Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.

Director:

Michael Bay

Writer:

Ehren Kruger

Stars:

Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 26 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shia LaBeouf	...	Sam Witwicky
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley	...	Carly
Josh Duhamel	...	Lennox
John Turturro	...	Simmons
Tyrese Gibson	...	Epps
Patrick Dempsey	...	Dylan
Frances McDormand	...	Mearing
John Malkovich	...	Bruce Brazos
Kevin Dunn	...	Ron Witwicky
Julie White	...	Judy Witwicky
Alan Tudyk	...	Dutch
Ken Jeong	...	Jerry Wang
Glenn Morshower	...	General Morshower
Lester Speight	...	Eddie
Buzz Aldrin	...	Buzz Aldrin

Storyline

Autobots Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Mirage (aka Dino), Wheeljack (aka Que) and Sideswipe led by Optimus Prime, are back in action taking on the evil Decepticons, who are eager to avenge their recent defeat. The Autobots and Decepticons become involved in a perilous space race between the United States and Russia, to reach a hidden Cybertronian spacecraft on the moon and learn its secrets, and once again Sam Witwicky has to come to the aid of his robot friends. The new villain Shockwave is on the scene while the Autobots and Decepticons continue to battle it out on Earth.

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Plot Keywords:

moon | spacecraft | robot | battle | christ allegory | 

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Taglines:

The fight for our freedom begins

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for intense prolonged sequences of sci-fi action violence, mayhem and destruction, and for language, some sexuality and innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

CJ Entertainment [kr] Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Transformers 3

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

$195,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$115,886,050 (USA) (1 July 2011)

Gross:

$352,358,779 (USA) (7 October 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Hasbro, Di Bonaventura Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to ILM, the company employed its entire rendering machinery to use on the film. This added up to using more than 200,000 rendering hours per day, the equivalent of 22.8 years of render time in 24 hours.

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Goofs

When the Ark lands on the moon in the beginning, the impact causes fire. Fire needs oxygen. There is no oxygen on the moon, therefore there can't be fire. Most spacecraft (of earth design) require an oxidizer component to the fuel mixture, it is not out of the question for an Autobot designed spacecraft to also need an oxidizer. Therefore it is possible that an oxidizer tank could have ruptured when crashing and thus allowed fire on the moon, but just till the oxidizer was used up.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Optimus Prime: We were once a peaceful race of intelligent mechanical beings. But then came the war between the Autobots, who fought for freedom and the Decepticons, who dreamt of tyranny. Overmatched and outnumbered, our defeat was all but certain. But in the wars final days, one Autobot ship escaped the battle. It was carrying a secret cargo, which would have changed our planet's fate. A desperate mission, our final hope...
[the Ark flies from Cybertron into space... and is gunned down]
Optimus Prime: A hope ...

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Crazy Credits

This is the first film in the series not to have the DreamWorks logo.

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Connections

Referenced in The Nostalgia Critic: To Boldly Flee: Part VIII (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Iridescent"
Written by Chester Bennington, Rob Bourdon (as Robert Bourdon), Brad Delson, Phoenix Farrell (as Dave Farrell), Joseph Hahn and Mike Shinoda
Performed by Linkin Park
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Amazing visual spectacle but tedious and full of clichés

This film is certainly an outstanding visual spectacle that boasts some of the most impressive, fluid and stunning cgi sequences I've ever seen. The photography is fantastic and the 3d technology is used effectively to create stunning, visually amazing scenes. However, that is the only aspect of the film that I believe deserves merit at all.

Despite the continuous action, destruction and battles, I found this film to be extremely boring, and the final battle, which claimed the last hour of the film was far too long and drawn out and it greatly prevented me from appreciating the visual spectacle that is the final battle as it's so long it becomes tedious and I couldn't wait for it to end.

The extensive use of cgi action scenes was what ruined the film for me, and although I never fully agree with the typical view that modern films have too much cgi and effects and not enough good story, this film certainly presented a convincing case that the above statement is true. As there is so much shooting, exploding and fighting in this film there is relatively little time for dialogue, which was largely, poorly written, and full of clichés.

Finally, I didn't rate the casting of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley or her performance. She has clearly been chosen for the role for her good looks and her great sex appeal although I think she shines brighter as an underwear model than blockbuster film actress. Also, It seems unbelievable to me that Shia LaBeouf's character, although not a bad looking guy, has been in relationships with 2 characters played by women who have both topped the annual FHM 100 sexiest women in the world poll. Rosie has clearly been cast to attract more male viewers, bring sex appeal that the film didn't really need and throughout struck me as being far out of Shia's league.