The saga finally comes to a loud, flashy, entertaining and slightly patchy end. A movie that has earned over $400 million globally in 4 days can't be that bad can it? thankfully it ain't.
The script is better than the second film (Revenge of the Fallen), the jokes and gags work better than the second film, the action sequences are better. "Better" is the key word for T3, not "great".
It has not turned me into a convert of Michael Bay-hem school of film, but when the film works it works very well - unfortunately it has its weaknesses but let’s concentrate on the positives for now.
For the first time in the series , the film actually has a bit of dramatic tension until the halfway mark. The new writer Ehren Kruger infuses some tension into the story where at one point the tonal change makes you wonder: is this is still a Michael Bay gig?
Michael Bay handles some of the unnerving scenes quite well, which almost introduce a theme that one could mull over - this is dropped for the easy-boy-to-man theme that Sam runs with in the film.
Yet the dramatic tension does not take away from the fun and humour that has been trademark of the Transformers. With two little autobods doing more to entertain the audience than the terrible twins from Revenge of the Fallen did.
The action set pieces are also quite cool, the 3D works in parts to make it great,but it is inconsistent. I’m starting to feel that 3D is wasted on Live Action films.
Avatar thus far is the only LiveAction 3D to do anything amazing with 3D consistebtly throughout the film, outside from animated features. But the 3D in Transformer is far better than the of Green lantern and Pirates of the Caribbean.
The other cool thing about the 3rd movie is that there are more new transformers from the animated series thrown in. Some are darn scarry like Shockwave, while some are pure entertainment and some, like Sentiniel Prime, actually help the story to scratch new paths.
Megan Fox’s replacement, model underwear actress Rosie Huttington-Whiteley is as much a sexual commodity as Megan Fox. Bay loves perving over her body with the camera and I have a feeling a lot of teen boys will be having “dreams” about her .Yet she ain't bad, she could just be the next Cameron Diaz with less pep.
The issues with Transformers are the same issues the series has had since the beginning: the robots playing second fiddle to the human (which can be rationalized) but the guys “disappearing” and re-appearing into film does not help.
Some of the main robots become bystanders in their own movie. There are a lot of cool new characters (robots) but they don’t have arches or even names, but that’s me nitpicking. This is Transformers not X-Men ...
The second half kind of becomes too predictable, it does not really ask you to invest much (emotionally in the story) and then there’s an awful nod to American patriotism that was nauseating. Fortunately that part does not last for long.
The funny thing is, for a PG 13 movie this is probably
the most violent PG film ever; spines get torn, bots’ get shot in the head, human beings are pulverised, the violence is unbecoming. But I guess because it is mostly directed at metal giant robots it's seen as tame.
In conclusion, leave your brain at home, try not to over-analyze the film - it might just surprise you even though you will forget the experience as soon as you get home. It's a pity that one of the major movies of 2011 requires you not to emotionally or intelligently engage with it, but here I guess different strokes for different folks.