Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the third Transformers movie in the Michael Bay series, and ten years later, it’s still classic summer tentpole fun. Yes, it’s a studio construction whose primary goal is wide demographic appeal. And yes, it’s a story based on a cartoon about sentient robots fighting. But a cast that plays it straight, action that feels tangible, and CGI that still holds up make it a rewatch worthy of popcorn.
In the film, the astronauts of the original Apollo moon landing discover an Autobot ship buried on the dark side. Within the ship are “pillars,” a technology capable of destroying the Earth. A race ensues between Autobots and Decepticons to capture control of them.
The ensemble is part of the movie’s charm: it brings back every major character from the second film and adds a host of newcomers. Among them are John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Ken Jeong, Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy), and a voice performance by Leonard Nimoy. When an arc feels unnecessary, remember that it was probably written for a different demographic than you. The cast plays it straight, which gives the material gravitas and makes the funny moments land. McDormand, in particular, plays her government agency head with a tight formality. Shia LaBeouf plays Sam as the straight man to his eccentric parents and to the love triangle he finds himself in.
The large cast serves a simple MacGuffin-driven plot, but most of the ensemble has an actual job to do. Even though it treats one character as shockingly expendable, it still avoids the Chosen One trope, where every other hero is superfluous because only one is needed. In particular, Sam and his girlfriend Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) help marshal the heroes and manipulate the villains. The human military also mounts an inspiring charge, led by Josh Duhamel’s now-Colonel Lennox. The villains have more depth than usual, too: with three main villains (two robots and a human), an actual power dynamic plays out. To have two powerful villains vying for control felt more like Lord of the Rings than Transformers G1.
Dark of the Moon shines in its action sequences, which are distinctive and fun even when they verge on silly. There’s an extended sequence in a crumbling building, and another highway battle like the first film’s. Both retain a sense of concrete realism as they depict the impossible. The CGI has aged better than most of its era, outdoing recent Marvel releases like Eternals. Real vehicles play the robots’ vehicle forms, and the transformations are rendered so seamlessly that it’s hard to see the switch. The same is true of the final battle in Chicago: a mix of practical set pieces (trucked into the city) and digital rendering gives it realism. Industrial Light & Magic’s attention to detail helps: the character of Optimus Prime has 10,108 individually rendered parts working together.
Though most characters have a purpose, the movie at times succumbs to blockbuster padding. Non-narrative filler includes two Mexican standoffs and screen time devoted to Carly’s attractiveness. Powers also come and go: one villain has a gun that rusts robots, but he uses it only once and not in the final battle.
If you can join it in suspension of disbelief, the performances, action, and imagery make for a great rewatch. It’s also a time capsule of 2011: Ken Jeong gags, McDreamy as a slick human villain, and a Trump Tower that’s mentioned conspicuously and repeatedly as the villain’s home.
A little padded, but a lot of fun.
