Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Ratings: 6.1/10 (+2 for awesome CG)

Film Class: A+

Genre: Action

The Autobots (good machines) learn that the last vessel which left their ruined planet Cybertron was found on the moon. The vessel supposedly carried the last remaining hope of their planet with it, with its most important cargo, the ship's captain, Sentinel Prime, a.k.a, Optimus Prime's mentor and original leader of the Autobots.

It's then a race between the Autobots and Decepticons (bad machines) to recover the ship's cargo which could either save, or destroy planet Earth.

Hmmm... where do I even start? Epic movie? I'm torn to give a definitive verdict. The CG was hands down super awesome, but the plot and story progression was less than mediocre. The acting was irritatingly unpleasing to watch, especially that of Shia LaBeouf, the main lead. I didn't like any of the human characters in the film, there were just too many over-acted characters this time round. John Tuturro's role, ex CIA agent, was terrible terrible terrible. Added too much lameness to the movie. Accompanied by Ken Jeong, some random member of the space expedition, the plot was doomed for failure. Off moments also included screen time of Shia LaBeouf's parents and even John Malkovich's character was pretty pathetic.

I hated the "human" aspect of the movie. Everytime the movie featured humans, it showed how immature and lame they were. I was just looking forward to the transformers scenes, even though on occasions they (the director/CG specialist) may have overdone the "body languages" a little.

In comparison to it's first two installments, Transformers: Dark of the Moon beats Revenge of the Fallen hands down but the very first Michael Bay's movie about them was still the best of the 3. Don't believe there was any after credits scene (there were lame early after credits scene however) which featured future sequels. From the looks of the ending, I believe Michael Bay has decided to close the franchise once and for all, a wise decision.

I'm compelled to make a separate and "special" comment to the new face on the screen, Megan Fox's "substitute", Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (quite a mouthful), who was Shia LaBeouf's new love interest. While many may have watched the previous two installments for the hot Megan Fox, do not fret this time round because the new face was equally as saucy. Actually, her hottest scene was the start... period. Love her British accent but hated her acting. Still she was a way better actress than the "Hua Ping" Megan Fox. That said, I hated how the Transformers franchise was not just about the machines, but about the cliche' hot woman with hot cars. The two "human" factors created too many dimensions for the movie.

If a movie was all about hot cars, like Fast and Furious, then bringing in hot women to act alongside was perfectly suitable. But if it's a movie which the main focus was on alien robots and the relationship between them and the human race, then adding scenes of hot women with hot cars seemed a little forced and inappropriate. Perhaps that was the reason for the downfall for the 2nd installment and which prevented this 3rd to rise above it's first.

The first half of the movie was engaging, drawing me deeper into the plot, but gradually kicked me back to my seat with lame one-liners and chalky scripting for the second half. On the contrary, the first half had 8/10 CG awesomeness, and the second half rocketed to 20/10 CG awesomeness.

While I'm not a fan of Transformers, I'm a sucker for impeccable movie graphics. That's why for the first time in my blog, I have given it a "double" rating. Even though the acting and story might not be absolute plus reasons to watch it, I would highly recommend Transformers: Dark of the Moon to anyone out there to experience the pinnacle of CG evolution.

PS.: I caught this movie on the big screens, Digital, without 3D. I personally feel that digital is as good enough an experience for me. Have always hated the nauseating "for the sake of making 3D" effects.