Transformers 3 - Dark Of The Moon (Hindi) Review

A while ago - in 2007, actually - Shia LaBeouf shot to fame with his role as Sam Witwicky, whose new car, Bumblebee, suddenly comes to life. This was no Herbie world; quite the opposite, in fact. It transpired then that there existed, on this planet, two warring factions of alien robots - the brave Autobots and the sinister Decepticons. These aliens blended into our everyday life by disguising themselves as ordinary machines.

2 movies and many action sequences later, Sam is now out of college, and is looking for a job, in Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon. He is tired of being the unappreciated hero, the one who saved his planet twice. His new girlfriend, Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), is ever-patient with him, but Sam is insecure about her unconventional relationship with her suave boss, Dylan Gould (Patrick Dempsey). Finally, Sam is employed by the obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, Bruce Brazos (John Malkovich), in the mail room.

Unknown to any of them, a huge conspiracy is playing itself out. In 1961, the surface of the moon was struck by a huge mass, and NASA detected the impact it created. The then-President, John F Kennedy, demanded that American astronauts reach the moon before the Russians. Apollo 13 had a secret mission in 1969 - to find out what happened on the dark side of the moon.

What happens next is anybody's guess, but getting there is pretty complicated. Enter Lt. Colonel William Lennox (Josh Duhamel) of NEST, the international task force assigned with destroying Decepticons (with the help of Autobots), and Charlotte Mearing (Frances McDormand), the Secretary of Defence. They have to stop the Decepticons from taking over the Universe. Helping them is Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen, voice), the leader of Autobots, and his team.

Sam somehow gets involved in this operation. Good triumphs over evil, but not before Chicago is mauled beyond recognition.

You have to hand it to Steven Spielberg, who produced the flick - the man knows what he is doing, when it comes to VFX. The visuals are stunning, and the effects, seamless. At no point does any frame look like a fictitious/sci-fi world.

The director, Michael Bay, was apparently not too keen to shoot this movie in 3D, but he eventually gave in to popular demand, and thank God for that. Action sequences are fantastic, and the climax is nail-bitingly good.

However, now that the makers have made the machines deal with all the human problems that they possibly can, there is not much for the machines to do in this movie except fight each other. The script is below average, and lacks conviction. Scenes are stitched together half-heartedly to make Transformers 3: Dark Of The Moon an extremely long movie. Only a Transformers die-hard fan can sit through it without glancing at his watch.

Even the actors sleepwalk through the movie, looking bored. Shia LaBeouf has sworn not to act in another Transformers sequel after this, it has been reported, which is why he looks like he is just waiting for his scenes to get over and done with.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, a Victoria's Secret model, is just eye candy. Her acting does not leave any impression, good or bad. Megan Fox is sorely missed, but then, she had to compare the director to Hitler, leaving Spielberg no alternative but to fire her.

Josh Duhamel and Patrick Dempsey are reason enough for a girl to accompany her boyfriend to this movie, but they're somehow overshadowed by none other than Optimus Prime, who has a longer role to play. Frances McDormand and John Turturro are worth watching, but John Malkovich is wasted in a small role.

Watching The Transformers and Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen before you watch this movie is advisable. Watch it only if you are a fan of the franchise, and if you have no problems with all that metal clanging on screen, all the time, and if you have lots of time to kill.