Transformers: Dark of the Moon Initial Thoughts (spoiler free)

I had the good fortune to see the most recent Transformers movie this morning and I must say I was much more impressed than with the previous two attempts. This movie actually has a coherent story that is adhered to and really focuses a lot more on the Transformers as characters than just the humans. I would say there is much more balance in this film than the others. The 2007 movie was good but it felt like the movie makers were still trying to find their footing and so a lot of things seemed just a little bit off. And of course we all know Revenge of the Fallen was plagued by trying to go bigger and better without a script due to the writer's strike and the film suffered incredibly for it. This movie finally feels like they got it right, at least as close to right as they could get. We get a lot more Transformer characterization and the action sequences are paced much better to avoid overload.

My viewing this morning was in 2D because I find that 3D tends to give me headaches if I try to focus too much and I didn't want to miss any details from the film. So I can't comment on if the 3D helped the story or not. There were a few sequences that I was watching where I was thinking to myself "I wonder why this sequence is so long" or "that's an odd thing to focus on" but after thinking about it I am sure those scenes were there for the 3D effects. That's not to say those scenes were superfluous, it just seemed odd to me. I plan on attempting to see it in 3D in the near future. There are also a bunch of great nods to fans of the franchise and some really obscure references that I was happy to discover. And I was very happy with all of the human performances as well, especially Rosie who played Carly. I really didn't think I would like her, but she has a strong presence and does a much better job than Megan Fox ever did. I really kinda wish they had been using her from the beginning.

There was a scene in the movie that actually gave me chills, and that is the first time that has happened to me watching a Transformers movie. I won't reveal the scene, but I will say it was spectacularly done and stole the show for me personally. So as a hardcore Transformer fan that has been beaten over the head with the "Movie" aesthetic for the past five years I can honestly say this was a fun movie and I would recommend it to all of my friends. There is a very high likelihood that I will be buying this movie when it comes out on blu-ray.