Still Entertaining, But This Time Lacking In Punch

Rating: 6/10 (8 March 2017)

I have to give director Michael Bay a great deal of credit in this Transformers series. He manages to make three movies that are basically all just carbon copies of each other and make them all at the very least entertaining. That is no small feat. Thus, although the luster of the franchise begins to wear off (especially towards the film's conclusion) in this installment, "Dark of the Moon" still is an entertaining romp that won't leave you bored.
For a basic plot summary, "Dark of the Moon" formulates the notion that the Apollo 11 moon landing was merely a "smokescreen" for the retrieval of alien (i.e. Transformer) technology. Many years later, this technology predictably falls into the wrong hands and leaves the fate of the world to Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and his military buddies (Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, & John Turturro).
The positives of this movie are the usual: the special effects are a spectacle to behold, the action/adventure is pulse-pounding, and it is just a visual treat to watch. More importantly, though, is that the franchise still goes as LaBeouf goes. Though his exuberance for the Sam Witwicky role seems to have diminished just a bit (and perhaps that can be attributed to the character's aging as well), but his scenes are still the best of the experience.
Sadly, this movie also has a few notable "misses" that render it only slightly above average. First of is the utter exclusion of Megan Fox's character. I realize that Fox had a falling-out with Bay and wanted nothing to do with this movie, but the fact remains is that her stand-in (supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) has nowhere near that great romantic chemistry with LaBeouf. Rose is just as "bombshell" as Fox, but acting-wise it isn't even close.
Also, in this third go-'round, the general plot begins to get the slightest bit old. It is never boring, per se, but it doesn't have that "edge" like the first two did when the characters were still fresh.
Overall, "Dark of the Moon" is a decent effort that doesn't end up boring in any way. The exclusion (and no explanation) of Fox is the biggest missing piece here, but other than that it is pretty much "same old story" (with just slightly less enthusiasm all around).