I only vaguely remember the first and second Transformers movies (from 2007 and 2009), but the second one did not fare well with critics. With this third movie, director Michael Bay aimed to "reboot" the series, to speak, and he definitely achieves this; the movie was easier to follow and the 3D was excellent.
Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps") has graduated from college and is looking for a job, and is frustrated that even though he has saved the world (twice, he says) and has received a medal from the president, the only jobs that will hire him are menial ones. He is living in D.C. with his girlfriend Carly (newcomer and model Rosie Huntington-Whitely) in her enormous apartment, and his parents are coming to visit soon, which means he needs to find a job ASAP. He takes a job in the mail room at a computer company, only to find out that the Decepticons have returned, and some of them are even present at the company. Sam calls the government agents working with the Autobots, and together they must try and defeat the Decepticons as the Decepticons try to take over the world and conquer the human race.
The 3D was excellent in this movie - definitely pay the extra $3 or so for it. There were a lot of A-list actors in the movie that had small roles, such as John Turturro ("Cars 2") as an old friend of Sam's, Josh Duhamel ("Life As We Know It") as an army commander, Tyrese Gibson ("Fast Five") as another friend of Sam's who helps him battle the Decepticons, and Patrick Dempsey (TV's "Grey's Anatomy") as an evil person who is helping the Decepticons to further his own interests. In addition, Ken Jeong ("The Hangover 2") has a bizarre part as a VP in Sam's office who has a strange connection to the Decepticons; Frances McDormand ("Burn After Reading") as a top government official; and John Malkovich ("Secretariat") as Sam's new boss at the computer company. I was surprised to see so many A-listers in one movie, and although many of their parts are small (especially compared to LaBeouf's), they all were very good in their roles.
Yes, definitely see this movie, and don't let the 2 hour and 37 minute runtime deter you from seeing it. I thought that the movie might drag on a bit but I barely checked my watch at all, and the runtime seemed to fly by. Also, regardless of what anyone tells you, there is no scene after the credits - yes, I stayed for them - so don't feel the need to stay for those unless you truly do want to read them. This may or may not be the last movie in the Transformers franchise, but I kind of hope it is, as it ended on such a high note.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is in theaters today, June 29th.
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Liz Parker is a 2009 graduate of the University of Michigan. She currently works as an Assistant Medical Editor for a pathology website. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films