Viewed in
2011
Formats
IMAX 3D theater (fakey)
Premise
Third installment of the Michael Bay franchise.
Liked
The special effects.
Thoughts
I got what I expected. So there's that.
The sole reason to see this was production value. Clearly you could see where all the budget went to and created some enjoyable over-the-top action sequences. Watching it in IMAX 3D, I was pleasantly surprised by how polished the experience was. Bay actually stayed away from herky-jerky handheld and seizure-inducing cuts, relying on slow motion shots allowed me to soak in the 3D goodness of giant robots doing John Woo ballet. The computer graphics were top-notch. Most mind-blowing was an octopus-like Decepticon devouring an entire skyscraper.
What surprised me was the cast. The new chick was no Megan Fox, but I didn't miss her much. Shia LaBeouf had expertly honed the cheeky action hero persona and was fun to watch. Flanking the regulars, such as Julie White and Kevin Dunn, was an armada of quality actors, including Frances McDormand and Ken Jeong. Watching John Malkovich, Leonard Nimoy, John Turturro and Alan Tudyk voraciously chewing up their scenes definitely made those scenes less boring. Yes, I'm guilty of smirking at Nimoy's Star Trek references.
We know the flaws: the length, too many subplots, not a shred of intelligent dialog, ho-hum characters, can't tell an Autobot from a Decepticon, blah blah blah...
Going in with low expectations, it was un-boring enough to enjoy the smorgasbord of outrageous computer graphics and explosions. I agree with general consensus that it was better than the second entry in the franchise, but not as charming as the first. If you plan to watch this, I recommend shelling out the extra bucks for 3D IMAX.
What I would change
Taken out some of the human subplots to finish it under two hours.
Personal
Stephen Taylor from the Awkward Embraces web series had some lines. Good for him!
