Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review

The last hour is worth defending. Bay shot Chicago's destruction with native stereoscopic cameras, and the wingsuit descent between buildings and the sequence inside a skyscraper as it tips and slides its occupants toward the glass are the two most spatially coherent set pieces of his career. He knew where everything was for once, and the depth is used for vertigo rather than decoration. Everything before it is a slog.

Sentinel Prime's betrayal is signalled so heavily that the reveal plays as a formality, and the Apollo conspiracy framing is dropped once it has delivered a McGuffin. Rosie Huntington Whiteley is introduced by a slow pan up her body before the film shows her face, which sets the tone for the writing she is given. John Turturro and a shrieking Ken Jeong are asked to supply comedy that the film keeps stopping for. At a hundred and fifty four minutes, the ratio of great to unwatchable is roughly one to three.