Movie Review: Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon
3D, (M), 154 minutes
Stars: 4/5
Strap yourself in for some out-of-this-world special effects.
We have been waiting for a movie to take full advantage of 3D technology since its advent.
While director Michael Bay admits the technology has made his life more difficult, Transformers 3 certainly does justice to his efforts and is spectacular to watch.
You have to be in awe every time the Transformers make the change from car or truck to powerful robot, but that is small in comparison with the dramatic battle scenes that seem to engulf the city of Chicago.
The Transformers team have bounced back strongly with this effort after Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen was critically panned.
The plot this time around is better and cleverly uses history as a starting point of the story.
We all know that man first landed on the moon in 1969, but we didn't realise that when the cameras were turned off the astronauts went exploring for an alien spaceship that supposedly crash-landed there a few years earlier.
A Cybertronian spacecraft, known as the Ark, was the last ship to escape Cybertron, a planet devastated by wars.
Piloted by Sentinel Prime, it carries "the pillars" technology that could save the Cybertronians once and for all.
The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, know the importance of recovering the pillars before the evil Decepticons get their hands on them and Sentinel's damaged body.
Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) becomes aware that people who may have had some knowledge of the moon mission are disappearing and fears the Decepticons are rising again.
He knows he must get to Optimus Prime and inform him of the dangers before their enemies have the power to change the world.
While special effects are a big part of the Transformers series, Dark of the Moon also offers a story with an interesting link to the past and a feasible plot into the future.
But it is not all about machines; Sam, his girlfriend Carly (Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), and their comrades make up a formidable fighting force along with the Autobots.
If the Decepticons want to win the war they'll need all their powers, and more.