Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is just over 50 days away- can you believe it? Many fans seem hungry for another epic trailer, and we don’t blame them. It feels like we haven’t seen a lot, but that may be our excitement getting the better of us. To celebrate the upcoming release of the 7th live-action film in the franchse, I’ve been revisiting the original films. Next up on the road to Rise of the Beasts is my favourite of the series- Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Synopsis
A mystery event from Earth’s past threatens to ignite a war so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save the planet. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the Autobots must fight against the darkness to defend our world from the Decepticons’ all-consuming evil.
Review
I am always going to be slightly biased towards Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The first film will always be special because it was my first introduction to the Autobots and Decepticons. However, Dark of the Moon is special because it’s the one that I keep going back to. Regardless of the day or even the time of the year, I can just stick Dark of the Moon on… And escape. Of course, I am under no illusions about those same persistent issues that plague and continue to hinder the Transformers franchise, so it’s not as though I actively pretend that Dark of the Moon is a flawless movie. It is, however, a fantastic action movie.
The action is utterly insane. At the time of its release, it felt like this was a “goodbye”. The Transformers had run their course, and now it was time to go out with a bang. It looked as though they really put their all into giving us the biggest spectacle they could, and nothing post Dark of the Moon has topped that (yet?). From the opening sequence on Cybertron, to the highway chase against The Dreads- Crankcase, Hatchet and Crowbar, Dark of the Moon delivers that Transformer goodness at every opportunity. I haven’t even mentioned the final battle. The last hour of the film is dedicated entirely to the full-on war in Chicago and it has everything. It is still one of the coolest battles, but the icing on the cake is Optimus’ entrance into the battle where he single handedly takes down a bunch of Decepticons including Shockwave, and then confronts Sentinel in, what is, the best fight in the entire franchise.
These fights would be nothing without Steve Jablonsky’s soundtrack blaring in the background. Jablonsky’s compositions tend to get overlooked, but his music completely transformed this franchise and Dark of the Moon may have some of the best tracks out of the entire series. From the beautiful melody that follows Sentinel Prime to the booming suite that captures the severity of the Chicago battle perfectly, Jablonsky’s score elevates this film to the max, and his role in the franchise will never be forgotten. I can confidently say that I listen to a track from each Transformers film every day without fail.
Say what you will about the Transformers movies, but they know how to put on a good show. In my review for Revenge of the Fallen, I talked about this dip in the visual quality of the special effects. Now, Revenge of the Fallen still had some great visuals in it, but something just felt off. I remember going into Dark of the Moon hoping to be blown away and to this day it still holds up and even exceeds some of the visuals we’re getting today… 12 years later.
Dark of the Moon is a wildly impressive feat in terms of special effects. It improved on the issues that held Revenge of the Fallen back and even pushed beyond that to creare a visually awesome action movie that’s creative, exciting and mesmerising. Much like the first film, you could really see the details in each Transformer, and this third film upped the ante by introducing some absolutely amazing character models. Shockwave, The Driller, and Sentinel Prime. Again, the live-action franchise has danced around ideas of fidelity and source accuracy, but I’d argue that sometimes it is worth it- especially for characters such as Sentinel Prime.
Sentinel Prime is one of my all-time favourite characters from the Transformers series and it is mostly due to his visual appearance and the way in which Leonard Nimoy embodied him. Similarly to Optimus, Sentinel carries himself with pride and every word is beautifully delivered. Each sentence is poetry. Dark of the Moon may have its faults, but the film treated Nimoy with the utmost respect. Was his betrayal predictable? Sure! But he quickly became the most compelling and complex villain we’d had- easily. The conflict between Sentinel and Optimus felt very real and intense because it was layered. It wasn’t just a betrayal. By rescuing Sentinel, Optimus is weighed down by this guilt. His mentor, one of the great Primes, had not only contradicted his very own teachings, he also became the thing that the Autobots fought so hard to defeat on Cybertron. The evolving relationship between Optimus and Sentinel, while predictaible, is one of the best things to come out of this franchise.
As with any Transformers movie, the human characters once again get in the way. I will say that I really did enjoy seeing Sam approach normal life despite saving the world twice. It was a fun little dynamic that I think could have worked exceptionally well if the movie didn’t spend a ridiculous amount of time with unnecessary characters like John Malkovich’s Bruce Brazos, Ken Jeong’s Jerry, Patrick Dempsey’s Dylan Gould and Frances McDormand’s Charlotte Mearing. Dark of the Moon is jam-packed with a lot of… Nothing. These scemes derail the excitement and slow everything down. Revenge of the Fallen definitely had its issues, but it focused on a much smaller cast and only wasted a small amount of time with the side characters. Dark of the Moon went bigger and it backfired.
On top of that, Dark of the Moon starts messing with the wider mythology. Not that the mythology made a lot of sense to begin with, but the major plot points in Dark of the Moon raise even more questions. It’s like Megatron had a back-up plan for everything. Failed to get the Allspark? Don’t worry, The Fallen has the Energon Harvester. The Energon Harvester got destroyed? It’s fine because Sentinel Prime is actually on the moon and teaming up with him was the original plan despite The Fallen and Megatron stating that Optimus was the last Prime remaining. There are a lot of contradictions and it is difficult to ignore them.
Having said that though, I do really admire the attempt to integrate human history with the Transformers. It was an interesting approach that again could have work very well if more time was spent fleshing it out more efficiently rather than spending valuable time on elements that audiences have historically not enjoyed. Dark of the Moon is both brilliant and stubborn.
Verdict
Ignoring the issues surrounding continuity and the human cast, Dark of the Moon is an incredibly entertaining, action-packed and visually epic spectacle. There are some truly stunning set pieces in this third movie, all of which are supported by Jablonsky’s soundtrack and Michael Bay’s eye for capturing action. Dark of the Moon is bigger in every way imaginable and despite its flaws, I really think this third installment put the Transformers back on the map in a more positive light.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Days until Transformers: Rise of the Beasts– 52 Days
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts will be unleashed in cinemas on June 9th, 2023. What did you think of the trailer? Be sure to let us know in the comments. Don’t forget to check out more from the world of Transformers right here.
