Gaining Chaos, But Losing the Human Element.

Rating: Null/10 (19 July 2011)

Shia LaBeouf is now attempting to find a career after college graduation with little luck. However, all is not so dark and bleak as he has found a new love (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) and the world appears safe from those dreaded Decepticons. But things can change quickly as an Autobot spacecraft which was first discovered in the 1960s, becomes a point of interest for all robotic protagonists and antagonists involved. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" sizzles in its set-up and its plot development early with a vibrant energy and excitement from its highly likable cast (which even includes stand-outs like Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, and Ken Jeong), but is steadily destroyed by the titled characters. As the clock ticks and the running time becomes astronomical (running nearly 160 minutes) the movie begins to lose its wheels with an unending finale which literally takes up about an hour of the movie's running time. The "Transformers" series continues to deliver what it promises---sleek cars, sleeker women, and tons of chaotic noise and visuals. In the end though, the complexities of the human performers always seem to take a backseat to the titled weapons of mass destruction. Director Michael Bay seems to overlook and sacrifice legitimate premises and possibly interesting outcomes in favor of confusing and over-wrought visual effects which ultimately do very little to advance the effectiveness which potentially could have developed within. Sometimes less is more and I do not think it could be more prevalent, cinematically speaking, than in this particular movie franchise. 2.5 out of 5 stars.