Transformers 3 Review SPOILERS
So Transformers 3. We’d had the hype, the trailers and the promises (that this would be better than Transformers 2) and I have to say, when I left the cinema, I’m not quite sure it lived up to all that.
I read that Shia LaBeouf said that the second film (Revenge of the Fallen) was convoluted and that the best films are simple and story driven. Did Michael Bay not get that memo? I know you can’t make a film about giant robots without giant robots but Trans 3 left me wondering just where the hell this simple story had gone.
LaBeouf also claimed that this was the best 3D movie ever. Some of the shots were excellent: the guys jumping out the plane and gliding down to Chicago were one cool example, cool for the fact that you felt like you were jumping with them (the camera was reportedly strapped to the stuntman’s head to film that) but so much of the story you didn’t feel with anyone. This was possibly down to the fact that we have Megatron and Sentinel Prime and Patrick Dempsey as villains. I say villains, one singular villain would have better, these three were just dilute and uninteresting. Dempsey has to win the crown for least convincing villain. He was a bit mean but what was there to really hate? Yes he fancied stealing Whiteley from LaBeouf but since that relationship was so paper thin and uninteresting we just didn’t care.
In the relationship stakes, credit has to go to LaBeouf for having more chemistry with a yellow robot (Bumblebee) which wasn’t exactly there during shooting, than he does with Rosie Huntington-Whitely. Obviously after the departure of Megan Fox (tip - don’t call your director a Nazi), Whiteley had some shoes to fill. Or rather she had some skimpy clothes to fill. Watching her performance I was left massively cold (not through jealousy of her good looks) but for the fact she was underused as an actress and a character. As LaBeouf says Michael Bay films women in a way that ‘appeals to the sexuality of 16 year old boys’ and never is this more evident than with Whiteley. While we were ‘treated’ to midriff shots of Megan Fox in Trans 1 and her straddling a bike in little shorts in Trans 2, we are singularly ‘treated’ to Whiteley being a mannequin in snug dresses for the majority of the film. Yes she’s very pretty and yes it is mostly 16 year old computer nerds who will be paying the big cash ($6.80 FFS) to watch Trans 3, so big cool robots and pretty girls in short skirts are going to be high up on the checklist, but what about the rest of us well-read nerds who want story? Or even us women who want to see a strong female character who can also be pretty? I suppose the answer to my question is once we’ve paid our 7 quid and been disappointed we feel obligated to stay and watch the whole film because it’d be a waste of money. It’s not as if we can demand a refund.
Over all, I left the cinema admiring the 3D experience and in places, the humour. But I was left wanting more human story, LaBeouf coped well (even with the screaming) but I wanted to see more Witwicky parents or Whiteley getting to do something more than her token part with Megatron at the end (yeah as if that really turned the tide - even 16 year old nerds would be sceptical). I imagine seeing this film in 2D would be incredibly disappointing because without the cool 3D shots there is very little there to entertain. Transformers: More than meets the eye? Um no, not in this case.
Recommendation: Watch Transformers 1 again and morn what might have been for films 2 and 3. If you have to go to the cinema see X-men First Class for decent action and character and story (yes it is possible).
http://blastr.com/2011/06/shia-labeouf-swears-trans.php - LaBeouf claims Transformers 3 is greatest 3D movie.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43261714/ns/today-entertainment/t/shia-labeouf-talks-transformers-megan-foxs-model-replacement-had-better-time-michael-bay/ - LaBeouf on Bay’s directing style
http://blog.moviefone.com/2009/09/03/megan-fox-compares-michael-bay-to-hitler/ - Megan Fox’s comments about Michael Bay and Hitler.
I read that Shia LaBeouf said that the second film (Revenge of the Fallen) was convoluted and that the best films are simple and story driven. Did Michael Bay not get that memo? I know you can’t make a film about giant robots without giant robots but Trans 3 left me wondering just where the hell this simple story had gone.
LaBeouf also claimed that this was the best 3D movie ever. Some of the shots were excellent: the guys jumping out the plane and gliding down to Chicago were one cool example, cool for the fact that you felt like you were jumping with them (the camera was reportedly strapped to the stuntman’s head to film that) but so much of the story you didn’t feel with anyone. This was possibly down to the fact that we have Megatron and Sentinel Prime and Patrick Dempsey as villains. I say villains, one singular villain would have better, these three were just dilute and uninteresting. Dempsey has to win the crown for least convincing villain. He was a bit mean but what was there to really hate? Yes he fancied stealing Whiteley from LaBeouf but since that relationship was so paper thin and uninteresting we just didn’t care.
In the relationship stakes, credit has to go to LaBeouf for having more chemistry with a yellow robot (Bumblebee) which wasn’t exactly there during shooting, than he does with Rosie Huntington-Whitely. Obviously after the departure of Megan Fox (tip - don’t call your director a Nazi), Whiteley had some shoes to fill. Or rather she had some skimpy clothes to fill. Watching her performance I was left massively cold (not through jealousy of her good looks) but for the fact she was underused as an actress and a character. As LaBeouf says Michael Bay films women in a way that ‘appeals to the sexuality of 16 year old boys’ and never is this more evident than with Whiteley. While we were ‘treated’ to midriff shots of Megan Fox in Trans 1 and her straddling a bike in little shorts in Trans 2, we are singularly ‘treated’ to Whiteley being a mannequin in snug dresses for the majority of the film. Yes she’s very pretty and yes it is mostly 16 year old computer nerds who will be paying the big cash ($6.80 FFS) to watch Trans 3, so big cool robots and pretty girls in short skirts are going to be high up on the checklist, but what about the rest of us well-read nerds who want story? Or even us women who want to see a strong female character who can also be pretty? I suppose the answer to my question is once we’ve paid our 7 quid and been disappointed we feel obligated to stay and watch the whole film because it’d be a waste of money. It’s not as if we can demand a refund.
Over all, I left the cinema admiring the 3D experience and in places, the humour. But I was left wanting more human story, LaBeouf coped well (even with the screaming) but I wanted to see more Witwicky parents or Whiteley getting to do something more than her token part with Megatron at the end (yeah as if that really turned the tide - even 16 year old nerds would be sceptical). I imagine seeing this film in 2D would be incredibly disappointing because without the cool 3D shots there is very little there to entertain. Transformers: More than meets the eye? Um no, not in this case.
Recommendation: Watch Transformers 1 again and morn what might have been for films 2 and 3. If you have to go to the cinema see X-men First Class for decent action and character and story (yes it is possible).
http://blastr.com/2011/06/shia-labeouf-swears-trans.php - LaBeouf claims Transformers 3 is greatest 3D movie.
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43261714/ns/today-entertainment/t/shia-labeouf-talks-transformers-megan-foxs-model-replacement-had-better-time-michael-bay/ - LaBeouf on Bay’s directing style
http://blog.moviefone.com/2009/09/03/megan-fox-compares-michael-bay-to-hitler/ - Megan Fox’s comments about Michael Bay and Hitler.