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- Running time:
- 154 minutes
- Rated:
- PG-13
- Cast:
- Shia LaBeouf -
- Sam Witwicky
- Josh Duhamel -
- Lennox
- John Turturro -
- Simmons
- Tyrese Gibson -
- Robert Epps
- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley -
- Carly
(2 ratings)
After saving the world twice over from the evil Decepticons, the Autobots, led by magnanimous Optimus Prime, now work as covert operatives for the U.S. military. National-security honchos, however, have been keeping a bigger secret: that the 1969 moon landing was actually a stealthy mission to investigate a massive spacecraft that had crashed there. The vessel contains technology that, in the wrong hands, could lead to imminent doom, and the Autobots—with the aid of Earthling BFF Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf)—spring to action to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Decepticons, who've got their own sinister plans brewing.
The buzz: It's hard to imagine creating any more noise for a $1.5 billion–grossing Spielberg/Bay franchise that's also responsible for inflicting Megan Fox on humanity. But "DOTM" has done just that. During its plagued production, a stuntwoman was injured and left brain-damaged, a dangerously botched car stunt was caught on video, and Fox was fired by Spielberg after she compared Bay to Hitler in a magazine interview. Bay and Paramount Pictures have also been pissing off theater owners, arm-twisting them into screening the film exclusively in 3D on opening night, and bullishly dictating how the film should be projected.
The verdict: No one's going to mistake Bay's bombastic movies for art, and oftentimes they don't even approximate entertainment—the franchise's previous entry, "Revenge of the Fallen," was an unmitigated stinker. "DOTM" more than makes up for it with a visually dazzling installment that's the most impressive one yet, approximating the wide-eyed wonder of the first film while ditching most of the senseless garbage that made its follow-up so atrocious. For starters, you might actually remember the plotline for this one, and the film's take on revisionist history is cheeky fun in the same way that "X-Men: First Class" rewrote the books on the Cuban Missile Crisis. (It also scores some middling cred with a cameo from Buzz Aldrin.) Victoria's Secret bombshell Rosie Huntington-Whiteley steps in for Fox to provide the requisite va-va-voom quotient, and she pouts and poses with gusto while admirably keeping her micro-mini-skirt's hemline from hitching up to R-rated territory. Bay is clearly programmed to operate in superlatives, and everything here is bigger, louder, snazzier, flashier. That's not necessarily a misstep, especially when the movie wears its escapist badge with shameless pride. Unfortunately, "DOTM" is also longer—waaaaay longer—than it needs to be, and the final 40 minutes are a merciless sensory assault bordering on vertiginous nausea. (Bonus points if you're seeing it in 3-D.) You might like it—that is, if your idea of fun is getting sloshed up on rum Cokes and then riding the Coney Island Cyclone while blasting Megadeth and doing headstands. This latest 'bot bonanza is both exhilarating and exhausting, and although you won't be reaching for the escape hatch, you'll likely be reaching for some Dramamine afterward.
Did you know? Despite brazenly declaring to the L.A. Times that "DOTM" may be the "‘greatest 3-D film ever made," LaBeouf may be done for good with the 'bots: He's said that he won't be starring in any more "Transformers" movies.
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is also playing in 2D. Find local showtimes here.
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” is also playing in select IMAX theaters. Find local showtimes here.
Movie Trailer:
SHOWTIME LISTINGS
Movie theaters and showtimes for Transformers: Dark of the Moon 3D in Louisville.
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