Transformers: Dark of the Moon

OVERVIEW

In 2011, audiences were still under the spell of watching enormous robots destroy gigantic buildings, apparently without needing much visual or narrative cohesion, a compelling story, or characters worth caring about. With Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Michael Bay gives them exactly that. The third installment follows Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), now struggling to find a job after saving the world twice, as the discovery of a Cybertronian spacecraft on the Moon reveals a secret behind the Apollo 11 mission. Soon, the Autobots and Decepticons are once again fighting over the fate of Earth, this time bringing their war to the streets and buildings of Chicago.

BACKGROUND

Following the poor critical reception of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), Michael Bay returned for a third installment, this time with Ehren Kruger as the sole screenwriter. Bay acknowledged that the previous film had suffered from a rushed production during the 2007–08 writers’ strike, and the two spent eight months developing the new screenplay. Megan Fox did not return, with model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley making her acting debut as Sam’s new girlfriend. The production also marked the franchise’s first use of 3D photography, with James Cameron encouraging Bay to adopt the technology developed for Avatar (2009). Bay initially intended this to be his final Transformers film, and it did mark Shia LaBeouf’s departure from the franchise. However, Dark of the Moon earned over $1.1 billion worldwide, becoming the franchise’s highest-grossing installment, a record it still holds. Bay eventually returned for two more films, replacing LaBeouf with Mark Wahlberg as the lead, although the franchise’s box office fortunes gradually declined.

THE REVIEW

Despite Bay’s claims of improvement, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is every bit as painful to sit through as its insufferable predecessor. There are attempts at telling a proper story, with much of the first half dedicated to a conspiracy plot, and even some interest in developing its characters. Safe to say, these attempts are not only excruciatingly stupid but also largely inconsequential once the fighting begins. The dialogue is laughable, with characters constantly stating out loud what we have just seen or spelling out their plans. Conflicts appear out of nowhere, like Carly, seemingly proud of Sam’s past heroics, suddenly showing him a photograph of her brother, who died in Afghanistan, to criticize his eagerness to put himself in danger. Naturally, she forgets this when that same eagerness becomes necessary to rescue her. The robots once again have an inexplicable loyalty to humans, and Americans in particular, while characters like John Turturro’s Simmons, John Malkovich’s Bruce Brazos, Alan Tudyk’s Dutch, and Ken Jeong’s Jerry Wang seem to exist largely to pad an already exhausting runtime. The latter, in particular, reaches new heights of obnoxiousness.

Shia LaBeouf spends most of the film yelling, seemingly determined to become the most annoying person imaginable (something that appears to come much more effortlessly to him in real life). Meanwhile, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, making her acting debut as Carly, shows little acting ability, though it is easy to imagine Bay, who introduces her with a voyeuristic shot of her backside, simply directing her to look pretty. The robots are once again uninteresting and anonymous, with their voices blending together despite the involvement of talented actors like Hugo Weaving, Leonard Nimoy, and Peter Cullen, whose performances are buried under excessive processing.

It is clear by now that Bay’s interest in these films lies neither in Sam nor in Optimus Prime, nor in the human struggle against these larger-than-life, destructive forces, or even in the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons (it’s impossible not to laugh every time those names are mentioned in a film that takes itself so deadly seriously), but in the novelty of the effects and the entertainment potential of the destruction itself. Yet, once again, he fails even there. There is literally one scene, or more specifically, about ten seconds, in which the film truly works. During a high-speed highway chase, Bumblebee transforms in slow motion while pushing an obstacle out of Sam’s way and protecting him. In those fleeting seconds, we see the potential of this franchise, something that would only have been properly achieved so far in 2018’s Bumblebee. And yet, even this sequence is nearly sabotaged by an inadequate score that promises a buildup while the action is already taking place. To make matters worse, the chase is intercut with a far less interesting and predictable revelation of the film’s big twist. The parallel editing robs both sequences of their impact (although the revelation probably wouldn’t have had much either way), with the tone of each constantly undermining the other.

But that is Michael Bay’s approach to the series in a nutshell. For every impressive visual, genuinely clever transformation, or ambitious, boundary-pushing effect, there is an awkward editing choice, a mismatch in the score, a lack of spatial coherence, or simply a complete disregard for internal logic that leaves all that potential unfulfilled. The extended climax in Chicago is particularly torturous, with characters appearing wherever the screenplay needs them, barely any sense of geography, and destruction that goes on and on without giving us a reason to care. For all the buildings collapsing and streets being torn apart, there are remarkably few civilians to be seen, or any real acknowledgment of how the catastrophe affects the people living there. The characters we do know magically survive the chaos without a scratch (even their clothes remain clean, including Carly’s white shirt!). So the question remains: why and how should we care? As a technical demonstration, Dark of the Moon remains impressive even fifteen years later. As a feature film? A failure in practically every possible way.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Nearly three hours of obnoxious characters, incomprehensible action, and endless destruction, with about ten seconds of genuine excitement. Dark of the Moon remains an impressive technical achievement and a miserable experience as a feature film.

At a glance

0.5/5

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Where to watch

Disney+NetflixParamount Plus

Where to watch

NetflixDisney+Paramount Plus

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