Ileana’s Movie Review: Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel

Summary: Those nasty Decepticons are at it again. This time they have devised a plan to enslave mankind and destroy the Earth in order to restore Cybertron to its former glory. This sinister plan dates back to the sixties, when an alien crash on the moon ignited America’s race to the moon. It turns out that Buzz Aldrin (who has a cameo in the film) was really on a secret mission to explore the alien wreckage along with co-pilot Neil Armstrong. Now it’s up to Sam (LaBeouf) and the Autobots to save mankind once again.

Michael Bay said he would atone for the debacle that was Transformers 2, and he was true to his word. This installment is much darker and more grown- up than its predecessor. All of the obnoxious characters from the last one are gone with the exception of Wheelie, and thankfully he didn’t hump anything. New to the cast was Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who plays Sam’s new girlfriend Carly. She has replaced Megan Fox as the token piece of eye-candy, and does a fairly good job at it. At over 2 ½ hours, this is the longest film of the series. While the first half is a bit slow, the carnage and destruction of Chicago during the last hour make up for it. Michael Bay is back in my good graces…for now.

Trivia: Peter Cullen (the voice of Optimus Prime) has said that his favorite scene in this movie is when Optimus Prime meets Buzz Aldrin.

Rated: PG-13 – For intense prolonged sequences of sci-fi action violence, mayhem, & destruction, language, some sexuality, and innuendo.

Grade: B