about the Autobots finding out that the technology that was supposed to save their race and planet has been sitting on the moon the entire time they've been on earth and nobody bothered to tell them; Optimus Prime is not amused. Naturally, we also get the continuing adventures of Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), who has now graduated college and is desperately looking for his first job. He has a new girlfriend, Carly (supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), who doesn't need an occasion to dress in the tightest clothes imaginable. Bay has a great deal of fun shooting Rosie like he's directing a Victoria's Secret commercial (which he probably did on his days off).

Sam is upset that he's even looking for job, since he believes he should be working side by side with his Autobot friends, going on missions, and helping save he world. The Autobots are now firmly in place as part of America's military, as we see from a brief mission in the Middle East early on. They would have killed Bin Laden years ago. A few Decepticons are still around, including a severely beaten down Megatron, who's especially creepy in DARK OF THE MOON because half of his head is missing and these little spider-like robots crawl in and out of the place where his brain circuitry may have been at one time. He plucks them out, almost without noticing, which somehow makes it worse. Still, Megatron is in good spirits because a plot hatched long ago is coming to fruition.

The clever script manages to find new ways to place Transformers into world events, including one particularly nasty "accident" at the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, which was actually the result of some of the moon technology being experimented on. And I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that Optimus finds a way to retrieve Sentinal Prime's body from the moon wreckage and revive him (voiced to perfection by Leonard Nimoy). I don't feel right talking too much more about the twists and turns that lead to the Chicago showdown between a small group of humans and a massive alien robot army, but when Sam says to the Nest team "Chicago is ground zero!," I got a ****ing chill.

Let's talk characters and performances. LaBeouf is LaBeouf; you either dig him or you don't. I happen to dig the guy a great deal, and he seems especially focused in DARK OF THE MOON, as well as broader in the shoulders. Huntington-Whiteley is actually pretty good here and certainly miles better than Megan Fox, if only because she's actually got something to do here beyond just looking like a million bucks. I wouldn't say Carly has a major players in this movie, but at least she's allowed to contribute. Also returning are Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as Nest team leaders Lennox and Epps, an shockingly enough there's little attention paid to personal growth in either of their cases.

And let's not forget John Turturro as former agent Simmons, who has written a book about aliens on earth and become a rich eccentric, trying desperately not to get sucked back into the alien game. Many of his scenes are with a fellow Coen Brothers regular, Frances McDormand, as Charlotte Mearing, the defense department commander in charge of missions involving the Autobots. She's kind of hard ass who couldn't care less that Sam wants to keep playing with his robots. "You're not a soldier; you're a messenger," she rightfully reminds him.

New to the cast are such dignitaries as John Malkovich, largely wasted (but still funny) as Sam's boss at a tech company where he eventually gets hired; Ken Jeong as co-worker with much-needed information on the moon project; Alan Tudyk, very good as Simmons right-hand man; and Patrick Dempsey, as Dylan, Carly's boss and perhaps competition for her affections. Oh, and he also harbors a desire for world domination. I'll thank whatever movie gods I have to that Sam's annoying parents are barely in this TRANSFORMERS installment. Without fail, they take us out of the action on the drop of a dime, they aren't funny, and we don't need comic relief like this anyway when we've got street-smart little robots to entertain us. Yes, they're back too, but let's just say they're toned down.

So what about the scenes of Chicago's destruction? These sequences are cool for a few reasons, but let me talk about them purely from a purely action standpoint. Because the Decepticons (who have taken over the city for reasons that involve restoring their planet) can detect machines coming into their airspace, the military can't send planes to bomb them. As a result, small teams of Nest soldiers much base jump into the city using suits that effectively make them able to fly. As much as some of you might think this was accomplished with visual effects, guess again. I saw these guys jump off the Willis Tower and the Trump Tower. Those guys ****ing flew, then pulled their chutes, then landed. In watching most of the action sequences, it appeared to me that Bay opted to go practical a lot more than he has with this franchise in the past. Pretty much the only totally artificial element in DARK OF THE MOON are the robots, and what a colossal difference it makes.

And there's something about scaling things down somewhat in the Chicago scenes that proves far more rewarding than piling on large numbers of troops and artillery. There's one scene where Sam and Lennox are fighting a single Decepticon alone, and they manage to bring it down after a long, hard fight. Somehow, that small moment resonates so much louder than bombs and explosions that take out several bad-guy robots and half a city block at once (oh, don't worry, there's plenty of that as well). It's nice to see Bay act globally by thinking locally. The other thing that happens in DARK OF THE MOON that's spooky is that during the Chicago invasion sequence, civilians actually die…in large numbers, leaving behind a pile of clothes and a stripped down, scattered skeleton (it sounds silly, I know, but it's actually kind of traumatizing).

