An improvement on the last film but then again the only way was up

Rating: 4/10 (7 July 2011)

Having enjoyed the first film a lot (a good blend of action and comedy), I was greatly disappointed by the second film (too much bad comedy and barely any memorable action scenes) and was concerned how the third would turn out. It seems that Bay reduced some of painfully unfunny comical moments from the last and improves on the action however there are still some moments that take us back to ROTF reminding me that Bay still hasn't learned entirely from his previous mistakes.
There's no writer's strike to hind behind this time and Spielberg is back on the team so what stops this from being as good as the first one? The best answer that I can give is that the film feels too chaotic and messy in its storytelling for it to become truly enjoyable. There are some key plot points that are delivered either by crazy robots who are hard to understand or by human characters talking really fast while the camera is focusing on their skin molecules. If you are going to tell a story in a film aimed towards a young audience, speak clearly or as in this case, it turns into someone making a mess of a job interview by speaking too fast in an effort to cover up any holes in their presentation hoping that those listening will not notice. I know that the story isn't really worth worrying about but we deserve to have an understanding of what is going on.
Other issues include unnecessarily comedic moments such as Ken Jeong who should have been taken out of the script (but his scenes are pointless so maybe there was no script for him) as that could have allowed for more time to be spent trying to develop the Autobots. Thankfully that character has an abrupt ending that couldn't have come sooner. However the film does achieve at some points in being funny. Perhaps if the film had concentrated on being like the trailer i.e. being darker and focusing on the events at-hand it would have been so much better.
Thankfully the film never becomes too offensive unlike the last, making for an enjoyable final act as Chicago is destroyed. Amongst all the chaotic destruction that we have all seen before is an action set-piece set within a collapsing building that we keep you fixed to the screen. It has everything that Bay forgot to do with the rest of the film, which is that there is tension, there is a purpose to the scene, the build-up is great and you are actually concerned for how the characters will escape. If only there were more scenes like this one, which you actually care for!
Returning cast members (Shia, Sam's parents who are actually pretty good this time, Josh Duhamel and John Turturro) are all watchable. Meagan Fox's replacement may divide opinion but I found Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to fit in well amongst the rest of the film. John Malkovich is funny at first but his character soon feels more like a cameo. Ken Jeong was horrible to watch and nearly derailed the film. Patrick Dempsey was good at would he did but come the battle he had little to do. Frances McDormand played the cold government agent role well while Alan Tudyk was good but deserved a bigger role.
But of-course the film is about the Transformers and the auto-bots in this are all pretty good. Like last time there could have been more of Ratchet and Ironhide but they have their moments. Bumblebee is as good as he was in the first film but I felt the focus had been moved too far away from him and Sam's relationship together which was important in the first film. Optimus still demands the audiences attention every-time you that red and blue truck enter the screen but there is one scene where I found myself questioning his actions but on the whole he was great and Peter Cullen is fantastic as ever.
There is something wrong with the villains though this time as they never really seem to be much of a threat as they seem to get taken down pretty quickly. More of an emphasis on the villains strengths and capabilities would have drastically improved the already enjoyable action scene at the end. Sorry guys but the once great Starscream from the first film is gone and we are still left with a sniveling henchman that is embarrassing to watch at times considering he was the one who tore those jets to pieces at the end of the first.
Overall this is enjoyable to watch. When it works (collapsing building and car chase scenes) it really works and this also goes for the humour. Sadly the film is not perfect but I doubt anyone was expecting it to be. Once again the trailer promises something else but what we end up receiving is still worth your attention if you enjoyed the either of the last two.