review::AICN::Nordling Says TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON Is So Much Better!

To say that TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON is a better film than REVENGE OF THE FALLEN isn’t really opinion; it’s simple arithmetic.  The second TRANSFORMERS film showcased everything wrong with Bay as a director.  And while DARK OF THE MOON suffers from many of the same problems –  Michael Bay enjoys his racial stereotypes a bit too much, and his sense of humor begins at pratfalls and ends at THREE’S COMPANY-like sexual innuendo and misdirection – when it comes to shooting action, Bay has improved as a director, something I would have never thought possible over the last film.  The camerawork is almost languid in comparison to FALLEN, and while Bay will never be mistaken for Stanley Kubrick or David Lean, the action has a visceral punch and jawdropping sense of scale.  I still couldn’t relate to any of the characters, but Bay really tried hard this time, darn it, and you have to admire that he put so much effort into it.  Shia LaBeouf plays Sam with all the earnestness he can muster, and I really can’t fault his performance at this point.  All the actors can do is look and react to the insane action going on for the most part, and even actors like Malkovich, John Turturro, and Frances McDormand can be made to look ridiculous in Bay’s 3D lens.  This ain’t a Coen Brothers film, by a long shot.
But, but, but… Jesus Christ, that last hour.  That last hour of TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, as Chicago gets the asskicking of the millennium, is action filmmaking at its goddamn finest.  That hour is what rises DARK OF THE MOON into serious greatness.  It’s what Bay does best, and with the nature of 3D forcing Bay to slow down his shots and edits, the special effects, the explosions, the insane – INSANE – setpieces, the climax – maybe it’s true that Bay has no interest in character development, or the subtle nuances of actor performance, but man, can this guy blow things up very, very well.  And it’s through the sheer bravura of the action that we begin to feel for the characters.  It’s not about the performances of the actors, or the plot – it’s that the sheer scale of what’s happening onscreen forces the audience to think, “I really hope that Shia LaBeouf doesn’t get hit by flying shrapnel.”
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