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Transformers: Dark of the Moon

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a 2011 American science fiction action film directed by Michael Bay, and it is based on the Transformers toy line. It is the third installment in the live-action Transformers film series and is the sequel to 2009's Revenge of the Fallen. It is also the first film in the series that was not co-produced by DreamWorks Pictures, leaving Paramount Pictures as the sole distributor. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Malkovich, and Frances McDormand. Set three years after Revenge of the Fallen, it follows the warring Autobots and Decepticons' last days of the war as they battle to possess powerful technology from their homeworld crashed on Earth's Moon to restore their home. Returning Transformers include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Wheelie, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, and Barricade.

The script was written by Ehren Kruger. Dark of the Moon employed both regular 35mm film cameras and specially-developed 3-D cameras, with filming locations in Chicago, Florida, Indiana, Milwaukee, Moscow, and Washington, D.C. The film was rendered specifically for 3-D, and the visual effects involved more complex robots which took longer to render. In May 2011, it was announced that Paramount would move Dark of the Moons release date of July 1 to June 29, in order to monitor an early response to footage.

Exclusive early premieres in both select 3D and IMAX theaters took place on June 28, 2011, one night before worldwide release in 2D and 3D (including IMAX 3D) formats—each featuring Dolby Surround 7.1 sound. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for its visual effects and sound design, but criticism for its screenplay and runtime. Dark of the Moon grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide, and is the second-highest-grossing film of 2011, the highest-grossing film in the Transformers series, and the tenth film to gross over $1 billion. It was nominated for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects at the 84th Academy Awards. It was followed by Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2014.

Plot[]

In 1961, the Ark, a Cybertronian spacecraft carrying an invention capable of ending the war between the philanthropic Autobots and the malevolent Decepticons, crash lands on the dark side of Earth's Moon. The crash is detected on Earth by NASA, and President John F. Kennedy authorizes a mission to put a man on the Moon as a cover for investigating the craft. In 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 lands on the Moon.

In the present, the Autobots assist the United States military in preventing conflicts around the globe. During a mission to Chernobyl, to investigate suspected alien technology, Optimus Prime – the valiant leader of the Autobots – finds a fuel cell from the Ark, discovering that it had survived its journey from Cybertron. The Autobots are attacked by Shockwave, who manages to escape. After learning of the top-secret mission to the Moon, the Autobots travel there to explore the Ark. They discover a comatose Sentinel Prime – Optimus' predecessor as leader of the Autobots – and the Pillars he created as a means of establishing a Space Bridge between two points to teleport matter. After returning to Earth, Optimus uses the energy of his Matrix of Leadership to revive Sentinel Prime.

Meanwhile, Sam Witwicky is frustrated that he is unable to work with the Autobots and is failing to find a job. He also becomes envious of the close relationship between his new girlfriend, Carly Spencer, and her boss Dylan Gould. After finding work, Sam is provided information by his eccentric co-worker Jerry Wang about the Ark, before Jerry is defenestrated by the Decepticon Laserbeak. Sam contacts the now-independently wealthy Seymour Simmons, and together they realize that the Decepticons and their leader, Megatron, are murdering people connected to the American and Russian space missions to the Ark. They locate two surviving Russian cosmonauts, who reveal satellite photos of hundreds of Pillars being stockpiled on the Moon. Sam realizes that the Decepticons raided the Ark long before the Autobots' mission and intentionally left Sentinel and five Pillars behind to lure the Autobots into a trap – Sentinel being the key to activating the Pillars and the Decepticons lacking the means to revive him. The Autobots rush to return Sentinel to their base for protection but Sentinel betrays them and kills the Autobot Ironhide, revealing he had made a deal with Megatron to ensure the survival of the Cybertronian race.

