Well off to flicks did cynical old me go today!! And out come cynical old me even more cynical than ever!!!! It really is difficult at times in reviewing a movie like this as I feel as if I'm writing the same thing week in week out. Suffice to say if you have seen the first two movies then you have seen this the third instalment. One thing that is different and which I am eternally grateful for is the fact the worst 'actress' of all time Megan Fox wasn't in this. She dropped out just as production started and here Shia LeBeouf gets English model Rosie Huntington-Whitely in Fox's place. Not in the same role thankfully as we learn that she has subsequently dumbed LeBeouf's character. So whew no appalling Megan Fox to agonise over! But we get someone just as bad I'm afraid! Whitely is the cliqued dumb blonde who is there as eye candy, and boy can she just NOT act!! It was embarrasing and I'm afraid a shot up her arse on a stairway with skimpy knickers on at the start is never going to make her an actress! Tight dresses want do it either I'm afraid Miss Whitely!! So straight off we are on the wrong foot with things sticking to the formula.
It is somewhat unfortunate that Transformers 3 also has a plot from the 1960's. I instantly had visions of the recent X-Men. Again we have JFK footage, and even some from the very naughty Mr. Nixon. The shot of JFK is lifted straight from Forrest Gump, and if you watch carefully right throughout there are many nods towards other movies. In one scene there is a neon sign with Tron, and one of the Decepticons is a robot version of Predator. You will catch them if you are quick enough and somewhat tounge in cheek. But by doing this I think Michael Bay has seriuosly shot himself in the foot because when the scene where the building is cut in half and topples is virtually lifted straight out of the awful Cloverfield.
And here we come to the crux of the problem. There is too much other movie stuff going on and all we get is a Transformers meets Cloverfield meets Battle : L.A meets Skyline hash/mash/spit out the end result. Sure the effects are great, and I will give credit where credit is due, but really it has been done before and I couldn't escape the feeling of deja vu. I was also feeling somewhat annoyed as there are several scenes of straight out wonten vandalisism. In one scene several Autobots beat up a Decepticon, throw him on a classic car ( nooooooooooo!! ), crushing it, and then boot it into a nearby diner. I mean it was just out and out vandalism and I just couldn't buy into that as entertainment. Sure the franchise is about big bangs entertainment but by this third outing I was sick of OUR cities being trashed by two warring alien races. Here it is Chicago's turn and it laid to waste. Sure, spectacular, but somehow it annoyed me that it was our planet being destroyed. God damn it robot alien thingies, if you want to fight go back home and do it!
Overall then this is like so many modern movies, it is just one too far. The first I will acknowledge, but its success lead to the inevitable sequel which made squillions which breed the yet again inevitable sequel. Unfortunately three is one too many and I think only serious Tranfsformer fans will gain anything from this. It is cliqued with some absolute clanger dialogue, and a really poor atempt at humour as LeBeouf goes through numerous job interviews. Honestly they are so bad as to be ridiculous. Does Bay seriously believe people act like than in job interviews???
I find this a hard one to gauge. I liked the graphics, but the acting was a joke and some of the human scenerios just stupid. Bay has tried to add in some nods to other movies but they mis-fire as they just remind us of the fact that Transformers 3 is little more than a re-run. Taking shots from Forrest Gump and Cloverfield was not a smart move and I think Bay made a terrible mistake by doing so. The action sequences are spectacular yes, but are virtual replays of the last two movies. And very much like Battle : L.A the in between scenes are poor with some terrible, terrible dialogue. ( Frances McDormand ran rings around the rest of the cast and showed them what real acting was in the process. If it wasn't for her then there would have been no credible acting at all! ). Bay makes the whole thing worse with a sentimental soundtrack that can't cover the fact he is trying to add a serious and credible tone to the movie. Unfortunately he makes a poor movie even worse by trying to do so.
In all honesty I think this is one for the fans alone. One too many that has nothing new and it is almost as if Michael Bay went out of his way to sabotage his own movie with some foolish lifting from other movies. I'm neutral on this one. It is a Transfomers movie and that is about it and probably one for fans alone. Luckily Bay has annouced this is his last Transformers movie. Lets hope the franchise goes away with him!!
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Actually surprised you found a lot more to like than I was expecting when I first started the review. Bay is a certain kind of filmmaker, the kind that's an action junkie and everything is just fodder, I've kind of come to expect it from him.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up with the Transformers cartoons, I'm a bit of a fan and terribly biased. The first one was fairly good, second one had some major missteps. Still I own both and kind of glaze over the terrible parts, oh what an effect childhood memories have on a person....
I liked the first one absolutely. The second was missable and the third just more of the same for me. I see the appeal but in the third one the acting besides McDormand is quite bad and I had to grit my teeth at times!
ReplyDeleteI must admit to missing the cartoon series for some reason but I do remember very clearly when the toys hit the market, huge in their day.
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ReplyDeleteI read only the last paragraph because I'm going to see it on Saturday only... I think I will like it because I have been among those few who liked the first two installments. However, I'm sad they tossed out Fox from the project.
ReplyDeletePS Can you please add the Google Search Bar? It would help searhing your site. I just wanted to find your Winter's Bone review.
If you liked the second movie then the third will satisfy you. I found LeBeouf a real pain in this and feel his acting talents have slipped somewhat.
ReplyDeleteWinter's Bones is in March and is the second review from the top!
It’s an improvement over the second one, which isn’t saying much, but still is a very fun blockbuster filled with action, destruction, romance, robots, and Michael Bay once again letting loose on all the special effects and action there is to let loose. Good Review!
ReplyDeleteIt is a blockbuster that will either be your thing or it won't! It is exactly my cup of tea anymore but I do see the appeal for the masses!
ReplyDeleteGreat review as usual Brent (sorry it's taken me so long to read it - time has been short this week!)
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise Bay had announced this was his last Transformers film. I absolutely love the first one but I think it has been Michael Bay and his lack of originality has let the franchise down so if they make another film without himI will be very happy.
This film is for fans alone and even then it was pushing its luck. The interview scenes were god awful - it isn't helped that Shia LeBeouf is devoid of the charm required to pull the dry wit off.
Next up Harry Potter but that will be after Italy - as a non fan I am more intrigued by my reaction to the end of the saga
Saw this yesterday, and I generally agree with both the review and the comments. The first film - now I'll be damned, but that is one of my favorite action films / summer blockbusters ever. I give it a 10/10. The second was much worse, but still kind of enjoyable, and the third is but a small improvement over it.
ReplyDeleteStill, I only went in expecting big bangs and giant robots destroying all in their sights... and well, I got it. Overall, I liked this whole franchise for what it's worth.
K..I read in our local paper that Bay had given up the reins. LeBeouf was awful and those interviews scenes really pissed me off. They weren't funny and amusing at all and sort of set the whole movie off on the wrong foot.
ReplyDeleteHP starts here next week and I'm aPotter fan so I'm looking forward to it!
VH..I like the first one as well. The second was poor and like I say the third is an improvement but probably for die hard fans alone. The third was let down more by the acting than the visuals. I can't rave over it but I didn't dislike it either as I got what I expected.
I certainly see the appeal of the franchise. God I remember when the toys first hit the market in the very early 1980's!!!