Transformers: Dark of the Moon [Blu-ray]

Movie - 4.5The first Transformers did a pretty good job. It has a great cast, great production value, a gripping score, and even a little humor. It's innocent enough that you feel for the character of Sam Witwicky, realize the scope of the Autobot/Decepticon war coming to earth, then get to watch it all unfold as a grand and adventurous sci-fi actioner. Revenge of the Fallen.. not so much. It takes the nobility out of Optimus Prime's character, overshadows the plot with a little too much juvenile humor, one-liners, and situational comedy for my tastes, then tries to go beyond the conventions of sci-fi by making a "heaven for robots," while also making its female lead completely infallible to makeup discrepancies, then decides to ghetto-fies its robot cast by adding two inadvertently segregating "black" twin robots, and even flashes the movie-goers with John Toturo's ass in a jock strap (not a pretty sight). So yes; a writer's strike, no story or script, and only a year to shoot set the movie franchise back a bit (at least from a fanbase perspective). Thankfully, though, Dark of the Moon makes up for it, even surpassing TF1 in terms of character development, overall scope, and of course, brevity of action. For the writing, I enjoyed three particular elements: the ambition and search for self-worth of Sam's character, the more gritty and no-holds-barred nature of the storytelling, and the downright sense of treachery that seemed to loom throughout many of the characters. We see Sam yearning to feel useful and finding a purpose in life. He can't a find a job despite saving the world twice already, but at the same time knows he's capable of so much more than the office job he ends up with. His new girlfriend doesn't want him to be as ambitious because she feels that same kind of ambition is what got her bother killed in the military. Yes, the first half of the film is about as "fluffy" in spirit as the first two, but the overall structure is much less comedic than the former and substitutes it with a more epic story and darker tone in the second half. People and robots are killed, betrayal runs amok, and total kinetic action ensues for pretty much the entire duration of the movie thereafter. It's escapist sci-fi robot fantasy at its best that's a technical marvel, wonderfully choreographed, and everything one could hope for in a Michael Bay film.Video - 5.0- Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC- Video resolution: 1080p- Aspect ratio: 2.40:1- Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1Prior to this BD release I'd only seen Dark of the Moon in 3D in theaters (and 3 times, to boot). If the 3D was that impressive, I'm sure a 2D BD presentation would've been just as stellar as the previous entries, and boy is it. They really went all out in filming this using 6 different cameras, 4 types of film negatives, and another 6 types of cinematographic processes ranging between 35mm, digital, and 3D dual-strip. While TF2 barely accomplished anything with its crappy IMAX sequences (not crap in the sense of quality, but the fact that there was just so little of it), TF3 has some amazing cinematography in general, whether it be 2D or 3D. As far as the 2D presentation goes it's as demo-worthy as you can get. The CG and visual effects in particular are pristine and flawless in terms of detail and clarity. All the lines in the robotic parts, scuffs in peoples' faces, stubble on their chins, tiny bits of debris falling from the sky, sparks ricocheting off of exploding structures, water droplets from splashes, steam and smoke from fired weapons, everything is perfectly visible from any given angle under every kind of lighting imaginable. Blacks and contrast are the biggest draw for me revealing lots of fine texturing in the production design, while colors are very vibrant, particularly in opposition to the grittier look of the second half of the movie. There's hardly any noise to speak of aside from maybe a couple of dark shots filmed in 35mm. Everything has either a clean digital sheen or a fine layer of film grain. There's no over-saturation of colors, no noise reduction, edge enhancement, banding, or any of those detracting elements that may otherwise bog the video presentation. My favorite scenes for demo material would be the part where Sam meets Dylan for the first time (for a good contrast of colors with the least bit of CG) and, of course, any part of that massive last hour where they're fighting the Decepticons in Chicago (for a great mix of real and CG-integrated footage). I know the Oscar committee hates Michael Bay and are all about politics, but a film as technically sound as this needs to win an award at least for something like cinematography, visual effects, or editing.Audio - 5.0Languages- English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1- English: Dolby Digital 5.1- English: Dolby Digital 2.0- French: Dolby Digital 5.1- Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1- Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1Subtitles- English, English SDH, French, Spanish, PortugueseWell, so much for Thor being my (previous) number one loudest BD (after its two-week reign). First, I want to address the supposed controversy about the use of a TrueHD encode. Yes, while TrueHD may be have the lowest bit rates of the three lossless codecs, it also takes up the least amount of disc space. I believe the reasoning behind this logic is because 1) it's still lossless; even TF1 has TrueHD and many people still refer to it as one of the premier demo discs, 2) not only does it still sound awesome, but it's even 7.1 to compensate for the fact that it is TrueHD in the first place, which if you consider TF1 to be pretty good, then this is even better, and 3) they need the extra space for the eventual 3D version which will surely take up more disc space, so instead of barely being able to fit a two and a half-hour movie in 3D AND with lossless audio without suffering possible compression issues, you do the math and tell me otherwise. Not to mention this disc already supports 3 other spoken languages in Dolby Digital 5.1 (again, more disc space). Now, as for the audio presentation itself, it should be a no-brainer. Greg P. Russell returns as re-recording mixer for, yet another, truly wonderful auditory experience. The guy has worked on all 3 Transformers films and 200 films altogether in his illustrious career. He's been nominated for 14 Oscars but hasn't won any because, again, the Oscar committee is full of pretentious sycophants that just won't give mainstream movies the credit they're due, let alone anything Michael Bay is a part of. Needless to say, this easily one of the finest presentations you'll hear on a BD. Dialogue remains clear from the center channel, even throughout the chaotic battle sequences, high and low ends are pitch-for-pitch perfect, directionality and separation are flawless from the remaining fronts, sides, and backs, and, of course, LFEs are expectedly ground-shaking. Specifically, the score by Steve Jablonsky is very fitting for the film. It works something to the affect of Hans Zimmer's work in The Dark Knight and Inception giving a very emotional feel to the happenings on screen. But it's to be expected since Jablonsky is a disciple of his. My favorite scenes: the highway chase when Bumblebee transforms in mid-air to catch Sam and the part where they fight Shockwave. Oscar committee, please be more open-minded and at least give Mr. Russell is much-deserved award.Extras - 0.5There's nothing here, of course, as they're pulling off an Avatar and trying to capitalize as fast as they can. But at least Paramount gave early warning. I'm sure the eventual deluxe package will have the usual commentary and 2+ hours of special features on a separate disc when it comes out. As much work as they put into this, I'm actually very eager to see how they did it.Overall - 4.0Based on the average scores and whether or not you even care for extras (or even 3D) this could either be a "buy now" or "buy it later" recommendation. I, for one, love special features in general and will gladly wait for a complete package. Those who don't mind a bare bones release, however, shouldn't hesitate to get this. This is easily the best of the three Transformers films. It has a gradually building plot structure, a better balance of humor, amazing production value, and is overall a darker and more satisfying film altogether. And with equally amazing A/V quality, fans of the franchise will definitely be pleased.