Sentinel uses the Pillars to transport hundreds of concealed Decepticons from the Moon to Earth, and Carly is captured by Gould, who is revealed to be in the service of the Decepticons. The Autobots are exiled from Earth at the demand of the Decepticons to avoid war, but as their ship leaves Earth it is destroyed by Megatron's second-in-command, Starscream, seemingly killing the Autobots. The Decepticons, led by Megatron and Sentinel, seize Chicago as their agents place Pillars around the world. Gould reveals to Carly that the Decepticons plan to transport their homeworld of Cybertron to the Milky Way, then to enslave humanity and use Earth's resources to rebuild their world. Sam teams with USAF Chief Robert Epps to go into Chicago to save Carly, but they are nearly killed by Decepticon forces before the Autobots intervene, revealing they concealed themselves during the launch of their ship to convince the Decepticons they were destroyed.

Working together, the Autobots and human soldiers manage to rescue Carly and destroy Laserbeak, Soundwave, Barricade, Starscream, and Shockwave, with Optimus using Shockwave's arm-cannon to blast the Control Pillar, disabling the Space Bridge. Sam confronts Gould as he reactivates the Control Pillar, and knocks Gould into the Pillar, fatally electrocuting him. Bumblebee and Ratchet arrive and destroy the Control Pillar, permanently disabling the Bridge and causing the partially transported Cybertron to implode. Optimus and Sentinel fight while Carly convinces Megatron that he will be replaced as leader of the Decepticons by Sentinel. Sentinel severs Optimus' right arm, and is about to execute him when Megatron intervenes, incapacitating Sentinel. Megatron invokes Optimus for a truce, having the desire to become the one-in-charge again. Optimus attacks Megatron, knowing Megatron's true intentions, decapitating and killing him. Sentinel pleads for his life but Optimus executes him too, for betraying his own principles. With the Decepticons defeated, Carly and Sam are reunited and the Autobots accept that with Cybertron gone, Earth is now their home.

Cast[]

Humans[]

Main:

Supporting:

Transformers[]

Autobots[]

Decepticons[]

Gallery[]

Reception[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 35% based on reviews from 263 critics and an average rating of 5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Its special effects—and 3D shots—are undeniably impressive, but they aren't enough to fill up its loud, bloated running time, or mask its thin, indifferent script." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 42 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

Trivia[]

  • Roadbuster and Leadfoot are listed as "Roadbuster/Amp" and "Leadfoot/Target" in the credits, a reference to their car modes' sponsors. Their names are not used in the film, but they are called "Roadbuster" and "Leadfoot" in the toyline and supporting media.

Errors[]

  • When Optimus dropped his Shield to look at the sphere, next scene, the shield is gone.
  • The Energon sword is in Optimus' arm but the next scene, he was holding the sword.
  • In the Battle Of Chicago, here are a few errors.
    • Bumblebee caught Sam and Lennox after they killed Starscream but then somehow captured.
    • Ratchet was in his robot mode, but in the next scene where Sam and Carly were running, he is in Vehicle Mode.
    • When all of the Autobots and Decepticons are battling in Chicago and Optimus flies in for a killing spree, Scrapper is gone, but after Optimus Prime killed 2 M1 Abrams Decepticons, Scrapper appeared right before Optimus shanked him in the chest.
    • When the Audi R8 Decepticon, who looks like Sideways, was dropped onto the ground by Optimus, his body disappears and reappears for a second.
    • There shouldn’t be 3 Brawls in Optimus’ killing spree.
    • Skids and Mudflap briefly appear in film. This is actually an error, as Mudflap and Skids were ultimately edited out of the film. This confirms the fact that the Twins were not among the Autobots when they were exiled from Earth.
      • Moreover, if you ignore their appearance in the third part at all. Then theoretically it can be assumed that they left the Earth before the events of the third film. Attinger deck cards indicating that they are still alive even after third part[1]only confirm this theory.

Cities Destruction[]

  • Chicago, United States
    • Seattle, Washigton United States
    • Balgin, Belgium
    • Seymount, Brazil
    • Paliko, Camping Waters, Ecudador
    • Vertia, Malaysia
    • Moltag, Madagascar
    • Cape Town, South Africa

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Barricade doesn't technically speak in the movie, an editing gaffe as he kicks Que around before executing him sees Soundwave's voice (provided by Frank Welker) coming out of his mouth for the scene.
  2. ↑ During the highway battle scene where Crowbar flips over a sign, recycled screams and grunts from Jimmie Wood's Bonecrusher performance in Transformers can be heard.
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