I think I'm going to leave TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON for a while, at least until I can see it again in 3D (maybe IMAX to boot, just to really blow out my eyes and mind). So, there may be a follow-up review come July 1 or thereabouts. But, I have to admit, I'm genuinely surprised what a strong effort this film is, not just in terms of its scope, but also in its pacing, performances, and ideas. This one dares to go dark from time to time, and that helped me find the often-lacking component of many Bay films: emotion. You probably won't shed any tears watching DARK OF THE MOON, but you will care when certain lives are lost or in peril. This one might actually rock you a little to your foundation; get excited about that. The summer keeps getting incrementally better from where I'm sitting.

[MessiahDecoy123]

Capone isn't a skeptic.

He enjoyed the first Bayformer movie and never liked the source material. He has low standards for TF movies. He feels the franchise doesn't deserve anything more than big loud explosions.

Here's his review of Bayformers 1:

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33218

[Marvin]

Capone is what he is, I was referring vibe of that site as a whole. I do go there to hear good things about any thing TF, weather it be the writers or talkbackers.

my mistake.
(even skeptics love the first TF movie)

[terry78]

See, I like that part, with humans actually being in danger this time around as opposed to just being screaming extras.

[J.Howlett]

So, let me get this right...

The Seekers were sent through out the galaxy to find the All Spark for the Fallen, with Megatron actually finding it. The Fallen wanted the All Spark because it held the location of the Matrix of Leadership, which was the key to the Sun Harvesters that would create Energon that would help him and the Decepticons not only enslave worlds, but help to also rebuild their beloved Cybertron.

But for the Autobots, Sentinal Prime also had a way to rebuild their home and save their race with this new technology...but he unfortunately crashed on the Moon. From that time forward, the government knew of this technology and secretly kept it from the Autobots....

Do I have the three films pretty much locked down?

[Passdom]

Its worth noting that Capone hated ROTF

Originally Posted by J.Howlett

So, let me get this right...

The Seekers were sent through out the galaxy to find the All Spark for the Fallen, with Megatron actually finding it. The Fallen wanted the All Spark because it held the location of the Matrix of Leadership, which was the key to the Sun Harvesters that would create Energon that would help him and the Decepticons not only enslave worlds, but help to also rebuild their beloved Cybertron.

But for the Autobots, Sentinal Prime also had a way to rebuild their home and save their race with this new technology...but he unfortunately crashed on the Moon. From that time forward, the government knew of this technology and secretly kept it from the Autobots....

Do I have the three films pretty much locked down?

Pretty Much

[J.Howlett]

Sentinal Prime, I'm guessing since I haven't been following spoilers on this film, isn't one of the original 12 Primes. He essentially was the first leader of the Autobots, as the war began over the All Spark with the Decepticons, led by Megatron (who's really working for the Fallen).

Optimus Prime became the leader of the Autobots after Sentinal Prime became lost to them.

[Marvin]

Originally Posted by J.Howlett

Sentinal Prime, I'm guessing since I haven't been following spoilers on this film, isn't one of the original 12 Primes. He essentially was the first leader of the Autobots, as the war began over the All Spark with the Decepticons, led by Megatron (who's really working for the Fallen).

Optimus Prime became the leader of the Autobots after Sentinal Prime became lost to them.

Yea I'm guessing issue of leadership should be a good cause of friction between them.

[kickass]

Amazing!

[def28]

Good review.

So I take it The Twins are back?

[Marvin]

not sure where it says that?

[Mr. Para-Normal]

Sadly the twins are back but he says they are toned down. Its in the review somewhere. Anyway, that review made me excited to see it. I have faith that dark of the moon with make up for Revenge of the Fallen and be on par with TF 1 or better than TF 1.

I know this is weird but anyone know if that are going to explain what happened to Sam and Mikalah (Megan Fox). They need to have at least one line of dialouge saying something about why they broke up or something. It just seems weird not to say anything considering they were doing well at the end of Revenge of the Fallen.

[def28]

Originally Posted by Marvin

not sure where it says that?

and we don't need comic relief like this anyway when we've got street-smart little robots to entertain us. Yes, they're back too, but let's just say they're toned down.

Unless hes talking about Brains and Wheelie.

