As usual to sequels, Transformers: Dark of the Moon was hyped up and was rumored to be better than the previous two (especially the second one) and even boasted a different leading lady replacing Megan Fox with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, a Victoria's Secret supermodel that had no prior acting gigs aside from a commercial stint she did with Michael Bay. To put it bluntly, the movie did succeed in being better than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and - dare I say it? - the third installment to the Transformers movie franchise outshone its first predecessor. Then again, I could be wrong.
In Transformers, we were all gobsmacked by the epicness of the rubik's-like change of car to gigantic robot. It seemed all so new and so impressive that we couldn't help but ask for more. It helped that the characters were likable, the story close enough to the original to pacify the people from the generation it originated from, and the humor so entertaining.
Then, the demands of the fans were answered. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was made. This time, the fans weren't so kind. Still, the saving grace came in the form of many cameos of certain robots like Rampage and Devastator. The story left little to be desired.
Finally, there was the third movie. Where shall I begin? For starters, given that it was a sequel, many characters had a comeback while few new ones were introduced. It kinda irritated me that the character development for these people was rushed. It made them seem two-dimensional and hard to sympathize with. But, given that the Transformers franchise really isn't character driven in that sense, it was fine. Though the change from Megan Fox's portrayal as Sam's girlfriend switched to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, aka Carly, was a long-time knowledge due to news feeds, the switch-up in the film was kinda jarring and forced you to adjust to where the story already was. The transition was a bit iffy. I suppose they felt it justified to not focus too much on the hows, whens, and whats regarding the new additions and merely concentrated on the very simple and predictable plot of the movie.
Due to the predictability of the film, the whole thing felt like fan-service. It was too jam-packed with information that I doubt the audience had the time to relax and enjoy where the story was taking them. The movie was embellished with back-to-back action sequences that it felt almost tiring to come back down from the adrenaline filled scenes to the sedate laden setting of Sam and his somewhat normal life (though that didn't last too long). But like I said, the movie was predictable. You didn't have to process anything new so watching it was still enjoyable.
As to the acting, it was fine. It's not something I usually mind when watching a sci-fi action film. Sam was fine, if not a bit angsty what with him having a girlfriend who made more money than him. Unlike the Sam from the second film, this Sam actually had more guts. It wasn't really misplaced confidence especially after everything he'd accomplished so far with the Autobots. Now, his problem was finding the right niche he could fit in that would help in his normal day-to-day life and his place with his alien friends. Not so hard if you thought about it.
Then, there was Carly, Sam's new girlfriend. Being that this was Rosie's first acting gig, I was mostly impressed by how she played the extremely gorgeous girlfriend of Sam Witwicky - not that it would be hard for her to play gorgeous. That aside, I found Rosie's character more likable than Sam's ex, Mikaela, despite the fact that she wasn't given enough character development to help her along. I still would have wanted to have known more about her though. C'est la vie.
As for the others, no quarrel here. They played their roles just as they were expected to. I liked Dutch though. Dutch was my highlight for this movie. I don't know where Agent Simmons found him but his appearance in this film was more than welcome. It was an addition that didn't seem to be needed but his presence was a breath of fresh air. That's only my opinion. I liked Dutch.
Now, what about the robots? What's there to say about cg-animated characters? Nothing much I guess. Visually, it was still impressive. It was sometimes a bit overdone though. I think they shouldn't have used that much slow motion. It added some weight to the fight scene but too much of it could get annoying. Also, I get the fact that they were on a tight budget but do they have to keep on introducing new robots and leaving out the rest that we were already introduced to from the last movie? Another thing, Bumblebee's car mod was a bit different this time. A newer version of the Camaro. Paint job and body kit had a few new tweeks but I'm sorely disappointed. I loved how the old one looked. Then again, that might be just me.
What I extremely liked about this movie was the part the humans played during the last battle. Not to say that they didn't do much the last two films but in this one, it seemed that they were able to contribute more to the final victory of good vs. bad. It gave me vindictive joy to see the lil' ant-like humans going against the big bad Decepticons with so much fire power and tactical maneuvers and end up the winners. Yeah. Even with all the robots fighting around, I'm still sticking with the humans.
To wrap up this surprisingly lengthy review, all I have to say is that, despite the bad rep this movie is getting, it's still a good enough film to watch. Action film goers would surely find the plot boringly predictable but the action does have its redeeming points. Plus, boys, Rosie isn't half bad. If nothing else, watch it for her. She's got lots of screen time. You won't be disappointed.
And before I forget. Take note of all the Star Trek jokes. There's a reason for that. It's got nothing to do with the plot but it might make some of you geeks smile once you realize why. It did for me.
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