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Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon
After the debacle that was Revenge of the Fallen, much hope was held out for this new installment, Dark of the Moon, amid assurances from the director (Michael Bay) that he'd learnt the lessons of his previous failure. And upon opening it looks like he has. This new film is predicated on a retelling of the space race and America's determination to land the first man on the moon; it turns out that the real mission was to investigate an alien impact that, naturally, turns out to be of Cybertronic origin. Bay nicely segues his story into space race history, interspersing new themed content into archival news footage, exploiting the advantages of contemporary 3D technology to the hilt, setting the tone for something truly special.
And then disaster strikes.
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And then we're introduced to not one but two tiresome, supposedly funny, miniature robotic sidekicks. Strike 2!
And then Sam's parents arrive on the scene. What were once a loving but zany couple doting on their only son are now reduced to a one dimensional comedy act; their presence becoming tantamount to Bay raising a great big neon sign saying, "here comes a funny bit!" Strike 3, you're out!
The film has already passed the point of no return by this stage but it gets worse. Taking a turn for the nasty, the autobots are no longer content with terminating decepticons in self defense, now they callously draw and quarter them. Optimus Prime seems completely deranged in his single-minded determination to execute every last decepticon in the most grisly manner possible, spilling gallons of claret-coloured hydraulic fluid on to the streets in the process. He has lost all sense of honour. He has been reduced from valiant warrior to guerrilla. He is no longer a pillar of strength to look up too. He is corrupted. He is Harvey Dent transformed into Two Face (if I may use a Batman analogy).
Now such a turn is not, in principle, invalid but it is completely incongruous with the comedic vehicle Bay has chosen to portray his story. So much so that it gives the film a subliminally sinister tone as we feel we're expected to find this behaviour funny or ‘cool’. It identifies Bay as a filmmaker sans moral compass.
In a world where we're attempting (quite successfully) to expunge games like ‘cowboys and Indians’ from the minds of our youth, Bay is out there teaching them it's cool and fun to rip our enemies limb from limb and, seemingly, he's getting away with it. It's a logical step from the previous film which saw Megan Fox imprison a miniature decepticon and torture it into submission, only to see the poor little guy wind up with Stockholm Syndrome.
Now I'm certainly no wowser when it comes to on-screen violence and I consider myself a warrior against political correctness but is responsible depiction of violence too much to ask?
There are some serious pacing problems in the latter half of the film. The climactic battle scene runs for a whole hour during which the narrative slows to a standstill. It's ironic that all this frenetic destruction of property, machinery and human lives seems to take forever to complete because amidst all this activity, there's nothing actually going on. Never before has so much action resulted in so little story.
John Malkovich is a beacon of light, adding some much needed class to the otherwise infantile comedy. And Frances McDormand plays it straight amongst all the silliness, adding some much needed gravitas to the proceedings. It's a shame, then, that she should drop so hideously out of character in a post credits vignette. Optimus Prime's new transforming trailer is a welcome addition, a far cry from the simplistic disappearing unit of the cartoon.
Michael Bay's new movie is a parody of itself, and not in a clever way but in a groan-inducing way. All hope of recapturing the fun of the first film seems lost amidst comic quirks that become ever more excruciating with each new entry into this franchise and the action descends into mindless bloody violence played for laughs. As guiding hand and executive producer, Steven Spielberg, of all people, should have known better.
Stuart Jamieson
www.transformersmovie.com
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