I didn't appreciate how good this movie was when I was a teen, but it's damn good now that I've watched it again as an adult. Compared to the previous two live action movies, the plot is better developed, the characters are more likeable (especially Simmons and Dutch <3), the bots have more of a voice and emotional attachments, really cool scenes like the highway fight, you get these dark, gritty moments that really get to you, and at the end of the day, the Autobots pull through and Optimus is bad*ass! Of course, some scenes aren't realistic and most bad guys are nerfed, but that's normal. Just enjoy everything else surrounding it.And yes, the movie plot is centered around a singular human women for half the movie. That's just Michael Bay for you *shrug*

There is a lot of Transformers Movies and most of them as great as they are, Are also repeats of eachother. But this one is a Must Watch and one of the more enjoyable of the bunch. Love this movie and its definitely a rewatchable movie for sure to be enjoyed by the entire family.

Great movie go and watch it

Parts of the case is cracked or broken off but these days, that doesn't bother me as much because at the end of the day, did I buy it to watch the case? No, I bought it to watch the movie! So, I'll let it slide. I haven't seen this film in years so I decided to pick up the 3D combo, been really into 3D lately since Avatar: The Way Of Water. The discs are in tact though and I'll need to try them out, but they look fine.

I didn’t have a problem with the movie. I have a problem with the seller. The label clearly stated that it included a digital copy but the digital information was removed and now I cannot upload the movie. Bad bad business

