Friday 11 May 2012

Film Review - Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon

Yes, film lovers, I'm doing another film review as my second DVD came through from those awfully nice chaps at LoveFilm, where for a wee bit of money each month, they'll send to you, some jolly decent DVDs that you choose to see, when you wish to see it.

So, those of you quick enough to grasp the stunningly obvious, the DVD I received was of Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon.  Was it worth watching then.  Let's find out.



What's it about?


Back in 1961, an escaped damaged Autobot ship, piloted by Setinel Prime, manages to flee Cybertron and crashes into the Moon.  Years later, the NASA, following President Kenndy's directive, sends Apollo 11 to search the stricken ship, and find what eventually turns out to be five pillars.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Back on Earth, in the modern day and living with his new girlfriend Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) attempts to find a job before his parents come visiting.  Having found a job, he encounters Jerry Wang who supplies information implying the Decepticons are invloved with an object on the dark side of the moon.

The Autobots, having learned of the Ark (the ship that crashed on the moon), visit it and retrieve Sentinel Prime, together with the five pillars and return to Earth.

Having learnt that the Decepticons got to the Ark well before the Autobots, and deliberately left both Sentinel and the pillars behind,  he searches out Optimus Prime to warn him of the deceit.


Any Good?


Sentinel Prime
Well, Yes.  the first half of the film, obviously bringng the audience up to scratch with the new girlfriend and reaquainting the viewer with the Autobots was a bit mundane and a tad slow for my liking, and once the Decepticons make their move in the middle of the film where the action gets underway,by and large, manages to keep pace until the end.

However, for me, there was something 'missing'.  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoyed it, and the special effects with all the Autobots/Decepticon fighting scenes was extremely good but, maybe as it was the third film in the series, it just didn't get me as emotionally involved as the two previous ones did.

And no, that wasn't because of the absence of Megan Fox due to comparing the director's work ethics, Michael Bay, to that of Hitler.  Yes, she was pretty, and she acted better than the current 'love interest' , but no, she wasn't missed.  And speaking of which, Rosie Huntington-Whitely just didn't bring anything to the film at all, not that she really had a chance to, script wise, but I really can't see her appearing in the next film, or the need to in all fairness.

Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel and John Turturro all slide easily back into their respective roles and Leonard Nimoy joins the voice acting as Sentinel Prime, with the script writers unable to resist sneaking in a line from Star Trek, which all Trekers will catch straight away.

Worth Buying or Renting?


Well, rental definitely.  As for buying??  If you're a fan of the Transformers films, or buying for the kids,  then obviously yes, but otherwise, no.  

There's nothing wrong, per se, with the film, but in my opinion the series has reached it's peak, and whilst Hollywood will no doubt continue with this cash cow, I fear that the standard will begin to slide, and maybe it's time for the lead actors to jump ship.

Marks out of 10


Hmmmm, definitely a 6, and maybe yes, edges to a 7 but no more. A good film but leaves me wishing there was something more to it.

Thought for the Day


Why are a wise man and wise guy opposites?




2 comments:

  1. I never saw this movie in theaters; I felt there wasn’t anything they could do that would make it any more interesting to me, then seeing my childhood cartoon figures in CGI. I did break down and watch it when I saw on the Epix page at Dish Online. I was right, it wasn’t that great of a movie, and for some reason it just seemed odd that the Autobot’s had been on Earth for a while now, and they never found all those Decepticon’s before they came out into the open. I did miss Meagan Fox, not for her manly thumbs more because of just what you said, at least she could act. Apparently when I told an coworker at Dish that I didn’t like the movie was the wrong thing to say to them, they still haven’t talked to me in a month.

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  2. Hell, let's be honest, Megan Fox is hot. And she did well in the first two films but any films now where sequels are produced have a fundemental flaw in them.

    A huge part of any film is introducing the characters and explaining where they've come from and who they are and so on, but in any sequel, this no longer applies, and that's a huge chunk of the film which now needs to be filled up with the storyline which is where most sequels fail.

    Yeah, improved CGI helps but if the plot is naff, then there really isn't much that's gonna save the film.

    Maybe a success can be pulled off once, or twice if you're lucky, but to expect this to continue is sheer folly, and that's where I believe the Transformers are at now.

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