A bit better than #2...

Rating: 6/10 (13 July 2011)

I just saw the film last night with my girlfriend. We both liked the film, but it was just a bit too long. I'm not going to try to "nitpick" but I wanted to cover some major things that stood out for me.
I was having a difficult time understanding where the movie was taking place until they ended up in Chicago. It jumps all over the place - just like the Transformers.
Let's being with a big point that many people cover - Megan Fox's replacement, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Quite honestly, she could have been left out of the film totally. Not only was her "acting" bad, but she really provides nothing for the story other than eye candy. I can't stand the shots where it's just the camera panning up and down her body, up her skirt, etc. And what is it with having to have plump lips? It looks so unnatural. She never gets dirty or gets any cuts either, just like her predecessor.
Sam's parents provide some humor, but could have been left out as well. They were used as filler to extend the duration of this film. I guess they leave the city at some point? I don't know, it's never really brought up again.
I thought it was cool that Leonard Nimoy provided the voice for Sentinel Prime. Being a Trek fan, I noticed the nods to him and Star Trek throughout the film (one is blatantly obvious for those who have seen the Wrath of Khan). I know he provided some voice acting for the cartoon series as well.
There are many action shots that I had a hard time deciphering what exactly was going on. I knew two robots were going at it, but I couldn't tell what they were doing. It was just shots of jumbled metal with eventually a robot head dropping to the ground, with "robot guts" (yes, the transformers now bleed and have guts now). There are also many "slow motion" punches, stabs, decapitations, etc. It seems like no happy medium could be found for the pace of these action shots - they are either too fast to know what exactly is happening, or too slow that the point is engraved into your brain.
***BIG SPOILERS ALERT*** The ending - it just seemed way too abrupt for me. In a span of about 5 minutes, Optimus loses his arm to Sentinel, Megatron (who is wasted in this film) kills Sentinel, Optimus decapitates Megatron, Bumblebee hums "Here Comes the Bride," Optimus gives another speech and the ending credits roll. My thought once the credits came up was like, "Whoa! That was quick." It was almost as if they were only given a set time limit to cram all of that in or they thought "Gee, we better wrap this franchise up." I'm guessing that this is the final installment of the Transformers movie series (unless they decide to reboot it, like they do with everything). I thought it was better than the second film (no overkill with testicle/ball references). I still think the first film is probably the best out of the bunch. Dark of the Moon is darker and gives off an apocalyptic vibe for the ending half. Most who have seen the previous films will go see this one. People who absolutely love the "Michael Bay formula" (meaning T&A, explosions, CGI and erratic camera work) of movies will love this. It's not bad, but it's not great either.