Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon

After sitting through the mess of a sequel, the epic trailer for "Dark of the Moon" made me wonder if the franchise could redeem itself. At first, I was worried because it started with Shia LaBeouf making funny faces and boisterous displays I simply didn't understand.

However, he is most effective when being given believable emotion to portray through raw intensity on screen. For the most part, "Dark of the Moon" realizes this and tips the scales appropriately.

While the character he is given to play is not the most conventional "fight the good fight" hero but instead ill-tempered and off-putting, it is also filled with altruism and a good heart that make up for it. Luckily "Dark of the Moon" has a greater story to set free, along with slight mystery, and it finally does before the awkward silliness from the previous film cripples this portrait.

"Dark of the Moon" is still just a rousing action film, but it offers a previously unvisited level of humanity, astonishing CGI, exciting environments, internal consistency and less complexity.