Let's Tango

14 DAYS TIL SPACE DRACULA'S BASKETBALL EXPO AHHHHH YAYYYY WHOOOO.

...I still need to acquire moon boots. And a cape. >.> But have no fear! Squandering much time and money on nonsensical accessories is the new name of the game.

Also. Check out my sweet beard. I think I'll be Abe Lincoln for Halloween.

I just finished the second week of my summer job (I'm a custodian. It's just as sexy as it sounds) and that's been pretty fantastic. I'm thoroughly convinced one of my co-workers is a robot (or at least a cyborg) and if that isn't exciting enough I've cleaned numerous offices and learned how to operate heavy machinery! Huzzah!

My job is always interesting because we have such an eclectic mix of people on our crew that the melting pot of opinions on everything from religion to today's youth is almost always bubbling over. It's provided an interesting perspective for me because I am the youngest employee by at least 20 years, and rubbing elbows with parents and cancer survivors and even the select few with massive chips on their shoulders has taught me a lot already. And it's made me hope sincerely that cynicism is in no way contagious.


BUT THIS POST WILL PREDOMINANTLY BE ABOUT TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON.


It took two viewings for me to form my highly professional opinion, but Transformers 3 is nothing short of an epic. Senseless robot violence always goes down smooth, and with Michael Bay at the helm, could you expect anything less than the best?


Well, you shouldn't.


Anyway. I have been blown away by every chapter of the Transformers saga, and this installment was no different. Each new movie has taken on a bigger plot with bigger crises, bigger battles, and so much more at stake. The bad guys are badder, the weapons are bigger, and more things blow up. 

Michael Bay has a knack for combining the science fiction-y fantastical with raw human emotion and behavior. He makes the far-fetched concept of cybernetic lifeforms bringing their planet to ours seem believable, because he meshes it seamlessly with identifiable, sometimes ugly, sometimes heroic, humanity. The Autobots and the humans have a lot to learn from each other, and in DOTM parallels are drawn between what it means to be a human, and what it means to be an alien, what it means to be a hero or a villain, and most importantly, what it means to be free to do what is right. 

The star-studded supporting cast was also a pleasant surprise. McDreamy goes evil, and Watt is resurrected as a German secretary...bitch. (See Patrick Dempsey and Alan Tudyk)

That being said, this is not my favorite Transformers film. I think sometimes the humor in these movies is a little too overplayed, and it felt like the movie had more integral cast members than it knew what to do with. Beloved characters like Agent Simmons and Soundwave (personal preference here) didn't get nearly as much screen time as I would have liked. Laserbeak makes his debut, though, and I loved the way he was portrayed as a total douchenheimer. Bumblebee is at his most badass, and I did enjoy the way Autobots like Ironhide (*sniff*) and Sideswipe got more fighting sequences. Optimus had a tendency to behave like a little bitch during the first part of the movie, but he more than made up for it during the final battle.


Without giving too much away, much of the film's opening sequence deals with the moon landing. I really liked the way actual footage from that historic accomplishment was combined with actors. No better way to end a review than with a lame observation.


SO THAT'S NOT HOW IT ENDS. Here's the kicker - the end-all reason I geeked for almost the entire movie. Leonard Nimoy is the voice actor for Sentinel Prime.

WHAAAAAAAT.

 

 

 

That's like the happiest marriage of things I nerd about at an unhealthy level. 


SO. If you haven't seen it, change that. Now. 


Thanks for sticking it out to the end of another drawn out, over indulgent blog condoning robot-on-robot violence and the important lessons they learn about love. You're scrumptious.