Movie Review: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

[jpskewedthrone]

So, Patricia Bray (pbray) and I went to see Transformers: Dark of the Moon this past weekend. I grew up on Transformers (still have a ton of the toys, old and *ahem* new), and Optimus Prime is Patricia's boyfriend. So of course we had to go, even though the second movie was so hideously bad (and the first was fun but also not that great). After seeing a single preview of this movie, I had hopes that this one was better. In fact, it appeared that perhaps not only was it better, but that they'd actually taken a risk and done something significant with the Transformer universe.

Well, half of that was right.

The first half of the movie was actually pretty damn good, giving me hope. The set-up, with the conspiracy about the 1960s and Sam unraveling what had happened and what was currently happening was great. Even the idea behind what was really going on was great. There was certainly a spectacular idea behind it all. Sure, the humor with Sam and his family was over the top and not really at an adult level (more for the younger generation), and as Patricia pointed out, it makes no sense for the government not to give Sam a job, if for no other reason than to keep track of him since he knows so much. But that plot hole (hey, KC buddies) aside, it was actually a good set-up.

But then the movie hits Chicago and everything went to hell, not in a good way. Oh, the plot point where Chicago becomes involved is great. I love the initial scenes, love the fact that they took the risk and had the assault on such a scale and that the Transformers are actually impacting and affecting our world to a huge extent now. They need to continue this (and I hope they do, since another movie is almost certainly guaranteed). I love the fact that the Decepticons actually become evil here, are not just stated evil, but are actively evil regarding the human population. All of that was great.

But the plot died here. There are some spectacular scenes, visually and dramatically. I love the entire sequence with the glass building and the escalating tension there. But then the plot holes become so huge and so prevalent that you can't find any solid ground. I think part of the problem is Michael Bay's love of the fight sequences. There were too many here and each one was too long. It was like he needed to have an individual fight sequence for each robot, as well as each human. People ended up by themselves for no apparent reason, when the groups should all have been converging toward the central goal. Instead, that central goal (which I'll leave out for spoilerage reasons) was lost for a good portion of the later half of the movie. They set it up and then everyone just seemed to forget it. Various other plot threads were also lost: What happened to the distraction Optimus sent a few of them off to set up? How the hell did Bumblebee get caught along with Q? How did Megatron end up sitting on the street during the height of the battle? What happened to the whole "the element of surprise is our only strategy"? Why the hell didn't the Autobots attack at the Nest, why did they stand back and do nothing? I could go on. The number of abandoned plot threads in the second half of the movie was . . . astounding.

But shit did blow up. And as I said, they certainly pushed the envelope (in a good way) and seriously dealt with a Transformer war brought to Earth. Chicago got ripped to shreds. And it was definitely a significant game changer for future movies. I'm not sure what happened to Cybertron (they never really explained all of that). It's up in the air as to what will happen next. They've left the field wide open for the fourth movie.

I just hope they get someone to write a consistent, coherent plot. You CAN have that, and still blow shit up and have fight scenes and such. If you need help, Michael Bay, I'll be more than willing to help out. I do have some writing credentials after all. And I'm sure Patricia Bray will help as well. All you have to do is introduce her to Optimus.

Comments

[eclectic-writer.livejournal.com]

I actually really liked the various arcs throughout the plot. Yes there were definitely holes - I was a bit annoyed how the Autobots let the Decepticons just take over and kill thousands just to prove a point - but their lead-up and character arc with Sam was an absolute favorite. Having to prove to himself he was more than just a messenger, jumping on the Decepticon to distract/fight it, etc. I thought the movie was as much a coming of age story as an action flick, if not more so. The series of low, lower and even lower points made the hopelessness more poignant and the final victory that much sweeter.

But yes, near the last quarter to third of the movie it seemed to get really disjointed, for many of the same reasons you listed. I still very much liked it but by the final "victory" it felt sort of hollow and contrived. I'd also have liked a bit more resolution (like what happened to Sam's parents or to J Malkovich's character, etc) but all in all it was a good flick. :)

[pbray.livejournal.com]

I see it now, as we move from anthologies edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray to our screenwriting collaborations. We'll be famous!

And really, I won't drool all over Optimus. Well, much.