Transformers 3

I went to see this one earlier in the week with a buddy of mine.  After finally getting caught up with some of the writing, I took a couple days to see Keith Birdsong and hung out in Muskogee, Oklahoma.  It was his birthday and he wanted to go see Transformers 3.  I have to admit that I wasn't looking forward to seeing the movie.  The second movie was too long, too loud, and too confusing.  I didn't enjoy it at all.

Sadly, this movie hit me the same way.  Some of the graphics were really awesome, some of the gags were incredibly funny, and I really enjoyed hearing Leonard Nimoy as a character.  I still maintain that Shia LeBeouf is an immensely watchable star and will be a remarkable leading man in a few more years.

Despite LeBeouf's acting, there's just not much of a story for him to work with.  His role throughout this film kept getting minimized and maximized, and I was never really sure if he was going to matter during the resolution.  As it turned out, not much.

John Tuturro won my heart with several lines and with his scenery-chewing acting.  He didn't mind going over the top with his character or making fun of it at the same time.  I think I'd love to see a movie that focuses on this character tracking down some government conspiracy.  It would be a lot of fun.

One of the things that really bothered me about this movie as well was a separation between Witwicki (LeBeouf) and Bumblebee.  I think they should have been together more.  That relationship was one of the things that really work for me in the first movie, which I did enjoy.

The graphic designs and effects were absolutely amazing though.  I loved seeing all the computer graphic action on the screen, as well as how the Transformers changed shape throughout.

So much of the story seemed to be add-ons.  Witwicky's scenes with his parents, the whole episode with John Malkovich, and even the subplot with the romantic triangle could have been dropped.  However, that would have left Witwicky off the screen.  They should have just made him part of the team and involved with the situation from the beginning.  That lay there wouldn't have been so much time lost looping in all of these other elements so that Witwicky would have had the screen time he did.

A quick look at the box office indicates that this film scored another high success in movie dollars, even though it didn't score so high with moviegoers.  I would suspect there will be a Transformers 4 coming.