Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Jul. 27th, 2013 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckroAlong with the Transformers hidden in the Hoover Dam and the Egyptian pyramids, apparently various governments on Earth have been covering up a Cybertronian spaceship that was discovered on the dark side of the moon—one that held a secret weapon intended for use against the Decepticons that might have won the war. But the Decepticons are plotting something, and all is not as it seems. Oh, and Sam Witwicky graduated from college and has a new girlfriend and needs to find a job.
Apparently somebody involved in the creation of this movie agreed with me that the Recordicons were some of the coolest Decepticons. (Then again, I get the impression that was a common opinion.) After Ravage’s amazing showing in the previous movie, Laserbeak gets a major role in this one. (With half a dozen different alt-modes. Robot in disguise, indeed.) Shockwave and Soundwave (both voiced by Frank Welker, even!) also got to be really badass. And Optimus got to use his energon sword and axe again.
They apparently forgot that all of the transformers are supposed to be re-creatable as toys, however. Several of them basically fold the vehicle mode up inside the robot mode in something that either requires millions of tiny moving parts or a violation of physics. And while they actually make good use of "robots in disguise" by having the Transformers be good at hiding in plain sight, it strained my suspension of disbelief that a seriously banged-up Bumblebee turns into an absolutely pristine car—repeatedly.
Like the other two movies, this one is too goddamn long and needs fewer squishy humans--they brought back pretty much everyone (except Mikela who gets a replacement), and added new human characters just because they could. Don’t get me wrong, I approve of everything that gets Alan Tudyk screen time and a paycheck, but his character really didn’t need to be there.
This movie seemed to trade a bunch of its lens flare in for slow-mo action, which actually helped the fight scenes because it gave you a chance to see what the hell was going on. Not that it helped with telling most of the Transformers apart, though: I recognized four Decepticons (Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, Laserbeak) and three Autobots (Optimus, Bumblebee, Sentinel Prime), and the stupid little mini-con things that replaced the racist redneckbots. All the rest, I was trying to guess and usually failing. Was the big Decepticon ship Astrotrain? Was the old Scotsman the one they kept calling Ratchet? Who the hell knows?
Sentinel Prime got a specific line just because Nimoy was voicing him—if you haven’t seen it, it referred to the needs of the many. And it was kinda dumb.
Overall: It was better than Revenge of the Fallen in a bunch of ways (less gross-out “humor” and easier-to-follow action sequences, mostly), but it’s still not a great movie. I reiterate my desire to get a “collector’s edition” of all three movies with just 45 minutes each of high-def giant robots punching each other.
Apparently somebody involved in the creation of this movie agreed with me that the Recordicons were some of the coolest Decepticons. (Then again, I get the impression that was a common opinion.) After Ravage’s amazing showing in the previous movie, Laserbeak gets a major role in this one. (With half a dozen different alt-modes. Robot in disguise, indeed.) Shockwave and Soundwave (both voiced by Frank Welker, even!) also got to be really badass. And Optimus got to use his energon sword and axe again.
They apparently forgot that all of the transformers are supposed to be re-creatable as toys, however. Several of them basically fold the vehicle mode up inside the robot mode in something that either requires millions of tiny moving parts or a violation of physics. And while they actually make good use of "robots in disguise" by having the Transformers be good at hiding in plain sight, it strained my suspension of disbelief that a seriously banged-up Bumblebee turns into an absolutely pristine car—repeatedly.
Like the other two movies, this one is too goddamn long and needs fewer squishy humans--they brought back pretty much everyone (except Mikela who gets a replacement), and added new human characters just because they could. Don’t get me wrong, I approve of everything that gets Alan Tudyk screen time and a paycheck, but his character really didn’t need to be there.
This movie seemed to trade a bunch of its lens flare in for slow-mo action, which actually helped the fight scenes because it gave you a chance to see what the hell was going on. Not that it helped with telling most of the Transformers apart, though: I recognized four Decepticons (Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, Laserbeak) and three Autobots (Optimus, Bumblebee, Sentinel Prime), and the stupid little mini-con things that replaced the racist redneckbots. All the rest, I was trying to guess and usually failing. Was the big Decepticon ship Astrotrain? Was the old Scotsman the one they kept calling Ratchet? Who the hell knows?
Sentinel Prime got a specific line just because Nimoy was voicing him—if you haven’t seen it, it referred to the needs of the many. And it was kinda dumb.
Overall: It was better than Revenge of the Fallen in a bunch of ways (less gross-out “humor” and easier-to-follow action sequences, mostly), but it’s still not a great movie. I reiterate my desire to get a “collector’s edition” of all three movies with just 45 minutes each of high-def giant robots punching each other.