THE FILM: Isn't Transformers supposed to be fun? The first one was, and even though the second one went overboard with the toilet humor, it still had its moments. To this threequel's credit, the story is better and more disciplined, though. The first 20 minutes set up an intriguing premise about the "real" reason for the moon landings. Yet it never really follows through with it. After that pre-title sequence it's back to the usual with Sam and company as they try to stop the Decepticons' latest (and greatest?) scheme. For what it's worth, Michael Bay reined in some of his baser tendencies. Sam's parents get a whole lot less screen time, and he ditched the racist Autobots from the previous installment. Also, since he shot this in 3D this forced him to tidy up the camera-work and editing. The visual effects also top everything that came before it. There are some really jaw-dropping visuals that probably looked amazing on a cinema screen, and still looked pretty awesome on my HDTV. On the casting side, he got some more veteran actors to do glorified cameos and add legitimacy to an otherwise mostly talent-starved ensemble. However, Leonard Nimoy as Sentinel Prime was a stroke of genius (along with an obligatory Star Trek reference/quote). What didn't work in the film's favor was the tiresome and endless nature of the carnage and destruction. The last hour of the film is basically an extended action sequence, and it was a chore to sit through. The human drama is clichéd at best, insipidly stupid at worst. Michael Bay certainly doubled down on why the films have been so popular, but it seems like he forgot to make it a little more enjoyable. As a result, lengthy stretches of action were rendered boring and depressing. The score didn't help matters much either. Like the previous two, Michael Bay was content to use the kernel of a good idea and slather it with visual effects and mindless action. He knows his audience, to be sure, but his cynicism is on full display here. TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON corrects some of the more egregious missteps of its predecessor, but it unfortunately loses its soul in the process.THE EXTRAS: This time around, the special features are a little leaner, but still provide a decent look behind the scenes of the film. As with the previous two, the bulk of the material is contained in a multi-part making-of documentary, this time clocking in at around 110 minutes. It covers the same areas (pre-production/development, shooting, stunts, VFX, post-production, etc.), but does so in a more streamlined way. As with REVENGE, it addresses the previous entry leading into the current one. However, this time they talk a little bit about how the reception REVENGE received wasn't as great as they'd hoped. They actually own up to the major reasons why the last one didn't do as well (critically), i.e., the writer's strike and an over-abundance of characters (meaning that they weren't developed that well). They even address Megan Fox's not returning, although they fudge the reason a little bit. Then they go through the usual routine of behind-the-scenes footage combined with talking-head interviews as they discuss everything from the location shooting to the extensive work on stunts and VFX. Particularly impressive in this area is just how much of the aerial stunts were achieved for real. It also boggles my mind how much time it took to render a single frame in the collapsing building sequence with Driller/Colussus (288 hrs for each eye!). And the fact that they accomplished this in roughly the same amount of time as the previous one just attests to Michael Bay's work ethic, no matter how difficult he might be. My favorite part of the documentary was actually the section that dealt with sound design. It went a long way to show how creative the sound team was in coming with new sounds for the different sequences in the film. Besides the documentary, the most interesting feature was an half-hour featurette on NASA. As with the previous film's home release, they have a handful of previs/animatics with commentary, as well as an in-depth look at how several of the VFX shots were achieved and composited, also with commentary. Again, it provided some valuable and interesting information about the work that went into making the stunning visuals. Rounding out the video extras were several shorter featurettes, mostly 2-3 minutes apiece, that cover the premiere, the "Birdmen" sequence, and a longer 9 minute featurette on the sound design. A lot of this had footage that was already in the longer "making-of," but it was still interesting. There was also a rather sweet clip of Michael Bay giving a disabled fan an iPad. There was also a small collection of marketing material, consisting of a couple trailers and a gallery of tie-in merchandise and posters. The other non-video extra is an art gallery with Transformers concept designs, as well as some of the locations. Put together, it is a somewhat slimmer package than was provided with REVENGE, most notably lacking any audio commentary on the main feature, but it is a good one nonetheless.OVERALL: To be honest, the only reason I bought this limited 3D edition was because it had extra special features. I don't yet have 3D home viewing capability, so I apologize for not being able to comment on its presentation in that way. Still, for the Transformers fan, this is most likely the edition you will want to buy. My actual opinion of the films notwithstanding, they are treated well in these home video editions, so you'll at least get some bang for your buck. And if you watched/bought the previous two, getting this third one is really a no-brainer.

An okay one in the series.

