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, Tyrese Gibson

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 10 wins & 39 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 go 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:

year 1969 | job interview | chicago illinois | optimus prime character | robert f. kennedy character | 

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Taglines:

Earth's last stand

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The idea of Apollo 11 being connected to the discovery of the Transformers had been previously put forth in the Transformers (2007) tie-in prequel novel "Ghosts of Yesterday."

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Goofs

Various scenes are clearly shot in Washington, DC and Chicago, Illinois, which are hundreds of miles apart, yet edited to try to make it seem like one city.

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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

In the closing credits, the names of director Michael Bay producers Ian Bryce and Steven Spielberg, editor William Goldenberg and actors Shia LaBeouf and Frances McDormand shine with lens flares.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 City Destruction Scenes in Movies (2014)

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Soundtracks

North Star
Performed by U2
Lyrics by Bono
Music by U2
Produced by RedOne
Courtesy of Universal Music International B.V./Interscope Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Clever script blended with spectacular special effects...

I was highly disappointed with Revenge of The Fallen and I thought the script for Dark Of The Moon would be similar to the other films of the franchise. But surprisingly, it was fresh. Ehren Kruger cleverly used the Apollo 11 event to create a Decepticon world invasion storyline with few interesting twists...

Although I was amazed with the explosive action and brilliant special effects used in the film, the film itself lacks a lot of things...

It started very well with the whole history of THE ARK and it crashed throughout the second half of the film. The humour was still silly like Revenge Of The Fallen. For example, Ken Jeong was appalling and Sam's parents (Kevin Dunn and Julie White) tried to be funny and humorous but failed. Replacing Megan Fox with Rosie Huntington Whiteley wasn't much of a big difference. However, she was certainly better than Fox. There was pointless scenes around the last half of the film that made it a really long, boring film. Also, Michael Bay tried hard making the slow motion action scenes very 3D and realistic which was a bit irritating and ruins the film. The main antagonists haven't performed well enough to create an epic ending to the franchise In another point of view, however, this film was fairly enjoyable and the script was written very well. The soundtrack used was fresh and bends well with the film. There was some scenes that just blew me away and the CGI special effects definitely deserves an Oscar nomination. Shia Labeouf, John Turturro, John Malkovich and Alan Tudyk was enjoyable to watch.

Overall, Michael Bay definitely improved this film compared to Revenge Of The Fallen by creating really amazing CGI effects and a really interesting script, but it wasn't enough to deliver a spectacular ending to the franchise...

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Paramount [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 June 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Transformers 3

Filming Locations:

Old Post Office, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$195,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$97,852,865, 3 July 2011

Gross USA:

$352,390,543

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,123,794,079

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks, Hasbro

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS Dolby Surround 7.1 Sonics-DDP Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1