An improvement over 'Fallen' but well short of the first film

Rating: Null/10 (13 July 2011)

My Rating: **1/2 out of ****
Spoilers
As far as summer blockbusters go, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is adequate but underwhelming. While a big improvement over it's predecessor, Revenge of the Fallen, which was stupid even by director Michael Bay's standards, Dark of the Moon is no better than mediocre. There's a lot of flash here but for a film that's over two and a half hours you need more than that and Dark of the Moon is pretty hollow.
When the first Transformers came out it provided eye-popping special effects with spectacular, though at times a little hectic, actions scenes and it did present characters you could at least identify with and care about. It wasn't a deep film by any means but it didn't pretend to be. Unfortunately, spectacular visuals and action scenes with a dumb plot only worked for one film. The two sequels are ridiculously too long and the cuts are so fast during the action that you have no idea what's going on, and by the end you don't even care.
To be fair, Dark of the Moon is not a terrible film, it even has some merits. I really liked how Bay took a real historical event like the moon landing and injected the Transformers into it. I had reservations about this when I saw the first trailer but really it's done quite well and we even get a compelling reason why another man has not set foot on the moon in over forty years. This was also done in this Summer's far superior X-Men: First Class, which used the Cuban Missile Crisis. Also, it's interesting that Sentimel Prime, an Autobot, is the villain of the film. This makes the Decepticons no more than a foot note but it is at least an interesting approach.
For about 90 minutes, Dark of the Moon is entertaining enough. The visuals are still spectacular (never a problem with this franchise) and things move fairly quickly. I can honestly say I did not expect to see Sentinel Prime join with the Decepticons so that was a nice unexpected turn. However, there is still another hour to go and those 60 minutes feel like an eternity! The action isn't compelling and it's so drawn out that you're just aching to leave, but you spent $15 and want to stick it out to the bitter end.
One final complaint; I don't like 3-D. Michael Bay decided he would to do Dark of the Moon in 3-D and it was a mistake. It's hard on the eyes and does nothing to enhance the cinematic experience. Unfortunately, moviegoers are going to have to put up with this nuisance more and more in action films so we're stuck with it.
If all you're interested in is great visuals and some mindless action, give Transformers: Dark of the Moon a shot. It wasn't worth the $15 ticket, could've been an hour shorter, and better off without the 3-D, but while it maybe underwhelming it's not a terrible film. Still, if you're anybody but a die-hard Transformers fan I'd wait for DVD.