Transformers Dark of the Moon- Giant robots in mortal combat, what's not to like?

Rating: 8/10 (30 June 2011)

Story: The Autobots must recover the Arc, a Cybertronian aircraft that holds the key to save the planet Cybertron, before the Decepticons. The Arc holds the secret which, if it falls in the hands of Decpticons, will spell disaster for Autobots, and more importantly, for Earth. However, the Autobots soon learn that what they strive to protect, has a deeper and a darker plan than they could imagine. They must race against time and fight one of their own to save the planet and the human race from the Decepticons' sinister plan.
Review: Transformers- Dark of the Moon gives its fans something to cheer about. The third instalment of the series makes up for everything Transformers 2 failed at, and goes a step beyond the Transformers (I) glory. The movie serves a huge helping of special effects, complete with a strong storyline. The car chases, the cars transforming or the giant robots in mortal combat- each scene is crafted with attention to detail. While the metal clashing against metal can be overwhelming in certain scenes, the fantastic VFX applied results in a visual delight. However, special effects are not all that the movie has to offer. There are some witty exchanges and moments of comic relief making it a complete package, or one very near to it.
The love triangle is expertly mingled with the main story, leaving no loose ends. The plot is expertly unravelled, with sufficient amount of dialogue and special effects to move the story along. Though the movie is dominated with special effects, care has been taken to inject appropriate amount humour and emotion in it. All things considered, the visuals do justice to the storyline and the plot, in turn, provides occasion for the superb special-effects.
Shia LaBeouf reprises his role as Sam Witwicky, although, he is now more of an adult with a fair sense of responsibility. Rosie Huntington- Whiteley looks much more like a Victoria Secret's model (which she is) than Sam's girlfriend. However, she does justice to her role and proves a far cry from Megan Fox, whose expression seldom changed with the twists in story in the previous movies. LaBeouf and Rosie try hard to add some chemistry to the lead pair, but fail miserably. Her character appears just too far out of his league. Bay will not be disappointed in Rosie, as she brings doles of glamour and a fair amount of talent to the table. Patrick Demsey looks awkward and is not very convincing as a villain. The rest of the cast play their part well and don't give occasion for any harsh criticism.
Michael Bay will regain his fans' vote of confidence. Where his last Transformers severely disappointed, this one goes a long way to make up for it. Bay makes sure the core issue- Autobots war with Decepticons- is not lost between all the effects. He doesn't alienate the viewers with all the new characters by giving the old ones strong parts to play. He manages to inject a fair dose of emotion in the movie, though; the action scenes far outweigh these. Bay, however, fails to elicit any semblance of romantic feelings between the lead pair.
Fans will definitely not be disappointed. Optimus Prime gets a third transformation capability, while a few other welcome changes are made to the Autobots team. Optimus and Bumblebee return with shiny new additions. Optimus Prime is a treat to watch as he plays the part of the Hero and impresses in every scene.
The bromance between Bumblebee and Sam is something to watch out for.
Decepticon Soundwave and his pet Driller are impressive and could have been given more screen time.
The story has heavy battle sequences, so watching the movie in 3D could give a few viewers headaches. The fact that a few parts in the film was converted to 3D post-production makes it fall short in bringing out the best in some scenes during the movie. However, the 3D format makes many action sequences stand out from the rest, so the viewers will not be shortchanged for the extra bucks spent.
The romance between the lead pair is not at all believable, but considering the fact that the movie is about the robots, the human shortcomings can be overlooked.
Transition between scenes in some places is erratic and abrupt, but this is an exception and not the rule.
There are a few treats thrown in for crossover fans between Transformers and Star Trek. In the initial few minutes of the movie, when the two small Autobots are watching television, a Star Trek scene with a wildly agitated Spock (Leonard Nimmoy) is shown. This is perhaps a harbinger of Sentinel Prime (voiced by Nimmoy) wrecking destruction in the latter part of the movie- a very clever addition. Sentinel Prime also uses a famous line delivered by Spock in a Star Trek movie. A 'trekkie' will surely be able to spot this.
All in all, a good movie to catch over the weekend.
(First reviewed by me for Dailybhaskar.com)