Oct 4 Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Blu-ray Review
4.0 Stars (out of 5)
Synopsis
A mysterious event from Earth’s past threatens to ignite a war so big that the TRANSFORMERS™ alone will not be able to save the planet. Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the AUTOBOTS™ must fight against the darkness to defend our world from the DECEPTICONS’™ all-consuming evil in the smash hit from director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg. Buy Now $19.99
Starring:
Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Hugo Weaving
Director:
Michael Bay
Blu-ray Release Date:
September 30, 2011
Subtitles:
English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Rating
Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt
Audio 5.0 Stars (out of 5)
Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
● Subwoofer - 5.0 Stars
● Dialog - 5.0 Stars
● Surround Effects - 5.0 Stars
● Dynamic Range - 5.0 Stars
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 5.1
Wow, what a threat. This Blu-ray features a rare Dolby TrueHD mix. I wish we saw more of them, because the audio on Dark of the Moon is flawless. I was amazed at the heft and surround usage even when watching the Paramount logo. Bullets and missiles whizz by your head, explosions and bombs fill the room with expanding rumbles, transforming robots hum and clang with crystal clarity, and helicopters fly by with heavy wind churning blades. The rear speaker mix seemed a little hot, but that's how I like it. Even with all of the insane action, dialog was never lost in the audio chaos.
Video 5.0 Stars (out of 5)
Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
● Color Accuracy - 5.0 Stars
● Shadow detail - 5.0 Stars
● Clarity - 5.0 Stars
● Skin tones - 5.0 Stars
● Compression - 5.0 Stars
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Video resolution: 1080p, Aspect ratio: 2.40:1, Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
The clarity was astounding, I was able to see loose hairs, pores, complex patterns on fancy suits, winkles, and tiny beads of sweat. I've never seen a movie with this much fast moving CGI appear this clean and free of any compression problems. Shadows and colors were handled with such skill it seemed as if the giant robots from outer space were real. Their was hardly any film grain, and it made the robots look hyper-realistic. Landscapes of a crumbling downtown Chicago were impressive, and brought home the scale of the battle. Colors were a little warm an made colors more vibrant.
Bonus Features 0.0 Stars (out of 5)
There were no bonus features on this Blu-ray, not even a trailer. Expect Paramount to cash in later with a trilogy box set.
Movie - 3.0 Stars (out of 5)
Review
This Transformers movie is the perfect example of movie spectacle at its peak. I don't think I've ever seen a movie with so many explosions, gunshots, fancy camera work, and metal on metal violence. The action is insane to the point of excessive, the final battle sequence is about half an hour of total carnage.
I like Shia LaBeouf, but I hated his character for the first half of this movie. He yelled at everyone, was angry most of the time, and came off like a jerk. It was interesting to see a Transformers movie without Megan Fox, but after a while you realize she was just pretty eye candy just like the new girlfriend is.
As a film, Transformers has several problems. The plot was several times better than Revenge of the Fallen, but this plot was still silly and filled with holes. The emotional tone changes so fast it seemed disjointed and schizophrenic. Most of the acting consisted of screaming and rapid use of corny one liners. The action is so big and battles are so long, you almost forget what the action is for. No time is given for you to digest what is happening, it's always moving on to the next big robot battle. This movie is perfect for impressing your friends with your home theater, but if you want more than explosions and destruction; this movie full of eye candy might give you a tummy ache.
Reader Comments (1)
I concur another technically good Transformers movie (I like what Sxephil You Tube said about it) but plot wise neh. One thing I did notice was the "strange appearance" of characters from other shows lurking in the background. I don't know the extent of it but there were several from "Chuck" and one I think the Chinese guy "Wang?" was from either Lost or another show - think there were other sly side gags or homage(s) .