I saw Dark of the Moon twice this weekend, once in regular 2D and again in RealD 3D. Spoken as someone who almost always prefers to have her movie experiences in 2D, there's just no comparison this time: 3D is absolutely the way to go here. The added depth elevates the film's spectacle-driven visuals to an amazing new level, and the effects are consistently outstanding from start to finish. (And to answer my own inquiry from before, yes, my theater did have a noticeably brighter digital print on hand. This is a practice I'd love to see applied to all future 3D films.)
But just the fact that I even bothered to see the movie twice in theaters (and in such rapid succession) is a testament to how improved Dark of the Moon turned out over its predecessors. I missed the first Transformers in theaters, but I don't think I would have been caught dead seeing it twice if given the option. Revenge of the Fallen was a bit better, but the entire affair was just too draining for me to endure a second viewing in good conscious. Here, Bay offers up a better paced film that's almost deserving of its monstrous run time.
I say "almost," because I still think there are a few problem spots here and there. For all the praise being lavished onto the film's action-drenched finale, I found myself becoming more and more apathetic as the last hour wore on. Don't get me wrong, the action and choreography is positively insane, and on a scale that's simply unmatched, but there came a point (and it came rather quickly) when it all became too much -- not unlike the second film's final battle, though this one does have the benefit of having a more interesting battleground: the Windy City. And then there's the ending: considering that this may be the final entry of a trilogy, DotM ends on a rather brusque note. One can't help but think, "All that shit that just went down, and THIS is the sort of resolution we end up with?"
But I did find DotM hitting the right marks before the big Chicago throwdown, largely due to what Jodo had stated: there's a better story in place, feeling much less campy and clunky than the last two outings. Not only did they rein back the puerile humor, but there are several comedic moments that are genuinely hilarious. Characters, like Revenge of the Fallen before it, aren't necessarily further developed, though they are ostensible more tolerable to bear. Big-name additions like Malkovich and Tudyk are definite scene stealers, and it was a laugh a minute with my audience when Ken Jeong appeared on screen. As for the big Megan Fox versus Rosie Huntington-Whiteley debate, it's no contest: Rosie wins by a country mile. Her Carly brings warmth and an easier sway of confidence where Fox's Mikaela's icy, rigid presence once lingered. She's also a damned sight prettier to look at, if I may say so.
The narrative itself was also finessed so that it isn't such a tangled web of needless complexity, kicking off with a clever retelling of the 1960s moon landing that leads into a plot involving a conspiratorial cover-up from NASA. Yes, there's been some retconning from the first two films in order to make it work, and yes, there's some pretty big holes in logic that Topless Robot's FAQ managed to point out -- but they're minor complaints given how much more enjoyable the story is overall.
Jablonsky's music score is, as expected, tonally similar to the rest of the series. Unfortunately, it's also the least memorable, for one crucial reason: the lack of the trademark Autobots theme. It's completely M.I.A. this time around. True, the themes for 'Prime' and 'Arrival to Earth' are used and arranged in a number of places, but there were countless moments throughout the movie where the more heroic Autobots melody could have been used to greater effect. This really diminishes the movie's sense of thematic continuity, which is a real shame. I also miss the edgier use of techno and choir from Revenge of the Fallen's score, with DotM opting for a more orchestral but generic flair. Few tracks here measure up to the likes of 'Forest Battle' and 'The Shard'. On the other hand, "Battle" is a stellar track, accompanying what I feel is THE GREATEST action sequence the series has ever seen. (This would be the ..... freeway chase.) Linkin Park's Iridescent is an okay song in its own right, but woefully out of place in the film, and not nearly as good as New Divide.
In lieu of the new movie, I'm going to revisit my like/hate ratio for the series. Where Revenge of the Fallen is about 65/35 and the first 40/60, Dark of the Moon garners a comparatively impressive 75/25. Despite a few questionable choices in direction and the occasional bits of retarded dialogue, I'm hard-pressed to find any serious faults with the film this time around. And for a Michael Bay production, that's pretty damned impressive.
