Transformers 3

Transformers 1 was great. The story was a bit weak, but it was consistent. The acting and special effects were great. Transformers 2 had great special effects, decent acting, and no story ... at all. It was confusing at the time, until someone told me about an interview with Michael Bay in which he admitted they were in such a rush to put out a 2nd movie that they skimped on the storyline.

So going into Transformers 3, my expectations were sort of mid level. I knew that I'd have plenty of eye candy; Michael Bay never skimps on the explosions. I wasn't sure though if it would have any sort of decent plot to go along with them though. I was quite pleasantly surprised. The plot made sense internally, and made sense with the previous movies. It was a bit trite at times, with things seemingly thrown in just to move things along, but overall it worked.

It started out slowly, and I admit I quickly grew tired of Sam's bitching about his poor life. He has plenty of money, a super hot girlfriend, and have saved the world twice. I also thought this new girl was a bit hard to buy. Where is Megan Fox? They pay a few sentences to her, allude briefly to a breakup, but we don't get anything in the way of closure, which puts a dent in the integrity of the story in my opinion. But it's a small dent, and I eventually forgot about it. Another complaint I had with her though, stayed and got worse throughout the movie. She's a wimp. Fox was hot, AND a badass. The new girl was a damsel in distress. She made up for it a little bit at the end by doing something which I won't spoil, but overall, the writers really could have upped her badass levels a bit.

My favorite scene in the entire movie is right before the final battle between the 2 primes. Optimus finally arrives and in a matter of 30 seconds kills 6 or 7 decepticons. Boom, boom, boom, without breaking a sweat. There's a character who isn't lacking in badass-ness.

Overall, much better than number 2, debatably better than number 1. The change in girls hurts it, but the better plot really helps, and the special effects are great as always. I'd recommend seeing it, but don't pay 14 bucks to see it in the IMAX.