Review of Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) by Halfwelshman — 06 Jul 2011
Dark of the Moon is a Michael Bay film so you don't to expect film art. Like the other Transformers films it's pretty brainless, rather desolate below the surface and has very dumb and cliched dialogue.
The difference between DOTM and its predecessors however, is that it has completely embraced its stupidity. The first film took itself too seriously (an amazing feat considering it's about giant alien morphing robots).
Revenge of the Fallen was plain awful, not just in an inept way, but in a downright offensive way. This film knows it's big, loud and ridiculous, and excels at it. The effects are stonking and the fluidity of the action is superb.
Bay is a true master of carnage. Steve Jablonsky's thumping score also helps maintain momentum through much of the film's colossal runtime. The quality of the acting and of the script is mixed - LaBeouf and Huntington-Whiteley are serviceable at best, but Turturro, Malkovich and McDormand bring a level of professionalism, underused though they are.
If there are any true stars of the film it is the voice actors, especially the two principle transformers of the film, Optimus and Sentinel Prime (Cullen and Nimoy). The decision to have two of the most distinctive voices on the planet sharing screen time was a stroke of genius, and will likely result in nerdgasms everywhere.
It's not by any means a great film, but if you're in the right frame of mind, Dark of the Moon will give you a rollicking good time.
This review of Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) was written by Halfwelshman on 06 Jul 2011.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon has generally received mixed reviews.
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