The latest live action Transformers movie comes to dvd.Once again we touch in with Sam Witwicky, who is now out of college and looking for a job. He's lost one glamorous girlfriend. But gained another. The Autobots are still working with humans and fighting the Deceptions. But the latter have another dastardly scheme in the works.As this comes to light secrets of the Apollo programme and the war that led to the destruction of the robot's homeworld are revealed. The Earth comes under threat. Humans and Autobots must fight together to save it.After the hostile reviews of the second film, this doesn't really do much to fix the problems people had with it.Firstly, Mikaela is no longer around. Because of well documented problems between Megan Fox and the production team. She is rather cursorily written out. In a manner that, given the emotional journey the two characters went through in the first two films, just doesn't really convince.Sam's new girlfriend Carly is played by model Roise-Huntington-Whiteley. In her first acting role. Once you get used to her accent she's not terrible but she's ill served by a character who might as well be Mikaela all over again, as there are times when you feel she might just be saying lines that were originally written for Megan Fox.The goofy humour of the second film has almost disappeared. Save for a few moments early on. And there are less adult references. But this is still a twelve certificate, thanks to some of the fight scenes.The plot is serviceable enough, and the film does get very strong in the middle when all hope seems lost and people have to rise to the occasion. This all leads to a huge battle sequence that goes on for the final third of the film. Whilst being spectcular at points and having an excellent scene of people wing jumping into a devastated city, which is shot mostly from their point of view and really convinces, the big problem with this part is the same as in the second film. Whilst it's fine to bring in more robots than were seen in the first film, there are simply too many of them and very few get anything in the way of a proper introduction. Thus if you don't know the characters from other Transformers products or have a scorecard, you could get lost.Having said all that I found the second film worked perfectly on a second viewing. Films often do when you know the story and thus have time to take in all the other details. Maybe this one will as well. But I'm not quite so inclined to find out.An effective action flick at points though. But very much an end to this trilogy. There will be a Transformers four, so here's hoping that a new start can recover the spirit that made the first film good.There is just one extra scene at the end, and it comes early on during the credits.The dvd has the following language and subtitle options:Languages: English, Hindi.Subtitles: English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hindi, Norwegian, Swedish.It has no extras. Whatsoever.But at least once you've loaded the disc up it goes straight into the main menu without you having to get through lots of trailers first.

Who said that all shows are getting the same, Well this one is very different and a pleasure to watch as not knowing what is next, and with the cast doing a fantastic job, storyline just as good you wont find better. Sheer entertainment that you wont fall asleep until it's over. Suspense and thrills what else could you ask for. Now the story goes that cars change themselves into robots sounds to far fetched but the technology of to-day can do wonders. Now we have the good that fight to save us and the naughty robots wanting to take over earth. The action is fabulous exciting and full on that you won't move from your chair feeling involved throughout that you can't take your eyes of for a minute, only because you don't want to miss anything. I rated this an A grade plus for first class entertainment from beginning to end no time for other issues, so grab the movie and don't forget the popcorn put your feet up and try to relax to a wonderful night of suspense and action that will have you glued to the chair. Enjoy!

Better than the 2nd movie, still not as good as the 1st, the use of real military equipment and personnel really makes these Michael Bay collaborations a must watch for the military hardware enthusiast as the cinematography is a visual feast with every conventional technique used to the full as you would expect from a Ridley Scott prodigy.Blu-Ray 3D presentation was the cinema 2:35:1 aspect ratio has the black borders top and bottom, which is a big disappointment as they should have released the IMAX 1:44 or near 16:9 widescreen TV ratio full screen, ok so IMAX is 48 frames apposed to 24 frames that this Blu-ray's been encoded.Overall Picture and sound is top notch as this was filmed using proper Stereoscopic 3D Fusion cameras as per AVATAR not recent Immortals 3D using the post production hand drawn digital 3D.The Score by Steve Jablonsky who has done all the Transformers scores and is a prodigy of Hans Zimmer does a better job than the last, but the original film will still be his best with the use of a choir which gave the score a Gothic foreboding which this lacked.Hopefully an IMAX version will be released at a later date but I wouldn't get my hopes up as the original Transformer IMAX has never been released but most of the films are digitally shot then transferred to super 35mm print then duped into the 70mm IMAX film.

I have just finished watching this in 3D and I was absolutely blown away! Michael Bay clearly had 3D in the foremost of his thoughts when he directed the film. There is both excellent depth and in addition plenty of things flying out of the screen. For me this is the most impressive 3D movie since Avatar.I should say that the action and film itself are excellent too. It is not just the 3D that impressed me. It is a long film but it doesn't drag. There were some very negative reviews about the acting of Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley in this film. I have 2 comments on this. Her role is supposed to be the hottie for the guys to watch and secondly her predecessor was hardly a Shakespearean actress!Would def recommend this film and in 3D if you have a 3D TV,

I bought this film to complete the trilogy. I had been warned and therefore wasn't surprised to find that the storyline failed to ignite my sense of excitement. Action packed perhaps but the from the start I seemed to lose interest. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley?... what was that all about?... Megan Fox would have been the better choice I thought and that's saying something! John Malkovich performance also bizarre... was he short of cash! It's a shame because had a little more effort & thought gone into the story it could have completed the set - but it failed for me. Some of the new robotic characters were amusing but did very little to wet the appetite or recapture the best of the first Transformer movie.