Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Okay, I know you all are wondering if Rose Huntington-Whiteley adequately replaces Megan Fox as Samuel Witwicky's love interest in this, the last installment of the Transformers trilogy. Well all I can say is while she does look good in heels and a short skirt (which she seems to stay dressed in throughout the movie unless you count those times when she's half naked) her acting is Megan Fox quality. Thankfully though there is a lot more to see and a lot more going on than Rose's weak performance though someone needs to tell Michael Bay to hire a real actress instead of these girls that just look good on the screen but have no real acting talent.

Fear not though, this movie is chock full of talented actors who are also okay on the eyes. Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Turturro reprise their roles as Lennox, Epps, and Simmons respectfully but also appearing in Transformers: Dark of the Moon are the incomparable Frances McDormand, the eerily talented John Malkovich, the chameleon Alan Tudyk, and just in case there wasn't enough eye candy on the screen for the ladies there's Patrick Dempsey (I was told he's a hottie, whatever). There's also the gravitas of Leonard Nimoy voicing Sentinel Prime and a hilarious turn by Ken Jeong fresh off his role in The Hangover II. Throw all this talent in the hopper along with a decent story line, something T2 did NOT have and you have a movie that's far superior than the second and almost as good as the first. If this is the last Transformers movie the trilogy bows out impressively.

The story centers around the reason man stepped foot on the moon and Sam while being the savior of mankind (twice as he will gladly tell anyone who will listen) is unable to get a job. The Autobots, no longer having anything to fear from the vanquished Decepticons now work with man to handle terrorist issues here at home. That was until they find certain Cybertron technology sitting in the middle of Chernobyl, yes I said Chernobyl. Talk about a place making the most unlikely of comebacks. This pisses Optimus Prime off and he realizes he and the Autobots have been either lied to by omission or lied to outright by the US Government. He's then told about the crashed ship that landed on our moon that carried the technology that would have ended the Cybertron civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. They retrieve what was on the moon and then all hell breaks loose.

The 3D done in this movie rivals the amazing 3D of Avatar and Michael Bay is at his nihilistic best destroying the city of Chicago and laying it to waste. When watching this movie I marveled at the number of difficult shots that are in it and marveled more at Michael pulling it all off. The post production hours must have been a bitch but the effort was well worth it and while I am not a big Michael Bay fan, this movie in my humble opinion is his best to date. Now that's not saying much I know but it's true.

The true gem of this movie though is the music. Scored by Steve Jablonsky again, much in the same way John Williams stepped his game up from Star Wars to The Empire Strikes Back Jablonksy does the very same thing. No I am NOT putting Stevie J in the same category as The Maestro but Jablonsky does an amazing job scoring this movie. He impressed with his score on T2 but he aided the emotional depth with his music.

After the debacle that was the second movie I wasn't all the fired up for the third installment but all the mistakes they made in the second by taking their audience for granted they more than corrected this time around. If you're looking for that popcorn summer film that will blow your mind and entertain on all fronts then I highly recommend Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Oh and if you can, see it in IMAX and I'll see you at the theater.