Plot:
The film begins in 1961 as a Cybertronian spacecraft, attempting to flee from their world at war, crash lands on the dark side of the moon. The cargo on the transport is technology known as “Pillars”. The cargo being a pivotal tool in the Autobots’ survival. NASA quickly flags the crash and relays the information to the president, John F. Kennedy, and his staff. Kennedy then authorizes a top secret mission to investigate the crash. Disguised as a mission to put a man on the moon before Russia, we then follow the mission in a very historical fashion with iconic quotes.
The movie does a great job of adding actual history and making you believe that there could have possibly been an ulterior motive for the moon landing. After we witness the iconic moon landing, communications go dark with NASA. They are then instructed that their top secret mission is a go. In the short time limit given, they venture into the dark of the moon discovering a giant alien ship crashed a few hundred feet from the televised moon landing. They head inside to find many dead Autobots beneath the rubble. Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong then confirm that we are not alone in the universe.
We then return to present day. The Autobots have teamed with the United States military, helping fight against humanity’s self-destructiveness and the possibility of war. On a mission in Chernobyl, Optimus Prime discovers a fuel cell from the crashed Autobot space ship on the moon which the Soviet Union tried using as a source of power. This attempt triggered the well-known nuclear disaster in 1986. Optimus then launches his own mission to retrieve the Pillars and revive Sentinel Prime, who was the last ruler of Cybertron as well as Optimus’ mentor.
Meanwhile we find Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) in the beautiful home of his new girlfriend Carly Spencer played by Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Frustrated at his troubles with finding a job out of college he feels unimportant. Sam aims his angst at his girlfriend and her relationship with her boss Dylan Gould played by Patrick Dempsey.
Direction & Performances:
As usual the film is directed by Michael Bay so you can expect rich action scenes with awe-inspiring explosions and this time a great plot and execution. However, many may be wondering about Megan Fox’s replacement Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. The movie does a good job of quickly telling you that Sam Witwicky was dumped by his previous girlfriend played by Megan Fox and her performance is top notch. I myself was very skeptical about how her performance would turn out, but I admit that I was pleasantly surprised. On screen her beauty is unsurmountable, you will find yourself wondering just how Sam Witwicky does it… As for Shia LeBeouf, he delivers a rock solid performance and shows exactly why he’s one of the biggest male movie stars in the industry. Making me believe that he yet again landed one of the hottest girls on the planet is a feat in itself.
Visual Effects:
We all are accustomed to the visual style of Michael Bay and this movie is no exception, the action sequences look phenomenal! I never found myself thinking “that robot totally looks CGI” or “That mask looks completely ridiculous and unreal”. Whoops wrong movie! I still can’t stand that the robots have moving lips but maybe I am just a fan boy? Regardless, Michael Bay delivers the top tier visual effects we’ve come to know him for.
The Good:
- Plot was great and neatly embedded into real world history
- Lots of plot twists that I really didn’t see coming and I don’t mean the M. Knight Shyalaman kind.
- Great cameos by Buzz Aldrin, Bill O’Reilly, and the always funny Ken Jeong
- Optimus Prime was his bad ass self as usual!
- Lots of sexy car eye-candy if you’re into that sort of thing
The Bad:
- No more Megan Fox goodness
- Too many explosions?
- Michael Bay’s inability to realize that comedic relief via tiny robots with weird voices is just not a good idea.
- The whole “Pillars” ordeal was kind of a stretch
Warning:
When the movie starts you will be greeted with some of the terrible tiny robots that we all have come to hate. Don’t fret they really are not in the movie very much you will hardly notice they’re there.
