If you liked Transformers 1 you'll like Transformers 3

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2011)

I rarely write reviews for movies, but I felt the need to for this one, simply because so many reviewers were bashing it and I want to set the minds at ease for those that really enjoyed the first Transformers and were hoping for a return to form after the awful "Revenge of the Fallen".
In short, I will say that I think this movie had the best action sequences out of all three movies, but the story in part 1 is better. That being said, this movie is a VERY close second to the first movie. The biggest improvements in this movie from "Revenge" are the removal of Skids and Mudflap, and the fight scenes are a lot more recognizable. What I mean by that is I felt like in "Revenge" when Prime would fight it was hard to tell who was who and which blade went where, etc. But in "Dark" they do a tremendous job in slowing the action down so you can get every aspect of where the punch lands or where the blade slices. I was a bit worried when the film started and a couple of the first Transformers we see are the "pet" robots that Sam owns. But, Bay (much like Lucas did with Jar Jar in Revenge of the Sith) keeps their scenes to a minimum and near the end of the movie they actually have some pretty funny scenes.
Acting overall was good. The actress they got to replace Megan Fox did an OK job. She should stick to her day job, but her acting didn't take away from the excitement of the film in anyway. Shia LaBouf did a good job, once again, as Sam. John Tutoro was back as the leader of Sector 7 again, and I though his performance, along with his new parter, were very good as well. Bringing in some veterans like John Malkovich and Frances MacDormand was a good pull by Bay as well. I liked both of their performances and thought they fit their roles well. Malkovich could've held back on the fake NY accent, but again, it didn't take away from the film in anyway.
I grew up watching the Transformers cartoon of the 80's so I consider myself a fan. I'm not a fanatic and didn't really follow them into comic book land or watch the recent animated series. I know some super-fans have been disappointed by these films, but if you're looking for a fun summer movie, with REALLY great action, and sequences that are simply exciting to watch, check out this movie. If you get the chance to see it in IMAX 3D, do take advantage of that as well. The explosions are pretty eye-opening in 3D and the IMAX just makes everything more exciting.