[Marvin]

until I see the twins myself, I'll weigh that with what bay and nelson are saying over on their end.

so ya, probably the really small robots from the comicbook adaptation.

But even if the twins are back, I've seen characters just as "Bad" in pixar and dreamworks films, they're only as bad as hyperbole will allow.

[def28]

They are not in it for sure. He must have been talking about Wheelie and Brains. Just read this.
http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-...in-tf3-172157/

Anyway, we were contacted today by Paramount directly. They asked us to clarify the following.
The Twins will NOT be in the 3rd film, and that the featured cars (from this post) are not actually in the movie.
Couple that with a recent post on MichaelBay.com by Michael Bay:
After the internet posting of a nice review by someone who saw Transformers Dark of the Moon, the writer had not been clear on one thing. He misstated that the Twins are in the film. They are not.

So I am offering a $25,000 REWARD to anyone who can find them performing in Transformers 3, on July 1, when the movie opens.

Michael
Apparently, regardless of semantics, one thing is clear - The Twins, as we knew them, are not, or WILL not, be in Transformers Dark of the Moon.

Edit:
Also Capone updated his review.

they're back too, but let's just say they're toned down. [Hey, everyone. Just to be 100 percent clear, I'm not referring about the "The Twins" here; they are most definitely not in this film. I'm talking about Wheelie (Tom Kenny, who also voiced Skids in REVENGE OF THE FALLEN) and other similar smaller robots, who act like streetwise teenagers.]

[Marvin]

Like all the non stop (good) news about this project that has been released over the past year.

I'm that will be ignored as well.

I find it interesting that there wasn't an embargo on this, another sign.

[Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Marvin

Hey folks, looks like the first reviews(press or otherwise) will start rolling out in the next few weeks seeing as the film is mostly complete.

Our first review comes from one of those skeptics at Aint It Cool. By guess, this is safe for spoilers. (if you're going to post a review with spoilers please give a heads up, judging by the trailers Paramount doesn't want anything slipping)

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/49648

Capones "review" sounds like a review from a PLANT to me.

The film is good because of cities being destroyed in the classic over the top Bay style? Oy vey!

[kickass]

Is that the only good thing you got out of that review? Did you just read one paragraph?

[def28]

Originally Posted by Dark Knight

Capones "review" sounds like a review from a PLANT to me.

The film is good because of cities being destroyed in the classic over the top Bay style? Oy vey!

I think there is more to Capones review then that, but Robots blowing up cities is awesome, how would that make him plant if he thought thats the only reason why its good haha. Thats the main reason Im seeing that flick. I want to see skyskrapers ripped in half by a giant decepticon. Dont see that everyday.

Seriously, I really do hope this flick has more time for the bots and less for humans. Just watched ROTF again and no one gets screen time besides The Twins, Optimus (gone half the movie) and Jet Fire.

[Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by def28

I think there is more to Capones review then that, but Robots blowing up cities is awesome, how would that make him plant if he thought thats the only reason why its good haha. Thats the main reason Im seeing that flick. I want to see skyskrapers ripped in half by a giant decepticon. Dont see that everyday.

Seriously, I really do hope this flick has more time for the bots and less for humans. Just watched ROTF again and no one gets screen time besides The Twins, Optimus (gone half the movie) and Jet Fire.

Meh. Expect more of the same from a Bay Transformer film. Lousy diologe, over the top, waaaaay to loud action, and fluf.

Once again....the movie is "good" because cities get destroyed?? Count me as one of the many that is glad this will be Bays last Transformer film!

[def28]

I actually think the first one is a solid flick overall. Everyline in ROTF is trying hard to be a joke and after 2 hours and 30 min it gets old and tired very quick. Theres just nothing going on worth caring about in ROTF. I still enjoy it on certain parts (Forrest scene,Sideswipe) but its a bad movie.

By the sounds of his review sounds like some of those elements are there but, not as much as TF2. Its a good review overall for the film, not just cause the film blows everything up.

[Marvin]

Originally Posted by Dark Knight

Meh. Expect more of the same from a Bay Transformer film. Lousy diologe, over the top, waaaaay to loud action, and fluf.

Once again....the movie is "good" because cities get destroyed?? Count me as one of the many that is glad this will be Bays last Transformer film!

If I recall, he said he likes it because of said things, someone else could have just as easily said it's good because they get to see their favorite actor and so fourth.

I for one enjoy conspirisy americana. but you're right if you're so sure you're not going to like the film you haven't seen, no use seeing it.